Naruto: The heir of the Hoshino clan.

"Hmph, I guess the blonde isn't as dumb as she looks."

Satsuki pouted, and though she tried to look cool, it was clear her confidence had taken a hit.

Satsuki had grown up comparing herself to two "monsters": the most talented Uchiha pair... since Madara Uchiha, of course. For Satsuki, growing up primarily with a brother like Itachi put an incredible amount of pressure on a girl her age. The constant comparisons from clan members, along with being underestimated and ignored for being a woman... had affected her a bit, despite her young age.

Over time, and with the constant affection of her brother, Satsuki learned not to compare herself to him. She also understood that she was a genius too, though a step below her brother and Shisui.

But here was Naruko... an unknown girl capable of matching her learning speed, and even showing a clear advantage in physical talent, which was quite surprising for a girl with no prior training.

Satsuki raised her opinion of Naruko in her mind. In her heart, she already considered her a rival, not just for her talent, but also for the heart of the person she liked.

Satsuki wouldn't play dirty. She would wait for Naruko to catch up in strength, and they would have a fair competition for Seiji's love.

"Shut up, ink-head."

Though, of course, they were both girls and solved their problems in a childish way.

Seiji decided to intervene before things escalated further.

"Calm down, girls. Apologize to each other, come on."

Naruko and Satsuki hesitated and, somewhat reluctantly, obeyed Seiji.

"Tch, sorry." (x2)

Seiji decided to accept their attempt at an apology, wanting to move on and forget the matter.

"Satsuki, now that Naruko has learned to control her chakra, can we start the next phase of training?"

Seiji asked eagerly, anxious to learn more and grow stronger.

Satsuki nodded, then looked at Naruko with a mocking expression.

"The training is pretty simple. Anyone should be able to do it in no more than three tries."

Satsuki walked over to a tree and picked up a fallen leaf. Then she approached them and smiled.

"This exercise is quite easy, and it can even be used as a game or competition among kids."

Satsuki placed the leaf on her forehead and closed her eyes. She concentrated for a few seconds, then removed her hand. However, the leaf remained stuck to her forehead.

Seiji's eyes widened slightly, and he quickly understood how the exercise worked.

It was a more sensitive and less dangerous version of tree-walking training. By placing the leaf on your forehead and then carefully controlling the intensity of your chakra, directing it to your forehead, you could practice maintaining stable chakra control. Without the constant falls and bumps of tree training.

"The training consists of keeping the leaf stuck to your forehead with a steady flow of chakra. Not too much to break the delicate leaf, but not too weak either, or it won't stay attached."

Satsuki's words were clear. Smiling arrogantly, she turned her gaze to Naruko, who looked nervous.

"Just to clarify... my record is 10 minutes straight..."

Satsuki smiled and puffed out her chest proudly.

"That's pretty amazing... I'll try first..."

Seiji walked over and picked up a leaf, while being watched by the expectant gazes of both girls.

He placed the leaf on his forehead and closed his eyes, focusing on the sensation of his chakra. He could feel a cold sensation flowing through his body. Calmly, he directed it toward the leaf on his forehead.

*Boom.*

The leaf exploded into pieces. Green dust fell at Seiji's feet.

"Pff..."

Seiji turned and saw Naruko with her hands over her mouth, trying to hold back her laughter. Satsuki, on the other hand, simply turned her face away, but the red in her ears showed her struggle not to burst out laughing.

'I'm glad my failures amuse them... at least they're not fighting.'

After picking up another leaf, Seiji repeated the process. However, this time the leaf simply fell to the ground.

"Pff, hahaha."

Naruko let out a laugh. A huge smile lit up her face. Beside her, Satsuki, with one knee on the ground, was trembling. She seemed to be holding back great pain.

Seiji smiled as he saw Satsuki's completely red face. The girl was struggling to hold back her laughter.

Seiji repeated the whole process again, concentrating more calmly this time. A few seconds later... the leaf stuck to Seiji's forehead.

"Amazing... I want to try it too."

Naruko ran to pick up a leaf, while Seiji remained focused on the leaf on his forehead.

'It's kind of easy once you get the hang of it...'

Satsuki, after recovering from the effort, watched Seiji and nodded proudly.

"As expected from the man I chose."

No one heard Satsuki's words. Seiji was still focused, and Naruko was frantically gathering a pile of leaves.

Naruko placed the leaf on her forehead and closed her eyes. A few moments later, it happened:

*Boom.*

"No problem, I'll try as many times as it takes."

*Boom.*

"It's fine, I'll try again."

*Boom.*

"It's fine, I'll try..."

*Boom.*

"It's fine..."

*Boom.*

"It's..."

*Boom.*

After that, Naruko kept trying, but now without saying a word.

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

Naruko lowered her head, sobbing slightly. She seemed embarrassed as she avoided the gazes of both.

Satsuki, at first, smiled mockingly. But after a while, she felt sorry for Naruko, though she didn't really know how to comfort the sad girl.

Seiji approached and gave her a hug, rubbing her back, trying to console her. Naruko kept sobbing, wiping her tears in shame.

Satsuki hesitated a bit and approached. She gave Naruko a few pats on the back, though a little awkwardly.

The three of them stayed together. Seiji and Satsuki comforted Naruko for a while.

At some point, Seiji saw Kay in the distance. With gestures, he signaled for the cat to come closer. Seiji thought Kay might help Naruko, as the girl had often expressed her desire to touch the cat.

However, Kay growled. He seemed even more annoyed than during the incident with Naruko. Seiji frowned as he watched the cat. Then, he turned his gaze to Naruko's stomach, where the Kyūbi's seal was.

'It can't be... right?'

For a moment, Seiji thought the Kyūbi might be consciously interfering when Naruko tried to control her chakra.

However, Seiji didn't think a legendary creature like the Kyūbi would be so petty... right?

Ignoring his intuition, he decided to keep comforting the girl.

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If you're enjoying the reading, please leave me a comment. I would also appreciate some power stones