"Here's your reward for the mission—three thousand ryo in total."
After Naruto handed over the mission acceptance form, a reception ninja quickly stamped and logged it, then passed him a stack of bills without even looking up.
"Excuse me, senpai—wasn't the commission listed as five thousand ryo?" Naruto asked, shaking the cash in his hand. Sasuke and Sakura, standing nearby, also looked confused.
"Oh? You didn't know?" The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "Kakashi-senpai came by earlier to collect his share."
"Huh?" Sakura blinked, baffled. She didn't understand what their teacher was trying to say by doing that.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto and watched him calmly count ten bills before tucking them away in his pocket.
"This is yours." Naruto handed Sasuke the remaining two thousand ryo, then turned and walked straight out the door.
Sasuke silently took the cash, pulled out ten bills, and passed them to Sakura before heading for the exit as well.
But by the time he stepped outside, Naruto had already vanished.
"Tch… Just like that man—good at keeping up a façade. I'll have to…"
Sasuke was mid-thought when Sakura came up beside him, cheeks slightly flushed.
"Did Naruto already leave?" she asked dreamily. "Sasuke-kun, let's go grab something to eat together!"
Sasuke frowned. "No."
Meanwhile – Hokage's Office
Whoosh!
Yamato appeared in front of the Third Hokage's desk in a puff of smoke.
"Lord Hokage, Naruto is currently on his way home."
The Third Hokage gave a light nod, puffed on his pipe, exhaled a few smoke rings, and asked, "How did Team 7 perform today?"
Yamato's expression turned serious. He pulled two sheets of paper from his pouch and placed them on the desk, then added several photographs.
"Hmm… Just as Shikamaru reported—if someone takes the initiative to be kind to Naruto, he'll respond in kind," the Third Hokage said, smiling with satisfaction after reading the report.
Yamato nodded. "Naruto clearly respects you, Lord Hokage. He keeps your teachings in his heart."
Still smiling, the Third Hokage shook his head as he picked up a photo. "I didn't expect Sakura to master the Shadow Clone Technique faster than Sasuke."
"She's got a solid theoretical foundation," Yamato replied. "Iruka has high hopes for her. As for Sasuke… theory only takes a ninja so far. He's a Uchiha. Kakashi-senpai will begin more formal training with them this afternoon. His power will catch up soon enough."
"But right now, Naruto is far ahead of both of them. And with his talent, the gap will likely continue to grow. I'm not sure how Kakashi plans to handle that."
"Perhaps," the Third Hokage said thoughtfully, his eyes lingering on Naruto's photo. "I expect Kakashi will start them on chakra control training with tree climbing this afternoon. It's not as simple as it sounds."
"Old man's feeling pretty smug right now."
Just as Naruto was about to eat at home, he heard Kurama's voice echo in his mind and shifted his consciousness into the sealed space.
"Oh yeah? And what's our dear Hokage so pleased about?"
Naruto glanced around. "Where are Isobu and Matatabi?"
"I sent them to keep watch," Kurama said, lying down with a sneer. "That old geezer knows Kakashi will start chakra control training today. He's feeling pretty proud for placing the Five Elements Seal on you years ago."
"He thinks it'll mess up your chakra flow during training—giving Kakashi a reason to boost Sasuke's power until he surpasses you."
Naruto chuckled. "But our Hokage hasn't told Kakashi about that seal, has he? Kurama, what do you think—should I show Kakashi the seal?"
Kurama's eyes lit up. "You want to trick him into removing it?"
"No."
Naruto shook his head. "I don't need him to undo the Five Elements Seal."
"Why not?"
Kurama sounded genuinely confused.
Naruto smiled faintly. "Sure, he could break the seal. But I just want to see what choice my father's former subordinate makes."
Kurama narrowed his eyes at the massive iron gate sealing him in. After a moment, he grinned. "Heh… this might be interesting."
1:00 PM – Training Field No. 5
Naruto arrived early and sat down on a boulder, opening the scroll the Third Hokage gave him.
"You Konoha people really are boring," a voice muttered.
Naruto glanced up. "Isobu? Why are you out?"
Isobu blinked his left eye, then opened his right. "Ever since that Wood Release user started tailing you, I've had updated data. You've probably sensed it too—he's hiding nearby."
"Also, when I came out, I saw on Matatabi's monitor that Kakashi's crouched on a tree behind you, observing. You knew that too, didn't you?"
Naruto smiled. "You've seen several Jinchuriki already. It's nothing new. Besides, they're not just watching me."
At the same time, Sasuke was leaving the ninja tool store when a strange woman blocked his path.
"…Huh?"
He frowned, coldly staring at her. A second later, his eyes widened in surprise. "You?"
Clap clap.
The "woman" clapped her hands lightly. "You've improved. I'm impressed."
Sasuke glanced subtly around before asking uneasily, "What do you want?"
"No need to be so tense," she said with a faint smile. "You played 'yourself' well this morning—didn't slip up. But from now on, certain actions can only appear through me. Also, don't hide your chakra attributes. Show both your Fire and Lightning nature chakra to Kakashi."
"It'll benefit you."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What?"
