"Pervert!" Sakura lifted her tear-streaked face and glared at Ayato. "You made me hit the tree with everything I had and then act like that's normal!"
Was Ayato okay? He told her to punch the tree full-force, then casually declared that trees are hard.
What a perverted teacher!
"I told you before to let chakra flow into your feet," Ayato said. He let a pale-blue glow pool in his palm, then gently took Sakura's swollen hand in his.
Her redness faded and the soreness eased—the pain was still there, but the swelling went down until her hand looked whole again.
Sakura stared at her healed hand in surprise. "Ayato-sensei, you actually know medical ninjutsu?"
Ayato tilted his chin, proud. "Of course. I'm versatile." He smiled. "So punch boldly—if you actually break your arm, I can put it back together."
"Don't say things like that!" Sakura shot back, half-annoyed, half-alarmed. "I'm never hitting that tree again!"
"Don't be so frightened," Ayato said, patting her shoulder lightly. "It might hurt at first, but you'll get used to it."
"Please don't put it like that—and stop touching me, you pervert!" Sakura snapped, backing away to cover herself and scowl.
"Spoiled brats," Ayato sighed, then raised one finger. "This is a finger."
"I know that," Sakura deadpanned.
"Freeze chakra into your fingertip and interesting things happen." Ayato tapped the tree trunk with his finger and trailed off for effect.
He flicked his finger—pop!—the entire tree shuddered and lifted out of the ground as if yanked by roots, sailed through the air, and crashed down some distance away.
Ayato shaded his eyes and watched the tree land. "It didn't crack. That's one tough tree."
He hadn't used much force, yet the tree had flown. That proved just how solid the trunk was—and how much Sakura's fist must have hurt when she hit it.
No wonder she'd resisted.
Sakura blinked, awed at the uprooted tree and then looked at Ayato with admiration. One finger had sent that whole tree flying—if that power hit a person… it would be lethal.
"When you master chakra control, you'll be able to do the same," Ayato said, brushing dust from his hands. "Try freezing chakra in your fist—imagine it as wearing a layer of armor."
"All right, I'll try." Sakura crossed to another tree and closed her eyes, swallowing at the memory of the sting. She drew chakra in, let it flow into her palm, and clenched, then struck with everything she had.
The trunk trembled, leaves fluttered down, and Sakura's eyes flew open. "It doesn't hurt as much—and I feel so much stronger than before." She examined her slightly reddened knuckles and smiled despite the ache.
This was chakra control—shape transformation, nature transformation, and precise chakra manipulation. Things they'd never learned at the academy.
"So I can get stronger!" Sakura cheered, hopping in place.
Ayato popped a lollipop and watched her. "You're talented," he said aloud. In fine control, Sakura surpassed both Naruto and Sasuke. Superhuman strength was difficult to learn precisely because you must harden and release chakra at a perfect instant—too slow and it's useless.
In the whole ninja world, only two people used that kind of taijutsu mastery: Ayato and Tsunade. Ayato had learned his version on his own.
"Thank you for teaching me, Ayato-sensei," Sakura said gratefully.
"Don't hold the charge too long," Ayato warned. "Train to resolve the chakra instantly." He glanced toward Naruto and Sasuke struggling farther off and raised his voice so they could hear. "If you can punch that tree cleanly within five days, I'll recommend you for the Chūnin exam."
At that promise, both Sasuke and Naruto froze mid-practice and pretended not to listen while their ears perked up.
"The Chūnin exam?" Sakura's breath caught—everyone wanted that spot. "Can I really do it?"
Ayato waved it off casually. "Sure. If you can break that tree, you'll be fine."
"Okay, I'll do it!" Sakura ran back to the tree and resumed training—determined and energetic.
Ayato called to them, "Work hard, little brats. I've got things to do."
"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.
"Men have things to attend to—either getting ready for a date or on the way to one." Ayato winked and vanished in a streak of blue.
"Perverted teacher, out on a date during a mission," Sakura muttered, torn between irritation and a kind of impressed bewilderment. He'd only been in the Land of Waves a little while and already found someone to see—impressive, in a certain way.
