Chapter 11
The atmosphere became tense and an intense thirst for blood flooded the mist. Sasuke was shaking under the intense blood thirst, it wasn't like anything he'd experienced before, just being here made him feel like he was going to die any time soon, he felt like getting his senses flooded with unbearable thirst for blood would make him lose his mind. This was the kind of atmosphere two Jonins produced when clashing.
He looked at Sakura, her whole body was trembling uncontrollably - she wasn't fairing any better than him. It would've been pathetic if she was doing better than him. No, even thinking that she could be handling the situation better than him was even ludicrous. There was just no way in this world and in the next that she could handle it better than him.
Next was Naruto: the blond was looking at him, a small smile on his face, and a glint of amusement in his left eye. He didn't appear to be affected by the blood thirst. Sasuke noticed to his great displeasure that Naruto was laughing at him. The Uchiha took a time examine himself; his body was trembling in fear and he was so close to piercing his own neck.
''I never thought I would witness something like this - this is just way better than anything I've seen since this mission started. I don't even think there will be anything that will triumph this: the great Uchiha Sasuke thinking of killing himself all because of a mere sense of blood thirst overwhelming his little mind,'' the amusement was clearly evident in his tone.
Naruto was mocking him, and he would probably never let this go. He was probably going to remind him of this occurrence even in the days to come. Sasuke held the kunai by his side, and took a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn't afford to slip up now; he still had greater things to achieve.
Kakashi was a little thankful to Naruto since Sasuke appeared to have calmed down a bit. That was reassuring. But it was only to be expected for a genin to react that way to being exposed such murderous intent, and it was especially intensified by the mist that was surrounding them.
''Be on guard, Naruto, Sasuke...but if it becomes too much, don't worry, I will protect you.'' Kakashi said readying himself for battle with Zabuza.
''I don't know about that,'' Zabuza's voice boomed within the mist before he appeared between the genins and Tazuna. But he completely froze when he felt something piercing through his chest the moment he appeared.
Naruto had a blade on his right hand, held in a reverse grip to be able to make contact with the enemy who was behind them. The blade was just a normal Katana, but Zabuza found that he couldn't move. He didn't even understand how Naruto was able to react fast enough to be able to pierce him without even he noticing it.
''What the hell? Why can't I move?''
''Because,'' seal markings spread out from Naruto's blade before engulfing Zabuza's body. They seemed to wrap around him, tightly. ''Added to that, you're just a clone.'' After those words left his mouth, ''Zabuza'' bust into a shower of water. The blade in Naruto's hand vanished into thin air like it was never there in the first place.
Even Kakashi was amazed by Naruto's reflexes. Those were reflexes of a trained and battle hardened shinobi, not a genin. A normal genin shouldn't have been able to react that quickly, and how did Naruto even know that it was just a clone?
Despite his surprise over Naruto's action, Zabuza didn't miss the chance to take advantage of the situation as Kakashi appeared to be open, while still gawking at what he'd just seen. ''Don't take your eyes of your opponent, Kakashi, or else, it will cost you,'' Zabuza said as he blurred into sight behind the Jonin, his blade swinging horizontally. ''Die!'' he shouted slashing Kakashi in half.
But the Kakashi he slashed appeared to be a Mizu Bunshin, surprising him even further that the Jonin had managed to copy his jutsu even in the mist. He didn't think that the Jonin would be able to copy his jutsu with the mist, but guess he was wrong.
''Don't move...'' Kakashi suddenly said with his kunai pressed against Zabuza's neck while the Missin-nin was still lost in his thoughts. ''It's over...'' Kakashi finished.
Zabuza kept silence for a few moments before he spoke, ''Let me guess; you already had made a clone after copying from me and hid it while my attention was focused on your genin. You also made yourself appear open just so you could draw me out,'' the Missin-nin summarized before breaking into a small chuckle.
''Hmm-mm?''
''While I must complement you for being good, such simple tactics cannot defeat me. I am not that easy to beat,'' Zabuza said before another Zabuza appeared behind the Jonin.
His blade was swung right at Kakashi's head, despite being in surprise, the Jonin managed to duck under the swing to avoid having his head cut off. The huge sword missed the Jonin before hitting the ground. Zabuza didn't let up; he let loose of his grip on the sword and aimed a left footed kick at Kakashi. The kick hit the still shocked Jonin and sent him flying away.
Zabuza picked up his sword and sped towards Kakashi, but the Jonin disappeared from his view. He merely smiled though.
Kakashi appeared from the water, but found that the water was a little heavy - it didn't appear normal. Zabuza then appeared behind the Jonin. ''Idiot,'' he said. ''Hydro-prison no jutsu!'' the missin-nin held both his hands out before trapping Kakashi in the water prison.
As the situation was, Kakashi's response to being caught like that summed it up. ''Shit.''
Zabuza let loose of a low chuckle. ''You cannot escape from his special technique, Kakashi.'' It was only a confirmation of what the Jonin had suspected upon being trapped in the jutsu. He couldn't exactly move, and the fact that Zabuza was keeping the jutsu up by being in contact with the water told him exactly that escaping wasn't going to be easy.
''I will deal with you later. First, I need to get rid of your genins,'' Zabuza said turning his attention to genin members of Team 7. ''Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu.''
'I didn't think that he would be this strong,' Kakashi thought. He'd underestimated the enemy, and now he was paying the price for it.
''I will admit that you did surprise me more than once,'' the clone Zabuza had created said looking at Naruto. ''But the fact that you wear forehead protectors doesn't mean that you're ninja. You are only allowed to call yourself a real ninja when you are in my bingo book like Kakashi.''
Kakashi looked at Naruto; while the other three appeared to be panicking, he was perfectly calm, like nothing big had just happened. To add to this, he had his freaking black book out in this kind of situation! What the hell was that? No matter how good Naruto was, he couldn't win against Zabuza, even if he teamed up with Sakura.
Before the Jonin could tell them to run with Tazuna, Naruto spoke. ''The enemy is a clone - the real one is keeping the Hydro-prison, intact, so he can't move and only a clone can move. Our sensei is trapped, and only Sasuke is reliable, what do I do?''
''Do you plan to fight? Don't make me laugh,'' the clone of Zabuza stated loudly, Naruto ignored it though.
There wasn't any option but to try to free Kakashi, even Sasuke knew that much. If they tried to run, he would eventually catch them and kill them. The only option they had for survival is to try to free Kakashi, or they are dead. They couldn't defeat such a man like Zabuza, despite all his arrogance and superiority complex, Sasuke could tell that much of this situation.
