Sasuke Uchiha was a boy who once chose the path of hatred while rejecting the path of love. He was once a child with a loving family, friends, acquaintances and lots of people he could look up to. However, it all changed when his Clan was massacred and he experienced true solitude.
He was unlike Naruto, who could adapt this kind of world because he never knew what a true 'family' was in the early years of his childhood. His heart burned with a subdued hatred for the man who caused his life to be so lonely. There was nothing he wouldn't do to rip out the tendons of the traitor who killed his own family and make him suffer...!
While Naruto knew nothing about why he was thought of as a monster by the villagers, Sasuke was well aware that the person responsible for his loneliness was his blood-related brother named Itachi Uchiha. It was at that moment, when it dawned on him that his brother was the traitor that murdered his family, did his Sharingan first awaken.
However, the reason his Sharingan didn't have more than one 'tomoe ' is because it was only after experiencing solitude after the Uchiha Tragedy that he truly knew the face of solitude. No longer did his father be strict with him in his training, no longer could he feel his mother's affection raining down on him like a shower of sunlight… no longer could he hunt and play with that teasing older brother of his… all while attempting to catch up to his level.
His ghosts haunted him, but as the normal yet lonely child he was, his heart subconsciously put the things he wanted to avoid at the back of his mind, not wanting to think about them much more than he should be. Although he was motivated by hatred at first, time waned that pure fury, making his sadness over the events of the past overpower his conviction to slay Itachi to attain vengeance.
It was why he was content with being the best in the Academy. After all, his achievements gave him hope of one day surpassing his brother in the future. Even without his Sharingan, he was a person of value. That's what he truly believed...
This confidence was unbreakable… until he fought the Sakura Haruno, his once obsessive fan club member who was now showing a different side to her. Someone who was clearly inferior to him previously, yet had the arrogance to say her mind could contend with his bloodline limit. It was people like her that he looked down on: Those who couldn't tell how inferior they were to the Uchiha…!
However, even after he fought seriously and used his Sharingan, he lost… Everything that he could use to say that his talent was the strongest and had meaning was upstaged by her performance of wit and dexterity. It was to the point that he subconsciously saw her as a rival just like Naruto was, even though she too had her own 'talent'.
Though Sakura couldn't understand the pain they went through, the fact that she could keep up with them despite not having a bloodline limit or a powerful Jutsu from her Clan up her sleeve made her worthy of being called a 'rival' too.
In Gai-sensei's intense training regime, all four of them drove each other to improve immensely compared to if they were to have trained with the same resolve they had in the Academy, and the person who spurred them on to such an extent was none other than Sakura. A girl with great willpower.
'To become the Hokage!'
'To avenge my Clan!'
'To be the best Kunoichi!'
'To protect!'
For months, it was their rivalry between each other that sharpened their Taijutsu to the point it surpassed other Gennin at their level. Although they couldn't match up to Lee, who had been training at a younger age, it at least made the foundation of their skills more robust.
However, though each of them worked together. The results of their training varied person to person. In the past, Sasuke would reserve his Sharingan as a trump card, but fighting Sakura daily made it hard for him to keep up with her cunning intellect in the midst of battle without using his Dōjutsu, which inadvertently helped him copy and analyse her strategies on a deeper level.
'Damn talented Dōjutsu users...!' Sakura couldn't help but feel frustrated inwardly as she felt like she might not be able to keep up if he grows stronger like this while she was at the same level as before.
Naruto and Ino couldn't watch them fight since Gai saw more potential in boosting their physical strength since they weren't exactly suited for learning advanced Taijutsu techniques. This was the opposite for Sasuke and Sakura as Gai would make them fight the entire day to exhaust them physically and mentally. A choice he was happy making after seeing how Sasuke had slowly evened the playing field by learning her own schemes.
If one was to compare the current versions of them to their previous timelines, then you could say Naruto was gaining a physical prowess that was catching up to Rock Lee (albeit even if still a long way away to even barely match his speed), Ino was becoming a better fighter than she was initially, and Sasuke was developing a level of Taijutsu far stronger than he had in the later stages of the Chunnin Exams by constantly fighting Sakura.
"To think… I would be inspired by such hot-blooded passion at this age…!" Gai sighed after waving them goodbye once their lessons had ended. He was truly shocked by Sakura's performance even more than he did Sasuke's. This was because the fragility she showed in the beginning of her training all but disappeared by the time they were done. He managed to improve the foundations she was lacking in and make those awkward mistakes she sometimes made vanish.
She had the worse stamina and strength compared to those around her. However, her overall physical strength was only second to Naruto's once they reached their last training session together (this was adding her 'Power Fist'). Although she fell behind in Naruto's strength and Sasuke's speed by the end, only Gai himself was able to see that her Taijutsu itself still surpassed her two friends.
"I wonder what kind of Ninja she'll become…?" Gai thought out loud after forgetting he put Lee on a crash course so much more extreme than he normally would after seeing Sakura's attainments in battle. In fact, what was on this 'kind' sensei's mind right now was how to get Sakura and Lee together since these two Taijutsu prodigies were practically perfect for each other!
It was only after a few seconds that he decided not to intervene instead. After all, Lee was practically as handsome as himself! He was sure his protégé will be able to win over her heart if he showed his cool sides! He wished his student all the best~!
Meanwhile, Ino, being the one who achieved the least in their training sessions, decided to split from the group after they left. She wanted to put some extra hours in training her Clan's inherited Jutsu in order to not fall behind Sakura more than she already has. She was resolved to not even show her face to her friend until she could match those efforts Sakura showed while training.
