Chapter 6: Footholds and Phantoms
For three weeks, Team 7 settled into a strange and often frustrating routine. The mornings were typically spent on tedious D-rank missions that did little more than fuel Sasuke's simmering resentment and Sakura's growing exasperation. When they weren't on official duty, Kakashi would drill them relentlessly.
Sasuke, driven by the humiliation of the bell test, pushed himself to the breaking point. He refined his taijutsu, practiced his shurikenjutsu until his hands were raw, and glared at Naruto with a furious intensity, trying to decipher the source of the dobe's inexplicable power. Sakura, diligent as ever, followed Kakashi's instructions to the letter. She ran laps until her lungs burned and practiced the basic kata he'd taught her, slowly but surely building the physical foundation she desperately needed.
Naruto, for his part, was a model of bored competence during their team exercises. He executed the formations Kakashi taught them with a lazy, fluid grace that made them effective, but he never seemed to be trying. This infuriating nonchalance grated on Sasuke more than any outright taunt could.
But when he was alone, Naruto was anything but lazy.
In the dead of night, he would slip away to the eerie quiet of Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death. Here, surrounded by the predatory sounds of the night, he wasn't practicing Shunpo or Zanjutsu. He was reaching inward, past the calm, sharp presence of Sakanade, past the rumbling, disgruntled energy of Kurama, searching for something else. A dormant, chaotic power he had only felt in fleeting, nightmarish flashes. A hollow echo.
He would sit cross-legged in a small clearing, close his eyes, and pull. It was a visceral, dangerous feeling, completely unlike drawing on his Soul Reaper energy. Where Sakanade's power was a fine, sharp note, this was a roaring cacophony. It was a raw, predatory hunger, a void that wanted to consume. A faint, black static would sometimes crackle around his hands, and he would feel a phantom pressure on his face, the ghost of a mask wanting to form, its unseen eyeholes promising a terrifying new perspective. It was a struggle, a fight against an instinct that felt both alien and intimately his own. He could never hold onto it for more than a few seconds before the raw energy became too much, recoiling back into the depths of his soul.
He was never truly alone, however. In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi would often gaze into his crystal ball, his old face etched with deep concern. He'd watch the boy sit in that dangerous forest, surrounded not by the faint red aura of the Kyuubi, but by a horrifying black static that the ball could barely resolve. It was an energy he had never seen before, a power that felt fundamentally wrong, an abyss staring back at him. He now had two great and terrible unknowns locked inside one small boy, and he had no idea what to do about either of them.
At the start of their fourth week, Kakashi led them to a different training ground, this one dominated by a small lake and towering old trees.
"Today, we're moving on to a new phase of your training," he announced. "Chakra control."
He explained the principles: focusing the precise amount of chakra to a specific point on the body to achieve a desired effect. Their first exercise would be tree climbing. Without using their hands.
"This is all about precise application," Kakashi explained. "Too little chakra, and you fall. Too much," he pointed to a deep gouge in a nearby tree trunk, "and you get blasted off. Find the balance."
Sakura, whose excellent control was her main strength, concentrated, channeled her chakra, and on her very first attempt, began walking up the tree trunk with steady, confident steps. She reached a high branch and turned, beaming with pride. "Cha! I did it!"
Kakashi gave her a genuine eye-smile. "Perfect, Sakura. Exactly as it's done. Your control is excellent."
Sasuke watched, a scowl on his face. He channeled his own chakra and charged at a tree. He made it three steps before a surge of excessive chakra blew a chunk of bark off the tree, sending him flying backward. He landed on his feet, gritting his teeth in frustration. He tried again, this time with less power, and slid back down after two steps. It was a matter of finesse, not raw power, and it was infuriating him.
Kakashi then turned his gaze to Naruto, who hadn't moved from his spot. "Your turn, Naruto. Think you can manage what Sakura did?"
Naruto just blinked at him, then looked up at the triumphant Sakura and the struggling Sasuke. "Chakra control, huh?" he said with a shrug. "Nah, don't really need it for this."
Before anyone could ask what he meant, he did something impossible.
He took a step. Onto nothing.