Naruto took a few steps towards the Zabuza clone while flipping a few pages on his book. ''Which conclusion should I put?'' He mused, taking a deep thoughtful pose before he nodded to himself.
He held out his right hand, and a few Shurikens appeared in a puff of smoke. He threw them all towards Zabuza in quick successions. After that, he started to charge towards the clone while doing hand signs. Zabuza was kept busy trying to deflect the shurikens while Naruto covered the distance between him and the clone in a speed he wasn't expecting.
The next thing that happened wasn't also what he was expecting. The distance between him and Naruto was shortened only to the length of his sword, and he was still batting the hurled shurikens.
''Fire Style: Great Fireball no Jutsu!'' Naruto shouted as be expelled a large ball of fire straight at the clone. Since the distance was only a couple of feet, the fireball engulfed the water Bunshin quickly, but Naruto didn't wait to see if the clone had survived or not. He stopped his jutsu and blurred behind the fire ball, appearing in front of Zabuza.
He knew the man was going to make another clone, so he made a request. ''Will you please not make a clone?''
Aside from the request, Zabuza noted that Naruto was standing on top of the water. Of everything he's seen so far of the blond, he was forced to ask. ''Are you really a genin?'' He was impressive at most. His reflexes were sharp and the speed was no joke, for someone so small that is.
Naruto ignored the question in favor of speaking his own mind. ''It is really dangerous to use a technique like that when you still have to go through more opponents. I mean, you can't move right now, and if I throw another fireball at you, the only choice you have is to free Kakashi to save yourself. For now, you're open in all directions, the only thing that comforts you is that we're just kids.''
Somehow, Sasuke felt that Naruto was talking to him. And so before Zabuza respond, he charged forward, while doing hand seals. He expelled the same fire ball from his mouth as Naruto did. The jutsu came from behind Naruto, and charged towards Zabuza.
Naruto jumped up from the ground and did hand seals, ''Fuuton: Daitoppa!''
Zabuza cursed as he couldn't do anything other than free his hand from the prison holding to escape. He slipped his hand out of the water prison, and jumped up to avoid the jutsus thrown at him. He also freed Kakashi from his prison in his escape.
He appeared above Naruto who was still airborne. The blond appeared to have been expecting the appearance, but he couldn't do anything against the brutal kick that sent him crashing down the ground with unbelievable force.
I didn't take long for Naruto to get up from the ground while wiping some blood off his lower lip. ''Well, that I don't want to do again,'' he said mildly.
When Zabuza landed down on the water again, Kakashi was right in front of him, his three-tomoe Sharingan now turned into the Mangekyou Sharingan. ''I will admit that I underestimated you, but things will turn differently from now on.''
And they did a take a different turn. Zabuza would've been killed if it wasn't the intervention of a masked Nin, who claimed to be a hunter-nin, but Naruto dismissed it saying he knew that he, the ''hunter-nin'' had been watching and only chose to be involved when Zabuza was going to die.
The masked nin did leave with Zabuza though as Naruto said they had a matter of their own to deal with. Just then, Kakashi fell down due to chakra exhaustion because of the overuse of the Mangekyou Sharingan.
The Following Day
Naruto looked at both Sakura and Sasuke with a look of indifference, but his left eye displayed something that neither of the two could quite grasp. It was still a surprise; no it was just ridiculous to think that Naruto was going to train them today. Yes, Sakura had been left dumbstruck when Naruto said he would carry out their training since Kakashi was still recovering from chakra exhaustion.
To think that this blond weirdo had the guts and audacity to accept the order to train them! Who did he think he was? Their sensei?
Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous!
''I only came this far because Kakashi-sensei ordered me to come here,'' Sakura started. Honestly, the Jonin had given her a look that promised nothing but extreme pain if she didn't tag along with Naruto to get some training done. There was also the fact that Naruto had told her he would drag her here and force her to train. But she wasn't going to admit that she actually came here because she was afraid of him.
''Since Kakashi-sensei is not here, I won't do anything you say, Naruto. You're not the leader of this team when sensei is absent and I will not lower myself to be trained by you.'' The girl finished defiantly. She would rather be taught something by Sasuke-kun, or even accept help from Ino-pig than him.
Sasuke shook his head at the girl's attitude. While it would be an insult to his pride to be taught something by Naruto, the Uchiha was going to see what the blond could teach him. Despite the fact that it stirred some loathing to admit that Naruto was more skilled than him, the raven haired was willing to listen, as long as Naruto gave him something that could increase his power.
He didn't quite care where he got his power or who helped him. If anyone was willing to make him stronger, he would throw himself in line to accept the ''help''. He was after all willing to sell his soul to the devil to get the power he needed to kill Itachi, his traitorous brother.
Kakashi had admitted that Naruto was stronger than all of them, he and Sakura. If Naruto proved to be competent, he would only be a fool to refuse the help. He'd felt how a real battle between Jonins was like. The atmosphere was extreme, and he was even embarrassed to admit that he had been actually thinking of killing himself back then.
''Get it done with, Naruto,'' Sasuke said. One of things that had been going on for some time now was that Sasuke always called the blond by his name. ''If you have nothing, you can say so and I'll do something by myself until Kakashi-sensei heals.''
Naruto was just standing in front of them, without saying a word. They'd been standing within the clearing, surrounded by tall trees, for a few minutes now and Naruto hadn't opened his mouth. He didn't even say anything as they came here from Tazuna's house. The silence was starting to annoy Sasuke since he wanted to get some training done.
Sakura found it unbelievable that Sasuke was willing to listen to Naruto. She could not believe it. How could Sasuke drop that low? ''Sasuke-kun, you can't be serious,'' she shouted, looking at him with wide eyes. ''Let's just ditch him and train on our own.''
''Shut up, Sakura!'' Sasuke snapped, catching the girl off-guard. ''What can you do if we do leave together? You can't do anything; you're useless.''
Sakura blinked in a hurt mode.
The only one who was amused by about this was Naruto. But Sasuke spoke again before the blond could state what he found to be amusing under the cold gaze of Sakura. ''If you're going to train us, you'll have to prove that you're better than me. As far as I'm concerned, you haven't beaten me in a straight fight.''
''That is about right,'' Naruto said, looking to be in deep thought. ''Fine, I will take you one on one.'' It wasn't that he couldn't handle both of them at once. No, he just wanted to smack them one by one while the other watches. ''Sakura, you're first. I'm going to show you show how useless, pathetic and weak you are as a kunoichi.''
Sakura gritted her teeth. It was enough that her Sasuke-kun had to say that she was a useless girl and couldn't do anything. Those words actually hurt her more than she would like to admit or even show. She did everything she could to impress him, and he was still not impressed with anything she did. Was she really useless?
