When Naruto returned to the campsite, Sasuke was still training.
Thanks to her natural talent for chakra control, Sakura had already finished her training and was resting.
Looking at Sasuke training so desperately that his entire body was covered in injuries, Naruto clicked his tongue a few times before drifting off to sleep.
Early the next morning—
Naruto woke up and discovered that Sasuke was actually still training.
“You sure work hard~”
Naruto yawned.
By now, Sasuke could already sprint all the way to the top of a tree, but he still couldn’t control himself as freely as Sakura could.
“Kakashi-sensei, is there anything for breakfast?”
Naruto walked over to Kakashi and asked.
Kakashi rolled his eye at him.
“What happened to the game you said you were going to hunt last night?”
“…”
The air suddenly became painfully quiet.
“Ah, well, it was so dark last night that all the little animals had gone to sleep. I couldn’t find anything to hunt!”
Naruto spoke with complete seriousness.
Kakashi was speechless.
He took out some field rations from a sealing scroll and tossed them to Naruto.
“Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!”
Naruto waved, returned to his spot, and began eating while watching Sasuke train.
Just as he was enjoying his meal, Sakura walked over.
“Naruto-kun.”
“What’s up?”
Naruto didn’t look at her.
His attention remained divided between his food and Sasuke’s training.
For some reason, he found Sasuke’s desperate efforts rather “enjoyable” to watch.
“Well… since we have to wait for Sasuke to finish training before we head back, I wanted to ask if you could teach me something else.”
Sakura looked at him expectantly.
“If you want to learn something, just ask Kakashi-sensei. Why come to me?”
Naruto didn’t even turn his head.
“But Kakashi-sensei said anything else would take too long to learn, so he won’t teach me.”
Sakura sounded rather aggrieved, though her inner self was already roaring violently.
“Hmm~”
Naruto thought for a moment before shouting toward Sasuke,
“Sasuke, how much longer are you going to train?”
Sasuke, who was just about to make another run at the tree, stumbled and nearly fell.
He looked at Naruto unhappily and replied coldly,
“One whole hour~?”
The disgust in Naruto’s voice made Sasuke want to run over and punch him.
Unfortunately—
He couldn’t beat him!
Sasuke buried the humiliation deep inside and threw himself into training even harder.
“Naruto-kun, is there anything you can teach me?” Sakura asked expectantly.
Under that kind of gaze, Naruto could only give in.
“Fine. I’ll teach you something.”
“Yes! Thank you, Naruto-kun!”
Sakura jumped excitedly.
Naruto finished his rations and turned toward Kakashi.
“Kakashi-sensei, I’m taking Sakura to the nearby river to train. We’ll be back within an hour.”
The nearest river was only a few hundred meters from their campsite.
Kakashi didn’t object.
“Go ahead.”
When they reached the river, Naruto had Sakura wait on the bank.
He then gathered chakra beneath his feet and stepped onto the surface of the water.
“This is called water-walking training. Its purpose is the same as tree climbing—to improve your chakra control,” Naruto explained.
Looking at the river in front of her, Sakura asked,
“What’s the difference between the two?”
“A tree doesn’t move. As long as you maintain the correct amount of chakra beneath your feet, you can stick to it.”
“But water is constantly moving. This exercise requires much finer chakra control, and you have to continuously adjust it.”
Naruto explained patiently.
Sakura nodded thoughtfully and gathered chakra beneath her feet just as she had during the tree-climbing exercise.
Since losing control meant falling into the river, she didn’t immediately step out with both feet.
Instead, she cautiously placed one foot on the surface and slowly shifted her weight onto it.
Stable!
She really did have exceptional talent when it came to chakra control.
“Yes! I did it!”
“Ah!”
Sakura became so excited that she lost concentration.
Her chakra control slipped.
With a scream, she plunged straight into the river!
“Ah… glug, glug… Naruto… help me… glug, glug…”
The current was fast, and Sakura wasn’t a particularly strong swimmer, so she couldn’t stabilize herself in the water.
Naruto hadn’t expected that.
By the time he reacted and pulled Sakura from the river, she had already swallowed who knew how much water.
Even Naruto, who hadn’t fallen in, ended up completely soaked.
Naruto patted Sakura’s back, helping her cough up the water she had inhaled.
“You okay?” Naruto asked.
“I’m fine.”
Sakura shook her head.
“Then let’s continue.”
Naruto released her and took off his soaked shirt.
“W-What are you doing?!”
Sakura’s eyes widened in alarm.
Naruto rolled his eyes at her.
“My clothes are soaked because of you. I’m changing.”
He opened a sealing scroll and took out two sets of clothes.
“They’re both my style, but you can wear one.”
Naruto tossed a set to Sakura.
“Thanks~”
Sakura thanked him quietly.
Just as she was about to find somewhere to change, Naruto suddenly added,
“Actually, I’d suggest waiting until later if you’re planning to keep practicing water-walking.”
Sakura looked at the river in front of her, then down at her soaked clothes.
Although her outfit was red, being drenched like this was still uncomfortable and embarrassing.
Better to change first.
Blushing, Sakura said,
“I think I’ll save the water-walking training for another time.”
“Oh. Up to you.”
Naruto didn’t stare at her.
Compared to Hinata, Sakura simply wasn’t his type.
Sakura found a large tree and changed behind it into Naruto’s clothes.
“I’m done. Let’s head back, Naruto.”
Her face was still red, and she kept sneaking occasional glances at him.
She couldn’t stop wondering how much Naruto had noticed earlier.
“Mm. Let’s go.”
Naruto nodded calmly and headed toward the campsite without looking back.
Sakura followed behind him, staring at his back as a strange thought entered her mind.
“Why am I not angry?”
“Something this embarrassing happened in front of a boy other than Sasuke…”
“Is it because Naruto is strong and handsome?”
“Sakura, Sakura… you’re such a fickle girl.”