The next morning, 7:00 a.m.
Training Ground Three.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura arrived right on time.
This time, Saiki showed up on time as well.
"Yo. Looks like everyone made it,"Kakashi said, lifting a hand in greeting. "Seems like you all slept pretty well last night."
"Totally!" Naruto said energetically. "I ate a huge bowl of ramen before bed!"
"Kakashi-sensei, what kind of mission are we doing today?" Sakura asked eagerly. "An escort mission? Or reconnaissance?"
Kakashi smiled. "Neither. Starting today, you'll be taking on D-rank missions."
"D-rank missions?" Naruto tilted his head.
"Yes—the most basic type,"Kakashi explained calmly. "Things like helping villagers look for lost pets, pulling weeds, moving supplies, and so on."
"What?!" Naruto shouted, jumping up. "Finding cats? Pulling weeds? How is that even a real mission?!"
"Of course it is," Kakashi replied evenly. "All newly graduated genin start by building experience through D-rank missions. That's the rule."
Naruto looked utterly deflated. "Man… I thought we'd get to do something cool…"
Sasuke frowned but said nothing.
Sakura nodded seriously. "I understand, Kakashi-sensei."
"Good." Kakashi looked at the three of them.
"However, even though these are D-rank missions, I'll be adding some extra difficulty."
"Huh?"
All three looked at him at once.
Kakashi raised one finger. "From today onward, you'll begin chakra control training."
"Chakra control?" Naruto asked blankly.
"That's right." Kakashi walked over to a nearby tree.
"Chakra control is one of the most fundamental and important skills for a ninja. Mastering it can greatly increase the power of your ninjutsu while reducing chakra consumption."
He focused chakra into the soles of his feet and—
Step.
Kakashi walked straight up the tree trunk, one step at a time, until he was hanging upside down from a branch.
"This is the Tree Climbing Practice," Kakashi said, speaking casually while inverted.
"You concentrate chakra in your feet to stick to the surface.
"Too much chakra will crack the bark.
Too little, and you'll fall. The output has to be precise."
"That's awesome!" Naruto's eyes sparkled.
"Looks simple enough," Sasuke muttered, studying the tree.
"So," Kakashi continued with a smile, "from now on, while carrying out D-rank missions, you'll maintain this state."
"WHAT?!"
The three of them froze.
"For example," Kakashi said, "when you're moving cargo, you'll do it while walking along walls."
"This is insane!" Naruto wailed.
"Insane?" Kakashi bhopped down from the tree. "If you want to get stronger, your foundation has to be solid. If you can't even control your chakra properly, how do you expect to use advanced ninjutsu later on?"
Sasuke clenched his teeth. "I get it."
He stepped up to the tree, took a deep breath, and focused chakra into his feet.
Step.
He made it two steps up.
Crack!
The bark shattered. Sasuke slipped and fell.
"Too much chakra," Kakashi commented. "You need finer control."
Sasuke didn't argue. He stood up and tried again.
Naruto rushed forward next.
Step, step, step—
He charged upward quickly, but halfway up—
Thud.
He fell flat on his back.
"Too little chakra," Kakashi said.
Sakura was far more cautious. She slowly gathered chakra at her feet and moved upward step by step. She was slow, but extremely steady.
"Not bad," Kakashi said approvingly. "Sakura, you've got excellent chakra control talent."
Sakura blushed and concentrated even harder.
---
An hour later.
Hokage Tower – Mission Assignment Office.
"Team 7, led by Kakashi."
The Third Hokage flipped through the mission list.
"Your assignment is… to help Mrs. Hidaka find her lost cat. The cat's name is Tora. It has a notch in its right ear."
"Another cat…" Naruto groaned, slumping onto the desk.
"This makes your twelfth lost-cat mission," the Third Hokage said, calmly smoking his pipe.
"Naruto, take the mission seriously."
"…Yes, sir."
After accepting the mission, the team arrived near Mrs. Hidaka's home.
"Alright," Kakashi said. "Let's begin the search. Remember—you must maintain your tree-climbing state."
"Huh?! We have to climb trees while looking for the cat?" Naruto stared at him in disbelief.
"Yes," Kakashi nodded. "You can search from trees, or observe while hanging from buildings. Either way, your feet are not allowed to touch the ground."
"This is way too cruel…" Naruto complained.
Despite that, the three got to work.
Naruto clumsily climbed a tree, craning his neck to look around.
Sasuke ran along walls, moving smoothly between rooftops and alleyways.
Sakura, with her superior chakra control, was already hanging steadily from a branch.
"Tora! Tora!" Naruto shouted from the tree.
"Idiot," Sasuke said coldly. "You'll scare it away yelling like that."
"Then you find it yourself!" Naruto snapped back.
Just as the two started arguing—
"I found it!" Sakura called out, pointing to a nearby rooftop.
An orange cat with a notch in its right ear was lazily sunbathing on the roof.
"Yes!" Naruto immediately lunged toward it—
Crack!
His chakra control faltered, the branch snapped, and he fell.
"Ow, ow, ow…"
"Honestly…" Sakura sighed, shaking her head as she walked along the wall toward the roof.
Sasuke approached from the opposite side.
Working together, the two successfully caught the cat.
"Mission complete."
---
Over the next week, Team 7 accepted a variety of D-rank missions.
Pulling weeds.