No, she wasn't! She refused to be called weak by someone like Naruto. She couldn't say he was weak, no matter how it would blindly sooth her soul to say it. The truth was that Naruto wasn't weak, he wasn't useless. In fact, he was skilled. But she refused to accept that he was more killed than Sasuke. She refused to accept his words.
''Do your worst Naruto,'' Sakura said taking the academy taijutsu stance she was more than familiar with. If she could do something good, perhaps she could impress Sasuke this once and he won't have to lower himself by accepting help from Naruto.
''Come at me,'' Naruto said to Sakura. ''Oh, Sasuke, don't get involved unless I tell you do. If you do not obey me, I will punish you.''
Sasuke merely snorted at the threat. 'Yeh, right,' he thought. What would Naruto do anyway that would make him want to get involved? He doubted there would be anything. He was just going to watch Naruto beat up Sasuke while he prepares himself. He had no doubt that Sakura couldn't even lay a finger at Naruto given all that he'd seen.
The only thing or question would be how much damage could he deal to the girl before she gives out?
Sakura dashed towards Naruto in her fastest speeds with a determined expression on her face. However, her whole body was tense, which wasn't going to do her any good. Naruto could see all the tension in her body without even using his right eye.
The girl finally reached his front, her right hand moving towards him on the left side. Her eyes gave everything away, and her speed, lack of rather, made it easy for someone like him to dodge her attacks. Naruto merely leaned back to avoid her right hook.
He slapped Sakura's right hand as it was passing in front him with its miss. The slap had enough force to make the pink haired to fall forward a bit since she was still being carried by the momentum of her wild punch. She'd thrown too much strength in her attack, all her upper strength was put into the punch. However, she failed to balance her feet.
''Pitiful,'' Naruto said as the girl caught herself from falling down the ground on her face. ''When you throw your punches, you leave you lower body, back and left side open. If I'd attacked, you wouldn't have been able to dodge or block. You can't even control your own punches. Are you really a kunoichi?''
Naruto's tone was a little annoying to Sakura since it still carried his usual indifference, and the look on his face was that of clear boredom. He wasn't even taking her seriously. It made her feel like he was looking down her, Sakura, the smartest girl in their academy class. He was still even so close to her, and didn't even look like he was going to attack.
It was like he was telling her to get up and try again. Some thoughts of encouragement, but he inner self was telling her that he didn't see much of a threat in her; hence he didn't look like he was ready to attack.
Sakura gritted her teeth and lunged at him with her left punch moving towards his face; she had been in a bended position, leaning forward when she attacked since she was still trying to regain her balance. Naruto merely jumped back to avoid her lunging punch.
What Sakura wasn't expecting was for him to suddenly twist around while slightly above ground from his quick jump. She didn't even have the time to save herself when he kicked her while she was still above ground. The kick connected with her left shoulder and sent her sailing in midair before she hit the ground clothed in green. It wasn't a brutal kick, but it still hurt like crap, especially with a fragile body like hers.
'Damn it!' Sakura cursed as she picked herself up from the ground.
''Your muscles are stiff; you can't move freely with stiff muscles. Every battle must be fought when one is calm. If you're aren't relaxed, you can't think clearly and are likely to make mistakes that will cost you dearly. You're also very slow, even though you're just a genin.
You're a disappointment to kunoichi; you're not agile and agility is essential for a ninja during a taijutsu battle. Not everyone can have the agility of a snake; however, if you can't be agile, you must have battle instincts and quick reflexes to be able to save yourself in a split second. You have none of it.'' Naruto said all the damning words to the pink haired girl.
''I'm not yet done!'' Sakura shouted as she again dashed towards Naruto, but Naruto still didn't make a single move. Sakura felt bothered by the fact that she could feel his gaze with each step she took. That only meant that he was watching her like a hawk.
She couldn't go faster than this, and if she couldn't, Naruto would be able to keep track of her movements. Then she couldn't hit him if it was like that. Sakura had to think deep for a way to compensate for her lack of speed. She needed something to take get his attention, even if it meant for a second.
Sakura stopped her movements towards Naruto. She smirked and did several hand signs. ''Bunshin no Jutsu!'' Three clones puffed into existence in a puff of smoke behind her. The Sakuras exchanged positioned by mingling around to confuse Naruto. Sakura was sure he could've have kept his eyes on the real her if she didn't do that. In this form, he wouldn't be able to tell which one is a clone.
Then she would attack.
Sasuke managed to smile, slightly that it was barely noticeable. The girl was actually smart. Sometimes Sasuke forgot that Sakura was actually smart do to her actions. This action, this move, he knew why she did it; she realized her weakness against Naruto and was trying to compensate for it by using numbers in her favor. It was a good plan that could buy her some seconds against normal opponents.
But she was going against Naruto. Sasuke didn't think this simple trick would faze him. Well, anything was possible.
The Sakuras dashed at Naruto all at once. The blond didn't seem like he was going to move, however, after a few seconds, he casually took a few steps towards the charging pink haired.
Naruto suddenly increased his speed and ran straight towards a certain Sakura. Even though they tried confusing him, Naruto never lost his focus on the real Sakura. When they clashed, he didn't waste any valuable seconds, he grabbed the real Sakura by her throat and lifted her up. His hold was tight, making it hard for the girl to breathe freely.
With the girl struggling to breathe, the girl's clones disappeared. ''Those are mere illusions that will only work on simple genins and if you're attacking with someone else. You don't have the speed and power to make use them.'' Naruto said strangling Sakura before he let her go.
Before she could hit the ground with her feet, the blond kneed her without mercy. Sakura clutched her gut as pain short through, causing her to grit her teeth while cursing Naruto.
''What will you defend with if you're using both your hands to comfort yourself from the pain you're experiencing?'' Naruto asked quietly.
Sakura attempted to put her hands were they should be, but it was already too late. Naruto's fist caught her straight on her face. It wasn't much; hence it only sent her tumbling backwards, a little bit off balance. Naruto didn't give her the time to compose herself, he moved closer to her and got behind her and did a fast leg sweep from behind, causing the girl to hit the ground on her back.
Naruto took a step close to her before putting his right foot on her chest. He pressed her down with some effort. Sakura placed her hands on Naruto's foot trying to get it off because he was really hurting her. The blond leaned down a little, and got hold of her right hand. He outstretched it to the ground before stomping on the wrist with his left foot.
''Ahh!'' Sakura cried out in pain. Naruto stomped on her chest again like he wanted to break her rib cage. He stopped though without breaking anything.
