Naruto and Jiraiya stood by the Momoko River, a slow moving river that flowed about a mile from the village, amongst the towering trees of the Land of Fire. Morning sunlight danced on the water's gentle surface. There were twenty-nine days until Naruto's match against Neji in the Chunin Exam finals, and Naruto found himself with a new teacher, Lord Jiraiya. Jiraiya didn't seem overwhelmingly wise after their introductory encounter at the hot springs the day before, though he had a mysterious air of knowledge and experience, and he was strong enough to toss around Ebisu-sensei with ease.

"We don't have much time before your match, and you'll be up against some very capable opponents, so we need to think of ways to compliment your strengths," said Jiraiya. "So, what are you good at, Naruto? Obviously not genjutsu, and your taijutsu form could use a lot of work as well. You aren't skilled in many ninjutsu techniques. Your general tactical intuition isn't very polished, and you have limited combat experience."

"Hey, Jiraiya-sensei, aren't we supposed to be talking about my strengths?" said Naruto, growing agitated.

"Don't blame me that it's a short list," said Jiraiya.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "Hey, I made it this far in the exams, didn't I?!"

"Sure, mostly on the backs of your teammates, but sure," said Jiraiya. "You do have at least one potential strength that I think we can develop. It's an advantage that you have over all your peers. You have immense, untapped chakra reserves that rival or exceed just about any shinobi of Konoha. Yesterday, when I activated your pressure points, you had better control of your chakra, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"Well, that was just the surface," said Jiraiya. "I'm guessing that you've experienced short bursts of chakra before, am I right? In intense situations? Maybe you even lost control."

"Yeah, a couple times, I guess," said Naruto. He thought back to his fight with Mizuki in the forest when Naruto was just an academy student, the battle on the bridge in the Land of Waves, and his confrontation with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. He only had fragments of memories from each encounter, but he recalled the surge of chakra and loss of control. "I can only remember bits and pieces."

"It won't be easy, but you can harness that chakra, Naruto," said Jiraiya. "That will be one of our primary focuses over the next month."

Naruto felt a drop of sweat form on his neck. He was excited to grow stronger, but Jiraiya was talking about a side of himself that Naruto preferred to repress. Naruto didn't like thinking about his chaotic episodes.

"You have another exceptional ability," said Jiraiya. "I know you utilize Kage Bunshin quite often. That can be a powerful combat technique if used properly, and also a great training aid. Kage Bunshin requires careful control and distribution of chakra, so by training for prolonged periods with shadow clones and releasing them to absorb their experiences, you will be effectively adding multiple layers to the exercise. Think of it as if you're training twice as much in the same amount of time." Jiraiya gestured to the Momoko River. "Stand on the surface, like you were practicing yesterday."

Naruto kicked off his sandals and threw off his jacket before stepping out onto the water. He took a deep breath and focused his chakra, finding the delicate equilibrium so as to walk on the surface without sinking.

"Good, focus on your breathing," said Jiraiya. "Now make a shadow clone."

Naruto performed the Kage Bunshin hand seal, and a solid clone appeared beside him. Floating on the surface wasn't too taxing on its own, but with the added strain of maintaining a clone, Naruto felt a noticeable spike in difficulty. He stood on the water for less than a minute before his feet began dipping below the surface.

"Concentrate," said Jiraiya. He had stepped away from the riverbank, and sat leisurely under the shade of a tree. "Don't tell me you're already getting tired. I'll let you know when you can come out of the water."

Naruto slowly sank to his ankles, and then down below his knees over the next few minutes. He was breathing heavily, sweat forming on his brow and dripping down his nose.

"Release the clone," said Jiraiya. "Reabsorb its remaining chakra, and take in its experience and perspective."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. Keeping the clone active while balancing on the water was more difficult than he had expected. He released the technique and was instantly flooded with the remnant stress experienced by the clone. By the time the wisps of smoke had dispersed with the vanishing of the clone, Naruto lost his stability and plunged into the river. He crawled out onto the shore and shook the water out of his hair.

"I thought Kakashi and Ebisu taught you more about chakra control," said Jiraiya. "Well, it's not the worst I've ever seen. How do you feel?"

"That was tough," said Naruto. "I'm ok, I just need a second."

"This is just the warm-up," said Jiraiya. "Make another clone and go for five more minutes on the water."

Naruto trained his chakra control for short intervals over the next several hours. By midday his body was sore and he had a pounding headache. Naruto dragged himself out of the river once again, for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Time for a break," said Jiraiya. "This is an advanced method of training; your body needs to acclimate. Get plenty of rest, and meet me here again tomorrow at dawn."

Naruto was content to nap on the riverbank until the late afternoon. He would need his strength for the coming days.