Teaching Wind Release

"I went to learn ninjutsu, not to watch the excitement! What could possibly be fun about that? Do you think classes are fun?"

Comparing watching a match to attending class did make Naruto believe that he had not missed much...

"I want to learn ninjutsu too! Teach me whatever new ninjutsu you learned!"

He had thought Naruto would stop pestering him, but Naruto had changed his mind surprisingly quickly.

Learn ninjutsu... Was Naruto's inability to use ninjutsu deliberately arranged by the Third Hokage, saving it for Kakashi or some pervert to gain a favor? If he taught Naruto, would someone trip him up over it?

"I paid admission to go there. Why should I teach you just because you asked? What do I get out of it?"

After a brief struggle, Naruto offered an Exorbitant Price within his means.

"I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen."

Sasuke said nothing and merely gave Naruto a look.

"Two meals!"

Sasuke considered it for a moment.

"Have you mastered the Three Body Technique?"

"...I can use the Transformation Jutsu, but I'm still not very good at the other two. The teachers at school all say there's no rush. Why are you asking?"

Nature-based ninjutsu demanded precise Chakra control, and there was plenty of prerequisite training. The Three Body Technique was the most basic, along with Water Walking, Tree Climbing, and the like. It took persistent practice. You ran off to play with everyone else the moment school ended, so even if I taught you today, you wouldn't get any results from it.

Naruto discovered that Sasuke was unexpectedly easy to talk to in private. The teachers at school refused to teach any other ninjutsu, but pestering Sasuke probably would not be a problem.

"I can do something as hard as collecting grain! As long as you teach me ninjutsu, I can definitely keep practicing too!"

"I'll teach you one ninjutsu, but two bowls of ramen won't be enough."

Seeing Sasuke relent, Naruto hurriedly seized the opening.

"Tell me, what are your conditions?"

Shadow Clone Sasuke revealed a triumphant expression.

"Help me clean the pigsty for at least two weeks."

Naruto seemed to recall something horrifying and pointed at Shadow Clone Sasuke.

"Aren't you a Shadow Clone? This kind of thing is perfect for a Shadow Clone to do!"

"Even if a Shadow Clone doesn't get dirty, it'll still remember the smell!!"

"One week! One week at most, or I won't learn it!"

Who would have thought that the Shadow Clone would agree immediately, without bargaining at all?

"Deal!"

Naruto suddenly felt like he had taken a loss. Maybe it would have agreed to five days too...

Not long after, Sasuke returned home, and the clone felt its connection to the original grow closer.

"Come find me. I'm home. Release!"

Sasuke: ...That spendthrift Shadow Clone. It would have been better to just eat two bowls of Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto hurried over to the Uchiha estate.

"You'd better keep your word!"

Sasuke answered reluctantly, while considering how to make a grated floor drain for the new pigsty.

"By the way, Sasuke, what new ninjutsu did you learn from watching the match?"

"A Water Release. I haven't tried it yet."

"Then that's perfect, demonstrate it for me!"

There was no reason not to. He needed to test it anyway, so he walked over to the pool in the backyard.

Hand Seals.

A small jet of water sprayed out from between his palms.

"Uchiha peeing, hahahaha..."

Sasuke turned around and sprayed Naruto in the face.

"Sasuke, stop! That's disgusting."

"You're the disgusting one for saying something like that!"

Thinking of the Shadow Clone's smug face earlier, Naruto threatened him.

"I'm not learning this move. Do you have anything else? Otherwise, our deal is off."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto from the corner of his eye.

"Are you sure? Think it through. I'm not a Shadow Clone. If you don't learn it..."

Naruto instantly became uncertain.

"...I'll learn it."

"So you don't fail to learn it and blame me, tell me first. What's your Chakra nature?"

Naruto shook his little head blankly.

"One sheet of Chakra Test Paper is 50 Ryo. Much obliged."

"That's expensive. What is that?"

"It tests your Chakra nature. Once you know your Chakra nature, learning corresponding ninjutsu becomes much easier. The ninja tool store doesn't sell them individually either—five sheets cost 300 Ryo. This is one I had left over, so I'm selling it to you cheap. Want it or not?"

That was the price of a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto wanted to ask at the store himself, but then remembered that he was unwelcome everywhere he went...

"You'd better not be scamming me."

Very reluctantly, he took out a 50 Ryo coin.

After some fiddling, Naruto split the Chakra Test Paper and tested his Wind-nature Chakra. No butterfly effect occurred, and the "Wind God and Thunder God" setting for Naruto and Sasuke was not blown away.

Then Sasuke taught Naruto Wind Release: Electric Fan—no, Cracked Wind Palm.

"My Chakra natures are Lightning and Fire, so this move doesn't work very well for me. Just get the general idea."

Hand Seals. Ripples spread across the Small Pond at home, and the leaves on the trees across from it fluttered as well. It worked, but it was hard to say it had much power.

"Under normal circumstances, you should get better results than I did."

Sasuke still found a small excuse for his lack of practice. After all, he had barely trained this move.

"Practice it first and get familiar with the seals. I'll go find the original scroll for you to read."

By the time he found the scroll and came downstairs, Naruto was already trying to cast it. But the wind went wild the instant it left his palm, and the effect was not even as good as his electric fan.

"You're not allowed to take the scroll away. If you want to read it, finish reading it at my house. Before releasing it, gather more Chakra in the acupoints around your palm."

In any case, at their age, the Chakra spent on casting ninjutsu was basically not proportional to the results, especially for a beginner like Naruto, who had trained relatively little.

Unable to endure the tedious Hand Seal practice, Naruto used up all his Chakra in less than twenty minutes and sat on the ground, panting.

Sasuke had kept his Sharingan active throughout the Chunin matches, then came back and demonstrated for Naruto. He was currently reading while recovering.

Naruto came over.

"Sasuke, how long do I need to practice before I can catch up to the level you showed just now?"

Sasuke took a deep breath.

"Let me ask one thing first. The ninjutsu I just taught you is genuinely effective, as you personally tested, right?"

Naruto understood what Sasuke meant and looked rather dissatisfied.

"I get it. I'll clean the pigsty! But teach me the tricks to practicing."

"The trick is to take it step by step: the Three Body Technique, Tree Climbing, Water Walking. They all train ninjutsu proficiency and control. Use ninjutsu more in your daily life, repeatedly refine Chakra—everyone knows that. That's how I practice too. It's just that while you were running around pulling pranks, I was training."

An even greater shortcut was the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but Sasuke had no intention of telling Naruto. Once Naruto was instigated into stealing the ninjutsu scroll and learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, Sasuke could learn it for himself. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

He would not be the one who instigated Naruto, nor would he be the one playing along with the scheme. There would even be a teacher-student Bonds plotline. All he had to do was follow along and pick up the benefits.

Naruto seemed to catch the key point in Sasuke's words.

"What are this Tree Climbing and Water Walking you keep talking about? Will the school teach them in the later years?"

At last, he had noticed. Sasuke had emphasized those two words every time he mentioned them. He was starting to wonder whether he had pronounced them wrong.

"Of course..."

"They won't."

As he spoke, he demonstrated by walking up onto the ceiling and then walking back down.

"You've seen other ninja running through trees and across water, haven't you?"

Naruto racked his brain.

"Not often. Maybe... I might have seen it."

"But this is such a ninja move. I want to learn it—teach me!"