The next morning arrived early, the sun just beginning to rise over Konoha.
Naruto stood in the clearing where Team 7 usually trained, his hands moving through the familiar sequence of hand seals for his new technique. He took a breath and focused his chakra.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The air stirred, but only barely. It was less like a powerful gale and more like a fan on the lowest setting.
"Damn it! Failed again!"
Naruto sat on the ground with a heavy sigh, looking completely discouraged. "That ninjutsu Asuma taught me is way too hard. Why can't it be as simple as the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu?"
For reference, Asuma was the man Hiruzen Sarutobi had assigned to train him yesterday.
The day before, Hiruzen had been so worried about Naruto that he went to the apartment with Iruka Umino in tow. When Naruto's primary personality opened the door, the Third Hokage visibly relaxed. He needed the Nine-Tails jinchuriki to be obedient, not a loose cannon.
After reassuring themselves that Naruto was okay, the two adults offered him words of encouragement. Finally, they introduced Asuma, explaining they'd found him a teacher to help him master Wind Release.
Asuma, while initially reluctant to take on the teaching assignment, had agreed to a joint training session between Team 7 and his own Team 10. Since Team 10 had been slacking off, he figured Team 7—whose members were already roughly Chunin-level—would light a fire under them.
Nearby, Asuma took a drag from his cigarette. He shook his head slowly as he walked over to the sitting Naruto.
"Hey, Naruto. Pay attention to the flow," Asuma said, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "You're generating enough chakra, but you're wasting it before it comes out. You didn't use enough just now."
Ninjutsu required precise control—much more than simply climbing a tree or walking on water. A novice ninja had to release the exact optimal amount. Any less, and the jutsu wouldn't form; any more, and it would destabilize.
"Too little?" Naruto looked up, confused. "I felt like I generated a ton! And Kakashi said my chakra control is already Chunin-level!"
To prove it, Naruto jumped up and immediately began scaling a tree trunk, his feet sticking firmly to the bark.
Watching from the sidelines, the members of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were dumbfounded.
"No way," Ino whispered, shaking Shikamaru's shoulder. "That idiot is actually using chakra on his feet to climb that high? We just finished learning that!"
"I told you," Choji Akimichi munched on a potato chip, "Naruto's a smart bastard. He mastered an A-rank jutsu, remember?"
Shikamaru Nara brushed Ino's hand off his shoulder and sidestepped away from the pair. "This is a headache," he muttered to himself. "If Naruto's control is that good, the others are probably just as good, or better. The next few days are going to be troublesome."
Back at the base of the tree, Asuma was just as surprised. He hadn't realized Naruto's control had reached this level. He could probably walk on water, too. This kid was talented—way more than his father had implied.
Asuma took another drag of his cigarette, thoughts swirling. His father, Hiruzen Sarutobi, always claimed Naruto was a bit slow and needed patience. But looking at him now? Asuma couldn't see it.
"Kakashi gave you the basics," Asuma said, shaking off his doubts and focusing on the lesson. "But you haven't reached the peak of his training yet. To learn powerful ninjutsu, you need to refine your focus."
Asuma shifted into a ready stance. "Watch closely. Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."
He formed the seals slowly, letting the blue light of chakra radiate from his body. "First, mix your physical and mental energy. Then, control it—gather it here."
He inhaled sharply, the ember of his cigarette burning down to ash in an instant. The blue light condensed in his mouth.
"Then, release."
He didn't shout, but the air ripped apart. Whoosh!
A tornado, nearly five meters high and one meter wide, erupted in front of him. Sand and gravel swirled violently, whipping through the air and snapping the hair of the stunned Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
"Whoa! That's amazing!" Naruto's eyes lit up with pure admiration.
Asuma smirked, lighting another cigarette. "See? The problem with your version is that you're generating enough chakra initially, but you're losing control during the output. It creates a shortage at the critical moment."
"So, what do I do?" Naruto asked.
"Since your chakra control is still rough, generate more than you think you need at the start," Asuma explained. "It'll offset the waste. You'll waste a lot of energy, but your reserves are big enough to handle it."
"Got it!" Naruto jumped back to his feet, his spirits instantly lifted.
He formed the seals again. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
This time, the air pressure shifted immediately. A small, whirling vortex, about half a meter wide, shot out in front of him. It was small compared to Asuma's, but it was stable. It was real.
Asuma nodded, satisfied. "Good. Keep that up. Once you can make a tornado at my size, I'll teach you B-Rank ninjutsu and higher-level nature transformations."
"Really?! I'm fired up!" Naruto cheered.
Asuma's breakthrough had taken him a single night of practice, but for a normal ninja with standard chakra reserves, mastering the Great Breakthrough would take years. Naruto, however, had the stamina of a jinchuriki. With his reserves, he could probably fire off this jutsu hundreds of times a day. He'd master it in a month, tops.
The morning flew by. Without tapping into the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto's natural reserves were eventually depleted. He exhausted himself completely, collapsing onto the grass after the hundredth attempt.
He waved goodbye to Asuma and Team 10, then walked a short distance away. Once he was sure he was alone and out of sight, he stopped.
"Alright," Naruto mumbled, his voice shifting slightly as he surrendered control. "I'm done."
In an instant, his posture changed. The bright, energetic slump of the primary personality vanished, replaced by a rigid, calculating tension. His eyes opened—still blue, but the light behind them was colder, sharper.
Menma took a deep breath through his nose, savoring the air.
"Inhale... what refreshing air."
He twisted his neck to the side, his joints popping with a sharp crack. He flexed his fingers, stretching the muscles in his hands.
The moment he moved with that specific, predatory grace, the ANBU surveillance team hiding in the shadows understood immediately. The shift in chakra signature was unmistakable. The cooperative host was gone; Menma was now in command.
A black blur detached from the tree line. An ANBU operative, wearing a white tengu mask, landed silently in front of Menma and bowed low.
"Lord Menma," the operative said, voice muffled. "I am here to escort you to the Root base as requested."