Chapter 28: Mission Nearing End, Preparing to Return to the Village
"Damn it, the third stage is really too difficult! This balloon pops with just a touch, is Kakashi-sensei mistaken? We should be using tougher rubber balls!"
The third stage of training had barely begun, and Uzumaki Naruto's main body alone had popped three balloons, not to mention his numerous Shadow Clones. This made him wonder if they were using the wrong props!
"Stop! Naruto, you idiot, did you not listen to Kakashi-sensei's explanation at all just now?"
Sakura saw Naruto and his Shadow Clones consume at least a hundred balloons in less than a minute, which angered her, so she quickly called a halt.
"I listened carefully! It's just, like this, maintaining Chakra inside the balloon without letting it explode."
Uzumaki Naruto, seeing Sakura get angry, couldn't help but shrink his neck and explain weakly.
"Idiot, 'like this' how?" Sakura snapped, knowing immediately that Naruto hadn't understood Kakashi-sensei's instructions.
"It's... isn't it just replacing the rubber ball with a balloon, based on the second stage, and then not letting the balloon explode?"
Uzumaki Naruto replied somewhat sheepishly.
"Idiot, you need to compress the Chakra orb from the second stage into a Chakra membrane, not directly into the balloon! You need to create a membrane inside the balloon!"
Sakura couldn't help but tap Naruto's head upon hearing his words.
"Oh! So that's it, no wonder!" Uzumaki Naruto suddenly understood, but the next second a question popped up again, "Then how do I create a Chakra membrane inside the balloon?"
"..."
Sakura almost fainted from Naruto's stupidity. It seemed he had learned nothing about Chakra form transformation from the first two stages!
Can't he even transform Chakra into a spherical membrane?
"Idiot—"
Uchiha Sasuke, who was nearby, was also a bit annoyed by their conversation. He felt that Naruto was truly a dead last, not even understanding this. He really wondered how he completed the first two stages.
But then again, in the first two stages, if the method was right, one could just brute force it; not much technique was needed.
To avoid further disturbance, Uchiha Sasuke decided to continue his training at sea.
"Hey, Sasuke! Where are you going?"
Sakura heard the movement behind her and instinctively turned around, only to see Sasuke turning to leave. Her heart fluttered, and she quickly called out to him.
"None of your business." Uchiha Sasuke replied coldly.
"I..." Sakura's desire to chase after him sank.
"Tch, arrogant Sasuke, just because he's a little ahead for now, why's he acting so smug!"
Uzumaki Naruto pouted, grumbling unhappily.
"Idiot Naruto, it's all your fault Sasuke got angry and left." Sakura's anger immediately flared up when she heard Naruto's voice.
"Huh?" Uzumaki Naruto felt innocent. That Sasuke guy just loved to show off, even during training he couldn't stop trying to look cool. It had nothing to do with him!
"Never mind Sasuke for now, Sakura, quickly teach me how to create a membrane inside the balloon."
Before Sakura could get angry again, Naruto spoke first, requesting again.
Seeing this, Sakura sighed deeply. She still had her own training to do, yet she had to teach someone else!
Helplessly, she patiently explained to Naruto for a while.
"Alright, if you still can't do it, go ask Kakashi-sensei to teach you. I'm not as skilled as Kakashi-sensei."
After teaching him, Sakura quickly stated that she still had her own training and no time to teach him anymore. If he couldn't do it, he should go find Kakashi.
"Oh, so that's how it is!" Naruto nodded, understanding, and then took out another balloon to try again.
This time, the balloon actually lasted five or six seconds before finally exploding.
Seeing his progress, Naruto couldn't help but feel happy.
Next, it was time for all his Shadow Clones to work hard together.
"Such an enviable amount of Chakra..."
Sakura had envied Naruto's Chakra reserves more than once. Having a large number of Shadow Clones train together, with his Chakra seemingly bottomless no matter how much he trained, this method of training was practically cheating!
"But it's okay, Kakashi-sensei also has low Chakra reserves, yet he's still so strong! I can definitely do it too."
But soon, Sakura quickly used Kakashi's example to comfort herself.
—
—
Time spent training always passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, the bridge was almost complete.
"What, we're going back tomorrow?"
In the evening, everyone who was eating suddenly heard this news and was somewhat stunned.
"Hey, the bridge is almost built, and your mission will be successfully completed. Shouldn't this be something to be happy about?"
Tazuna looked at Naruto and the others' reactions, which didn't seem happy, and couldn't help but feel a bit strange.
"..."
The third stage wasn't even completed yet, and they had to go back. How could they be happy?
All three were somewhat silent, especially Naruto, whose progress was still the furthest behind.
Kakashi wasn't surprised by this. Even though Sasuke and Sakura's Chakra control was stronger than their peers, the third stage was still not that easy to learn.
Sakura's Chakra control was the strongest among the three, but her Chakra reserves couldn't keep up.
Sasuke had sufficient Chakra reserves, and his current control ability wasn't weak, but he insisted on training on the turbulent sea, increasing the difficulty for himself.
As for Naruto, there was no need to mention him; his Chakra control was the worst. Without a suitable opportunity, like the dangerous burst he had against Kabuto in the original story, it would probably take him a while to learn.
However, if Sasuke learned it and mocked him, perhaps Naruto could also have a sudden burst and learn it all at once.
"Although we're returning tomorrow, there's no rush on the way back. You can learn as you travel. Whoever completes the third stage before returning to the Village will receive a reward of learning a new Ninjutsu."
Kakashi hesitated for a moment, then threw out an enticement to see if they could be motivated by it, especially Naruto.
Hearing about another competition and a reward, Uzumaki Naruto instantly became full of energy. He immediately stood up and pointed at Sasuke, "This time, I won't lose again!"
"If you've got the guts, prove it with action, dead last!"
Uchiha Sasuke didn't even lift his eyes. Naruto's provocation, in his opinion, was just empty talk.
"Damn it! I'll definitely surpass you!" Seeing Sasuke's attitude, Naruto gritted his teeth in anger.
"Sit down quickly, idiot!" Sakura, who was nearby, saw Naruto shouting like this at the dinner table, especially in someone else's house, which was really rude, so she quickly pulled him down.
Uzumaki Naruto then unhappily sat back down and buried his head in his food.
Soon after, he put down his bowl, declared he was full, then got up and ran out to continue training.
"I'm full too."
At this moment, Uchiha Sasuke also put down his rice bowl and similarly walked out to continue training.
He also felt a sense of urgency. That Naruto guy, always using Shadow Clones to train quickly, might actually surpass him.
Therefore, he decided not to add difficulty for himself and would train normally, striving to complete the third stage of training tonight, giving Naruto no chance to overtake him.