''See, I told you that you're pathetic,'' he said mildly. ''I know it hurts, so if you want to cry, go ahead, I won't tell Ino and I'm sure Sasuke will understand.'' He smiled at her like he'd just given her an advice and was encouraging her to do something ''good.'' Sakura felt sick, and she just wanted to spit on him more than anything.
''I won't give you the satisfaction and this is nothing,'' Sakura glared straight at him as if telling him to do his worst.
''You're fortunate that we're not at Konoha. If we were, I would break you, literally. But if I do that here, you'll only become more of a burden than you are already. If I hurt you, you won't be able to recover in time before Zabuza returns,'' Naruto sighed a bit disappointedly. ''I will just have to do with your training.''
Naruto got his foot off the pink haired girl and allowed her to stand up. ''I guess is time for, Sasuke's turn then.''
''I can still fight!'' Sakura exclaimed with determination to fight again written all over her face.
Naruto shook his head. ''You can't,'' he said before suddenly blurred out of sight. He appeared behind the pink haired girl, and grabbed by the back of her neck. He lifted her above ground before slamming her into the ground by her face. Sakura let out another yelp, but Naruto didn't seem to care. He kicked the girl on the side, and sent her away from him with bruised ribs.
The blond then turned to Sasuke, who seemed ready. ''I wasted some time with Sakura, so I'm not going to give you time to relax. I won't be brutal, but I won't give you any free hits. You carry the Uchiha name after all. Just don't be a disappointment.''
Sasuke merely smirked. ''I'm not easy as Sakura, and if you're going to defeat me, you'll have to do better than what you did with her. And I should be the one telling you not to disappoint me.''
Sasuke looked at Naruto carefully; he had yet to take a stance, and he didn't even look like he was prepared to do battle with him. However, to his trained eyes, Sasuke couldn't even detect an opening in the blond. All his sides felt guarded, yet he looked so open. Someone would blindingly charge at him, but Sasuke couldn't afford to do that without a plan.
Naruto was fast and if he messed up, he would be hitting the ground soon.
The Uchiha took out a kunai and a shuriken. He held the shuriken on his right hand before hurling it towards Naruto in some a good sped. After releasing the Shuriken from his grip, Sasuke dashed towards Naruto while swapping the kunai to his right hand.
The shuriken he had flung towards Naruto was dodged by the blond. The projectile had moved towards his forehead, and the blond had moved a little to the right, moving his upper body to doge the weapon. While he was busy dodging, Sasuke's right hand cleaved through the air with the kunai held in a reverse grip. The kunai was aimed to cut through Naruto's chest in a horizontal position.
Naruto blocked the strike by hitting Sasuke's right hand on the wrist. This way, the Kunai didn't reach him since it was held in a reverse grip and the hand was batted away from Naruto. Surprised, Sasuke didn't let up though; he put in some energy on his right foot for proper balance before bringing up his left foot, swinging it towards Naruto in a high kick.
Naruto again blocked Sasuke's attempted kick. This time, his left hand blocked the kick from hitting his head. The Uchiha jumped up using his right foot; the foot was again swung at Naruto from the right towards the blond's head; by now the Uchiha was above ground. Naruto blocked the kick with his left hand.
Sasuke then moved his right hand, which was still holding the kunai. He brought it up front and swung it in a downwards slash that was going straight on top of Naruto's head. The blond only had one free hand which was his left; he used it carefully as he was able to catch Sasuke's hand by allowing the blade of the Kunai to pass through his fingers, before wrapping his hand around Sasuke's fist.
Sasuke forced away from Naruto, by jumping backwards to create some distance. However, before he could even hit the ground, Naruto was right in front of him, above ground. The blond swung his right foot towards Sasuke head. The Uchiha brought out both his hands to block the kick. He winced when the kick connected with his hands; it hurt like crap.
His eyes widened when Naruto held out his right hand and in a puff of smoke, his scythe appeared. He used the scythe as a third leg by placing it on the ground for support. Naruto then twisted around while still above the ground - he twisted to the left, while coming back to Sasuke with a left kick. The Uchiha still blocked the kick with both his hands.
Naruto picked up his scythe from the ground as gravity started to pull him down. he swung the scythe towards Sasuke on its back before he could even hit the ground. However, the Uchiha had quick reflexes and managed to jump back to avoid being hit the steel cold weapon.
Naruto didn't pursue Sasuke; he merely placed his scythe on his right shoulder while holding it with his right hand. ''You have quick reflexes, good agility and your instincts are sharp, for a genin that is. I don't wish to see any more.''
Sasuke dashed towards Naruto with a kunai on his right hand as he didn't want to give Naruto time to rest. He reached the blond within seconds before swinging the kunai in a attempt to slash him across his face. Naruto parried the slash with his scythe.
The Uchiha then noted that he couldn't keep pushing Naruto; the blond seemed to have more physical power than him. Before Sasuke could make the distance to avoid losing the physical fight, Naruto made a sudden push that made Sasuke lose his footing, making him slightly off-balance.
It was all that Naruto needed as he twisted around into air. He brought his right foot up in the air as he aimed for a high kick at the off-balance Uchiha. The kick connected with Sasuke's head in a brutal manner before sending the Uchiha sailing towards the trees. Sasuke hit a tree trunk with his back and winced when a shot of pain ran through his body as he slid down towards the ground from the tree trunk.
Landing on the ground, Sasuke was forced to jump away from his position as Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him. The scythe hit the tree truck in a loud crack.
From his position, Sasuke saw a good chance to use his jutsu as Naruto was busy trying to retrieve his scythe, which was slightly imbedded on the tree trunk. He went through hand seals, before inhaling some air. ''Fire Style: Great Fire Ball no Jutsu!'' the young Uchiha shouted as he exhaled a large fireball that sped towards Naruto.
He smirked when he saw Naruto become engulfed by the jutsu. However, his body nearly froze when Naruto spoke behind him. ''Well that was unpleasant,'' the blond said, speaking of the memories he received from his clone.
Sasuke quickly twisted around to face Naruto, but the blond appeared to have been waiting for him to do exactly that. Naruto gripped Sasuke's face with his right hand before slamming the Uchiha on the ground with one powerful force that saw the Uchiha create a crater in his crash to the ground.
Naruto turned around and started walking away from Sasuke. The Uchiha gritted his teeth at the blatant provocative action. Yet, even when he knew he was being provoked into action, Sasuke fell for it anyway. How could he not? The blond was just showing him his back even when he knew he could still fight.
