Though Heaven and Earth Are Vast, There Is No Place to Belong

Successfully upgrading Chakra Control to Chunin level, this feeling is indeed different.

Chakra surged within his dantian, like a hundred rivers pouring into the sea, natural and inexhaustible.

Sasuke's mind moved, and suddenly, he took a slow step forward!

One step, two steps, three steps...

He walked slower and slower, as if showing off, his feet rooted to the spot.

"This..."

Naruto was stunned, and without thinking, slapped himself. He muttered, "Could the secret to Chakra Control be to walk slowly like Sakura, and the slower the better?..."

Seeing this, Sakura's beautiful eyes widened. Her thoughts turned, and she mused, "He... was he faking it before?"

"Was it all to make us two companions who drag him down feel less inferior?..."

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

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

"I say, is this kid even from the Uchiha Clan?"

"The Uchiha I've met are all passionate and impulsive, driven by love."

"How come Sasuke has so many schemes in his mind..."

Kakashi grumbled inwardly.

After walking more than ten steps, Sasuke finally began to feel the strain.

"Is this all there is to Level 3 Chakra Control?..."

Sasuke was a little displeased.

For every level gained, he received a skill point.

He now had only four points left, and he was a hundred percent unwilling to spend more skill points.

After all, although the system had been with him for some time.

He hadn't fully understood this thing yet.

In other words, what if one day he figured it out and needed a lot of skill points to upgrade?

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

Thinking this, he could no longer afford to care about anything else.

Kakashi had said to find a way to climb the tree through Chakra control.

But he hadn't said it had to be by concentrating Chakra at the soles of his feet and walking slowly.

With this thought, Chakra surged again within Sasuke's dantian.

In an instant, chains like tentacles shot out from his calves.

Immediately after, the chains seemed to come alive, automatically wrapping around the tree trunk. In a flash, they firmly secured Sasuke's feet to the trunk!

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

Naruto and Sakura were dumbfounded.

Kakashi, however, was once again shocked, his pupils suddenly shrinking into vertical slits, as if he had entered Sage Mode...

After a long moment, he forcibly calmed his emotions and slowly muttered to himself, "Good heavens, I just wanted you to get a simple feel for Chakra Control."

"And you, kid, are already playing with Chakra solidification and transformation!..."

"One idea, and you hide eight hundred schemes. I'm truly impressed by you, you old schemer..."

In a flash, Sasuke, like Doctor Octopus, relied on the solidified Chakra tentacles to quickly dash to Kakashi's side.

He smiled and said, "Teacher Kakashi, when will you teach me that Lightning Style jutsu?..."

Hearing this, Kakashi's mouth twitched.

He thought, as expected, this guy had been eyeing his Lightning Style for who knows how long...

He coughed lightly and said, "Uh... don't worry, I won't go back on my word. After we return, the Chunin Exams will be here soon. I'll teach you that Lightning Style before the exams."

"Consider it your winning trump card before the exams. No need to rush..."

To Kakashi's surprise, Sasuke showed no sign of disappointment upon hearing his words. Instead, his expression was one of unusual calm.

This immediately earned Kakashi's favor:

"Hmm... not only is his talent astonishing, but his disposition is also top-tier."

"If, in the future, he doesn't do anything out of line."

"Then competing with Naruto for the position of Hokage in the future would not be out of the question..."

A corner of the Land of Waves.

"Are you alright?..."

In a dimly lit room, a masked girl asked.

Her long hair was tied up, and her figure was delicate, yet she stood by Zabuza's bedside, her tone firm and unpretentious.

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

Zabuza lay on the bed, his face pale. He coughed lightly after only a few words, appearing very weak.

"Is it an old wound flaring up?"

"Mm..."

Upon hearing this, Haku mused:

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

"The world is vast, where can't the two of us go?..."

"Sigh..."

Zabuza sighed at her words:

"You know, I am a rogue ninja from Kirigakure."

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

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

"Haku, you've been with me for many years, and I know your feelings, but in this situation, perhaps you should..."

Bang!

Before Zabuza could finish speaking, the room door was violently kicked open!

Immediately after, a short, stout man with a bulging belly barged in.

He held a cigar in one hand and pointed at Zabuza on the sickbed with the other, cursing loudly.

Behind him followed two ninjas wielding Ninja Swords, their auras fierce and intimidating.

"Damn it! Is this the guarantee of completing the mission you boasted to me about?"

"And you call yourself an elite Jonin from the former Amegakure?"

"You can't even handle a fisherman, and you have the nerve to pretend to be dead here?..."

As he cursed, he walked to Zabuza's bedside.

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

But at that moment, a pair of delicate hands firmly grasped the cursing fat man, threatening in a chilling tone:

"Gato, it's true we're temporarily staying at your place, but we are not your lackeys. You'd better show some respect..."

"Otherwise..."

With a slight exertion of force, Gato instantly cried out in pain, like a pig being slaughtered...

Seeing this, the two ninjas behind him, holding Ninja Swords, instantly sharpened their gazes. Then, they drew their swords and bent down, ready to charge.

But at that moment.

The temperature in the room suddenly plummeted, and a chill swept across their faces.

Before the two ninjas with Ninja Swords could charge forward.

The petite Haku had already instantly flashed in front of them.

And at this moment, two sharp ice spikes were pointed directly at their throats, piercing halfway in, incredibly cold!...

"This..."

The two men's Adam's apples bobbed, frozen in place, their faces filled with fear and tension.

Gato was also taken aback.

He hadn't expected Zabuza's mysterious companion to be so strong. With just one move, she had subdued the two Chunin mercenaries he had hired at a high price!

Swallowing hard, Gato forced himself to remain calm.

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

So, he turned around and looked at Zabuza on the bed, saying:

"I invited you here to get things done, not to flaunt your power in front of me!"

"If you have the ability, I guarantee the pursuers from Kirigakure absolutely won't catch you."

"If you don't, then get out!"

"I don't keep idlers here, and besides, I have no reason to offend the entirety of Kirigakure for one useless person!..."

His tone was arrogant, his attitude unyielding.

This made Zabuza, lying on the bed, his eyes suddenly sharpen, glaring at Gato with a fierce light!