The night by the river was so quiet that only the sound of water remained.
The moon hung overhead, and the river broke its light into shimmering fragments that stretched downstream.
Dew clung to the grass along the bank. With every step, the chill crept up through the soles of their feet.
Naruto tumbled off the surface of the water and landed hard.
"Ow, ow, ow-"
He lay sprawled in the shallows, water dripping off his entire body.
Nearby, Sasuke walked back across the water to the bank, sat down, and silently massaged his calves.
His chakra was depleted, and his calves kept twitching.
Kakashi leaned against a tree, watching the two boys.
They trained with him during the day, then put in extra practice on their own at night.
These past few days, the two of them really had been pushing themselves to the limit.
"All right." Kakashi straightened up. "Come here."
Naruto sprang to his feet with a kip-up, and Sasuke braced his hands on his knees and stood.
The two came over, covered in mud and water, their eyes outshining each other.
"Since you've been training so hard these past couple of days," Kakashi said leisurely, "I can teach you the Ninjutsu I promised you."
"Really?!" Naruto nearly jumped right into his face. "What Ninjutsu? Something awesome? Is it even stronger than Hayashi's Ice Release?!"
"They're both very basic Ninjutsu," Kakashi said, dampening his excitement first. "How well you learn them is up to you."
He looked at Naruto.
"Naruto, your chakra has a wind nature."
"Wind?" Naruto looked down at his hands.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm, C-Rank." Kakashi raised both hands. "Watch closely."
He clapped his hands together.
With a sharp crack, the compressed chakra between his palms burst free-
A fierce gust swept across the