Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

"Behind me?"

Temari hesitated and turned her head, only to see shuriken flying toward her from behind at an incredible speed.

"First Star!"

Temari muttered, partially opening her giant iron fan to reveal a purple spot.

A stronger gust than before swept forward, barely deflecting the shuriken. However, even after blocking the attack, she couldn't figure out where the shuriken had come from.

But Naruto, who was watching the battle from the side, saw everything clearly.

Sasuke's initial shuriken throws had been calculated with precise adjustments for wind speed and direction. The shuriken scattered by the initial gust were positioned so they would collide mid-air, creating a surprise attack from behind Temari.

"No wonder the Uchiha train so intensely with shuriken… this move is almost impossible to guard against."

Naruto remarked with admiration.

However, not just anyone could master this technique. Only an Uchiha, with their Sharingan, could achieve such accuracy.

And Sasuke's assault wasn't over yet. Taking advantage of the moment Temari defended herself from the rear, Sasuke launched another set of shuriken at her exposed back.

"Manipulated Shuriken Technique!"

Sasuke shouted as he directed the previously grounded shuriken to attack Temari again.

"Second Star!"

Faced with shurikens coming from all directions, Temari completely calmed down and a powerful gust erupted, blowing away the shuriken from all directions.

Ding ding ding!

The scattered shuriken clinked against each other mid-air, striking at tricky angles as they aimed at Temari yet again.

"Third Stars!"

Temari's expression grew serious, her eyes flashing with frustration. This relentless assault left her no room to breathe and forced her to stay fully alert. It was beyond irritating.

The Third Star position opened her fan to its maximum range, unleashing a powerful storm that completely destroyed the incoming shuriken. Despite this, she noticed Sasuke was still smiling from the corner of her eye.

'What will it be this time?'

"Sickle Weasel Technique!"

Determined to turn the tables, Temari swung her fan with all her might, unleashing her signature Wind Release: Sickle Weasel Technique.

A massive tornado surged toward Sasuke, shredding everything in its path, and even leaves caught in it were instantly torn to bits.

This was the terrifying power of the Sickle Weasel Technique, a technique that trapped its target in a vortex of countless invisible wind blades.

Temari refused to believe Sasuke would still be smiling after facing this attack.

Yet Sasuke's grin only grew wider, a smile that sent a chill down her spine.

Sasuke didn't even bother to defend himself, instead standing confidently with his hands behind his back.

"Since you're so eager to die, then go ahead and die!"

Temari shouted, on the verge of losing her composure, her frustration boiling over.

It can be said that Sasuke is the most aggravating opponent she had ever encountered.

'Always smiling, that constant smirk… no matter how handsome he was, that smile was seriously unsettling.'

Finally, the Sickle Weasel Technique reached Sasuke and enveloped him entirely.

Yet, the bloody scene Temari expected did not happen. Instead, Sasuke disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

There wasn't a wooden log left behind as in a standard Body Replacement Technique… meaning that Sasuke is just a shadow clone!

"You've lost!"

At the next moment, Temari felt a cold sensation on her neck. A kunai was pressed against her throat, and one wrong move would mean the end for her.

"How could you possibly be here?"

Temari gasped in disbelief.

But Naruto and the other onlookers had seen it all clearly.

Just now, when Temari had been busy defending her back, Sasuke had already created a shadow clone. His real body had transformed into a shuriken, which the clone then threw behind Temari.

From that moment, Sasuke had effectively secured his victory.

His continuous smiles had been a calculated ploy to unsettle Temari, baiting her into erratic technique use. When she finally lost her composure, Sasuke reverted from shuriken form, casually positioning himself behind her with kunai in hand to clinch the win.

"Sasuke, nice work!" Naruto cheered, giving him a thumbs-up.

Throughout the battle, Sasuke hadn't used any Fire Release Ninjutsu, just a shadow clone, Transformation Technique, and Manipulated Shuriken Technique. He had won with minimal Chakra expenditure. It was evident that Sasuke had grown significantly stronger through recent training.

'As expected from the Uchiha Clan's prodigy… he truly lived up to the name!'

"The victor of this match is Uchiha Sasuke!"

Naruto leapt down from the tree and raised Sasuke's right hand.

"I actually lost…"

Temari fell into a dejected silence, realizing she had been at Sasuke's mercy the entire time.

"Pathetic disgrace," Gaara said coldly, raising his hand to summon sand that began to cover Temari.

Seeing this, Naruto immediately flickered to Gaara's side.

"No matter what, she's still your sister. Are you really going to kill her?"

Gaara nodded, his hand still raised, "If she can't even defeat a Genin, she's worthless."

Smack!

Naruto slapped Gaara on the head and scolded, " Enough. No matter what, she's still your sister. Think about it, everyone else sees you as a monster, doesn't want to be near you. But they do, they're your brother and sister. Blood is thicker than water… don't you get that?"

"I'm fine on my own. They're just burdens." Gaara said with his lips tightly pursed.

As Naruto's servant, Gaara couldn't do anything to Naruto, but he still didn't agree with Naruto's viewpoint.

"Ah, this…"

Naruto was momentarily at a loss for words.

'Gaara wasn't wrong… To him, Temari and Kankuro were indeed just a burden.

After thinking for a while, Naruto said, "Yeah, they might be burdens. But so what?"

Temari and Kankuro, who had been fuming and indignant at the first part of Naruto's statement, were taken aback by the second half, unsure of his intent.

Naruto continued, "Gaara, imagine if you're gravely injured and can't use your sand. Would you just wait to die? Those you consider 'dead weight' would be the ones to save you. If you don't treat them sincerely now, who will help you when you're down?"

Hearing this, Gaara fell silent, seemingly deep in thought.

Seeing that it was working, Naruto sighed and added, "In fact, I can completely understand your pain. I can even empathize with you. In Konoha, the adults also treated me like a monster. I was always alone. But it was Sasuke, Sakura, and many of my companions who pulled me out of that lonely hell."

"Deception, betrayal… there's a lot of pain, but that's not all. There's also warmth and kindness. Open your heart a bit, and you'll see the care Temari and Kankuro have for you. It's obvious, isn't?"

Gaara's body trembled, his thoughts seemingly in turmoil.

Temari and Kankuro also remained silent.

Naruto nudged Sasuke, signaling toward the backpack.

Sasuke understood what he meant, so he took out a set of Heaven and Earth scrolls, and handed them to Gaara.

"What's the meaning of this?" Gaara asked in doubts.

Sasuke explained, "Naruto always says that more friends mean more paths. You're strong and can be a friend. This scroll is my way of offering you help as a friend."

"Friends, huh..."

Gaara fell completely silent...