Narration system starting from Konoha

Naruto jumped into the water impatiently, but only lasted two seconds before falling into the river.

"You'll have to watch my skills."

Sakura smiled smugly. It wasn't that Uchiha Sora looked down on her; today, she'd show that lazy bum what she was made of.

Sasuke looked over too, and Sakura's heart skipped a beat. Another chance to impress Sasuke!

"So much inner monologue."

Kong jumped directly onto the water and stood quietly on the calm surface, his body rising and falling.

"Ku, you're amazing! You got it right away. Is there some kind of trick to it?" Naruto asked eagerly.

Sasuke looked over, somewhat surprised. When did Sora become so powerful? Was he still his lazy little brother?

Kakashi nodded. Although Sora's aptitude was average, it seemed he had some talent in chakra control.

"Haha, as long as you have legs, you can do it. Learning to climb trees and wading in water is just a different approach. Sakura, I stole your chance to shine. Aren't you angry?"

"Hmph, I'm not angry at all."

Sakura is somewhat hypocritical; she even killed Sora now, but she's missed a chance to impress Sasuke, possibly the only one. Sasuke is too outstanding; who knows when she'll get another chance?

Sasuke glanced at the empty space, letting this guy put on an act again. However, the narrator's praise gave Sasuke some comfort; he was still the genius Uchiha Sasuke.

At the same time, Sasuke thought of someone he would never forget, a thirteen-year-old ANBU squad leader who definitely had the strength of a Jonin. The difference in their abilities was so great that it almost took his breath away.

"Alright, stop thinking about all this nonsense. Living in hatred will only make you anxious."

"Yes, Sasuke. Sora is your younger brother. Although he's a lazy bum and makes people grit their teeth and want to beat him up, he does have some sense when he talks."

Sakura wouldn't understand Sasuke's inner feelings. Her comfort was mostly based on her love for Sasuke. Of the five members of the team, only Sakura had both parents, so she couldn't comprehend that kind of loneliness.

Although Naruto was a loser, he could understand Sasuke's feelings, and Naruto's experiences over the years were even more tragic than those of the Uchiha brothers.

You can never truly understand something without experiencing it firsthand.

"Keep training. Use the two-day break to try and learn how to tread water. After two days, you'll have to take on more missions."

Kakashi leaped up a nearby tree and took out "Make-Out Paradise" from his ninja tool bag to read.

[The narrator's words reminded Kakashi of some past events he didn't want to recall, and he could only distract himself with Icha Paradise.]

Kakashi harbors too many things he doesn't want to remember. At the age of thirty, he has experienced things that many people never experience in their entire lives.

"When did the narration become so sentimental and touching?"

Walking on the water, a gushing arrow shot out and pierced a large fish.

"Good, you guys keep training, I'll just sit here grilling fish."

Kong picked up the kunai, went ashore, and skillfully gathered firewood to start a fire. Soon a fire appeared on the riverbank, with a two-pound fish on top.

Bottles of seasonings were taken out of the ninja tool bag and placed on the ground.

"Kong, are you here to train or to grill fish?"

Naruto swallowed hard; he was starting to feel hungry again.

Chapter Twenty-Two: A Chance Encounter

"Kakashi-sensei, would you like some grilled fish?"

He took a bite, his face full of delight; free things always taste good.

Kakashi was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Sora to treat him to a meal.

"Since you have extended such a warm invitation, it would be impolite of me to refuse."

[Ku looked at Kakashi strangely. He didn't remember saying he was treating. Did Kakashi have his eye on the fish he had just grilled?]

"Kakashi-sensei, there's a fire right here. You can just grab one and start roasting yourself."

Kakashi suppressed his anger. "That Ku is despicable! He even dared to flirt with our teacher!"

"I'm not hungry, you eat it yourself."

Kakashi never expected that he would make the same mistake as Sakura, believing Sora's words.

[Ku was speechless. It was clearly Kakashi-sensei who had a misunderstanding, so why was he being blamed? Ku was just asking Kakashi-sensei if he wanted grilled fish, not offering him some. He couldn't poop, but he blamed the earth for not having gravity.]

"Kakashi-sensei, you should know me. I would never say such a thing. It's all made up by that narrator."

What does the Earth's gravity have to do with Kakashi's poop? Kakashi-sensei is a master of the Thousand Years of Death technique, and he can even use it in crucial moments.

Sakura felt a chill run down her spine at the thought of what Sora had described. She glanced at Kakashi-sensei; he didn't seem like the type to do such a thing.

Kakashi's face darkened instantly. Sakura's intelligence worried him; she had previously said she didn't believe Ku, but now she'd fallen for it again.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura almost imperceptibly, his opinion of her gradually declining, while Naruto continued practicing treading water like an idiot.

"Sasuke, don't listen to the narrator's nonsense. My written test score at the Ninja Academy was the best in our class. It's just that Sora has too many tricks up his sleeve, making it impossible to guard against him."

Sakura is known as a master at shifting blame; she always finds someone to take the fall, either Sora or Naruto, to cover up her stupidity.

"Don't talk nonsense. How could I, a naturally beautiful girl, be stupid? Don't always slander me in front of Sasuke."

