Chapter Ten: The Forest of Chakra (Compensation Chapter)

Chapter Ten: The Forest of Chakra

Seeing Kakashi collapse, Naruto and the others immediately panicked.

“What? Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto shouted as he saw Kakashi slowly fall to the ground.

“Alright, Naruto, leave my brother to me. I’m almost out of strength myself, but we have to make it to Mr. Tazuna’s house before we can rest!” Shuster used the Body Flicker Technique to catch Kakashi and hoisted him onto his shoulder.

— Scene shifts to Tazuna’s house —

The next day, in a room.

Kakashi was still unconscious on the bed. Beside him, Shuster was dozing, his head resting on the edge of the bed.

“Ugh… Did I overuse the Sharingan?” Kakashi opened his eyes and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, memories of the previous day slowly returning. He turned his head to see Shuster sleeping at the bedside, silver hair covering half his face, making his features appear even more delicate and feminine. The scene was so peaceful that Kakashi wished it could last forever. Wait, what am I thinking? Noticing that Shuster was still sound asleep and hadn’t noticed him waking, Kakashi quickly turned his head away.

Footsteps approached. “Ah! Kakashi-sensei is awake!” Naruto, passing by, saw movement and immediately called out.

“Idiot, you’ll wake everyone up!” Sasuke rebuked him mercilessly.

“Naruto, you idiot! Keep it down! Shuster took care of Kakashi-sensei all night!” Sakura scolded, giving Naruto a knock on the head as she noticed Shuster beginning to stir.

“Mmm… Good morning, everyone!” Shuster, as always when just waking, was a bit dazed and hypoglycemic.

“So cute~” came a chorus of three; Kakashi had gotten used to this.

“Brother, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” Shuster, now fully alert, hurriedly inquired about Kakashi’s condition.

“It seems I’ll need to rest for three days without moving. In the original story, it was a week, but since the protagonist fought at the end, I didn’t use the Sharingan further.” Kakashi replied weakly.

“Really now, the Sharingan is powerful, but it puts too much strain on your body! You need to rest,” Shuster said, seating himself beside Kakashi.

“My apologies,” Kakashi replied, still subdued.

“But, after all, you defeated such a formidable ninja. I think we can relax for a while,” Tazuna said with relief.

“I have a feeling Zabuza might not be dead,” Kakashi said quietly.

“Ah, Shuster-sensei told us that as well,” Naruto nodded.

“But even if he isn’t, he’ll be bedridden for a week,” Shuster said with a sly smile.

“In the meantime, we shouldn’t be idle. We need to strengthen ourselves,” Kakashi said after a moment’s thought.

“Then allow me to instruct them,” Shuster declared, standing up.

“It’s useless! Anyone who opposes Gato dies,” a child suddenly spoke from behind them.

“Forgive him, that’s my grandson, Inari,” Tazuna explained, picking up the boy.

“Never mind. Come with me—I’ll take you to train,” Shuster said with a gentle smile, heading out first.

“We’re coming!” the three responded eagerly.

— Scene shifts to the forested hills behind the house —

“Kakashi-sensei, why are we here?” Naruto asked, staring curiously at the tall trees around them.

“To begin your training,” Shuster announced.

“Yes!” Naruto replied, instantly excited.

“But before that, I want to talk to you once more about the basics of being a ninja—chakra,” Shuster said, as electricity sparked from his left hand.

“You’re still joking at a time like this—” Sasuke began, about to protest.

“I know about that! It’s called Chadora, right?” Naruto said proudly.

“It’s chakra, you idiot!” Shuster corrected sternly, making Naruto’s face flush with embarrassment.

“Alright, Sakura, come here,” Shuster said, deciding to delegate the explanation of this simple topic.

“Listen up, Naruto. This is complicated, so I’ll keep it simple…” Sakura took out a scroll and began explaining chakra. “…And that’s how chakra, when channeled through hand seals, is used for jutsu.”

“Not bad. It seems Iruka-sensei still has some good students,” Shuster said coolly.

“Whatever! Even if we don’t know all that complicated stuff, we can still learn it with our bodies,” Naruto protested.

“Naruto’s right. We already use jutsu, don’t we?” Sasuke added.

“No, you haven’t fully mastered chakra,” Shuster asserted, looking at the three.

“Listen carefully. The training we’ll do is tough. You must engrain it into your body, make it instinctive!” Shuster said with a serious expression.

“What is it?” the three asked in unison.

“It is… tree climbing!” Shuster drew out the words dramatically.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“What’s wrong?” Shuster asked, sweating as he watched the three kids sprawled on their backs.

“Are you kidding? At a time like this you want us to climb trees? I could do that before ninja school!” Naruto jumped up and pointed at Shuster.

“Yeah, exactly!” Sasuke agreed for once.

“That’s right, sensei, this isn’t the time for jokes!” Sakura chimed in.

“Hehe! Without using your hands!” Shuster added.

“What?” the three exclaimed.

“Just like when I fought Zabuza and stood on the water as if it were solid ground, a ninja can climb trees without using their hands! Like this.” Shuster walked up to a thick tree, then calmly ascended and hung upside down from the top, addressing the group.

“Amazing!” the three gasped.

“But what’s the point?” Naruto asked.

“Will it make us stronger?” Sasuke questioned.

“Mhm!” Sakura nodded vigorously.

“Using chakra this way is a hallmark of elite ninja, because tree climbing requires precise control—too much chakra and the tree breaks, too little and you fall. The same applies to water. The most skilled chakra manipulation lets you adhere to other people—even if you land a flying kick, your chakra can cling to them, and while they’re sent flying, you can kill them with a kunai. The soles of the feet are the hardest place to control chakra, but if you master this, you can learn any jutsu!” Shuster, still hanging from the tree, tossed down three kunai.

“Practice here. Mark how high you climb each time, and try to surpass it on the next attempt. Now, I’ll go take care of my brother! I’ll call you at mealtime!” Shuster said, dropping down from the tree.

“Understood!” the three replied.

“Oh, and I recommend using a mat or you’ll get hurt. Don’t rush to climb higher; go step by step and make sure you’re sticking before moving up! That’s all!” Shuster called back before leaving.

“Goodbye, Shuster-sensei!” the three called after him.

“What a bunch of brats… All the protagonists, of course!” Shuster sighed.

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PS: I don’t think I can make it on Qidian anymore. No matter what you think, with these recommendations and collections, it’s not enough! Sigh, if you really want to read it, go to 17HXK. I’m exhausted! I meant to post this last night, but for some reason it didn’t go up. Frustrating!