Super Chakra Control

Naruto looked at Sakura, irritation rising in his chest. "Sakura, if you think I still like you, you've got it all wrong. Stop flattering yourself. Wake up."

Sakura turned to face him and said without a trace of mercy:

"Then I'll tell you something too, Naruto. I've hated you for a long time. You're always doing things that make no sense, and you're always getting in the way of Sasuke-kun and me!"

"Don't worry. I won't anymore." Naruto gave a cold laugh, then looked down from the rooftop.

Below, Hinata had just finished her first meeting with her Jonin team leader and was heading home.

Naruto had sensed it long ago.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto leaped from the rooftop and landed suddenly in front of her.

"Ah! H-hello, Naruto." Hinata had been concentrating on the road ahead and jumped when he dropped out of nowhere.

Then she looked up at the rooftop, more than twenty meters above them. Realizing he had jumped from there, she grew worried and asked:

"N-Naruto-kun, are you all right?"

The sight of her, so shy and sweet, made Naruto's heart soften.

She's the one for me. She loves me, and she's the woman I want to protect for the rest of my life! Naruto gazed at the future mother of his children and sighed inwardly.

"I'm fine. Are you heading home?" Naruto asked her.

"Mm." Hinata twisted her hands together, answering shyly and nervously.

"We're about to go train. Want to come with me?" Naruto leaned toward her with a grin.

"Huh?" Hinata looked up at his face so close to hers. Her heart was pounding so hard she hardly knew how to answer.

Just then, a tall man in a kimono approached from a distance and called out, "Hinata, it's time to go home!"

"Oh! O-okay, Father." At her father's call, Hinata hurriedly answered, then ran off with her head down and her cheeks red.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man in the distance. So that was his future father-in-law, Hyuga Hiashi.

"Hinata, eat plenty and get big soon!" Naruto called after her with a grin. When his future father-in-law glared at him, he quickly corrected himself:

"I mean, grow up soon! Haha!"

At the edge of the Ninja Academy's Training Ground.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stood beneath three large trees, with Iruka facing them.

"Naruto, you're working hard. You only just graduated, and you're already eager to train." Iruka looked at him approvingly.

"Of course, Iruka-sensei! My dream is to become Hokage. Third Hokage Grandpa's so old he can barely walk, so I want to take over soon!"

Naruto grinned, pretending to tease him.

"Uh, Naruto, you really are..." Iruka shook his head helplessly. Then his expression turned serious.

"Since you came to me, I'll give you one last lesson. The first thing I trained in after graduation was Tree-Walking. It's a basic skill every full-fledged Ninja must master."

Naruto's face lit up. That was why he had brought Iruka here. He already knew how to train, but it would have been strange to start doing it out of nowhere on his own.

"Iruka-sensei, how do you walk up a tree? Show us first!" Naruto said, pretending he couldn't wait.

"Watch closely." Iruka formed a simple hand sign to gather Chakra. "First, gather Chakra beneath your feet and control how much you release."

As he spoke, Iruka slowly walked up the trunk, step by step, until he reached a branch.

"Wow! Iruka-sensei, you're amazing!" Sakura cried.

Sasuke said nothing, but his eyes were full of envy and competitive fire.

Naruto pressed his lips together, eager to try.

"All right, give it a try." Iruka jumped down and smiled at the three of them.

Each chose a tree and took a deep breath. Copying Iruka, they gathered Chakra beneath their feet, then lifted a foot and took their first step onto the trunk.

Thud!

Sasuke fell first. He had not even managed a second step.

Thud!

Naruto fell next, but he had made it nine steps, just one short of the treetop.

"Yeah!"

Sakura shouted in triumph. She had reached the top on her first try. Beaming, she waved to Sasuke, wanting him to see how well she had done.

But Sasuke took it as showing off. He snorted, lowered his head, and charged at the trunk again.

The key to Tree-Walking is precise Chakra control, Naruto thought.

The Super Chakra Control the system gave me is only at Novice level. Sakura's is probably at Minor Accomplishment by now. That's why she succeeded on her first try.

Naruto smiled at the thought. He steadied his breathing, focused, and gathered Chakra beneath his feet again. He raised his left foot and planted it on the trunk, followed by his right...

Step by step, he climbed until he was one step from the top. Just as he lifted his right foot to take that final step, his left foot slipped. Its grip on the trunk gave way, and he fell.

Thud!

Iruka caught him. Naruto grinned at him. "Iruka-sensei, believe it or not, I'll reach the top on my third try."

Iruka smiled. "Keep at it, Naruto!"

But deep down, he did not believe him. Iruka knew all too well how Naruto had performed during his six years at school. If Naruto could really do it, would he still be the class dead last?

"Tch!" Sasuke snorted from nearby. Clearly, he did not believe the class dead last either.

"Hey." Naruto turned to Sasuke with a challenging look. "Want to bet? If I reach the top next time, it counts as me beating you again. How about it?"

"Hmph!" Stung by the reminder of his defeat, Sasuke snapped, "You're on!"

"Haha, Sasuke, get ready to admit defeat again!" Naruto focused once more. Relying on his Super Chakra Control, he carefully adjusted the Chakra beneath his feet to just the right level.

First step, second step, third step...

Ninth step.

Tenth step!

"Thud!"

Sasuke fell again. He stared up at Naruto standing atop the tree, his face flushing with shame.

He had lost again. Once again, he had failed to beat Naruto! He could not even match Sakura, whom he had always found so annoying!

What did that make him, the so-called "genius"?

"Ding! Long-term Achievement Quest: Defeat Sasuke Seven Times! Progress: 3/7. Keep it up, host."

Hearing the system notification, Naruto looked down at Sasuke beneath the tree, planted his hands on his hips, and burst out laughing.

Iruka looked at Naruto with surprise and pride, a warm smile spreading across his face.

Atop the neighboring tree, Sakura stared at Naruto in astonishment. She lost her footing and fell too.