Why they ended up finding Whitebeard all started a few days earlier.

Konoha.

Ninja Academy.

The wind swept a few withered leaves past the rust-stained barbed wire, making a faint rasping sound as they brushed against it.

The evening sun cast its slanted light across the rooftop, stretching the shadows of three people long and thin, covering the wall's colorful graffiti.

Neji Hyuga leaned against the rusty water tower, his pale eyes scanning the training field below with a cold detachment. Tenten sat on the edge, legs swinging, an orange soda bottle in her hand.

Rock Lee stood perched on the highest part of the railing, his round, bell-like eyes fixed on the practice field below where the adorable Sakura, a blonde girl, and a redhead were all clinging to the academy's golden boy, Sasuke Uchiha. Behind them trailed Naruto Uzumaki and Neji's younger cousin.

"Neji! I'm going to prove that hard work can surpass genius!" Lee declared.

Neji tilted his head, his voice cool. "Oh? Are you saying you want to challenge me, Lee?"

"No."

Lee leapt down from the railing, landing in a burst of dust. He clapped a firm hand on Neji's shoulder, his wide eyes staring into Neji's. "Let's rise to the top of this school together, Neji!"

Neji glanced at the hand on his shoulder with clear distaste, frowning. "Lee, what are you trying to do?"

"I'm going to burn my youth to its very limit!"

Lee shouted with unshakable passion.

Tenten tossed her now-empty soda bottle up and over the rooftop edge, then turned back with a smirk. "Lee, are you getting worked up because Sasuke's so popular with the girls?"

"I'm not jealous of Sasuke!" Lee's face flushed bright red. "Tenten, we three should dominate the Ninja Academy together!"

Neji looked as if he couldn't be more unimpressed. What a waste of time.

But Tenten studied Lee's determination, rubbing her chin in thought. After a moment, she said, "It's not impossible, Neji."

She suddenly raised a finger.

"I've got an idea."

Both Neji's pale eyes and Lee's wide ones turned toward her.

"Think about it," Tenten began. "Everyone here at the Ninja Academy is bound to be a future elite of Konoha. The Hokage obviously cares about us. You can see it plain as day."

Lee and Neji both nodded.

"But… some get more attention than others. Before Whitebeard showed up, the group getting the most training and resources was Team Seven. They've got the Hokage's own summoning contract and private tutoring from the Legendary Sannin none of us have that."

The bottle she had tossed earlier dropped perfectly into the trash can down below with a clink.

"And Whitebeard the strongest man in the world can't stay in Konoha forever. When he leaves, the gap between us and Team Seven's resources will widen again."

Lee pointed out that Guy-sensei was still amazing one of Konoha's Five Tiger Generals, even.

But Tenten pressed on. "Guy-sensei is incredible, yes. But compared to the Sannin, there's still a gap. And he's teaching all three of us, while each member of Team Seven has their own Sannin mentor."

"If we can defeat Team Seven, wouldn't that prove "

She flicked a kunai. It struck the graffiti that read 'Team Seven, the Strongest'.

Her voice sharpened.

"That we're more valuable than they are."

Lee cheered immediately. He didn't quite follow the earlier reasoning, but beating Team Seven would mean ruling the school and the strong always get the girls!

"Boring."

The Hyuga clan was the strongest in Konoha.

With the Byakugan, Neji was already walking the path of invincibility.

He stood, brushing himself off. "Tenten, don't tell me you're starting to talk nonsense like Lee—"

Through his Byakugan's view…

On the field below, Hinata was shyly holding hands with a certain blond, her face blooming crimson. The blond played it cool, pretending nothing happened.

"…Tenten, you have a point. And Lee… you're not wrong either."

…

The top two students in the Ninja Academy had always been Naruto Uzumaki in the north and Sasuke Uchiha in the south.

They didn't even need to try summoning a beast alone could win most battles while they snacked on chips, beating everyone except Gaara.

