Training begins

In the woods beside Tazuna's house.

Leaning on a crutch, Kakashi Hatake explained the principles of chakra control to the others.

"A ninja's chakra is limited."

"So you need precise control over every bit of it."

"Only then can you make greater strides in your strength."

He walked toward a nearby tree, supporting himself with his crutch.

"And what you need to do now..."

"Is attach chakra to your feet, then climb to the top of the tree."

As he spoke, he stepped onto the tree trunk with a limp.

His steady chakra control kept him firmly attached to the tree.

Under Naruto Uzumaki's and Sasuke Uchiha's astonished gazes, Kakashi Hatake hung upside down from a branch and looked at them.

"Go ahead and give it a try."

Kakashi Hatake encouraged them.

More precisely, his gaze rested on Chiba.

All three members of the team he led were unusual.

Naruto Uzumaki was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and Sasuke Uchiha was an orphan of the Uchiha Clan.

Chiba, meanwhile, was a ninja whom Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, had brought back from Mount Myōboku.

All of this had been explained before he took charge of Team 7.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had briefed him on it.

Had Kakashi Hatake not possessed extensive mission experience and formidable strength...

This team would never have been assigned to him.

That was also why Kakashi Hatake was even more curious about Chiba's strength.

From what he could sense, Chiba seemed to be hiding some of his strength.

Chiba shrugged, feeling rather helpless.

He had expected this to happen.

He sighed and said:

"Honestly, I wouldn't recommend demonstrating in front of them."

"It might be a bit of a blow to Naruto and Sasuke."

With that, he stepped onto the tree trunk.

Under Kakashi Hatake's unsurprised gaze, he walked smoothly to the very top.

"It looks like you don't need this kind of training anymore."

"But I imagine you'd be interested in ninjutsu!"

Chiba's eyes immediately lit up at those words.

Now that's a great suggestion!

Every ninjutsu he currently knew fell within the scope of C-rank ninjutsu.

Although that already made him quite strong for a genin...

In Chiba's eyes, it was nowhere near enough.

Even putting everything else aside, the power of C-rank ninjutsu had already proved somewhat inadequate when he fought Zabuza Momochi.

He needed more powerful ninjutsu.

"All right, Naruto and Sasuke, practice climbing trees."

Kakashi Hatake nodded to Chiba and said:

"Chiba, come with me."

Under the other two's envious gazes, Chiba followed Kakashi Hatake away.

Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were left staring at each other, neither willing to concede to the other.

"I'll definitely surpass you!"

Naruto Uzumaki brimmed with fighting spirit, as though he would become Hokage tomorrow.

Sasuke Uchiha snorted. With his prickly pride, he naturally wouldn't argue with Naruto.

Then the two began their frantic attempts to climb the trees.

Chiba followed Kakashi Hatake to a quieter spot.

"Chiba, I'd like to know what ninjutsu you currently know."

Kakashi Hatake looked at Chiba with a serious expression.

Chiba thought for a moment before answering:

"Everything Master Jiraiya taught me was basic C-rank ninjutsu."

"I've dabbled in taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu."

"But I mostly use Wind Release."

"Great Breakthrough, Vacuum Sphere, and Gale Palm."

Kakashi Hatake took a sheet of white paper out of the pack he carried and handed it to Chiba.

"This is Chakra Paper. Let's test your chakra nature first."

Chiba's eyes filled with interest at the sight of the white paper.

He had been looking forward to this for a long time.

He had forgotten to bring it up with Jiraiya back then, but now he could finally test it.

Chiba took the Chakra Paper and channeled chakra into it.

A moment later, half of the Chakra Paper split apart, while the other half began to burn.

Seeing this, Kakashi Hatake pondered for a moment and said:

"Wind nature and fire nature chakra."

"Hmm, a good combination."

Wind fed fire, and ninjutsu of both natures specialized in offense.

Combining the two would increase their power even further.

"Unfortunately, though, I'm not particularly proficient in ninjutsu of either nature."

Kakashi Hatake shook his head, looking somewhat regretful.

"Of course, teaching you still won't be a problem!"

As Chiba listened to Kakashi Hatake, his heart rose and fell as though he were riding a roller coaster.

"Don't worry!"

"Since our time is limited, I've decided to teach you two ninjutsu!"