"I'll see ya later!" Ino waved them goodbye with the hope of making the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio of their current generation the best to ever exist. She was even going to pull the lazy Shikamaru into training team Jutsu combinations with all she had!
When Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were left alone, a strange silence surrounded them immediately.
Even though Naruto's activeness would usually lead to them bickering among them. Right now, there was finally a small time of silence as the light of dawn shined down on them. After all, the dynamic between the future team had changed far more than Sakura could have imagined. Although the training session made them stronger, what it also did was give them more time to truly interact with each other on much morea personal level.
No longer did Sasuke treat Sakura as a nuisance. His gaze towards her being that of mutual respect for her talent and conviction while she was training herself. Although he didn't know what drove her to work so hard, he wasn't willing to fall behind someone who was merely talented in Taijutsu. A Sharingan user like himself will definitely catch up!
Of course, Sakura was aware of this as well...
Naruto, on the other hand, experienced a change far deeper. As someone who was isolated for reason he didn't know why, he had never knew what friendship was, but in the training sessions they had with Gai-sensei, he was able to get the acceptance he always wanted. Although they trio never outright asked the question, they all knew deep inside that the rest of the group had become close to them without a doubt. It was a such a pure friendship that only people their age could get.
For the optimistic knucklehead, he felt like he finally achieved what he desired. Even if he didn't become Hokage, as long as he had these friends by his side, all obstacles was nothing to fret over!
If Sasuke of the past was plagued by ghosts he could choose not to face, then the Naruto of right now was someone who finally understood why he couldn't let how badly the villagers even now treated him keep him down. He was willing to put forth more effort in his dream, not for himself, but from the hope he finally saw in becoming accepted from these small bonds he already made.
"Thanks, Sakura." Naruto was the first to speak.
"About what?" Sakura asked in confusion.
"For… being a good friend to me." He was quite embarrassed to say this out loud with Sasuke present. Still, he felt this wasn't something he could chicken out on. What if she left them?
He wanted her to feel appreciated by them.
"...Don't even mention it. It's nothing." She turned her head to hide the smile that was curving on her lips.
She didn't want him to misunderstand. Her heart still loved Sasuke and she wanted to one day see if they could fall in love properly this time. Call her girlish, but she wanted Sasuke to be the one to confess to her this time rather than the other way around. The only reason she could sit around without trying to move his heart in the slightest was because she knew a relationship with a girl wasn't what he was looking for right now.
"It looks like we split ways here." Sakura suddenly spoke after realising that houses were in different directions. In fact, Sasuke was being polite enough to walk with them despite the big detour he'd have to take in order to get back to where he lived.
"I'm leaving." As always, he was a man of few words that only left those two words before splitting from the group. He had a feeling he'd need to train harder to go beyond his established limits.
"I'll be going as well-"
"Naruto, I have some spare time and I wanted to talk to you alone. Do you have time?" Sakura suddenly interrupted him, causing his mind to fall into chaos as his pubescent mind was trying to grasp if she actually liked him or not. Even though her words made it very clear she wasn't interested, why was this happening?
"I wanted to teach you a secret technique. Want to hear about it?" Her eyes hid her thoughts as she spoke.
"A secret technique! What is it?! Tell me everything!" A surge of excitement ran through his heart as he spoke. There was no way this knucklehead wouldn't jump at the opportunity.
It was then Sakura imparted a special training method she devised just for Naruto. Instead of focusing on improving his Taijutsu, she double-checked Naruto's Chakra Nature using special paper she stole from the Academy and taught him easy ways to train in Nature Manipulation. As someone who researched Jutsus just like Orochimaru in the future, doing this was nothing.
"Don't tell anyone about this though." She put her finger on her lips and cautioned him heavily.
"Thanks Sakura, you're the best!" Naruto was so happy about this new technique he learnt that he wasn't willing to go asleep tonight. Sakura herself saw his excitement and was apologetic for what was to come.
'I am truly sorry, Naruto. The Seventh Hokage of the future won't exist unless you face this by yourself.' As she waved him goodbye, she thought this with a heavy heart. She wasn't willing to alter the future too drastically if it meant her friends would become vastly different people. Her eyes lowered down until she noticed the piece of 'Nature Paper' she had left.
'My Chakra Natures were of Earth and Water, the last time I checked.' She vaguely remembered since it had been a long time she had studied Jutsus rather than improving her own Nature Manipulation. It was only after injecting her Chakra into the paper did something happen that nearly blew her mind.
The paper in her hand crumpled up, showing that her Chakra Nature was now Lightning. This thoroughly shocked her as it was unheard of for someone who was extremely knowledgeable like her. She took out more Nature Papers and checked again, only to find that the only Chakra Nature she now had was still Lightning…!
'Why is it like this?!' She thought to the day she arrived here and suddenly remembered that the electrocution she felt the moment before she was sent back. The only logical explanation was that Flying Thunder God Technique- Level 4 was what caused this change.
'Will I be able to use 'that' Jutsu then?' She thought about a technique Sasuke learned after mastering the Body Flicker Technique to the same level as Sishui Uchiha, who could be in multiple places at once.
'I have to increase my training regimen.' Was the last thing she thought before heading home to meet her parents. Her daily life after going to the past was quite peaceful, but she knew that after the Academy's results were out, it would be nothing but... After all, Naruto still couldn't use the Clone Jutsu no matter how much effort he put into it.
A big incident was about to happen!