Their Respective Cultivations

In Tazuna's home, Kakashi struggled to open his eyes and said, "Where is this? I remember coming to Tazuna's house."

At this moment, Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, said, "Mr. Kakashi, are you alright?"

Seeing Tsunami, Kakashi replied, "Ugh, I probably won't be able to move for a few days."

Just then, the others entered the room. Sakura asked, "Kakashi-sensei, how are you? Are you okay?"

Kakashi gave a bitter smile. "Ugh, I overused my Sharingan. I probably won't be able to move for a week."

Sakura complained, "Seriously, the Sharingan is powerful, but the side effects are really something else."

Naruto then said, "Heh, that's because Kakashi-sensei isn't from the Uchiha Clan. That's why he consumes more than an Uchiha would when using the Sharingan, whether it's chakra or physical stamina."

Sakura asked curiously, "Is that so?"

Naruto replied, "What else did you think?"

Sakura wondered, "But Naruto, you have a Sharingan too. How come I don't see you acting like Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto said proudly, "That's because I'm from the Uzumaki Clan. Our Uzumaki bloodline grants us a powerful constitution. Plus, the compatibility between my Sharingan and myself is different from Kakashi-sensei's."

Sakura asked curiously, "What's the difference? Isn't it just a Sharingan?"

Naruto laughed, "That's because my Sharingan is my own eyes, while Kakashi-sensei's eyes were given to him by someone else."

Sakura looked toward Kakashi and asked, "Is that true, Sensei?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, my Sharingan was given to me by my most important comrade."

Sakura replied with a sudden realization, "So that's how it is."

At this point, Tazuna, who was standing to the side, said, "But being able to take down such a strong ninja this time, I suppose it was worth it."

Kakashi recalled with a sigh, "Momochi Zabuza, was it? He might not be dead yet."

Sakura said in surprise, "What? Kakashi-sensei, you're saying Momochi Zabuza isn't dead?"

Sasuke also said in shock, "How is that possible? We clearly confirmed he had no pulse and wasn't breathing."

Kakashi recalled, "The boy who took Zabuza away was indeed wearing a Mist Village Anbu mask. However, Anbu only need to bring back the head to verify a kill, yet he took the entire body. That's why I'm certain Zabuza is still alive; that Anbu is Zabuza's partner."

Sakura asked worriedly, "Then what should we do, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi smiled, "Don't worry, Sakura. Even if Zabuza isn't dead, I believe he was severely injured. So, during the time I'm recovering, I plan to train you all to make your strength even greater."

Naruto and Sasuke were immediately excited upon hearing Kakashi's words. Just then, a young boy entered, and everyone looked at him.

The boy simply said, "Mom, they're going to die. Everyone who goes against Gato ends up dead."

Tsunami said angrily, "Inari, you cannot be so rude. They are the ninjas protecting your grandfather. Thanks to them, he was able to return home safely."

Tazuna apologized, "I'm sorry, the child doesn't know any better."

Naruto and the others didn't take it to heart and followed Kakashi into the woods.

Kakashi had originally intended to teach the three of them how to control their chakra—specifically tree climbing—but after seeing Naruto and Sasuke climb to the top of the trees and walk on the water, he was left speechless.

Feeling a bit deflated, he asked, "Sigh, then is there anything else you want to learn?"

Naruto, thinking of Sasuke's Lightning Style and Sakura's super strength, said, "Kakashi-sensei, do you have any powerful Lightning Style ninjutsu?"

Kakashi replied, "As for Lightning Style, I do have one quite powerful technique. But Naruto, I've looked at your records, and you're a Wind affinity user, right? What do you need Lightning Style for?"

Naruto laughed, "Kakashi-sensei, it's true I'm Wind affinity, but Sasuke is Lightning affinity. You can teach him! Besides, Sasuke's Sharingan is much better developed than mine; you could pass on your experience in using the Sharingan to him."

Sasuke felt touched inside, but his pride wouldn't allow him to accept such a thing. So, Sasuke said, "I don't need a big idiot like you worrying about my business."

Naruto laughed, "Sasuke, I'm not saying this for your sake, I'm saying it for the sake of our team. You have to realize that if you get stronger, our chances of completing missions will be much higher."

Sasuke wanted to say something else, but Naruto cut him off, "Besides, my Rasengan hasn't been fully developed yet, so you don't have to feel embarrassed. That's settled then. Kakashi-sensei, I'll leave Sasuke to you."

Kakashi replied, "That's fine by me. Alright, let's do as Naruto says."

Naruto then said to Sakura, "As for Sakura, you have such strong control, why not try focusing your chakra into your fists? I think your punches would become even more powerful. This is something the Pervy Sage told me when I was training with him. He said one of his comrades could precisely focus chakra into her fists to unleash terrifying strength."

Kakashi asked in surprise, "Naruto, are you talking about Lady Tsunade of the Sannin?"

Naruto replied, "Yes, the Pervy Sage is Jiraiya of the Sannin."

Kakashi realized, "Then Sakura, you should train using the method Naruto described."

Sakura said excitedly, "I understand, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi looked at Naruto and asked, "Then Naruto, what do you plan to train?"

