Kakashi-Sensei Can Actually Use the Rasengan?

Rasengan!

Naruto's eyes flew wide open, and his whole body went rigid as if he had been hit by Lightning Release: Earth Flow.

Frozen stiff.

"This, this is—"

He stared fixedly at the Rasengan in Kakashi's hand, scarcely able to believe his eyes.

Kakashi-sensei could actually use the Rasengan?!

Pop!

Kakashi casually crushed the Rasengan and looked at the dumbfounded Naruto with a smile. "So, are you motivated now? Once you can climb to the top of the tree, I'll teach you the rest of the Rasengan's training method!"

"Really?!"

Naruto suddenly snapped back to his senses and shouted in delighted surprise.

When Kakashi nodded solemnly in promise, Naruto's blood began to boil, and he felt bursting with energy!

"Awesome!" He threw a hard punch into the air, his eyes blazing with renewed fighting spirit. "Just wait and see, Kakashi-sensei! Climbing a tree is nothing!"

With that, Naruto spun around and sprinted toward another tree beside him. "Watch me!"

He leaped into the air, poured chakra fiercely into the soles of his feet, and stomped hard against the trunk.

But then came a dull thud.

Before Naruto had taken more than two steps, the chakra output beneath his feet suddenly went out of control, and he fell from the tree.

Naruto grimaced in pain but still refused to admit defeat. "It's fine! What's a little pain?" He wiped the dirt from the corner of his mouth and charged at the trunk again.

This time, he was more cautious. He gathered his chakra as steadily as possible, then carefully pressed himself against the trunk...

One step, two steps, three steps...

"Haha! I did it!"

Naruto laughed excitedly.

But before his laughter could fade, his foot slipped, and he tumbled from halfway up the tree again.

"No, again!" Naruto rubbed his sore backside and continued trying without the slightest discouragement.

Spurred on by the Rasengan, Naruto seemed as though he had been injected with pure adrenaline, throwing himself into training with soaring determination.

And so, all three little members of Team 7 joined the "tree-climbing army."

For a time, the training ground rang constantly with thud thud landing sounds, the rustling of feet against tree trunks, and Naruto's unyielding shouts.

"Damn it, failed again!"

"Ow—That hurts!"

"Again!"

Holding a copy of Make-Out Paradise, Kakashi leaned against a tree and flipped through it with interest, while keeping an eye on his students from the corner of his eye.

Once he saw that the three of them had more or less gotten the hang of it.

His expression turned serious. Then, in a flash, Kakashi vanished from where he stood.

As for the three children, they kept training until sunset before gradually stopping.

That day's training had exhausted them.

Sakura was exceptionally gifted. In less than half a day, she could already climb up and down the trunk freely, and had even picked several leaves from the top of the tree.

Sasuke was next. After repeatedly trying while expending a great deal of chakra, he could finally manage to walk upside down along the trunk for a short distance, though he was still some way from reaching the top.

Naruto had once been dead last in progress, but in the end, with his enormous chakra reserves and sheer stubborn grit, he caught up as well. He could now climb to within five or six meters of the treetop.

By then, the sun was sinking, and the sky was gradually darkening.

When Sakura came down from the tree, she plopped onto the ground and panted heavily. "Hah... I feel like my feet aren't even mine anymore..."

She lowered her head and patted her legs, both delighted and exhausted.

The day's results had been remarkable, leaving her with a strong sense of accomplishment.

Sasuke also stopped halfway up the tree and flipped lightly down to the ground, his forehead covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

He looked up at the still-distant treetop and clenched his fist in secret.

Tomorrow, I'll master it completely.

Naruto slid down the tree with a huffing breath, so tired that he collapsed onto the ground and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Whew, I'm exhausted..." Yet a smile hung on his face. He was still very satisfied that he had caught up to Sasuke today. "Hehe, once I learn tree climbing, I can start learning the Rasengan!"

Sasuke lightly flexed his somewhat sore arm.