Moving supplies.
Cleaning river channels.
Helping with harvests.
Every single task had to be done while maintaining chakra control.
When weeding, they worked while hanging upside down from trees.
When moving cargo, they did it while walking along walls.
When cleaning rivers—
"Wait!" Naruto yelled. "Standing on water?! That's impossible!"
"This is the second stage of training," Kakashi said, standing calmly in the middle of the river. Ripples spread beneath his feet, but he remained perfectly steady.
"Water isn't fixed like a tree trunk. You need to constantly adjust your chakra output. It's much harder."
"This is the Water Walking Technique—an advanced form of chakra control."
Naruto stared at Kakashi's feet and swallowed hard.
"Let's try it…"
Step.
Splash!
Naruto sank straight under.
"Cough—cough—!"
He crawled back out, completely soaked.
Sasuke tried next—and fell in as well.
Only Sakura managed to stand on the water's surface for a few seconds, relying on her superior control.
"Take it slow," Kakashi said.
"It took you a week to master tree climbing. Water walking will take longer."
"But once you can complete missions while water walking, your chakra control will be considered qualified."
Thus began Team 7's hellish training.
By day, they performed D-rank missions while practicing water walking.
Naruto fell into the river countless times.
Sasuke failed repeatedly but never quit.
Sakura progressed steadily and soon could walk across the water without issue.
---
Two weeks later.
Training Ground Three.
"Not bad," Kakashi said, nodding in satisfaction.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all standing in the middle of the river, gentle ripples forming beneath their feet.
They had finally mastered water walking.
"Mastering this in just two weeks is impressive," Kakashi praised.
"Of course it is!" Naruto puffed out his chest. "I'm going to be the next Hokage!"
The moment he said that, his chakra slipped.
Splash!
He fell straight back into the water.
"…Idiot," Sasuke muttered.
Sakura laughed softly.
Kakashi watched them, then checked the system.
[Problem Student Discipline System]
[Uzumaki Naruto (D-Rank) — Favorability: 60, Progress: 85% (Near Upgrade)]
[Uchiha Sasuke (C-Rank) — Favorability: 50, Progress: 40%]
[Sakura Haruno (C-Rank) — Favorability: 55, Progress: 50%]
"Naruto's about to advance to C-rank," Kakashi thought. "These two weeks paid off."
[System Notification: Basic chakra control training completed. Learning efficiency greatly increased!]
[Uzumaki Naruto — Learning Ability +10]
[Uchiha Sasuke — Perseverance +15]
[Sakura Haruno — Chakra Control Talent +20]
Saiki nodded in approval.
"Alright," he said, clapping his hands. "Basic training ends here. Starting tomorrow, we'll take on a higher-level mission."
"Really?!" Naruto's eyes lit up. "No more cats or weeds?!"
"That's right," Kakashi smiled. "Tomorrow, we'll head to the Hokage Tower. I'll apply for a C-rank mission."
"A C-rank mission!" Naruto leapt into the air—and fell into the water again.
Sasuke smirked faintly, clearly eager.
Sakura looked nervous, but excitement shone in her eyes.
Saiki gazed at the three of them.
"The Land of Waves mission… it's coming soon."
That would be Team 7's first true life-or-death battle.
And the turning point of their growth.
"With me here," Kakashi thought, "the outcome won't be the same as before."
What he intended to change wasn't just Team 7's fate.
It was the future of the entire ninja world.
---
That night, at Kakashi's residence.
He lay on his bed and opened the system once more.
"Display all character cards."
[Owned Character Cards]
[D-Rank — Uzumaki Naruto (Equipped)]
[C-Rank — Uchiha Sasuke (Equipped)]
[C-Rank — Sakura Haruno (Equipped)]
[B-Rank — Haku (Unequipped)]
"Let's test Haku's card."
Kakashi unequipped Naruto's card and equipped the B-rank Haku card.
[Equipped: B-Rank — Haku (Ice Release Form)]
[Warning: Unequipping Naruto's card will deactivate Team 7 Bond Effect!]
[Current Status]
[Speed +400, Agility +350]
[Bloodline Limit Acquired: Ice Release]
[Techniques Acquired: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death]
A chilling sensation surged through his body.
Saiki extended his hand, chakra condensing in his palm.
Crack—
A delicate ice crystal formed.
"I can actually use Ice Release…" Kakashi murmured in amazement.
With a flick of his hand, the ice shattered into countless fine needles, shooting toward the opposite wall.
Swish—swish—swish!
The needles embedded themselves neatly into the wall with terrifying precision.
"My speed and agility have increased dramatically…"
Saiki vanished in a blur, reappearing on the opposite side of the room in an instant.
At least twice as fast as before.
"As expected of a B-rank card."
Still, he quickly switched back.
[Re-equipped: D-Rank — Uzumaki Naruto]
[Team 7 Bond Effect Restored! All bonuses ×1.2]
"The bond effect is more practical," Saiki mused. "And once Naruto upgrades, it'll be even stronger."
He lay back, staring at the ceiling.
"The Land of Waves… Zabuza… and Haku."
"This time, I'll let Team 7 experience real combat earlier."
"And…"
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
"If I can take Haku in and make him my fourth student, I might unlock a new bond effect."
A smile slowly formed.
"This is getting interesting."
Outside the window, moonlight bathed Konoha in silence.