Naruto thought for a moment and said, "As for me, I'm not really sure. I originally wanted to train in chakra nature transformation, but I feel it's still too early for that. So, I plan to improve my development of the White Eye and the Sharingan; my usage of both is truly terrible."

Kakashi asked with concern, "Do you need my guidance?"

Naruto smiled, "No need, Kakashi-sensei. You should focus on teaching Sasuke; I can manage on my own."

Kakashi didn't force the issue and simply said, "Alright then. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me."

Kakashi nodded and said to Sasuke, "Then Sasuke, come with me."

Sasuke didn't waste words, just nodded, and followed Kakashi away.

Seeing Kakashi and Sasuke leave, Naruto said to Sakura, "Well, Sakura, I'm heading off too. Take care of yourself."

Sakura nodded and said, "Alright." Naruto then used the Body Flicker Technique and left.

Seeing Naruto depart, Sakura formed the hand seals and attempted to condense chakra into her fist, but the chakra dissipated almost as soon as it gathered there.

Sakura frowned and said, "It seems this isn't as simple as I thought. I need even better control over my chakra."

After a smile, Sakura continued to focus on condensing her chakra, saying confidently, "Just you wait, Sasuke and Naruto. I won't be the one holding us back forever."

Once Sasuke and Kakashi arrived at a mountain, Kakashi said to him, "Sasuke, what I am going to teach you now is how to increase your speed by five or six times."

"Because the technique I am teaching you was developed based on the insight of the Sharingan and the speed granted by lightning-style chakra, your body must be able to withstand the violent nature of the lightning element."

Sasuke asked indifferently, "What do I need to do?"

Kakashi replied, "First, use lightning-style chakra to stimulate your body, allowing your physical form to integrate with the chakra. This will allow your speed to increase."

Kakashi explained the hand seals and the method for integrating lightning-style chakra into the body. He assumed it would take at least three days for Sasuke to barely grasp the basics.

To his surprise, Sasuke learned it instantly, leaving Kakashi shocked and incredulous.

Kakashi asked in confusion, "Sasuke, how did you do that? Generally, it takes four to five days to learn Earth Walk. Even a genius needs at least three days to get the hang of it, so how did you manage it so quickly?"

Hearing Kakashi's words, Sasuke thought of Naruto. He remembered when Naruto was teaching him and Hinata how to contact natural energy, he had warned them not to try and fight with it, as natural energy was dangerous and could turn them into stone if they were careless.

Naruto had said he would teach them how to use it freely later, but even if they couldn't use it for combat, it could be used to temper the body. This would make learning any ninjutsu much faster, prevent backlash, and most importantly, grant longevity and accelerated healing.

Thinking of this, Sasuke said to Kakashi, "It might be because Naruto, Hinata, and I have been using natural energy to temper our bodies since we were young."

This truly shocked Kakashi. He swallowed hard and said, "You mean you've been using natural energy to temper your bodies since you were children?"

Sasuke nodded and said, "Uh, yes."

Kakashi said in astonishment, "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? You could have died."

Sasuke nodded again and said, "I know. Naruto told us about the risks, but we succeeded, didn't we?"

Kakashi didn't know what else to say.

He could only remark, "Sigh, I don't know if you kids are geniuses or lunatics. Fine, since that's the case, I'll start teaching you the Chidori now. This is a technique I developed; it's an A-rank ninjutsu on the same level as Naruto's Rasengan. I hope you will continue to develop it, as its final form is an S-rank ninjutsu."

Sasuke was thrilled to hear that the final form of the technique was S-rank, and he resolved to master it, thinking to himself, Naruto, I won't let your kindness go to waste, but I won't lose to you either.

After leaving Sakura, Naruto arrived in a deeper part of the forest.

Naruto muttered to himself, "It's time to develop the Sharingan. The Byakugan is much harder to evolve, and developing the Sharingan's power will allow me to increase my strength faster in the short term. Besides, all that's missing now is my father's soul; it's time."

At this moment, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto said, "Naruto, you intend to develop the power of the Sharingan?"

Naruto knew his internal monologue had been overheard by Kurama. He smiled and said, "That's right, Kurama. Do you have any good suggestions?"

The Nine-Tails said, "Hmph, although I loathe the Sharingan, it is precisely because I loathe it that I understand how to increase its power: it requires intense negative emotions to stimulate its evolution."

Naruto lowered his head, thought for a moment, and said, "Emotions, huh? I know what to do."

The Nine-Tails asked skeptically, "What are you planning?"

Naruto smiled. "Open the mental seal and let those two out. Only when they are released will my emotions be complete, allowing me to evolve into the Rinnegan faster."

The Nine-Tails was shocked. "You mean you're going to release your other two personalities? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? You could turn into a demon."

Naruto said confidently, "I know. I might lose control of myself, but don't I have you to help me?"

The Nine-Tails was touched by Naruto's words and laughed heartily. "Hahaha, fine! I'll take this risk with you. After all, we are partners, aren't we? Hahaha!"

Naruto said with emotion, "Thank you, Kurama. It is my honor to know you."

The Nine-Tails replied, "Naruto, thank you as well. It is my honor to know you, too."