Gai didn't notice that he was standing in the middle of the lake – a perfectly calibrated film of chakra between the soles of his feet and the surface of the water – until after he had chased down Kakashi and punched the other boy (who was too surprised to see the notoriously talentless loser master a move that had taken him an hour of practice) square in the face, scoring his first point against Kakashi by sending him splashing into the water.

(Of course, as soon as Gai looked down and realization hit, he followed his rival with an undignified yelp.)