The moment Naruto's voice faded, his body began to spin.
Faster. Faster.
Wind howled outward as his rotation intensified, pulling loose stone and shattered rock into its grip. In seconds, a towering vortex formed, swallowing debris and dust alike. The air screamed under the strain.
The shape began to change.
The spiraling wind stretched, curved, and for an instant hinted at something alive. A dragon's outline flickered within the storm.
Then it collapsed.
The vortex detonated and dispersed violently. Naruto was thrown clear, skidding across the ground. His clothes were shredded, shallow cuts crisscrossing his skin.
He lay there, staring up at the sky.
"Failed again…"
High above, chunks of rock fell back to earth, smashing into the ground and carving out a fresh crater not far from him.
Before Naruto could move, a sharp knock struck the back of his head.
"Ow!"
Homura stood beside him, arms folded, expression dark.
"I told you already," he said flatly. "The Leaf Dragon God isn't just taijutsu anymore. It's a fusion. Wind chakra nature. Shape transformation. A nin-taijutsu. You can't brute-force it with muscles alone."
Naruto rubbed his head, blinking. "Nin… taijutsu?"
"Yes." Homura's voice hardened. "Turning compressed wind into cutting edges is nature transformation. Shaping that storm into a dragon and focusing its killing power is form transformation. Miss either one, and the technique tears itself apart."
Naruto glanced down at his arms, then back up. "So that's why it hurts…"
"You're lucky," Homura said. His eyes lingered on Naruto's battered but intact body. "If your body weren't this resilient, a failed attempt would've shredded you. Most people don't walk away from that."
He didn't finish the thought.
Naruto barely reacted to the warning. "Then what do I do, Homura-sensei? How do I actually learn it?"
Homura exhaled slowly.
"Your body and taijutsu are already more than enough," he said. "Better than anyone I've taught. The reason you keep failing is simple. Your wind chakra control isn't there yet."
"Wind chakra…" Naruto muttered, nodding as if something clicked. Then he looked up again. "Sensei, did you have other students before me?"
Homura went quiet.
"…I did."
His voice roughened.
"He couldn't use genjutsu. Could barely manage ninjutsu. But he wanted to stand on the front lines anyway. A fool."
Naruto stayed silent.
"He mastered the form of the Leaf Dragon God with pure taijutsu," Homura continued. "But not its core. When the Third Shinobi War began, he went anyway. Enemies exploited his weaknesses."
Homura's gaze drifted past Naruto, somewhere far away.
"He didn't come back."
Naruto clenched his fists.
When Homura finished, Naruto spoke, his voice steady.
"I'm not good at comforting people," he said. "But I promise you this. I'll inherit this technique properly. I'll use it to protect the village. Protect my comrades. That's my ninja way."
Homura studied him.
The grin, the noise, the recklessness. All of it was gone. What remained was something sharp and unyielding.
"…Tch." Homura turned away. "Talk like that after you've mastered it."
Naruto scratched his cheek and laughed awkwardly. "Yeah… guess you're right."
Then he perked up. "So how do I train wind chakra?"
"Like that Uchiha kid taught you," Homura replied. "Use chakra to cut leaves."
Naruto nodded rapidly. "And after that?"
"Figure out how to weave it into the technique."
"…How?"
Homura's eyebrow twitched.
"Idiot. That part can't be explained."
He jabbed a finger at Naruto's chest.
"When the conditions are right, it'll happen."
Naruto went quiet. Then suddenly stepped forward.
"Hey, Homura-sensei. Can I teach this to Sasuke?"
Homura glanced at him. "Do what you want. You don't need my permission."
Then he added, "But if he doesn't have wind chakra, he can't learn it. Do you even know his affinities?"
Naruto froze. "…Uh. I know he has lightning and fire."
Homura pinched the bridge of his nose.
"One of the first rules of being a ninja is information," he said coldly. "Your enemies plan around your abilities, track your growth, and you don't even know their chakra nature spread. That's why you kept losing."
Naruto laughed weakly. "Heh…"
The wind swept over the shattered hillside.
Training would continue.