I Know My Own Limits All Too Well

The boy surrendered! He closed his eyes, let his hands hang at his sides, and looked as though he would accept whatever they did to him.

Naruto gave Sasuke a meaningful look. Sasuke understood. Though he was displeased, he still did as instructed, flashing behind the boy and knocking him unconscious with a strike to the back of the neck.

Zabuza was now in a state of feigned death, and the boy had been subdued. Kakashi finally let out a breath of relief, but he could no longer hold himself up. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Teacher Kakashi!" Sakura cried out in alarm and hurried to his side. After checking him for a while, she found no wounds on him.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Come check on Teacher Kakashi! What happened to him?" Sakura shouted.

Naruto pulled out a bundle of rope from his backpack and firmly tied up the unconscious boy. Naruto knew this boy was named Haku and possessed a Kekkei Genkai. If they had not resorted to underhanded means, subduing Haku would definitely have taken considerable effort.

"Whew—" Naruto finally sighed in relief after finishing. Compared to Kakashi passing out, Naruto believed tying up Haku first was more important.

"You don't need to worry," Naruto said. "Teacher Kakashi is fine. He just used a little too much chakra and collapsed from exhaustion. This is your first time seeing it. You'll get used to it in the future."

Sasuke asked, "Naruto, how do you know so much about this?"

"Uh..." Naruto was briefly at a loss for words, then hastily made up an excuse. "Teacher Might Guy from Team 3 told me."

Sasuke asked, "You know a jonin from Team 3 too?"

I'm done for. One lie means I have to make up another to cover it. Naruto stammered, "Uh... yeah... hahaha... Actually, Teacher Might Guy and Teacher Kakashi are friends who would die for each other. They're very close..."

"I'll tell you guys quietly, but don't tell Teacher Kakashi. One day, I happened to run into Teacher Might Guy. After learning I was Kakashi's student, he treated me to ramen and told me a whole bunch of Teacher Kakashi's secrets. One of them was that Teacher Kakashi was especially prone to running out of chakra after intense battles."

"Might Guy said Kakashi always has to lie down for three days after every major battle." Naruto wore an awkward smile.

Kakashi, lying on the grass, had gone completely dark-faced. Though he could not move, he had heard everything Naruto said. He cursed inwardly, That damn Might Guy! He actually dared to badmouth me to my student... I'll settle this with you when we get back to the village...

Naruto had not thought much of it. He had merely made up an excuse to fool Sasuke and Sakura, without noticing that Kakashi had heard every word.

Once they learned that Kakashi was all right, everyone finally relaxed. Naruto ran deep into the forest and brought back Tazuna, who had been hiding there.

Tazuna looked at the vicious-looking Zabuza and asked, "How should we deal with these two people who came to assassinate me?"

Sakura said, "Usually, we send them back to Konoha or hand them over to Hidden Mist's hunter-nin. Either way, they'll probably end up dead."

Sasuke raised his kunai. "It would be easier to just kill them directly."

Hey! Are you serious? Naruto thought. Sasuke, you haven't even awakened the Sharingan yet, and you want to kill Haku? Then the time when you awaken it will probably get pushed back even further.

"Oh, come on, you're all too cruel. You want to kill people at the drop of a hat." Naruto put on an innocent expression.

Sasuke was utterly dumbfounded. Who had taken Zabuza hostage to force this boy to surrender just now? Who had been shouting about cutting off Zabuza's head at every turn?

Sasuke thought inwardly, Hmph. Anyone can call me cruel, but not you, Naruto. You're far more ruthless than I am.

Seeing Naruto's foolish expression, Sakura felt that he had returned to how he used to be. He no longer felt unfamiliar to her, and she no longer felt afraid of him.

"Naruto!" Sakura snapped. "You have the nerve to say that about us? Who was the one yelling about killing people just now?"

"That was strategy, a tactic." Naruto hurriedly explained, "I was just trying to scare them."

Kakashi lay not far away, unable to move his body or speak. All he could do was groan silently in his heart, You three, stop arguing already. Hurry up and take me somewhere so I can rest...

"Oh, right, I think we forgot about Teacher Kakashi." Naruto suddenly remembered that Kakashi was still lying there.

Tazuna carried Kakashi on his back, Sakura looked after Kakashi, Sasuke carried Haku, and Naruto carried Zabuza. The group arrived at Tazuna's home and successfully reached their destination.

After resting for a night, Kakashi had recovered considerably. Naruto had performed brilliantly in the battle the day before. Not only had he coordinated with Kakashi and even fought a jonin, but he had also seen through the enemy's feigned-death plan, prevented them from taking Zabuza away, and captured Zabuza's companion. It could be said that he had contributed the most.

Kakashi praised Naruto, who wore a smug look. The most displeased person was Sasuke. Naruto had stolen all the limelight, while he himself had done nothing noteworthy.

Watching Naruto grin happily, Kakashi sighed inwardly. At this rate, before long, there may not be much left for me to teach Naruto. Sigh...

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura," Kakashi said solemnly. "After yesterday's battle, what did you learn from it?"

"Naruto is very strong," Sakura blurted out.

"Hehehe." Naruto puffed out his chest proudly. "Right? Right?"

"Tch." Sasuke turned his face away.

"That's not what I meant," Kakashi said. "Naruto performed very well, but you all need a clear understanding of your own strength. Especially you, Naruto. Remember, pride comes before a fall. Don't neglect your training just because of one victory."

"Ohhh—" Naruto said excitedly. "Are we starting training? I'm ready. As the future Hokage, I know my own limits all too well. You wouldn't believe it even if I told you."

"Uh..." Kakashi looked helpless. Had Naruto actually grown, or had he not? Why did Naruto sometimes seem so reliable, yet at other times so ridiculous?

A short while later, every member of Team 7 arrived in the forest. Kakashi had not fully recovered, so he was leaning on a crutch.

"Today, I'll teach you a ninja's basics: precise chakra control," Kakashi explained. "Chakra is an energy within the human body. We must learn to control it precisely, allowing it to flow throughout our bodies under our command."

"Making chakra flow to the soles of your feet is the most difficult. Not only is gathering chakra in your feet hard, but controlling the amount of chakra is difficult as well." Kakashi said, "I'll demonstrate it for you now."

Kakashi gathered chakra beneath his feet. A gust of wind rose under them as he made his way beneath a large tree with his crutch, then placed a foot against the trunk.

Under Sasuke and Sakura's astonished gazes, Kakashi supported himself with his crutch and stepped up the vertical tree trunk, walking higher and higher.