But today, the three from the taijutsu class were fired up.

They walked with swagger, even the usually sarcastic Tenten acting like they were unbeatable.

Lee went straight up to Sasuke and challenged him to a duel, shouting about "hard work surpassing genius."

Why not challenge Naruto? Sasuke thought. If we're talking summons, a monkey and a toad are still stronger than a snake.

He didn't ask, though it would ruin the image. After class, he agreed to meet Lee in the arena.

The whole class came to watch.

Determined to prove he wasn't just a "summon dog," Sasuke decided not to use summoning. With his mastery over both lightning and fire chakra, he was confident he could still win.

The sunset painted the sandy arena floor in blood-red hues.

Sasuke stood in the center, his lightning chakra already crackling across his body, blue light flickering against his grim profile.

His three-tomoe Sharingan began to spin. In Konoha's new generation, Lee was one of the few he deemed worthy of recognition.

But still… Lee was no match for him. Challenging him was like kicking an iron wall.

Boom.

Lee dropped all his training weights, raising a cloud of dust.

He rolled his neck, vertebrae popping, eyes alight with excitement. "Sasuke! I'll prove that hard work can surpass genius!"

Hmph. So he challenged me because I'm a genius? At least he has taste, Sasuke thought, secretly pleased. Outwardly, he smirked coldly. "Foolish."

"Begin!" the arena manager called.

"Ha! The Fourth Gate open!"

Sasuke's hands flashed through seals. "Fire Style: Great Fire "

But Lee's body blazed with green chakra, shooting forward like a meteor.

Sasuke didn't have time to finish the last seal. The jutsu fizzled as Lee's strike disrupted him.

The crimson Sharingan spun wildly. Sasuke forced his lightning chakra into overdrive just to keep up with Lee's speed.

But pitting a well-rounded ninja against a pure taijutsu specialist in hand-to-hand combat was… unwise.

The two clashed at blinding speed, blue and green light swirling together, whipping up fierce winds and spraying loose gravel.

Gasps and shouts erupted from the spectators.

Gaara commented dryly, "Not bad."

Shikamaru shook his head. "Sasuke's too careless."

Kiba's dog, Akamaru, barked sharply.

Naruto shouted loudly for Sasuke to win until Sasuke's fan club started cheering, at which point he shut up.

And then… Sasuke began to fall behind. Despite the Sharingan, his taijutsu couldn't keep up.

He twisted aside to dodge a steel-hard punch aimed at his face, frustration simmering.

Time to get serious. This wasn't working.

He tried to trap Lee in genjutsu failed.

Tried to create distance for ninjutsu and shuriken barrages Lee stayed glued to him.

Even his snake technique, arms turning into dozens of venomous serpents from every angle, was blasted away by Lee's chakra burst.

This won't do.

Blocking a whipping kick, Sasuke felt the impact rattle his body.

I'll finish this with one Chidori thrust. If it hits, I win. If it doesn't, I'll still have the space to take control.

But then… the green chakra surrounding Lee suddenly darkened, tinged with black. His already incredible speed increased again, his punches sharper, heavier.

Sasuke faltered, caught off guard.

"Only true force can rise above all!"

Lee's voice rang out as his haki-like aura shattered the forming lightning in Sasuke's hand.

His other fist, wrapped in that same blackened power, smashed into Sasuke's chin.

Haki…? What is that?

Lying on the ground, Sasuke stared at the sunset, eyes strangely calm, recalling the fleeting days of his youth.

The crowd buzzed with chatter.

"As expected Sasuke really is just a summon dog."

"Yeah, without summoning, he's nothing special."

"Shut up! He just underestimated him."

"Even in defeat, Sasuke showed the poise of a king. Lee's 'win' just exposed his flaws."

"Hmph. They call them North Naruto and South Sasuke, but Sasuke's no big deal. Makes you wonder what Naruto's true strength is."

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