After a moment of silence, he gave a casual cough as if it meant nothing. "Ahem... Well, it's getting late. I'm a little hungry, so I'm going home to eat. We'll train again tomorrow."

After saying that, he deliberately looked away as though unconcerned.

The moment Sakura heard that, she could not help laughing.

Sasuke's excuse was way too cute.

"Hmph." Sure enough, Naruto rolled his eyes and exposed him with a disdainful look. "Just say you want to go home and dream already! Why pretend you're hungry? Tch!"

"Who says I want to dream?!" Sasuke's face reddened, and he hurriedly defended himself. "I don't! You're the one who's impatient, aren't you?!"

"That's right, I do!" Naruto admitted it frankly, shrugging with a grin. "Unlike you, you're dying to see it but refuse to admit it. How boring!"

With that, he clasped his hands behind his head, gave a light snort, and swaggered past Sasuke. "All right, all right, I'm going home to rest too. See you tomorrow..."

Watching Naruto's retreating back, Sasuke gritted his teeth in irritation, but there was nothing he could do except turn his head away sullenly.

Sakura covered her mouth as she giggled, shaking her head with a sigh. "Honestly, you two..."

She knew that these two idiots were actually looking forward to it just as much as each other. One was simply straightforward, while the other was just too proud to admit it.

In the fading glow of the sunset, the three members of Team 7 went their separate ways, each lost in their own thoughts.

As for Naruto, he jogged all the way home. The moment he entered, he efficiently boiled water and made himself a cup of instant noodles.

After wolfing down dinner, he hurriedly washed up, then flopped onto his bed with a thud, eagerly pulling the blanket over himself.

"Woo... Hurry up and sleep, hurry up and sleep!"

Naruto closed his eyes, his mind filled with the wonderful scenes from the dream world. He wished he could fall asleep immediately.

He cracked open one eye and muttered again, "Please, please, don't let it be all pitch-black and empty again!"

Late at night.

Naruto tossed and turned in bed several times before finally falling deeply asleep, filled with anticipation.

Who knew how much time passed before his eyes suddenly lit up.

The familiar dark theater appeared once more!

Naruto sat in a soft chair, surrounded as before by dim audience seats and an enormous white screen directly ahead.

He instinctively looked around, and when he found that Sasuke was not in the seat beside him, he understood.

"Huh?!"

Naruto shot to his feet and shouted toward the empty audience seats, "Why?! Why is it always Sasuke?!"

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Naruto Uzumaki detected! Emotion Value +200!]

"Hehe..."

A soft laugh came from beside him.

Naruto turned his head and saw Sakura covering her mouth, smiling at him. "Naruto, you're here!"

After seeing that sunny, cheerful Naruto in last night's dream, Sakura found the Naruto before her much more agreeable.

Especially now—his furious, flustered expression was rather amusing, and she could not help smiling again.

Naruto pursed his lips unhappily and plopped back into his seat. "So what if I'm here? I'm still just watching someone else dream..."

He grumbled under his breath.

He sneaked a glance at Sakura and realized that the audience seats currently held only the two of them. His heart suddenly skipped a beat.

This... isn't this like watching a movie on a date?

In the past, Naruto would have been over the moon.

But now, he could not get excited at all. Instead, he wished that Sasuke would hurry back to the audience so Naruto could trade places and enter the dream himself.

He would not even mind if Sasuke sat beside Sakura!

Naruto thought to himself.

Hmph, that guy Sasuke definitely says he doesn't want to, but deep down, he wants it like crazy!

Otherwise, he wouldn't have run home so early to sleep.

Just as his thoughts were running wild, faint footsteps sounded behind them before long.

Sakura turned around and greeted him with a smile. "Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto turned around too, only to see that Kakashi had somehow arrived in the aisle of the audience seats.

One hand tucked into his pocket, he strolled over leisurely.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're here too." Sakura greeted him with a bright smile.

Kakashi nodded at her, then casually swept his gaze over the empty seats, confirming that Sasuke had not appeared.

A flash of understanding passed through his eyes. Then he said to his two students, "Looks like it's Sasuke dreaming again today."