Naruto looked at the destroyed wooden stump in astonishment. 'Finally! SOMETHING happened after all the weird things I've been trying since god knows when.'
'Okay Naruto, just stay focused & try to replicate what you just & understand what happened.' Naruto told himself.
He concentrated his chakra again, blue streaks of chakra began to cover his body. Naruto focused on his right arm again, trying to generate the same effect that destroyed the wooden stump, but to no avail.
'What's happening! Oh no, please don't let it be a onetime thing, please!' Naruto focused every ounce of chakra he could muster to his arm.
Suddenly he felt a rush of power, like before, he felt refreshed, his senses enhanced. He could also feel a chakra signature nearby, trying to hide itself, but Naruto could notice it due to his now heightened senses. 'Maybe…no, definitely, someone is there, watching me.' He noticed. But he had other important matters to be concerned about.
Naruto's hand was covered in red chakra streaks along with blue ones. There was a third element circling his right arm, blade like streaks of wind. Some of the sharp wind streaks were leaving cuts on his arm but they were healing rather quickly to be a problem.
'This stings a little but I'm sure this is what led to the destruction of that wooden stump.' He decided to try again on another target struck in the ground.
He threw a textbook punch, just before the strike he increased the chakra supply to his arm.
A second wooden stump lay on the ground, obliterated by the sheer force & messy cuts, many splinters & chunks of that stump lay scattered on the attack site.
Naruto was a little tired, he pushed quite a lot chakra in the last attack. He noticed that his arm could eat a large amount of his chakra when it was ready to attack, this wasn't possible before. Naruto had experimented many times before & there was always a limit on the amount of chakra he could push into his attacks, but those last two attacks, whatever that he did, could use large amount of chakra, if he wanted to.
Naruto just laid on his back, looking up at the sky, with a big smile on his face. 'Finally some damn progress, of course I'm still lacking severely & I can't use this as it is…But I finally have something to work with…& I have many ideas that I can't wait to test & put into practice.'
While Naruto was catching his breath & basking in the joy of making some crucial progress, Kakashi was still trying to process what he witnessed. He checked up on Naruto whenever he had some free time to spare, this came up as a habit when Lord Third used to assign him to watch-over Naruto when he was ANBU.
Kakashi knew of Naruto's pranks, his academy progress & his interactions with Hiashi a few times. He didn't knew what they talked about or what the 'Real' Naruto thinks like. But he was proud of the way Naruto was handling his situation, he has improved the view of general populace, he was handling the academy quite well despite being hindered by some biased instructors, & here he was trying to catch up to other prominent students & improve, all on his own, without any major external help.
Kakashi did wanted to help his sensei's son but refrained from doing so, because he had lost everyone who was close to him, all are dead, & if he developed a close bond with Naruto, who ends up dying next, it will break the camel's back & Kakashi wasn't sure he could handle that.
'No, I can't bond with him…but maybe I can watch from afar & make things easier for him without him knowing about it.' Kakashi haven't figured out how to achieve the last part though as Naruto was always wary of the unknown helpers as many of them turned out to be traps.
'And it's better that he makes progress all on his own, I know he can do it…& it will make him more prepared for the future, as a shinobi, the more self-reliant you are the better.'
Now back to what Kakashi just witnessed, the boy was attempting to bypass the hand signs & he unconsciously used a little Kyuubi's chakra to make it work. It wasn't ground-breaking by any means, Naruto managed to use a miniscule amount wind chakra in combination with a little Kyuubi's chakra along with own chakra & shredded the wooden post dug in the ground, quite simple on paper but effective.
'I don't know how he can use Kyuubi's chakra in such small amount, why wasn't he overwhelmed by it. Maybe it has something to do with the seal or the fact that he used his chakra in conjunction with Kyuubi's chakra. This is strange.'
'Well, whatever the case, if he does manage to develop his no-hand-sign style…then it will be very interesting, to say the least.'
Kakashi noticed that Naruto fell asleep while lying on the ground & he had some other matters to attend to. 'Bye Naruto, until next time!' Kakashi shunshined out of the training ground.