His foot landed in mid-air, a faint, almost invisible shimmer of pale blue energy rippling under his sandal for a split second before vanishing. He took another step, then another, casually walking up into the air as if ascending an invisible staircase. He stopped about twenty feet up, level with Sakura, who was clinging to her tree, her jaw hanging open in utter disbelief. He turned, balancing perfectly on nothing at all, and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"This what ya meant?" he asked, his voice casual. "I just make a little foothold with my own energy. It's pretty simple."
Kakashi let out a long, slow sigh that seemed to carry the weight of all the world's absurdity. He didn't even sound surprised anymore, just… tired. "Of course you can," he muttered under his breath.
Down below, Sasuke finally managed to get a running start and make it halfway up a tree before his concentration broke and he fell again. He looked up, panting, at Sakura standing proudly on her branch and Naruto literally standing on thin air. The chasm between himself and his two teammates felt less like a gap to be closed and more like an infinite, mocking abyss. One had the finesse he lacked, and the other operated on a set of rules he couldn't even begin to comprehend.
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Chapter 6.2: Infusion and Frustration
A few days after Naruto's casual defiance of gravity, Kakashi gathered them again, this time in a clearing filled with sturdy, thick-trunked trees. The mood was tense. Sasuke had been even more withdrawn and intense since the tree-climbing exercise, his frustration a palpable aura around him.
"Alright," Kakashi began, clapping his hands to get their attention. "The last exercise was about precise, sustained chakra control for adhesion. Today, we're focusing on control for infusion and power. You're going to learn how to augment your physical abilities with chakra."
He walked over to one of the trees and held up his fist. A calm, steady blue aura of chakra flared to life, enveloping his hand. He then delivered a light, almost casual tap to the tree trunk. The sound wasn't a soft thud, but a sharp CRACK. When he pulled his hand away, a deep, fist-sized indentation was left in the solid wood.
"By infusing a part of your body with chakra, you can dramatically increase its offensive and defensive power," he explained. "This is a fundamental skill. You can coat your entire body for defense, or focus the energy into your fists for stronger punches, or into your legs for more powerful kicks and faster movements. The key is to form a stable, potent layer of chakra and maintain it, especially on impact. Sakura, you try first."
Sakura, confident in her control, stepped forward. She concentrated, and after a moment of flickering, a respectable blue glow enveloped her fist. She punched a tree, leaving a shallow but noticeable dent. "I did it!"
"Good work," Kakashi praised. "Now, Sasuke."
Sasuke stepped up, determined to outdo her. He channeled his chakra, but his frustration bled into the attempt. A massive, uncontrolled burst of blue energy erupted around his hand for a split second before vanishing with a fizzle. He struck the tree with his bare knuckles, shaking his hand out in pain.
Kakashi sighed. "Too much power, not enough control, Sasuke. You're trying to force it. Find the balance."
Sasuke gritted his teeth and moved off to practice on his own, his face a mask of grim determination. Kakashi turned to Naruto, who was watching with a detached curiosity.
"Your turn, Naruto."
Naruto shrugged and held up his hand. He wasn't thinking about the careful blend of physical and spiritual energy that made up chakra. For him, the spiritual half was second nature; it was the raw stuff of his soul, his Reiatsu. He simply willed the energy forward.
Instantly, his fist was enveloped in a vibrant, powerful aura. It was a core of brilliant blue, but swirling within it, like an oil slick on water, was a distinct and spectral tinge of pinkish-magenta energy. The two forces danced together, creating a visual that was both beautiful and deeply unsettling.
Naruto casually walked up to a fresh tree, not even bothering to wind up. He delivered a light, lazy punch.
CRACK-BOOM!
The impact was explosive. The tree didn't just get an indentation; a massive, splintered crater erupted from the point of impact, large enough to shove a head into. The entire tree groaned and shuddered from the blow.
"Somethin' like that?" Naruto asked, pulling back his still-glowing hand without a hint of strain.
Kakashi just stared. The raw power was one thing, but the visual... that pink energy. It was the same colour as the mist from Sakanade. It confirmed his theory: Naruto was running on an entirely different energy source, or at least a hybrid one.
"Yes, Naruto," Kakashi said, his voice strained with forced nonchalance. "Something like that. Perfect, first try."