Sasuke got up from the ground and made movements towards Naruto. However, Naruto quickly twisted around with a smile on his face. Sasuke cursed as he knew something was coming. And indeed it came in the form of a brutal kick on his chest that made him cough some fluids from his mouth. He would've been sent sailing away, but Naruto leaned towards him and grabbed his right hand.
The blond brought him closer before a hard knee stirred his guts in the most painful way. Sasuke wasn't even given the time to massage his hurting body as Naruto, again twisted before a brutal kick hit him straight on the face. It felt like he'd been hit by a hummer, as he was sent crashing towards another tree.
Like last time, he hit the tree with his back, however, before he could even slide down, a kunai whizzed past him in some ridiculous speed. Sasuke was certain that Naruto had missed him on purpose.
''Take a five minute break, Sasuke,'' Naruto stated as he begun to walk away from the clearing.
''I can still fight.''
Naruto slowly turned around to face the Uchiha. He held out his right hand and his scythe appeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto then swung it in a horizontal slash. Sasuke had seen him do something like that before and knew it wasn't good. He quickly jumped up above the ground to avoid the wave of a sharp wind blade that was released from the scythe.
Just before he could release a breath of relief, Sasuke widened his eyes as Naruto was suddenly in front of him in midair. He cursed himself for taking his eyes off the blond. Naruto's right fist crashed into his chest brutally, sending him sailing away with some blood starting to leak from his mouth.
Naruto landed on the ground before speaking, ''Your break will no longer be 5 minutes, but it will be four,'' he said to Sasuke, who in turn glared at him. But Naruto just shrugged.
Four minutes later
''Sasuke, Sakura, come here,'' Naruto called in a voice that demanded absolute obedience. Both genins were still nursing their injuries. Still, Naruto hadn't beaten them up really bad because if he'd done that, they wouldn't have recovered fast enough for them to carry their duties in protecting Tazuna while he completes his bridge.
It would've been so much better if they were at Konoha; he could break their bones and send them to the hospital for treatment. No, he would leave them alone to guide each other towards the hospital - that would be amusing to watch though. Given that there were no good places to get medical treatment, Naruto was restricted to light things.
Once his teammates came up to him, Naruto spoke again. ''Sakura, the only thing I can say is that you're pathetic, and thinking of you makes me nauseous. But it can't be helped.'' The blond sighed while ignoring the glare Sakura was sending him.
''I would appreciate it if you stop insulting me every time you get the opportunity to so, Naruto,'' she called him by his name. She wasn't even making a demand, however, her tone was just too sweet and the smile on her face gave it all away.
''Kakashi instructed me to teach you tree walking to help you with your chakra control. What I have noticed is that your stamina is pathetical low and so is your chakra level. Aha, this is going to be bothersome,'' Naruto said walking towards a tree.
''What do you mean tree walking?'' Sakura asked while Sasuke chose to remain quite.
Naruto didn't immediately respond to the question. He gathered chakra under his feet and climbed up the tree trunk using his feet while in a horizontal position. Both Sasuke and Sakura were surprisingly impressed by this skill. Naruto jumped away from the tree before returning to his two teammates.
''That is what I meant by tree walking. It is quite an easy thing to do under normal circumstances. What you do is that you channel chakra under your feet to be able to stick to the tree. However, if you don't put the right amount of chakra, you'll fall. You have to be able to keep a constant flow of chakra under your feet as you climb up, otherwise you'll not master this exercise.
The aim here is to help with chakra control. Sasuke, you use too much chakra for your fireball, hence you feel exhausted after two uses. This exercise will help insure that you don't waste unnecessary chakra.
I'm not going to make it so simple for you. If I'm going to be stuck with someone like you,'' he pointed at Sakura. ''You'll have to improve or I'll force you to retire. I will add a few things that will increase your stamina, endurance, and speed, as well as your reflexes.''
''How are you going to do that?'' Sasuke questioned.
Naruto walked behind both Sasuke and Sakura and slapped them on their backs. Both quickly fell backwards as a sudden increase on weight assaulted their backs causing them to lose their balance. ''When you're standing straight the weight feels less, however, when in a horizontal position, you will feel like there is a magnet on your back pulling you down.'' Naruto said. ''Now go on and start your exercises.''
Sasuke attempted to do it, but on his second step, he was already down the ground. The Uchiha got up and looked back at Naruto. ''This is ridiculous,'' he started. ''The weight on the back makes this increasingly difficult to do. Not only do I have to use more chakra, but I have to strengthen the muscles on my legs to balance with the extra weight.''
''And I imagine that the more you try, the more tiring it becomes,'' Naruto added taking out his book. A clone appeared in a puff of smoke. ''Another thing I forgot to mention is that every time you fall to the ground, you will do 10 push-ups, plus the number of times you've fallen. If you're refusing to do it - I have many ways to make you do even worse.''
Sakura took a first step and then another, but when she wanted to take the third, a kunai cut through her shoulder, causing her to lose focus and fall down in a thud. She quickly recovered and at glared back at clone Naruto who'd thrown the kunai. ''What the hell?'' she exclaimed.
''I will also be throwing kunais at you to split your focus. And if you think I'm going to miss, you have pain coming towards your way,'' Naruto responded calmly. ''You can drop down on the ground and do those 10 plus one pushups, Sakura.'' Despite them being only 10 pushups, they wouldn't be easy to do since there was an extra weight, and the tiredness they would be feeling from climbing the tree.
Sakura stared back at him.
''Just this once, I won't punish you, I will however give you an option; this goes for you too Sasuke. We have already the basis that I'm stronger than both of you. I can pummel any of you to the ground as painfully as I please. Now make a choice, would you rather I beat you up or do want to do the pushups?'' Naruto asked quietly while holding out his right hand, while the left held his black book.
Sakura gritted her teeth and got down on the ground to do her pushups.
''I would have preferred it if you chose to take the beating, well it doesn't matter anyway,'' Naruto said as he started to walk away. ''My clone will oversee things; I'm going to watch Tazuna, but I'll return later.''
Later that day
Kakashi looked from the dining table as a miracle was occurring right before him; Sakura and Sasuke walking side by side, helping each other walk, Naruto was walking behind them with a look of indifference hanging loose on his face. Kakashi was greatly shocked to see such a miracle. This was something that he never thought he would see in his life time. It was much of a shock that he actually thought that he was having one of those dreams.
He didn't say a way word as he watched the condition both his genins were in; Sakura looked far worse. There were several cuts on both her cheeks, shoulders, hands, and legs and some of her hair in the sides seemed to be missing. Her clothes were also in tatters, and also seemed like they'd been drenched in cold water. He could also sport multiple cuts on her hands, and some blood stains around her. The same was to be said more or less for Sasuke; he too was wet.