But the "woman" just smiled, brushed past him, and disappeared into the crowd.
"What the hell is Naruto up to…"
Before Sasuke could think further—
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura ran up to him excitedly.
Sasuke frowned. "Great. Trouble."
Three Hours Later
Crack!
Naruto looked at the bark he'd split during tree-climbing practice, then walked over to Kakashi, who was reading Make-Out Paradise under the shade of a tree.
"Kakashi-senpai," Naruto said sincerely, "can you give me a few tips? Sasuke and Sakura are climbing so high already, but I can't seem to control the chakra at my feet."
Kakashi glanced up, then replied flatly, "There are no real tips. You just have to let your body memorize the feeling of balancing chakra."
With that, he turned back to his book, clearly signaling that the conversation was over.
Naruto sighed, then turned to resume training.
Up in a tree, Sasuke sat watching Naruto's every move, trying to figure out what he was really planning.
After 2 PM, Kakashi explained the tree-climbing technique. When Naruto shattered the tree bark right away, Sasuke remembered the "woman" outside the tool shop and realized what Naruto was doing.
But… why go to such lengths? To make Kakashi think he was still a dead last?
No—Naruto wanted to deceive someone else.
"Sasuke-kun~"
"Damn it!"
Sasuke scowled. Why did Sakura always interrupt his thoughts?
He glanced toward her—and froze.
She was hanging upside down from a tree branch and waving at him.
"She learned that trick in under two hours?!"
Sasuke was stunned. He'd needed an entire afternoon and Shadow Clones to achieve that when he first tried.
Could this girl, who kept fawning over him, actually be more talented than he was?
By 6 PM, Kakashi called an end to the training session.
"Before we wrap up, I need to determine your chakra natures."
Sakura lit up. "We're using chakra test paper, right?"
Kakashi nodded. "Sounds like the shop explained it already. You should understand the theory behind chakra natures by now. Take out your papers and inject chakra—let's see what nature you have."
Sasuke glanced at Naruto, then immediately tested his paper.
Soon, Sakura discovered she had both Water and Earth chakra natures.
Sasuke used Fire chakra to burn the third paper, then Lightning chakra to crumple the last two.
Kakashi had been wondering why Naruto hadn't tested yet, but the moment he saw Sasuke's Lightning affinity, a spark lit in his otherwise indifferent eyes.
Finally, Naruto injected his chakra. A moment later, he held up five crumpled papers and said awkwardly, "Kakashi-senpai… I think I only have Lightning affinity."
"You too?" Kakashi's eyes narrowed.
Naruto nodded with feigned disappointment. "But I only have one chakra nature, and both Sasuke and Sakura have two…"
Kakashi stared between the two boys. After a long silence, he said, "That's enough for today. We'll continue training here at 2 PM tomorrow."
Sakura's eyes brightened. "What about tomorrow morning?"
Kakashi pulled out his Make-Out Paradise. "We've got a mission in the morning. I already accepted the request."
Later That Night
While Naruto was washing up, Kurama spoke again.
"Naruto, that mop-headed guy already decided not to teach you Chidori. He thinks it would hurt you since you don't have the Sharingan—just like your father once told him. Same goes for Sasuke. If he doesn't see the Sharingan, he won't teach him either."
"Oh? So the sync is done?"
Naruto lay down in bed and entered the mirror world. After reviewing Kakashi's memories, he smiled. "Huh… didn't think Kakashi would actually treat us equally."
Isobu tapped on the Hokage and Yamato's icons. "The Third Hokage already knows everything that happened this afternoon. He has no intention of teaching you any other jutsu. He's just plotting how to strengthen your bond with the village."
Matatabi tilted her head. "So what's your plan now, Naruto?"
Naruto's eyes gleamed as he tapped on Kabuto's icon, which opened a screen showing Orochimaru. "No real plan yet… but I'm starting to get interested in natural energy."
One Week Later – Afternoon
Splash!
Naruto fell into the river. Sasuke stood over him, just like that time at the dock when Naruto had pushed him into the water. Only now, the roles were reversed—and Sasuke reached out his hand.
"Thanks!"
The sudden gratitude made Sasuke nearly lose his chakra footing. He gave Naruto a weird look, then walked off toward the far bank.
Sakura had made it across an hour earlier.
Naruto pulled himself up in front of Kakashi and peeled off his soaked clothes, revealing a well-trained physique.
Kakashi was surprised by how strong Naruto's body was—but when Naruto began gathering chakra, Kakashi's expression grew serious.
"Why is there a Five Elements Seal slapped over the Eight Trigrams Sealing Formula formed by a dual Four Symbols Seal?!"
"Could this be…"
Kakashi abruptly stood. He finally understood why Naruto had been struggling with chakra control.
Naruto looked up, confused. "Kakashi-senpai?"
"Keep training. I'll be back shortly."
With a shunshin, Kakashi vanished.
But instead of going to the Hokage's office, he paused under the building… then turned and walked into the Mission Hall instead.
At the same time, Kurama's voice echoed in Naruto's ears.
"Naruto… that mop-head has decided to pretend he never saw anything."
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/FinalArcHero789