The words were like a physical blow to Sasuke. He watched Naruto's effortless, overwhelming display of power, and a fresh wave of rage and inadequacy washed over him. He slammed his own fist into his tree, a flicker of chakra finally coating it, but the result was a pathetic crackle compared to Naruto's blast.
"Alright," Kakashi said, seeing the dangerous level of frustration building in Sasuke. He needed to channel it. "New exercise. Naruto, Sasuke. You two will spar. Taijutsu only. The goal is to maintain the chakra enhancement on both your hands and your legs while under the pressure of combat. It will train your focus, control, and stamina. Begin when ready."
It was a test for both of them. For Sasuke, it was a chance to work on his control against a moving target. For Naruto, Kakashi wanted to see how this strange, fused energy worked in a real fight.
Sasuke didn't hesitate. A fierce, competitive fire burned in his eyes. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to concentrate. After a few sputtering attempts, he managed to sustain a steady, if slightly flickering, blue aura around his hands and feet. "I'm ready, dobe."
Naruto just sighed, as if being asked to perform a chore. His own fists and feet lit up with that mesmerizing blue-and-pink glow. He settled into a loose, unconventional stance, his shoulders slumped, looking more like he was waiting for a bus than preparing for a fight.
"Fine, fine," Naruto drawled, giving Sasuke that signature, toothy grin. "Let's dance."
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Chapter 6.3: A Dance of Prodigy and Phantom
Sasuke didn't wait for Kakashi to finish the word "dance."
He exploded forward, the ground cracking under his chakra-enhanced feet. He closed the ten-meter gap in an instant, leading with a sharp right jab aimed directly at Naruto's face, a perfect, efficient strike.
Naruto didn't block. He didn't dodge. He simply tilted his head to the side, his lazy posture unchanged, and let the glowing blue fist skim past his ear. The gust of wind from the blow ruffled his blonde hair.
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at the casual evasion. His training screamed at him to follow through. He spun on his heel, his left leg swinging around in a low, powerful sweep meant to take Naruto's legs out from under him, another textbook move executed with prodigal speed.
Again, Naruto's reaction was bafflingly minimal. He lifted one foot just high enough for Sasuke's glowing leg to pass harmlessly underneath, then set it back down without a sound. He hadn't even looked down.
"Too slow," Naruto drawled, a bored expression on his face.
Rage, hot and sharp, flared in Sasuke's chest. This wasn't a fight; it was an insult. He launched into a furious combination, a clinical display of the Uchiha style. A right cross, a left hook, a rising front kick-each strike precise and powerful, each enveloped in that flickering blue aura.
Naruto finally moved his hands. He didn't meet the blows with his own glowing fists. Instead, he used open palms, his blue-and-pink energy flaring. He didn't block; he redirected. He parried Sasuke's right cross, his palm guiding the punch just past his body. He used the back of his hand to slap the left hook off course. When the front kick came up, he simply shifted his hips back a few inches, letting it hit empty air. Sasuke's perfectly executed combo had been completely dismantled without Naruto throwing a single offensive strike. He was making Sasuke fight himself, using the Uchiha's own aggressive momentum to create openings that he pointedly refused to take.
"This is just sad," Naruto commented, letting out a theatrical yawn. "Are we done yet? I think Tora the cat put up a better fight."
That was the final straw. "Shut up!" Sasuke roared. He feinted a punch, a classic setup, then poured all his power and frustration into a single, devastating roundhouse kick aimed to shatter Naruto's ribs.
This time, Naruto met the attack. He brought his own enhanced leg up in a solid block.
BOOM!
The sound was like a thunderclap. The shockwave from the impact ripped up the grass around them in a perfect circle. Sakura gasped. Kakashi's visible eye narrowed, analyzing.
Sasuke was thrown back, skidding several feet through the dirt, his leg numb and vibrating from the sheer force of the impact. Naruto hadn't moved an inch. The pinkish-magenta energy swirling around his leg had flared brightly on impact, completely absorbing and repelling the force of Sasuke's kick.
"Finally threw a real kick, eh?" Naruto said, lowering his leg. "Not bad. For a warm-up."
Sasuke pushed through the pain, his pride screaming. He was an Uchiha. He was a prodigy. He would not be toyed with by the dobe. He charged again, this time pouring more chakra into his limbs. They traded blows, a rapid-fire exchange of glowing fists and feet.