Sasuke was pissed today, today was turning out to be his worst birthday ever.
Someone had stuck a note on his back during the rush hour lunch of the academy saying "HUG ME, ITS MY B'DAY TODAY!" & all hell broke loose. The fan girl horde was especially motivated to make his day miserable, he couldn't catch a moment's peace.
Sasuke had strong suspicions about who was responsible for all the drama. 'He will pay' Sasuke thought bitterly. There was only one way Naruto could've known it was Sasuke's birthday today, he saw Sasuke being greeted by the very old shopkeeper in the morning, Sasuke's mom had friendly relations with the old lady & she knew Sasuke's birthday, & Naruto saw the interaction.
Just as the academy came to a close, the fan girl horde came right for Sasuke. He saw Naruto laughing in the corner of the classroom along with Kiba & a few other boys. Sasuke decided to go for the jugular of the problem, heading straight for Naruto.
Naruto saw Sasuke approaching rapidly & decided this will be the best time to hightail out of here.
Sasuke had to admit that Naruto was fast & agile, but he was no slouch either. 'The idiot will pay for his shenanigans.'
It was dusk & both, Naruto & Sasuke were running along a small river bank.
"Stop chasing Sasuke, do have any prove to support your allegations!" Naruto called back.
In response a huge fireball came barrelling towards Naruto, which he barely dodged.
"Woah! That was dangerous, what the hell is wrong with you!" Naruto finally faced Sasuke & stood his ground.
"You are my problem, you ruined today."
"Come on Sasuke! You were in a sour mood when I saw you this morning. It's your birthday today, so I thought why not make it a little exciting so that you could forget about whatever it was that was making you dwell in angst. It's not like anyone is trying to beat you up on your birthday unlike mine." Naruto said the last part almost inaudibly & melancholically.
Sasuke heard the last part but decided to not comment on it.
"You don't know about me, Naruto. You don't know how I feel. You should not try to fix something you have no idea about."
"I understand Sasuke. I'm sorry, I didn't wanted to ruin your day. Despite my actions, I still wish you a happy birthday. And if you need someone to talk about your issues then I'm always available." Naruto said sincerely & got ready to leave to get some ramen.
Sasuke saw how sincere Naruto's words were. Sasuke knew a lot about Naruto, partially because roaming around alone in village he saw him often. Sasuke saw how villagers used to shun Naruto & how Naruto tackled it, how he was treated at the academy, but Naruto didn't blamed anyone & tried to make it work despite all the handicaps imposed on him & Sasuke respected him for that. Today always used to serve as a painful reminder for Sasuke about how much he has lost as he relived those joyous memories when he used to celebrate his birthday with Father, mom & Itachi, & to be honest Naruto's actions did managed to take his mind off that painful reminder.
"Hold up idiot, I'm not letting you off the hook that easily." Sasuke called out to Naruto.
Naruto turned back with sheepish small smile "What? Have some mercy Sasuke, it's your birthday today!"
"Oh! I got an idea, why don't I treat you to some ramen. Trust me it's really good." Naruto presented his offer gleefully.
"After all you've put me through today…I guess, it's only fair." Sasuke said, looking to the sunset uninterestingly.
Naruto was dumbfounded, 'What? He agreed?' It took some time for Naruto to digest the fact. This is the first time Naruto will have someone to eat with. He had seen everyone hanging around in a group, enjoying themselves while having a meal, but Naruto never had that luxury, He would watch everyone with a small smile on his face, trying to enjoy in their enjoyment, he ate his ramen slowly to pace it with others, to make himself feel like he belonged with them & trying get the same feeling one would feel when sharing a meal with one's friends. But now he won't have to pretend now, Naruto was over the moon.
"Don't stand & stare at me weirdly, idiot…lead the way."
"Of course, Sasuke, sorry I was just a little surprised…You're going to love it, we will properly enjoy your birthday!"
Both walked side by side toward the Ichiraku Ramen, with Naruto constantly emphasising how much fun they are going to have & Sasuke walking quietly…with a small smile on his face.