After finishing with Naruto, Sora turned his attention to Sasuke, who looked eager and expectant. Sensing that it was his turn, Sasuke immediately straightened up, putting on a serious expression.
"Sasuke, you're from the Uchiha clan. Your greatest advantage is your Sharingan—it's something you must fully develop," Sora began.
"The Sharingan has many abilities: genjutsu, copying techniques, insight, and more. But in my opinion, the most important one is its ability to perceive."
"With it, you don't need to fear illusions. You can rely on its dynamic visual perception to fight up close, dodge attacks, and strike with deadly precision."
"That's why the assassin-type path is your best option. You can develop it all the way to Kage-level and still be effective."
"When you eventually awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, you'll essentially become a walking war machine—equipped with two powerful, personal jutsu. Everything else becomes secondary."
Sora sighed a bit at this point. No matter how Sasuke developed, once the Mangekyō came into play, his power would be defined by it.
Even if Sasuke was well-rounded in other areas, nothing could compare to the might of Susanoo.
On that note, Sora's own Sharingan—which he'd picked up—seemed to be evolving on its own every day. It had already reached the Mangekyō stage, so he knew this topic well. That was why he gave Sasuke such direct advice.
Hearing all this, Sasuke nodded thoughtfully, considering the path Sora laid out for him.
Once the two boys finished reflecting, Sora smiled and said, "No matter what paths you choose, since you came here today, I won't let you leave empty-handed. I'll teach you both a jutsu."
He paused for a moment to think. Since he hadn't used hand signs in a long time—relying mostly on instant-cast techniques—it took him a bit to recall the proper sequences.
Finally, he spoke. "Let's start with Naruto. I'll teach you an A-rank technique—Great Fire Annihilation."
He demonstrated it a few times, explaining each key point in detail.
Naruto didn't waste his father's talent. After just four or five demonstrations, he was already starting to stumble through the technique on his own.
With that done, Sora turned to see Sasuke watching pitifully from the side. He waved him over.
"I'll teach you an A-rank jutsu too—Chidori. It was developed by your teacher, Kakashi. And later, it can be upgraded to an S-rank technique—Raikiri."
In an instant, the forest was filled with the crackle and buzz of chirping birds as Sora's hand sparked with lightning.
When Sasuke first heard the technique came from Kakashi, he wasn't too impressed. But when he saw the raw power it produced, his eyes lit up.
It felt almost like fate—as if this jutsu was calling to him. Sasuke couldn't look away.
Seeing how captivated he was, Sora smiled and began teaching him without delay.
After finishing his part, Sora lay leisurely on the grass, basking in the sun while the boys trained, slowly but surely improving under his watch.
Around noon, Ami arrived carrying three lunchboxes.
"Have you eaten yet?" Sora asked, looking at the carefully prepared meal. Even after days of her cooking, he still found it delightful.
Ami shook her head. "Mine's still at home. I'll eat after I clean up your dishes."
Seeing her sweet expression, Sora patted her head and said gently, "Let's eat together."
He split his portion in half and handed it to her. Then he turned and called out, "You two take a break. Eat up, then we'll continue training."
Training continued for the rest of the day until evening, when Naruto and Sasuke finally returned home.
They rushed to their families and excitedly shared everything Sora had told them.
When Minato heard Naruto's report, he exchanged a thoughtful glance with Kushina.
Everything Sora said made sense. He had followed a similar approach in his own youth, though after growing strong enough, he no longer needed it.
They had both seen Sora fight before—his barrage-style combat using ninjutsu after ninjutsu was overwhelming.
Understanding this, neither parent hesitated. They both nodded in approval.
Not using such a powerful natural advantage would've been the real foolish choice.
Sasuke's family had the same reaction. Especially Fugaku, who was fully in support of Sora's perspective.
Having awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan himself, Fugaku knew exactly how powerful it could be.
Before unlocking it, he had been a formidable ninjutsu user. But even with that strength, he hadn't been able to dominate. With the Mangekyō, everything changed.
Following Sora's path, Sasuke would be powerful in both the early and late stages of his growth.
With their parents' support, the two boys happily went back to practicing their hand signs.
The very next morning, they returned to Sora and shared the good news. With his approval, they immediately began training according to his tailored plan.
This training continued for three days. Once they had a basic grasp of their new techniques, Kakashi took them on a mission.
This time, it was a rogue ninja cleanup mission. A former chunin had defected and built a small fortress in the mountains.
Inspired by Konoha's success, he had begun training the local bandits in ninjutsu—now the place had over a dozen genin-level fighters.
A merchant who had been robbed hired Konoha to eliminate the threat, and Kakashi led the team to complete the task.
After a day of travel, Team 7 arrived outside the bandit stronghold.
"You've both received training from Sora," Kakashi said. "I'll leave this to you. Show me how far you've come."
"No problem! Leave it to us!" Naruto and Sasuke responded in unison, puffing out their chests with confidence.
Only Sakura looked lost. Fear crept into her eyes.
They all knew the mission details. The target was a chunin and a group of genin-level fighters. Sending three just-graduated genin to fight them… it felt like suicide.
She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could speak, Naruto and Sasuke had already agreed, cutting her off.
When Kakashi vanished into the trees, Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, then turned to Sakura.
"You stay here and wait," Sasuke said. "We'll handle this quickly."
With that, the two of them charged straight into the enemy camp without hesitation.
"Intruders!"
"We're under attack! Someone stop them!"
"Kill them—they're just two brats!"
Within a minute, Naruto and Sasuke were surrounded. Even the rogue chunin emerged.
The two exchanged a look. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and rushed toward the rogue ninja, while Naruto began forming hand seals from a distance.
With his visual insight, Sasuke evaded every attack with ease and closed the gap in an instant—face-to-face with the rogue chunin.
///
30+ advanced chapters on patreon.com/Emik01