Though the World Was Vast, There Was Nowhere to Call Home

After successfully raising his Chakra Control to the Chunin level, it really did feel different.

The chakra in his dantian surged like countless rivers flowing into the sea, naturally and endlessly.

Sasuke's thoughts shifted. Suddenly, he slowly lifted one foot!

One step, two steps, three steps...

He moved more and more slowly, as if showing off, his feet seeming to take root.

"This..."

Naruto was dumbfounded. Without thinking, he smacked himself with a big slap and muttered:

"Could the secret to Chakra Control be to walk up slowly, like Sakura, and the slower the better?..."

Seeing this, Sakura's eyes widened too. A thought crossed her mind, and she mused:

"Was... was he pretending the whole time?"

"Was it so his two deadweight teammates wouldn't feel so inferior?..."

"He really... I'm crying..."

"Ah... I fell for this kid's trick again!"

"Seriously, is this kid even a member of the Uchiha Clan?"

"All the Uchiha I've met were impulsive romantics who loved and hated fiercely."

"So why does Sasuke have eight hundred tricks up his sleeve..."

Kakashi grumbled to himself.

After taking more than a dozen steps, Sasuke finally began to feel the strain.

"Is this really all there is to Level Three Chakra Control?..."

Sasuke was a little annoyed.

He only got one skill point each time he leveled up.

Now he had only four points left, and he was absolutely unwilling to spend another one.

After all, even though he'd had the system for a while now,

he still hadn't figured the thing out completely.

In other words, what if one day he finally understood it, only to need a ton of skill points to level up?

Wouldn't that be a huge loss?...

Thinking of this, he stopped worrying about anything else.

Kakashi had said to use chakra control to figure out how to climb the tree.

He hadn't said that Sasuke had to gather chakra under his feet and slowly walk up.

With that thought, chakra surged once more inside Sasuke's dantian.

In the blink of an eye, iron chains like tentacles suddenly shot out from his calves.

Then the chains seemed to come alive, wrapping themselves around the tree trunk. In an instant, they secured Sasuke's feet firmly against it!

"This... this works too?!..."

Naruto and Sakura stared in stunned silence.

Kakashi, meanwhile, was so shocked that his pupils contracted into vertical slits, as if he'd entered Sage Mode...

After a long moment, he forced himself to calm down and muttered:

"Well, I'll be damned. I asked you to get familiar with Chakra Control, nice and simple."

"And you've already started shaping chakra into solid forms!..."

"You can hide eight hundred tricks in a single idea. I'm seriously impressed, you little schemer..."

In the blink of an eye, Sasuke was scuttling about like Doctor Octopus, using the little chakra tentacles he'd formed to race over to Kakashi's side.

He smiled.

"Kakashi-sensei, when are you going to teach me that Lightning Style technique?..."

At this, Kakashi's mouth twitched.

He thought, Just as I suspected. This guy's had his eye on my Lightning Style for who knows how long...

He coughed lightly.

"Uh... don't worry, I won't go back on my word. After we return, the Chunin Ninja Exams will be coming up soon. I'll teach you that Lightning Style technique before the exams."

"You can treat it as a trump card to help you win. There's no need to rush..."

To Kakashi's surprise, Sasuke showed no sign of disappointment. Instead, he seemed perfectly calm.

That immediately made Kakashi think highly of him.

Hmm... not only is his talent astonishing, his temperament is top-notch too.

As long as he doesn't do anything outrageous in the future,

there's no reason he couldn't compete with Naruto for the Hokage Position...

In a corner of the Land of Waves.

"Are you all right?..."

In a dim room, a girl wearing a mask asked.

Her long hair was tied up, and her frame was slight, but she stood by Zabuza's bedside, her voice firm and sincere.

"I'm fine, Haku. You know me. Compared to before, this little injury is nothing. Cough, cough..."

Zabuza lay in bed, his face pale. He started coughing after only a few words, looking extremely weak.

"Has your old injury flared up again?"

"Mm..."

Haku pondered for a moment.

"Since that Kakashi is so strong, why don't we give up this mission?"

"The world is vast. The two of us can go anywhere, can't we?..."

"Ah..."

At this, Zabuza sighed.

"You know I'm a rogue ninja from Kirigakure."

"If I weren't being hunted by Kirigakure, I wouldn't have to live under someone else's roof."

"But now, even though the world is vast, where would someone like me be welcome?..."

"Haku, you've followed me for years, and I know how you feel. But given things as they are, why don't you..."

With a bang!

Before Zabuza could finish, someone violently kicked open the door!

A short, fat man with a huge belly barged in.

He had a cigar in his mouth and pointed at Zabuza in bed, cursing him out.

Two ninjas followed behind him, swords in hand and looking menacing. They clearly weren't to be trifled with.

"Damn it! Is this what you call guaranteeing that you'd get the job done?"

"And you used to be an elite Jonin of Amegakure?"

"You can't even handle some fisherman, and you've got the nerve to lie around pretending to be dead?..."

As he cursed, he walked right up to Zabuza's bed.

At the same time, he reached out to pull back Zabuza's blanket!

But just then, a pair of slender hands clamped down hard on the cursing fat man. Her voice was icy as she warned him:

"Gato, it's true that we're staying under your roof for now, but we're not your lackeys. You'd better show us some respect..."

"Or else..."

She tightened her grip. Gato immediately howled in pain, like a pig being slaughtered...

Seeing this, the two ninjas behind him narrowed their eyes. They drew their swords at once, crouching to charge forward.

But just then,

the temperature in the room suddenly dropped. A trace of frost swept over them.

Before the two sword-wielding ninjas could charge,

the petite Haku had already flashed in front of them.

Now, two sharp ice spikes were pointed at their throats, pressing in just enough to pierce the skin. The chill was bone-deep!...

"This..."

Their Adam's apples bobbed. Neither dared move, their faces full of fear and tension.

Gato was stunned as well.

He hadn't expected Zabuza's mysterious companion to be so strong. With just one move, she had subdued the two hired Chunin he'd paid through the nose to recruit!

Gato swallowed and forced himself to stay calm.

He knew Zabuza was the one in charge here, not this mysterious woman.

So he turned toward Zabuza on the bed and said:

"I hired you to do a job, not to throw your weight around in front of me!"

"If you're capable, I guarantee the Kirigakure pursuers won't catch you."

"If you're not, then get out!"

"I don't keep useless people around. Besides, I have no reason to offend all of Kirigakure for someone who's no use to me!..."

His tone was arrogant and his attitude was domineering.

Zabuza's eyes turned cold. He glared at Gato, a murderous look in his eyes!