CRACK! Sasuke landed a solid blow on Naruto's raised forearm.
THUD! Naruto answered with a light, almost lazy kick to Sasuke's thigh that sent him stumbling.
SCRAPE! Their enhanced feet scraped against each other as they both launched kicks, the raw energy hissing like grinding stone.
Kakashi watched with an analyst's cold precision. Sasuke is fighting with everything he has. His technique is flawless Uchiha taijutsu, but his control is wavering under the strain and his anger. Naruto... he's barely trying. His stance is all wrong for a ninja, his movements are bizarre, almost like a dancer. But his power... it's on another level entirely.
Naruto, bored with defending, decided to end it. As Sasuke came in with another punch, Naruto dropped low and swept his leg out. Not at Sasuke's feet, but at his standing ankle. The unorthodox attack caught Sasuke completely by surprise. His perfect form, his solid stance-it all meant nothing when one of his pillars was kicked out from under him. He stumbled, his balance broken.
Naruto flowed upward from his crouch, his other leg rising in a devastating axe kick aimed straight for Sasuke's head.
Sasuke, reacting on pure instinct, crossed his arms above his head to block. The blue-and-pink heel smashed down onto his guard. The ground beneath Sasuke's feet shattered, spiderwebbing outwards as he was driven down to one knee, his arms screaming in protest.
Before he could recover, Naruto was already gone, having used the rebound from the kick to flip backward through the air.
"You're wide open," Naruto stated, landing softly ten feet away.
It was the ultimate humiliation. Sasuke, the master of technique, had been taken down by a simple trip and a single, powerful strike. He looked up, his black eyes blazing with a desperate, furious light.
"Not... yet!" he roared. He launched himself at Naruto, not with a precise strike, but with a raw, desperate tackle, trying to use his sheer strength to close the gap. He managed to drive Naruto back a few steps before Naruto, with an annoyed grunt, grabbed him by the front of his shirt and, with a powerful spin, threw him straight up into the air. Naruto leapt after him, but his timing was off, and instead of rising to meet his opponent, he flailed comically as gravity yanked him back down."
As Sasuke flew upwards, momentarily helpless, a triumphant, savage grin finally appeared on his face. He had him. This was a classic aerial combat setup.
"It's over!" Sasuke yelled, twisting his body in mid-air to orient himself. He was above Naruto. He had the advantage. He kicked off the air itself with a burst of chakra, propelling himself down like a hawk. He drew his enhanced fist back, ready to deliver a finishing blow that would drive Naruto into the ground like a nail.
But as he descended, something impossible happened.
Naruto, who should have been falling, stopped.
He bent his knees and then kicked down violently at the empty space beneath him. A concussive boom of blue and pink energy erupted from the soles of his feet, a visible shockwave that blasted the air itself. His downward momentum was instantly and completely arrested. He just hung there in mid-air, a phantom standing on a foothold of his own impossible power.
Sasuke, already committed to his downward strike, couldn't stop. His eyes were wide with disbelief. He was falling. Naruto was not.
Naruto looked up at the descending Uchiha, his expression one of utter boredom. He raised one hand, the blue-and-pink aura flaring brightly, and simply caught Sasuke's chakra-enhanced fist.
All of Sasuke's momentum, all his power, all his rage, died in that single moment. He was just... held there. Dangling in the sky, his most powerful strike caught effortlessly in his opponent's palm.
"Gravity's a real pain, ain't it?" Naruto said, his voice quiet.
Then, with a simple flick of his wrist, he pushed.
There was no grand technique. No explosive blast. Just a simple, disdainful shove. Sasuke was sent hurtling back towards the ground. He hit the earth hard, the impact knocking the wind out of him and shattering his remaining concentration. The blue chakra around his limbs sputtered and died. He lay there, gasping, defeated not by a secret jutsu, but by the casual, overwhelming power of an opponent who hadn't even considered him a threat.
Naruto drifted gently to the ground, his own vibrant glow fading as if he'd simply turned off a switch. He landed without a sound, not even breathing heavily. He glanced down at the downed Sasuke, then up at Kakashi.
"Can we go get ramen now?"