Have We Already Entered the Second Stage So Soon?

Naruto crouched halfway to the ground, panting heavily, his hands already aching terribly.

After practicing for several hours straight, he still could not make the rubber ball in his hands obediently burst.

"Damn it!" Naruto gritted his teeth, his face full of frustration. "It didn't feel this hard in the dream!"

He took a deep breath and placed the ball in his left palm again, then tightly covered it with his right hand.

The newly formed chakra within him gathered in his palm at his command. Naruto tried hard to recall the techniques he had learned last night, attempting to make the chakra spin at high speed like a vortex.

One second, two seconds... Faint ripples of surging chakra came from his palm, and the rubber ball's surface dented slightly and trembled.

But soon, the chakra scattered out of control again.

The ball snapped back into shape, bouncing in Naruto's hand without the slightest sign of exploding.

Naruto dejectedly plopped onto the ground, his hands so numb and sore that he could barely lift them.

Panting hard, he stared at the completely intact ball in his hand and could not help muttering, "What's going on... Controlling chakra in reality really is way harder than it was in the dream!"

He recalled the dream. He had seemingly completed the first stage of training with ease, yet now that he was practicing the second stage, he had worked at it for so long without making any progress at all.

Nearby, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha had long since stopped what they were doing and were watching Naruto make a fool of himself without blinking.

Seeing Naruto so exasperated, Sakura could not hold back a laugh. "Pfft... Naruto, stop wasting your energy."

Hearing Sakura laugh, Naruto's face flushed red. Refusing to concede, he shouted, "I'm training in an incredibly powerful secret technique! Once I learn it... Sakura will see how amazing it is."

Sakura curled her lip disdainfully. "Hmph, what incredibly powerful secret technique? You learned it in a dream, didn't you? Wake up, Naruto. A dream is just a dream. Don't take it seriously."

Naruto became anxious and defended himself with a red face. "The person who taught me ninjutsu in the dream, he was... he was..."

He suddenly fell silent halfway through, then changed his words. "Anyway, I'll definitely learn it!"

Just as Naruto finished speaking, a lazy voice drifted over from afar. "Yo~~ Everyone, sorry, sorry. Kept you waiting."

Everyone looked up to see Kakashi strolling toward them through the midday sunlight, his hands tucked into his pockets.

His signature forehead protector was tilted over his left eye, and half his face was buried beneath a black mask. The one visible right eye curved into a crescent with a smile.

"Sorry, everyone. I ran into a little trouble on the way, so I was late."

"Kakashi-sensei!!"

Sakura immediately flew into a rage.

"Do you even know what time it is?!"

She pointed at the glaring sun overhead. "Fine, you're late every time, but this time you actually showed up at noon! Are you kidding me—"

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto jumped up in agreement. "We've been waiting so long, we're about to starve!"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head and smiled unconcernedly. "Ahaha, sorry, sorry. It couldn't be helped... On my way here, I got lost on the road of life. It took quite a while."

Naruto and Sakura both froze. "Huh??"

Lost on the road of life?

What kind of terrible excuse was that?!

The two looked at each other, momentarily forgetting to stay angry.

Sasuke merely clicked his tongue, turned his face away, and muttered, "Using that nonsense to brush us off again."

Seeing disbelief written all over the children's faces, Kakashi gave an awkward chuckle and hurriedly waved his hands. "Anyway, lunch is on me today! You can eat whatever you want."

"Really?"

Naruto's eyes lit up at once. All his resentment vanished as he threw both hands into the air and cheered, "Awesome! Then I want Ichiraku Ramen! Lots and lots of bowls of chashu ramen!"

As soon as he said that, he seemed to regain all his strength. He took off running toward the village as though afraid Kakashi would take back his offer. "Let's go, let's go! I'm ordering a few extra bowls this time!"

Sakura had wanted to complain about Kakashi a little more, but Naruto had vanished in the blink of an eye the moment he heard someone was treating.

She pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. "That idiot, there's really no helping him..."

Kakashi watched Naruto's retreating figure with a smile, seemingly unbothered by his students' complaints.

But after Naruto disappeared around the bend in the forest path, the smile on his face gradually faded.

Kakashi slowly turned to face Sasuke and Sakura, who had remained behind. His usual lazy expression had vanished without a trace, replaced by a gravity and seriousness they had never seen before.

"Sasuke, Sakura."

Kakashi spoke in a low voice, his one visible right eye staring directly at them. "Let me ask you something—did either of you mention last night's dream to anyone?"

Sasuke and Sakura were both stunned.

Kakashi's sudden solemn attitude caught them off guard.

The two exchanged glances, each seeing surprise and unease in the other's eyes.

"No." Sasuke was the first to shake his head, speaking with certainty. "I live alone. There was no one to tell."

Sakura hurriedly nodded as well. "Me too! My parents are both civilians. I... I wouldn't even know how to explain it if I wanted to, and didn't Kakashi-sensei tell us not to spread it around? How could I just talk about it carelessly?"

Hearing their confirmation that nothing had leaked, Kakashi visibly relaxed.

He nodded and lowered his voice even further. "Good. Remember, you must continue keeping it secret. Do not mention this to anyone, especially the specific things that happened in the dream."

Sakura nodded.

Although she did not understand how a mere dream had become something like an S-rank secret.

Sasuke said nothing, but his expression had clearly grown serious.

Looking at the tense and contemplative expressions on his two students' faces, Kakashi nodded. "I can't tell you too many details. All I can say is that it was definitely not an ordinary dream. In any case, you are not to tell anyone about this. Understood?"

"Yes!" Sasuke and Sakura exchanged a glance. Though they both saw confusion and curiosity in each other's eyes, they still nodded in unison.

It was the first time they had seen Kakashi speak in such a serious tone since becoming his students. Clearly, the matter was more serious than they had imagined.

"Good."

Seeing that the two understood, Kakashi smiled again.

He raised a hand and rubbed the tops of their heads, returning to his usual carefree manner. "Come on. Don't let Naruto order all the chashu in the shop."

With that, he turned and took the lead, strolling leisurely in the direction Naruto had gone.

Sakura was still a little confused, but she could not help laughing at Kakashi's remark. Shaking her head, she hurried after him.

Sasuke did not start walking until a moment later.

After taking a few steps, he could not help looking back at the empty training ground. Kakashi's words from before still echoed in his mind.

If everything in the dream was fake, then there would be no problem with telling others about it... Since Kakashi-sensei wants to silence us, that means...

That meant those absurd scenes from the dream were likely not Naruto's personal fantasies. There really was something hidden behind them!

Sasuke unconsciously clenched his fist inside his pocket.

"Sasuke? What are you spacing out for? Come on!"

Sakura's call came from ahead.

Sasuke looked up and saw Sakura standing some distance away, waving at him. Kakashi and Naruto were already nowhere to be seen.

"I'm coming."

Sasuke composed himself, temporarily suppressing the questions filling his mind, and quickly caught up.