Before the Jonin could find his voice to ask whether he was dreaming or not, both Genins fell down on the floor by the faces; they were out cold. Judging from the expressions on their faces when they came here, and the wet clothes, Kakashi guessed that they'd been out cold a few minutes ago and were forced to wake by Naruto pouring water on them so that they could walk back here.
Kakashi wondered how they could've made it this far judging by how worn out they seemed.
Tsunami quickly hurried to their aid, but Kakashi stopped her. ''It's okay, Tsunami-san,'' he said.
''Are you sure? They don't look that well to me, and they could be seriously hurt.'' She could say that much given the bodily harm she could see on both of them. ''Were they in some kind of battle?''
''You'd think so, but no,'' Kakashi said standing up. He would've to ask what Naruto had made them do. He'd never seen Sasuke so worn out like this before, nor even Sakura this much ''damaged'' in training. Getting them to cooperate mustn't have been easy. But to make them do something that ended with such a result must have been difficult.
Well, unless they were made to realize that they had no choice in the matter and forced to participate in whatever Naruto had planned, whether be it easy or rough. Naruto seemed capable of doing something like that. The blond didn't even seem to care when both hit the ground.
''I will take care of them,'' Kakashi said. He walked up to the two genins and picked both up.
''You've recovered already,'' Naruto said walking past the Jonin. He wasn't going to join the dinner table since he didn't feel hungry. Still, he wasn't the least surprised to see that the Jonin had recovered from his chakra exhaustion but didn't come to the ''training ground'' to watch him teach his students tree walking.
''Yeah...'' Kakashi watched the blond carefully as he walked past him; he seemed a lot more indifferent that normal. Was it boredom, or something else? ''Aren't you going to join us for dinner?'' It was almost ready; he would be feasting once he puts both Sasuke and Sakura to bed.
''No,'' Naruto said, walking away.
''He isn't that much social, is he?'' Tsunami asked watching the back of Naruto as he climbed up the stairs. Ever since he came here, she has rarely saw him talk and he always was giving simple responses. He just seemed like this quiet child who was bored with his life.
He was unlike Sakura, who was talking constantly last night and today during the morning. A pity she was now out cold after what Naruto had done to her. Though she was curious of what they'd been forced to do, Tsunami was forced to concede that it was better she remained in the dark about the matter since she probably wouldn't like what she was going to hear.
Before her eyes, Sasuke didn't seem too different from Naruto. The only difference she found between the two genin was that Sasuke had a cold look in him and was somewhat rude. They both seemed cold, though, Naruto's coldness wasn't seen in his body language, or eyes or the aura he gave off - it was seen through his actions. Who the hell watches his teammates fall down the floor into unconscious bliss without even making an attempt to catch them?
''You'd think so, but no,'' Kakashi responded with a small eye smile. He looked at both his students for a moment; both seemed to have picked up some weight - they were a bit heavy.
''Huh?''
''Naruto talks a lot. In fact, I can say that he likes talking more than anyone in our team. However certain terms have to meet for him to be talkative, otherwise, he is just gone be as he is now,'' Kakashi responded with a pose of a deep thought.
Naruto wasn't loud as Sakura, but Kakashi found out that the blond didn't have a problem with talking, especially if the subject was right. If something wasn't interesting enough for him, he wouldn't bother himself with chit chat or just sprout random words out of all corners.
''Terms..?''
''For Naruto to be talkative, he has to be at the right time and place - he just doesn't open his mouth anywhere just because he can. The subject is also important as he doesn't indulge in anything, unless he finds it interesting. If things aren't interesting enough for him, you get what you've seen so far from him,'' Kakashi explained as he started to walk away.
A thought arouse in his mind as he climbed into the stairs with both Sakura and Sasuke. Right now, both were out cold and probably suffering from chakra exhaustion, and given their wounds, they wouldn't wake up any time soon. He would have to see that they are cleaned so that they don't get an infection.
Nodding to himself with a gleeful smile, Kakashi decided to sleep both in the same bed. The Jonin couldn't help himself but laugh at his brilliant idea. He would hear something because of this in the morning. However, he didn't know who would scream between the two. It would be something to laugh about if it is Sasuke who wakes up everyone with a screech.
Kakashi gently laid both Sasuke and Sakura in bed so not to wake them up. He smiled once more before leaving the room.
He walked past Naruto's room before stopping; the door was left slightly open. He went back to take a peek, but there was no one inside; he only saw Naruto's clothing on the bed. 'He must be taking a bath,' the Jonin thought.
Today Naruto had taken up all his duties as team leader. Even though he was sure the blond didn't do too much physical activity, he was sure he too must be tired. Tazuna didn't have any complains when he returned earlier. The bridge builder had only said the blond watched him work while he was reading a green book.
When some of his workers abandoned him in fear of Gato, the blond had remained silent and didn't say a word. Even when he was struggling to convince them to stay so they could finish the bridge, the blond stayed focused on his book. However, he did offer his clones to assist the bridge builder.
That was a good thing.
Later
''For someone who wanted to play hero, you don't seem to be trying too hard to actually experience what being a hero feels like,'' Kakashi said as he sat down beside Naruto, who was lying on his back on the roof top of Tazuna's house.
The blond had said he relished the chance to play hero, so he guessed he would be putting some extra effort as all heroes do. People who reigned as heroes were shinobi who worked every day for the good of other people with their best efforts. Kakashi wondered if someone like Naruto was suited to be a hero; Naruto almost never did anything for anyone, not unless he gained something from it.
Though Kakashi wouldn't say it aloud, the blond was somewhat selfish. Even his reasons for coming here weren't to help this suffering country. Naruto didn't say he hated what the goat, Gato, was doing to the people of this country, he only said he wanted to play hero. This meant that he only wanted to experience what it felt like to be hero, he wasn't doing this for the Wave, but for himself.
''You're not reading from the same script as I am,'' Naruto responded calmly, eyes fixed on the dazzling night lights. ''I've gone way past what I would normally do, and I hadn't even expected to be teaching your students anything. Yet, I found myself doing it.''
He had expected to amuse himself with watching Sakura struggle, not dig her out of a hole like he cared.
''How did it feel passing your knowledge to your teammates?''
''Nothing,'' Naruto said. ''Absolutely nothing,'' he reaffirmed. ''And I thought I would feel something because of this.'' It felt completely different from when he was teaching Aika and Neji. Perhaps it was because he cared and had uses for those two.
