Chapter 29: Tree Climbing Training

Disclaimer:

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 29: Tree Climbing Training

The genins stared at Kakashi with blank expressions.

Sakura raised her hand. "Teacher…we already know how to do that."

Kakashi sighed. "Let me demonstrate what I mean."

They watched as their teacher placed a foot on the surface of a tree, then lifted his body up and began walking up the tree trunk as if he were still on the ground. He continued until he reached one of the largest branches and stood upside down.

"Get it now? You can't use your hands to climb, just your feet."

"You're using your chakra to remain stuck to the surface of the tree," Naruto said.

"Bingo!" Kakashi pointed at him before jumping down.

"And this is going to make us stronger?" Sakura asked.

"You want us to train our chakra control?" Sasuke realized, unable to hide his disappointment.

"Indeed! This is an exercise that will help you train your ability to control your chakra," Kakashi said.

"What about water walking?" Naruto asked. He saw the utility of being able to stick to surfaces but was more interested in the other technique.

"That one is more advanced. You first need to master this skill." Kakashi pointed at the tree. "To avoid falling, you need to apply the exact amount of chakra. If you use too much, the tree bark will break, and if it's too little, you will fall." He threw some kunai on the ground. "You can use these to mark your progress."

"I see…so it's kind of similar to the leaf exercise. Instead of using our chakra to keep the leaf stuck to us, we have to focus on our feet's pressure points…let's give it a try." Naruto rested his foot on the tree and circulated a small amount of chakra.

He tried pulling his foot off and had no issues moving it away. "Didn't stick…not enough chakra then?"

This time, he used more…the bark broke into pieces, and his foot slipped.

Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke watched Naruto with interest.

"Tsk…" Sasuke broke away from the group and went looking for a tree to use. 'I can't stand watching him…I cannot fall behind!'

"Why don't you give it a try, Sakura?" Kakashi gave the girl a little push.

"Ah…yes…" For a moment, she had gotten distracted watching Naruto. He was so methodical with his approach. Instead of trying to run up the tree and see how far he could get, Naruto was first trying to find the perfect amount of chakra to use.

Kakashi didn't miss this either. He was still trying to figure Naruto out, so he didn't know what to expect yet.

"Teacher, look!" Sakura shouted.

Kakashi looked up at the tree and found Sakura standing on top of the tallest branch.

"I did it!" she exclaimed.

"Good job, Sakura." Kakashi had already expected she would be the first one to finish the exercise, so there were no surprises there.

"Mmm…I think I got it," Naruto muttered.

"Huh?" Kakashi turned his attention to the blond boy. He had spent several minutes standing on the ground and had yet to make even a single attempt to climb. "Are you finally ready to start?" he asked.

Naruto glanced back at his teacher. "No, I mean that I already found the perfect amount of chakra to apply."

Kakashi chuckled. "Even if you have, in practice, it's going to be more difficult than you think. Using the exact same amount of chakra every time is not as simple as it sounds. It requires months, or even years of practice t-"

He stopped talking all of a sudden when he saw Naruto slowly walking up the tree.

"What?!" Sasuke raised his voice more than he intended when he saw this.

Ignoring their reactions, Naruto continued to walk across the surface of the giant tree until he reached the tallest branch, and then…like Kakashi had done, he moved to the branch and stood upside down.

"Well? Did I pass?" Naruto glanced at Kakashi while saying this.

"Mmm…yes, you did…good job, Naruto." Kakashi was a bit taken aback by the ease with which Naruto had learned this technique. He hadn't expected him to take more than a few hours, but on the first try…it should have been impossible.

'Is the Kyuubi's chakra not interfering with his control? Could there be something wrong with the seal?' Now he was even more motivated to speak with Jiraiya.

"Can you teach me to walk on water now?" Naruto asked him.

Kakashi looked troubled. He had hoped that this exercise would keep his students busy for a day or two at least. But now Sasuke was the only one who still hadn't learned it. "It wouldn't be right to teach something to you alone, Naruto. Why don't we wait until Sasuke finishes with the tree-walking technique, and if there is time, I will teach it to the three of you."

Naruto moved his eyes to the black-haired boy. "I suppose that makes sense. I'll wait then." He turned around and sat down with his back against the tree.

"Ah…yes." Kakashi was once again surprised by his behavior. He expected him to complain a little at least.

Sasuke clenched his teeth so hard that they started to make noises. Now he was the last one of his team to learn this…the worst one…

"Sasuke, do you want me to help you?" Sakura approached the boy with a gentle smile on her face. "I can give you some advi-"

"Shut up!" Sasuke shouted. "Leave me alone, I can do this!" He turned and walked further into the forest, looking for a more distant tree to practice on.

Sakura stood there in shock, not sure what to do. Sasuke had been mad at her before, but this was the first time he screamed at her like that. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and looked around, finding her teacher.

"Don't mind his words too much. I think he is just feeling a bit stressed…Sasuke is very competitive, you see?" Kakashi was the one who understood Sasuke the best since he had been informed about many details of what the boy went through during the day of the massacre and the years after.

"I know…I…I think I'll go back to the house and see if Tsunami needs help with something." She walked away while wiping her teary eyes.

Kakashi sighed once more. "Teenagers…" He was well aware of Sakura's feelings for the Uchiha boy, but those feelings would only make things more difficult.

Kakashi looked at Naruto. The blond boy had his eyes closed and appeared to be meditating. "At least one of you seems to be unaffected by these kinds of matters. That's a relief…"

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