Chapter 25: My Youth is Burning!

This time, even Sasuke couldn't sit still. "A handstand?"

"What else?" 'Kakashi' swept his cold eyes toward Sasuke.

*That look.*

With just one glance, Sasuke felt a wave of pressure. It was so intense it left him breathless. Is this what a Jōnin is like?

"The timer starts now!"

'Kakashi' pulled a stopwatch out from somewhere. Only then did the two realize that 'Teacher Kakashi' truly wasn't joking.

"Hey, wait a minute, Teacher Kakashi!" Sakura protested, claiming she wasn't ready.

But 'Kakashi' had already begun a cold, detached countdown. "3... 2... 1. Alright, begin."

"Damn it!"

Sasuke let out a low growl and immediately dropped into a handstand. Three hours, handstand, 500 laps! It was incredibly challenging. Sasuke had never done anything as bizarre as walking on his hands before. He was wobbly at first, but after a few steps, he found a rhythm, and his speed began to increase.

Sakura, however, was much slower.

"Teacher Kakashi, what about Naruto? Isn't he coming?" After only a few steps, Sakura tilted her head down while in her handstand to ask Kakashi.

Naruto, currently disguised as Kakashi, cast a quick glance at the tree he had just vacated, then said, "As soon as he returns, I'll have him catch up with you. Don't slack off; I’ll be watching you the whole time."

"Alright."

Sakura let go of the last shred of doubt in her heart and focused on determinedly moving forward on her hands.

Watching the two figures move into the distance, Naruto finally relaxed. He glanced at his interface again:

[Experience Passionate Youth: Handstand run 500 laps around the perimeter of the Hidden Leaf Village within 3 hours. Reward: 5 attribute points, 4000 EXP.]

This quest had been sitting there for years. Because it was so absurd, Naruto had never wanted to do it, even though the rewards were quite good. Now, it was perfect—he had people to do the quest with him and people to take the blame.

Perfect.

Naruto shifted back into his true form and prepared to chase after the two. This was a test 'personally' assigned by 'Teacher Kakashi,' so he, Naruto, naturally had to participate.

Before leaving, Naruto cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and shouted toward the big tree. "Teacher Kakashi, since this is a task you personally assigned, we will definitely complete it with resolve! I'm off!"

It was the first time Naruto had voluntarily revealed his sensory capabilities. Since he had graduated, it was time for him to stand out rather than remain a dead-last student forever. If you, Kakashi, aren't going to let us graduate, it’s not like I, Naruto Uzumaki, can't be the... supervising teacher.

"Sasuke, Sakura, I'm coming!" Naruto roared, causing the two in the distance to turn their heads.

Naruto leaped forward, planted his hands on the ground, and began a fast-paced handstand run. Before long, he had overtaken Sakura, caught up to Sasuke, and quickly surged past him.

"Can you keep up, Sasuke? I'll be waiting for you up ahead."

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, Sasuke immediately accelerated the pace of his hands. Yet, he still couldn't match Naruto's speed. Sasuke was momentarily confused by Naruto's sudden strength.

As he hesitated, a shout of pure youth echoed from behind.

"Lee, do you see that?"

"I see it, Teacher Guy! To think two more people have joined our training—this proves we are walking on the path of youth!"

"I can already feel my youth burning!"

"Accelerate! Accelerate! Lee, youth does not allow us to slack off."

"Yes! Teacher Guy!"

*Whoosh!*

Sasuke felt two guys in green spandex zoom past him. The bizarre part was that they were also walking on their hands, just like him. Were they taking the test too?

Sasuke looked confused, but having been overtaken by three people in a row, he had his own pride to consider. Before he could pick up speed, another voice sounded beside him.

"Are you the genius Uchiha Sasuke who just graduated this year?"

Sasuke turned his head to see a pair of Byakugan eyes. It wasn't his classmate Hinata; Sasuke recognized the newcomer as Neji, a genius from the grade above. He was also walking on his hands.

"Tch, 'genius'?"

Neji didn't wait for a reply and accelerated past him. Watching Neji pull away, Sasuke felt an unprecedented wave of mockery and humiliation. He didn't care for the title of genius—he even detested it, as the two simple words felt like they erased all his hard work. But in this moment, he felt the shame that the title brought.

Overtaken by Naruto, the perennial dead-last; overtaken by unknown men in green spandex; and overtaken by Neji, who mocked him?

Sasuke suddenly pushed himself, tapping into his limits, and before long, he caught up to Neji. Noticing Sasuke closing the gap, Neji accelerated as well.

The two moved side-by-side on their hands, their movements lightning-fast. With teeth gritted and faces strained, both the Sharingan and Byakugan were activated. For a moment, they were evenly matched.

Elsewhere, Naruto was 'running' with relative ease.

Only...

"Teacher Guy, look."

"I see it, Lee! Our team of youth has gained another member!"

"I feel my youth burning even brighter!"

"Accelerate! Accelerate! Lee, surpass him! If we can't overtake him, we're doing another 500 laps!"

"Yes, for the sake of youth!"

The two increased their speed instantly!

*Huh? Overtake me?*

Looking back, he saw a bowl-cut, thick-browed man in green spandex—a larger version of the smaller one—madly accelerating to catch up.

His competitive spirit ignited!

Naruto accelerated instantly, giving them no chance to pass. But soon, a man really did pull up alongside him.

Turning his head, he saw an 'old boy' of youth. The man noticed Naruto's gaze and flashed a grin; his teeth actually sparkled, and he gave a thumbs-up as if praising Naruto's youth.

Is that you, Sanduo?

Wait, where did he get an extra hand?

Seeing him mock him like that, Naruto thought: *I will strike back in Gundam form!*

Naruto gritted his teeth, giving his all, accelerating and accelerating again.

"I can feel my blood-boiling youth!" the older man bellowed, beginning to sprint even faster.

Both were desperate to claim the lead, their faces contorting with the effort, running neck-and-neck, neither willing to yield.

At the same time, at the back of the pack, Sakura encountered her opponent. But the dynamic here was completely different—it was strangely harmonious.

After hearing Sakura explain the situation, Tenten found it unbelievable. She had thought her own team leader was eccentric enough, but she hadn't expected someone even more extreme—using this kind of training as a test. This felt more like something Teacher Guy would come up with.

"Is there really such a test?" she asked.

Sakura’s expression was clear-eyed yet foolish. "I don't know, but that's what our team leader required."

"I see," Tenten said, feeling unsure. The test she had taken hadn't been like this. "I've only experienced something like this once; maybe every teacher is different."

"My youth is about to explode!" a shout suddenly rang out near their ears.

*Whoosh!*

Naruto and Might Guy flew past them side-by-side, leaving only a trail of dust.

A while later.

"Teacher Guy, my youth is about to explode too!" Rock Lee caught up, lapping them.

A while later.

Sasuke and Neji, still head-to-head with Sharingan and Byakugan blazing, surged past them as well.

"Men, really..." Tenten sighed. She was used to this sort of thing.

But Sakura felt a sense of despair.

*Do I still have a chance?*