During the month-long truce, the Genin from the major ninja villages threw themselves into special training like mad.
Every day, from dawn to dusk, the entire village of Konoha could hear thunderous booms coming from the mountains behind it.
Naruto had originally planned to pester Kakashi relentlessly until he taught him a few powerful moves that could split mountains and shatter stone.
Things hadn't gone as planned.
Kakashi hadn't even lifted his eyelids. He had simply slapped a battered scroll depicting the body's chakra pathways against Naruto's face.
"Naruto, fundamentals are the most important thing. Go practice keeping your footing on water with Ebisu first."
Kakashi tugged at his mask, yawned, and led a disgruntled Sasuke off into the deep mountain wilderness.
All he left behind were scattered pebbles and a thoroughly exasperated Naruto.
As for Sasuke...
He followed Kakashi to a cliff in the deepest reaches of the village, where he frantically refined his chakra in front of a waterfall every day.
Dirt and blood filled the gaps beneath his nails from clawing at the rocks during training, and even the backs of his hands had lost a thick layer of skin.
And then there was our Sen Senju.
Compared to those maniacs putting themselves through hell, his life belonged to an entirely different genre.
"All right, the watermelon vines look pretty lively today. Another ladle of water, and they should start flowering."
Sen crouched in the vegetable patch behind his large villa.
He held a slightly rusty shovel, with an old towel reeking of sour sweat draped over his shoulder.
The wooden clogs on his feet made sticky squelching noises as they pressed into the mud.
He carelessly wiped the sweat from his forehead with the hem of his shirt, then pulled up a few freshly sprouted weeds