Kong chuckled and said, "Sakura said you're not stupid. The best way to deal with the narrator is to talk less, think less, and ignore him."

The more you talk, the more mistakes you make; the less you talk, the less mistakes you make.

Uchiha Sora always liked to use fallacies and heresies to distort the facts. At first glance, they seemed to make sense, but upon closer examination, they were utter nonsense.

Sakura laughed gleefully, and even Sasuke, who was usually expressionless, showed a hint of a smile.

[Ku didn't care at all; he had already learned to tread water, while some of the guys who mocked him hadn't even tried it yet, and even someone as single-minded as Naruto was almost there.]

On the distant water, after several experiments, Naruto began to walk on the water, but after only a dozen steps, he fell into the water again.

Kong let out a long sigh and lay down on the lawn to bask in the sun.

Based on the previous mission to wipe out the mountain bandits, Kong estimated that the current narration now almost covers the Land of Fire.

Looking at the four items in the store, Kong felt somewhat helpless. He had no choice but to accept this unorthodox system.

Sasuke and Sakura jumped into the river to practice treading water.

Even though he's just started training, he's more skilled than Naruto.

[Naruto's chakra was greatly influenced by Kurama (the Nine-Tails), so the fact that he has reached his current level shows that Naruto originally had good potential.]

The Fourth Hokage sealed half of the Nine-Tails inside Naruto in the hope that Naruto would master the Nine-Tails' power to deal with possible future events.

At the same time, the appearance of the Nine-Tails limited Naruto's growth, preventing him from fully realizing his potential.

Naruto climbed out of the water, a smile on his face, and said, "I don't care. Dad must have his reasons for doing this."

The Fourth Hokage was indeed exceptionally talented, unlike the Third Hokage, who was just a withered old man.

The five nodded in unison, even Kakashi looked on in agreement, though he didn't say anything.

“You can’t just say things like that. I’ve never agreed to it,” Kakashi quickly retorted.

"The four of you train here now. I have something to do. See you the day after tomorrow morning when I receive my mission."

[Kakashi plans to stay away from the four; it's too dangerous to be with them. The narration is unreliable; who knows when another shocking statement will be made.]

"Is Kakashi-sensei planning to run away at the last minute? Haha, he's scared away by just a few words from the narrator."

Naruto felt he had discovered a weakness in Kakashi's teacher: cowardice, even though he hadn't heard a word the narrator said.

[Naruto, that idiot, would never understand Kakashi's strength. He was promoted to Jonin during the war and knows thousands of ninjutsu.]

Kong stood up and walked towards the village, his faint voice drifting back:

"Such a simple chakra control technique actually requires training. One is the top student, and the other is first in the written exam. I don't know how they passed the exam. I can sleep through class every day and still be better than them."

"It's lonely at the top, and sadly, no one understands my talent."

The empty figure gradually disappeared.

Sasuke was so angry he felt like vomiting blood. He'd been fooled by Ku again. In one water-walking training session, this lazy bum had managed to fool him twice. As a genius, Sasuke was quite discouraged.

Sakura was furious, and her chakra spiraled out of control, causing her to fall into the river and get completely soaked.

The powerful current caused Sasuke, who was standing nearby, to fall into the river as well.

"You two are really terrible, falling into the river so quickly."

Sasuke was a little confused. He had actually been mocked by Naruto. He was the top student of Konoha this year. If it weren't for Sora deliberately putting on an act, none of this would have happened.

On the bustling street, I bought some materials for making smoke bombs. In the crowd, several familiar figures flashed by.

It was Asuma with Shikamaru and the other two; it seems we can skip lunch today.

Asuma suddenly had a bad feeling; it seemed that something was about to happen.

The sudden appearance of the narrator startled Asuma's squad.

"Could it be that enemies have appeared?" all four members of the squad thought simultaneously.

"Asuma-sensei, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, what a coincidence to run into the four of you."

An empty voice rang in the ears of the four.

Asuma finally knows where his premonition came from. The two biggest losers of Konoha meet again, and Asuma still vividly remembers their last meeting.

"Haha, I didn't expect Asuma-sensei to still remember me so fondly. I really envy Shikamaru and the other two for having such a responsible teacher like Asuma-sensei to guide them."

"Kong, why are you all alone?"

Asuma just wants to get rid of Uchiha Ku as soon as possible; every time he speaks, he makes Ku look bad.

Sora was a little embarrassed. "It seems that Asuma-sensei has some misunderstanding about me. Shikamaru and I are close friends. He knows me best, right, Shikamaru?"

[Shikamaru really understands Ku; he knows that Ku's attempts to get close to him are definitely not without ulterior motives.]

"Sigh, I didn't expect you to misunderstand me too, Shikamaru. Kakashi-sensei had something to do and gave us free time. I was just about to go to a yakiniku restaurant to get something to eat."

Choji suddenly said, "Sora actually thought of the same thing as us. We want to go eat barbecue too."

Shikamaru and Asuma immediately rubbed their foreheads, their faces full of helplessness.

Choji's naiveté left the two speechless. Asuma understood why he had a bad feeling earlier; it seemed they were going to lose money today.