"Move your foot a little further back, yes that's it. Then keep that stance."
Naruto nodded and swung the katana downwards. He continued to so, attempting to mimic the moves Rihan had shown him before. They hadn't been at this for long, and Naruto was in no way proficient with the weapon just yet, but Naruto was excited Rihan was finally teaching him how to wield a sword like he did.
A hand touched his back in the area between his shoulder blades. "Relax your muscles, Naruto. Keep them loose. If you don't, then it will only be harder to react in battle. Keep your wits about you."
"Right!" Naruto said as he attempted to follow the instructions. It was difficult to do so, as it seemed his body tensed up automatically when he thought about a battle situation, but he tried his best anyways.
"That's better. Keep practicing, Naruto. You'll be better in no time." Rihan smiled at him, golden eyes alight as he watched his student. Naruto had gotten much better since they had started traveling together, and Rihan was proud of him for that. His only real regret was that he hadn't thought to grab some scrolls on chakra manipulation before he had left the leaf village. The ones that Naruto had gotten from the academy were enough to introduce the basics, but not much more than that. They also only had instructions on how to perform three jutsus, which left frustratingly little else to learn.
Oh well, Rihan mused, I suppose that I'll just have to steal some the next time they passed through a shinobi village.
Until then, they would just have to make due.