Naruto was half-crouching on the ground, panting, his hands already aching.
After several hours of continuous practice, he still couldn't make the rubber ball in his hand burst open.
"Damn it!" Naruto gritted his teeth, his face full of unwillingness, "It didn't feel this hard in the dream!"
He took a deep breath, placed the rubber ball in his left palm again, and tightly covered it with his right hand.
The newly born Chakra within his body gathered in his palm according to his will. Naruto tried hard to recall the key points he learned last night, attempting to make the Chakra spin at high speed like a whirlpool.
One second, two seconds... A faint ripple of surging Chakra came from his palm, and a slight indentation and tremor appeared on the surface of the rubber ball.
But soon, the Chakra scattered uncontrollably again.
The rubber ball bounced back to its original state with a 'pop', jumping in Naruto's hand, showing no sign of exploding.
Naruto slumped onto the ground in frustration, his hands so numb he could barely lift them.
He panted heavily, looking at the still intact rubber ball in his hand, and couldn't help but mumble, "What's going on... Controlling Chakra in reality is indeed much harder than in a dream!"
He recalled the scene in his dream; he seemed to have effortlessly completed the first stage of training, but now, practicing the second stage, he had made no progress after half a day of effort.
Beside him, Sakura Haruno and Uchiha Sasuke had already stopped what they were doing, watching Naruto's predicament intently.
Sakura looked at the exasperated Naruto and couldn't help but chuckle, "Pfft... Naruto, don't waste your energy."
Naruto's old face flushed when he heard Sakura's laughter, and he shouted defiantly, "I'm practicing a super powerful secret art! When I learn it... Sakura-chan will know how amazing it is."
Sakura curled her lips in disdain, "Tch, what super powerful secret art? Didn't you learn it in a dream? Wake up, Naruto, a dream is just a dream, don't take it seriously."
Naruto grew anxious, his face flushed as he argued, "The person who... taught me Ninjutsu in the dream, he was, he was..."
He stopped abruptly mid-sentence and changed his words, "Anyway, I'm definitely going to learn it!"
Just as Naruto's voice faded, a lazy voice came from a distance: "Yo~~ Everyone, sorry, sorry for keeping you waiting."
Everyone looked up to see Kakashi walking leisurely in the midday sun, his hands in his pockets.
His characteristic headband was tilted, covering his left eye, and half of his face was hidden beneath a black mask, leaving his exposed right eye curved into a crescent shape.
"Sorry everyone, I ran into a little trouble on the way, so I'm late."
"Kakashi-sensei!!"
Sakura Haruno immediately bristled with anger.
"Do you even know what time it is?!"
She pointed a finger at the dazzling sun in the sky, "Being late every time is one thing, but this time you're late until noon! What a joke—"
"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto jumped up and echoed, "We're so hungry we're almost starving!"
Kakashi scratched the back of his head and chuckled indifferently, "Ahaha, sorry, sorry. I couldn't help it... On the way here, I got lost on the road of life, which took up a lot of my time."
At these words, Naruto and Sakura froze simultaneously: "Huh??"
Lost on the road of life?
What kind of lame excuse is that!
The two looked at each other, momentarily even forgetting to continue being angry.
Sasuke, however, scoffed and turned his face away, muttering, "He's using that kind of nonsense to fob us off again."
Seeing the 'I don't believe you' written all over the little ones' faces, Kakashi gave two dry laughs and quickly waved his hands, "Anyway, lunch is on me today! You can eat whatever you want."
"Really?"
Naruto's eyes lit up at the news, all his resentment vanishing. He raised both hands and cheered, "Great! Then I want to eat Ichiraku Ramen! Lots and lots of bowls of char siu ramen!"
After he finished speaking, he was so excited that he seemed to have regained all his strength, and he dashed towards the Village, as if afraid Kakashi would go back on his word, "Let's go, let's go! This time I'm ordering more bowls!"
Sakura still wanted to complain about Kakashi a bit more, but Naruto, hearing about the treat, disappeared in a few quick movements.
She sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead, "That idiot, there's no helping him..."
Kakashi watched Naruto's receding figure with a smile, seemingly not bothered by his students' complaints.
But once Naruto's figure disappeared around the bend of the forest path, the smile on his face gradually faded.
Kakashi slowly turned around to face Sasuke and Sakura, who had remained. His previously relaxed expression was gone, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity and seriousness.
"Sasuke, Sakura."
Kakashi spoke in a low voice, his only exposed right eye looking directly at his two students, "I want to ask you something—have you mentioned last night's dream to anyone?"
Sasuke and Sakura were both startled.
Kakashi's sudden serious demeanor caught them off guard.
The two exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of surprise and unease in the other's eyes.
"No." Sasuke was the first to shake his head, stating confidently, "I live alone, so there's no one else to tell."
Sakura also quickly nodded: "Me too! My parents are civilians, and I... even if I wanted to tell them, I wouldn't know how to, and didn't Kakashi-sensei tell us not to spread it around before? How would I dare to talk carelessly?"
Hearing both confirm that no information had leaked, Kakashi visibly relaxed.
He nodded, his voice even lower: "Very good. Remember, you must continue to keep it a secret. You must not mention this matter to anyone, especially the specific contents that happened in the dream."
Sakura nodded.
Although she didn't understand why it was being treated like an S-rank secret, it was just a dream after all.
Sasuke didn't speak, but the expression on his face had clearly grown serious.
Looking at the nervous or pensive expressions of his two students, Kakashi nodded: "I can't tell you too many details, I can only tell you that it was definitely not an ordinary dream. In short, this matter is not to be spread, understood?"
"Yes!" Sasuke and Sakura exchanged glances, both seeing confusion and curiosity in each other's eyes, but they still nodded in unison, agreeing.
This was the first time they had heard Kakashi speak with such solemnity since they had been following him, indicating that the seriousness of the matter exceeded their imagination.
"Good."
Seeing that the two understood, Kakashi smiled again.
He raised a hand and ruffled the tops of their heads, returning to his usual carefree demeanor, "Let's go, don't let Naruto order all the char siu in the shop."
With that, he turned and took the lead, strolling leisurely in the direction Naruto had gone.
Sakura was still a bit confused, but hearing Kakashi's comment, she couldn't help but shake her head with a smile and quickly followed.
Sasuke was a half-step slower in starting to walk.
After a few steps, he couldn't help but look back at the empty training ground. Kakashi's words still echoed in his mind.
"If the contents of the dream were all false, then there would be no problem in speaking about them... Since Kakashi-sensei wants to silence us, that means..."
It means that those outrageous scenes in the dream might not be Naruto's personal fantasy, but rather have a hidden truth!
Sasuke's fist unconsciously tightened in his pocket.
"Sasuke? What are you spacing out for, let's go!"
Sakura's call came from ahead.
Sasuke looked up and saw Sakura waving at him from not far away, while Kakashi and Naruto had already disappeared.
"Coming."
Sasuke composed himself, temporarily suppressing his myriad questions, and quickly caught up.