Though surprised by such a response, Kakashi didn't comment on it - he let it slide for now. ''I wanted to ask you some questions, Naruto and it would mean a lot to me if you answered them.'' He was saying this upfront because he knew there was a possibility that Naruto may not answer any of them. The blond didn't answer what he didn't want to and wouldn't say anything he didn't want to, even if he was forced.
''For what reasons do you feel that you must question me, sensei?'' Naruto asked, eyeing the Jonin for a moment before his gaze returned to the heavens.
''I want to understand you, Naruto. I realize that there is much more I don't know about you, and I don't even know your general out look of life. If I don't know your reasoning, I can't understand your actions and I'll always see things from my point of view.''
He wasn't going to ask some questions just so he could have something to report to the Sandaime, no, he wanted to know more about Naruto, he wanted to know what really played inside his head. However, if he could get something concrete, it would help with his report as he would have something good to say about the blond.
If he makes a bad report, the Sandaime will take drastic measures, which Naruto mostly likely won't appreciate.
''Why do you want to understand Uzumaki Naruto, Kakashi?'' Naruto responded with another question. He already had a guess, but he wanted Kakashi to say it for confirmation.
''Well, you're my student and a comrade. If we are going to work together as a team, we have to understand each other. I also need to know your strengths to know if I can rely on you when I'm not available to lead the team,'' Kakashi stated. ''Well, there is also the fact that I'm just curious,'' the Jonin finished with a small eye smile.
He wasn't being completely honest with Naruto though. It wasn't that what he had said wasn't true - no, it was the truth; he just left something that he didn't want Naruto to know. If he had said I want to know more of you because I like you, it would have sounded weird and Naruto would have asked a lot of questions.
''Ask what you wish to know,'' Naruto said. He wasn't going to answer everything that the Jonin asked. The silver haired only said he wanted answers, so even if he told lies, it would still be an answer. Then again, he never did tell complete lies. There was always some truth in what he says.
''How strong are you?'' Kakashi could never gauge out how strong the blond is given that he reveals little of his offensive power and more of his capabilities of the mind. But he was much more skilled than Sasuke and a lot smarter. He should've been the one called a genius. It wasn't to say Sasuke wasn't smart. Compared to Naruto, the blond was just better.
''Let's see,'' Naruto adopted a thinking pose before responding. ''Pure strength, I'm chunin at best. However, I make that up by speed and wits.''
That wasn't the kind of response Kakashi was expecting - he had expected something a bit more detailed than this. He didn't even know how good Naruto was with Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Fuinjutsu. However, he had seen that the blond handles his scythe pretty well, which meant he was good with Kenjutsu. His speed accounted to his Taijutsu, which was good. The blond didn't seem to have a definitive style though.
''Do you judge things based on their value?'' Based on what he said about Sakura, he guessed it was more or less like that.
''No,'' Naruto sighed; this was becoming a bit annoying. Kakashi was coming in the sides instead of straight ahead. ''My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I don't have clear likes; I like everything I find interesting, and I hate anyone who doesn't play by the script. My dream is to leave a mark on the Shinobi world.'' Introductions.
Naruto mostly loathed anything and anyone who didn't play according the scripts. He hated it when things didn't according to his plan; he detested anyone who attempted to ruin his play or anyone who tried making use of his stage without his permission.
Kakashi smiled; this was a good start. He decided to end it here. ''Do you think they will improve?''
Naruto nodded. ''However, Sakura is still the same as she was before we left Konoha. Whether she improves or not, physically, she is still the same if her attitude isn't adjusted, hence my opinion of her has not changed, not even the slightest.''
''I figured that would be the case; the sharpness of the blade depends on the sharpness of its wielder.'' The Jonin sighed. ''What did you mean when you said this mission would either make her or break her anyway?''
''You will see after we've encountered Zabuza for the second and last time. It will depend on whether she will be saved or whether she will save herself.''
''Would you save her if she was trouble and I couldn't rescue her?''
This was what Naruto had told the Jonin - you can't always be there to protect everyone. ''It will depend on what I'm doing.'' If what he was doing held more importance than saving a worthless girl like Sakura, then he wouldn't save her.
Morning
Sakura groaned as she turned under light of the morning sun that was burning into her eyes. She turned away from the glaring light to the other side of the bed, and froze. Her eyes laid on a sleeping Uchiha on her side. He was sleeping, next to her, in the same bed as her, which was just a miracle. A blush crept into her cheeks as she started to contemplate whether this was one of those seventh heaven dreams.
What could she do to prove that this wasn't a dream? It wasn't that she wouldn't like it if it was a dream. Her dreams never made anything feel so real, and she would gladly avoid being waken up even if the cold glare of death of sizing her from the outside world. Staring at that beautiful face intoxicated her body with all sorts of overwhelming emotions.
She would give anything to experience such things. Ino-pig is going to cry when she hears that she and her beloved prince were so intimate. Life was good. And this only happened because that weirdo had tortured them until they couldn't even move a muscle.
Sakura moved her left hand as she was lying on her right side. She moved the hand towards Sasuke's face just so she could run it over his cheek. But she never got anywhere far, Sasuke's eyes suddenly snapped open, and he glared at her with a look that nearly made her jump out of the bed. She would've, if it wasn't for the fact that he was holding right hand rather tightly, she would've already moved away from him.
So it wasn't a dream.
''Good morning Sasuke-kun,'' Sakura greeted with a small nervous smile. Those were the only words she felt she could utter given the glare he was giving her. If anything, he looked like he was ready to murder her.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes dangerously at the pink haired girl; this wasn't what he expected when he woke up. Right now, he was busy trying to figure out whether this was Naruto's work or the girl had finally lost it and sneaked into his bed while he was sleeping. He couldn't even remember how he got here in the first place.
Before they returned here last night, he'd been very tired and had passed out. They'd been forced to walk because Naruto had told them he wouldn't carry them back, but depending on what he felt like doing, he would either leave them in the Forest or drag them, by their feet, back to Tazuna's house.
''What is the meaning of this?'' He demanded, tightening his grip the girl's wrist.
''S-sasuke-kun, you're hurting me...'' Sakura nearly cried as the grip on her wrist was cutting off the blond flow on her hand. Her fingers were becoming numb because the grip felt like it was by a cold metal.
Sasuke got up from the bed, while still holding Sakura's hand; this was his room. ''How did you get here, Sakura?'' Sasuke demanded, again. He'd already checked his clothes, nothing felt out of place, everything felt normal, but he wasn't too trusting on what he was feeling.
''I-i don't know myself; I just recently woke up,'' Sakura said with a wince suppressed under her breath. Sasuke really looked pissed and he could certainly murder someone right about now.
