[in patreon, for each chapter, i am uploading a comic along with chapter. I uploaded 34 chapters in patreon. tomorrow remaining 30 chapters will be uploaded and daily, 1 new chapters will be given after 63 chapters upload in patreon. If you want beforehand or early access of story join my patreon.]
....................
As Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto walked away from Sasuke, Sakura turned toward Naruto with a sad look on her face.
"Why did you ask him to kneel down, Naruto?"
Naruto's face remained expressionless.
"There are people better than him at the same age. He is like a frog in the well, unable to see the bigger picture. So I let him know his place."
Kakashi, who was walking ahead with his stick, paused slightly.
He had not liked the scene Naruto created, but hearing those words, he felt a little better. At least on the surface, Naruto's reason did not sound completely wrong.
Sakura's sad expression slowly changed back to normal.
"Ooooh, so you said those words out of goodwill."
She looked toward the direction where Sasuke was training alone.
'I do know Sasuke has a built-up ego. He wants to excel in everything, and Naruto hit that ego directly. Maybe Sasuke may lessen his ego after this... or maybe not.'
Sakura then turned back to Naruto.
"Sorry. I blamed you for that."
Naruto looked at her and gave a full smile.
But inside, his thoughts were completely different.
'As if I am doing this for his good. One day, I will kill this brat and take his eyes. But not now. His eyes are still weak, and many people in the village are keeping tabs on him. He is the only survivor of the Uchiha clan, and he is called a prodigy, so he will be protected more.'
His smile remained gentle on the outside.
'I read about his brother Itachi in the bingo book. He has a good pair of eyes, but he is hard to deal with. He wiped out his entire clan in one night and killed his parents. Quite ruthless, I say. I don't know how this brat survived an attack like that. Itachi may have let him escape to humiliate him, or he may have left him alive on purpose because he is his brother.'
Naruto's eyes lowered slightly as he continued thinking.
'Dealing with a good person or a madman is easy. But dealing with a ruthless man like Itachi is hard. If he left this brat alive on purpose, then I can use Sasuke as a pawn to get Itachi's eyes. I guess getting the Sharingan from Itachi, who has the better pair, is a better option than getting it from this brat.'
Without realizing it, Naruto's smile became creepy.
Sakura noticed it and felt uneasy.
"Naruto, what are you thinking? You look lost in thought."
Naruto quickly corrected his smile and let out a small laugh.
"Hehe. I was just thinking about how to deal with Zabuza when he appears again."
Sakura's face showed a little fear at the mention of Zabuza.
"Yes. We have to be prepared. Right now, he is healing from his injuries, and we have to complete this mission as fast as we can."
Naruto nodded.
"Yes, you're right."
'I still want to fight him. I want that blade of his.'
After that, the three of them returned to Tazuna's house and had their meal. Once they were done eating, Kakashi led Naruto and Sakura toward a nearby stream.
Water flowed continuously through the stream, moving fast enough to make balance difficult.
Kakashi leaned against a tree, holding his stick for support.
"You two will do it here. There will be no demonstration this time. The technique is similar to tree walking, but this time the water moves, so you have to be more careful."
He pointed his stick toward the stream.
"If you apply too much chakra, your foot will sink into the water. You have to apply just enough chakra so that the water moves around your foot while you remain standing in place. If you use less than that, your feet will move along with the water, and you will slip."
Kakashi looked at Naruto and Sakura.
"You two, go over the stream and stand."
Naruto and Sakura both stepped into the stream.
At first, their feet sank into the water.
Both of them tried to apply the right amount of chakra, but neither found the balance immediately. Naruto frowned slightly, still not getting the feeling of it.
Sakura, however, managed to lift her feet above the water for a moment.
But she had used less chakra than needed. The moving water pushed against her feet, making her skid forward.
She slipped and fell right in front of Naruto.
Naruto reached out his hand.
"Sakura, you're wet. Let me help you."
Sakura took his hand and stood up.
"Yeah. My bad."
She brushed some water from her clothes and focused again.
This time, she stepped onto the water with more care.
For a moment, she seemed to balance herself.
Then the stream pushed against her again.
Sakura slipped forward, and because of the sudden force of the water, she fell straight against Naruto. Her body pressed against him as he caught her before she could fall completely into the stream.
Sakura froze.
Her cheeks turned red.
Her heart began beating faster.
'Why am I getting this feeling... for Naruto?'
She quickly pushed herself away from him and took two steps back.
"Thank you for helping me... and not making me fall."
Naruto looked at her with his usual calm face.
"I didn't come to catch you. You just came over and fell on me. You don't have to thank me for that."
Sakura's face showed a little disappointment and anger.
He had not reacted at all.
He showed, no embarrassment nor shyness. complete calmness.
Sakura replied, "Haa... okay."
With that, Naruto and Sakura continued practicing the water-walking technique.
Meanwhile, Sasuke remained in the forest, practicing tree walking alone. Again and again, he ran up the tree and fell, but each time he stood back up and tried again.
By the time dinner arrived, Naruto and Sakura had finally perfected the water-walking technique.
Sasuke had also managed to master tree walking.
Later that evening, all three of them met again at the dinner table.
(To Be Continued...)
A/N:
JOIN MY PATREON GUYS.
https://www.patreon.com/c/Doctor_Strange_739
If you like my content, add it to your collections or bookmark it.
Thank you for reading my content and supporting me.