Meanwhile, Sasuke grimly eyed Sakura at the tree. That Chūnin slot should be mine, he thought. Sakura becoming Chūnin first? Not on my watch.
Sasuke focused on the chakra in his palm, trying to infuse it with lightning-type nature chakra. He couldn't quite form the property cleanly yet. Five days, huh? Fine—watch me learn Chidori.
Over closer to where Naruto had set up, dozens of his shadow clones whispered among themselves.
"Did you hear about the Chūnin exam?"
"If we train hard and pass in five days, can we take it too?"
"Ayato only told Sakura because there's one spot—if I take it, I'll steal her chance! I couldn't do that."
"You're such an idiot. If I learn Rasengan in five days, Sakura will look up to me!"
"Right! You're brilliant!"
"No, I'm brilliant!"
They went on like that—endlessly loud and cheerful.
On a cliff overlooking the Land of Waves, a figure sat under the moon: a masked Uchiha.
"Like the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, I look at him and remember myself," Obito said softly from the shadow of his mask. He had watched Team Seven today and felt a strange familiarity to Naruto.
Zetsu rose from the ground nearby—Black Zetsu and White Zetsu moving as they always did. "A-hei," White Zetsu reported quietly, "that rogue from the Hidden Mist failed—Zabuza seems to have been used by Ayato to test Team Seven."
"Failure can be useful," Obito said calmly. "Let them probe Ayato's strength."
White Zetsu tilted its head. "What do you think of Ayato's power?"
Obito didn't answer immediately. His single visible Sharingan narrowed. Ayato's abilities were peculiar: lightning-based mobility and the ability to turn his body into lightning—powers that resembled the Hōzuki or other rare kekkei genkai. More disturbing were Ayato's pale blue eyes, which bore an uncanny similarity to the Rinnegan in how they behaved.
Ayato's control over the Nine-Tails put him in a dangerous category—but the mission remained the same: collect the tailed beasts.
"End this hollow world of shinobi and create a world where Rin exists," Obito muttered—Rin's face flaring in his mind. The shinobi world had taken away what he loved; he would remake the world so Rin could live in it.
A streak of blue lightning, and Ayato suddenly appeared on the cliff, seated like an old friend beside Obito. He chewed a tricolor dango and said, "You've been watching all day and still haven't made a move."
Ayato had noticed chakra shadowing Team Seven earlier—fixated on Naruto—and had followed it. Then, pretending he had "plans," he'd dropped in on Obito.
Black Zetsu gave a puzzled look. White Zetsu scanned Ayato's eyes closely. "His eyes—there's something about that chakra. It feels… familiar. Like the one who could be a mother," White Zetsu murmured.
Obito considered Ayato calmly. "Your eyes are stranger than the rumors."
Ayato smirked. "Is that a new way to flirt? Sorry—I'm into women."
White Zetsu and Black Zetsu both stared in surprise. Ayato seemed to know something about Obito—more specifically, about his identity. Obito's sudden question came quietly: "What else do you know?"
Ayato's smile faded a touch. "You're going to die if you're not careful."
Obito's space around him twisted; he could strike now, but the timing might ruin future plans. He settled back down and said, "We'll be enemies someday. Leave the outcome for another time."
"I tried to tell you—" Obito began, and then in a flat voice: "The man called 'Obito' died that day. I'm nobody now."
The name stung him; it brought back memories of Rin's final moments. Shinobi life, Obito thought, was steeped in despair. He would reshape the world to include Rin—only then would things be real.
Ayato snacked on a dango and said coolly, "Losing someone you love can make you want to burn it all down. But tearing the world apart to hide the pain… that's just a theatrical tantrum. You're angry at fate, not the world's structure. Pretending to fix it by wiping everyone out is just self-deception."
Obito's silence met Ayato's words.
Ayato added with a shrug, "The shinobi world is oddly entertaining. Strong people show off, elders scheme, big sisters smack people, little kids try to get stronger—there's plenty to watch."
For now, they talked—two dangerous men sharing a night under the same moon, each thinking about the futures they wanted to force into being.
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