''Is this how you thank a girl after cuddling her all night long?'' Naruto's indifferent voice seeped into the room from the door, causing the two occupants to swirl around to face him. ''I mean, all night your body was pressed against hers and I can quite remember you saying, ''Hold me tight, Sakura-Chan'''
''S-Sasuke-kun..?'' Sakura had a small blush on her cheeks while looking at the Uchiha in question. It was almost as if she was asking him if it had actually happened. The look on her face said it all: she wished it had occurred.
A tiny blush that even Sakura couldn't even see disappeared on Sasuke's face just after it had come to life. ''It didn't happen,'' he said, crushing all of Sakura's dreams in just three words. The raven haired looked at Naruto, ''Did you do this?''
''No,'' Naruto said shaking his head slightly. ''I'm not nice enough to give you the pleasures you felt the whole night while cuddling with a girl, or are you going to deny that you had the most pleasant sleep you've had in ages?''
Sasuke did say a word for a moment, he wasn't thinking of what Naruto had said. Though he wouldn't deny that he had a pleasant night, he was neither going to admit or say out loud to anyone. ''What time is it?'' the Uchiha demanded, seeing that the sun was already out.
''Around 10,'' Naruto said. ''Kakashi is waiting for you downstairs,'' the blond then turned around to leave.
Sasuke got out of the bed quickly, but he nearly fell down the floor due to some pain; his muscles felt stiff. He needed to eat, take a shower and do some conditioning before resuming with his training - he had little doubt that he would continue were he left off with his training from yesterday.
Sasuke shrugged off the discomfort and started to leave the room.
''Wait for me, Sasuke-kun,'' Sakura called as she rushed over to her prince, but she didn't take no more than four steps forward before stumbling down because of the same discomfort in her muscles as with Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't wait up for her; he just continued with his footsteps.
Downstairs
Kakashi almost chipped happily when he saw one of his students coming down. He gave Sasuke a proud eye smile and his right hand was itching to give the boy a thumps up but he restrained himself. ''Good, morning Sasuke, I hope you had a wonderful night,'' the tone was all-knowing.
The tone only made Sasuke wonder if what Naruto had said was actually true, for a second that is. In the end, he shrugged off his shoulders. 'No, it isn't possible,' he thought before settling down beside the table across from Kakashi; though it was past breakfast, it was still prepared.
''It was you,'' it wasn't a question that left Sasuke's mouth. If it wasn't Naruto who put him in the same bed as Sakura it had to be this weird man for a Jonin. Sometimes this man really did perplex him to no ends.
Kakashi didn't deny anything, ''did you enjoy my gift for you? You seemed like you had a rough day and so I thought it was best to reward you,'' the Jonin kept his eye smile while his tone was light.
Sasuke didn't respond; he didn't feel like doing it, he just ate his meal in silence.
Sakura finally arrived at the table and took her seat. She didn't send a glare at Kakashi for his actions, no, she was actually grateful for what he did. If it wasn't for that Sasuke was present at the table, she was going to thank him. Well, she could find some private time to do that. The night had been a blessing, enough to make all the horrors she'd experienced during day 1 with Naruto a fading memory.
''Isn't Naruto joining us?'' she was genially curious because he had suddenly disappeared after speaking to them while they were in Sasuke's room. She'd thought he had come down here, but he wasn't.
Kakashi shook his head. ''Naruto ate some time ago, and he's probably with Tazuna at the bridge right about now,'' the Jonin said. It was their mission to protect Tazuna while he finished his bridge, but he'd decided to handle things here before he himself went over to guard the man. Zabuza was supposed to be out for a few days after all, so there wasn't anything to worry about, for now.
Naruto had told him that there would be no one to threaten Tazuna's life until Zabuza does appear to finish off what he started. Surprisingly enough, Kakashi found it believable enough to allow only Naruto to guard their client while Sakura and Sasuke recovered.
''Weren't we just talking with him?'' Sakura asked.
''It was his clone,'' Kakashi responded, looking at Sakura carefully; she seemed rather well and actually glowed a bit when he revealed that Naruto was at the bridge.
''Phew,'' Sakura breathed out in relief. ''I was afraid that sadist would be torturing us even today.'' Sadist was said with so much venom that it actually brought back Kakashi's curiosity on what Naruto had actually done to them yesterday.
''Naruto is still going to be training you, later on - he is just giving you enough time to rest your bodies.'' Kakashi said, making Sakura's look twist.
She pink haired girl silently stood up from her chair and walked over to Kakashi's side. She kneeled down on the Jonin's right side, face bowed a little. ''Please, Kakashi-sensei, don't make me go through that torture again.'' She begged, massaging her right fingers.
''What happened to your fingers? Tsunami they were really swollen yesterday.''
''Naruto bended them to the point where they were inches away from breaking. All because I refused to do 30 pushups while having a weight of 45 kg on my back...'' okay, maybe she was exaggerating a bit on the weight part, ''that is after I had been doing tree walking for four hours, with that much weight on my back.''
Kakashi blinked after absorbing all those words. He looked at Sasuke, ''really?''
The Uchiha gave a sharp nod. ''That was after she'd passed out due to exhaustion: she'd exhausted her stamina and chakra. Naruto gave her some of his chakra for her to recover her losses before forcing her to continue with the training exercise. I'm still surprised that she didn't suffer any torn muscles under the strain they were put under.''
This time, Kakashi raised a brow. Sasuke's explanation raised one particular question; Naruto could offer his chakra to someone else. It took some skill and control over ones chakra to do so. He still thought it was dangerous since the blond was a Jinchuriki, but there was no harm done.
''You don't seem bothered by it,'' the Jonin noted while looking at a down Sakura, who was still kneeling at his side.
Sasuke shrugged. ''I didn't enjoy the pain, nor when he assumed superiority over me,'' in fact, he liked to believe that he felt more ''pain'' than Sakura did. ''But I have little complains. By the end of the day, I had improved a lot.'' And he would surpass the blond soon enough.
Kakashi shook his head and smiled warmly at Sakura. ''Don't worry, Sakura, I will be there today to insure that Naruto doesn't do anything harmful,'' the Jonin said.
I should conclude this mission in the next chapter, and start something new. Overall, I think this mission is good for Naruto as a person and improving team dynamics in team 7. Though I'd originally planned on swapping teammates as the story continues, I think I won't do that anymore. It is just a thought.
Don't forget that some in Naruto's age group have already turned 14, while Naruto is still thirteen.
I will introduce Samui soon enough, just be a little patient.
The Omnipresent Sage