Hearts Divided, Sasuke Defects

"Once people's hearts drift apart, keeping a team together gets tough."

At Konoha Hospital, Kakashi leaned against the trunk of a large tree outside Sasuke's room and sighed.

Jiraiya stood on the other side of the trunk.

"Why did you teach Naruto such a dangerous Ninjutsu? It's too early for him. If things had gone wrong this time, he really could have killed Sasuke."

Kakashi was talking about the Rasengan.

"Heh. You're one to talk. The Chidori is pretty dangerous too."

Jiraiya gave a cold laugh and shot back without holding back. "What I didn't expect was for that Uchiha descendant to use it on his own comrade first."

Kakashi stiffened at his words. He had no answer.

In their clash, Sasuke had indeed used the Chidori first.

"Do those two have some deep-seated grudge?" Jiraiya asked.

"It's complicated. Their relationship is much like yours and Orochimaru's used to be," Kakashi said bluntly.

"To Naruto, Sasuke is both a friend and a rival. But to Sasuke, Naruto's rapid growth has put him under enormous pressure."

Jiraiya's eyes flickered. "Because of his revenge? Did Uchiha Itachi's appearance make him desperate? Sigh. We'd better talk to both of them."

"Mm." Kakashi nodded and glanced into the room, where Sasuke lay on the bed with vacant eyes. "I'll talk to Sasuke. I'll leave Naruto to you."

Meanwhile, Naruto was training with Might Guy and the others at the Training Ground.

Jiraiya found him and asked, "Naruto, what are your plans from here?"

"Plans? You mean for training?" Naruto answered while doing push-ups. "I want to learn your toad Ninjutsu. Can I?"

"Given your talent and current strength, broadening your range of techniques would be a good choice," Jiraiya said after a moment's thought.

"But to learn toad Ninjutsu, you'll need to spend