The match between Ethan and Naruto had no suspense.
The gap between the current Naruto and Ethan was enormous, especially since Naruto had problems of his own. Even his usual trump card of powering up during a crisis had been sealed by Orochimaru.
Sakura? Although Ethan had Naruto and Sakura team up, the current Haruno Sakura was simply a burden in this kind of fight.
Even though Naruto was initially unhappy about Ethan wearing that jacket, the reality of being quickly defeated made him realize just how large the gap between them truly was.
"Is the gap really that big?"
Sakura wasn't badly injured. She had long known Ethan was powerful.
But seeing from the sidelines and experiencing it personally were two completely different things. When she faced Ethan herself, she genuinely felt as though he could kill her at any moment.
That feeling of having no control over her own life was truly terrifying.
After the match, Naruto and Sakura sat on the ground, feeling as if all the strength had drained from their bodies.
"Naruto, is something wrong with your body?"
Under Ethan's influence, both Naruto and Sasuke had begun practicing tree climbing and water walking early. Originally, Naruto had already become quite proficient at water walking, but during the recent sparring match, he kept slipping up.
Due to chakra control issues, Naruto couldn't fully unleash his strength, which contributed to him being easily sent flying by Ethan.
"Huh? No."
Ethan was speechless. He already knew what the problem was, which was why he had used a "match on water" to bring it up.
But this thick-headed Naruto didn't even notice there was anything wrong with his body. He simply thought he had failed because he hadn't controlled his chakra well.
Fortunately, there was someone knowledgeable nearby. Kakashi noticed Naruto's condition and quickly discovered the problem: the sealing jutsu Orochimaru had placed on Naruto.
After Kakashi removed the seal, Naruto regained control of his chakra. He then confidently challenged Ethan to a rematch, only to be defeated again...
Covering his slightly swollen cheek, Naruto looked at Ethan.
"How can I become as strong as you?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately. He was also thinking about that question.
Naruto's path to becoming stronger was simple. He just needed to make full use of his massive chakra reserves and overwhelm his enemies with ninjutsu.
After hearing Ethan's thoughts, Kakashi was speechless. This approach was completely opposite to his own fighting style. If it were him, he definitely wouldn't have given such advice.
But he had to admit, this method was indeed the most suitable for Naruto.
"It's not realistic to learn a large number of new ninjutsu in just one month. The best approach is to properly learn one or two new techniques and combine them with your Multiple Shadow Clones to create coordinated attacks. Oh, right, Naruto, what's your chakra nature?"
"Chakra nature? What's that?"
"..."
Kakashi was at a loss for words. He had no choice but to do his job as a teacher and explain what chakra nature was to Naruto. Then he pulled out a chakra paper and handed it to him, showing him how to use it.
He had brought the test paper originally to assess Sasuke's chakra nature for specialized training. He hadn't expected to use it on Naruto first.
Naruto's chakra nature was Wind, which Ethan had already known.
Sakura also took the test out of curiosity, and her result was Water. Ethan knew that Sakura would later become an excellent medical ninja, which demonstrated her strong aptitude in Yang Release. She had also shown talent in genjutsu, which indicated her potential in Yin Release as well.
In other words, based on chakra nature alone, Sakura could be considered a genius.
It wasn't surprising when you thought about it. As the only one among the Konoha 12 from an ordinary civilian background, if her talent were truly poor, she wouldn't have been assigned to the same team as Sasuke and Naruto.
The issue was that everyone around her came from prominent clans with inherited secret techniques, or they were geniuses with explosive talent, which made her appear weak by comparison. This even caused her to doubt herself and lose sight of her own direction.
As she watched Naruto excitedly asking Kakashi about Wind Release, Sakura glanced at Ethan, who was sitting cross-legged nearby, scribbling on some paper and sketching something.
"Ethan, if I want to get stronger too... what should I do?"
Sakura had started to change. She was no longer the infatuated girl who only thought about Sasuke. Although she still paid too much attention to him, she had realized how much she had been holding both Naruto and Sasuke back. She didn't want to stay like that. She wanted to change.
"You want to become stronger?"
Ethan paused and looked up at her. Under his gaze, Sakura felt a little uncomfortable. She suddenly realized she had hardly spoken to Ethan one-on-one before. Although Ethan had never said anything unpleasant to her, her intuition told her that he had never really thought much of her.
She was right. The infatuated Sakura from before had never been worth Ethan's attention. Now that she had started to change, Ethan was finally willing to talk to her seriously.
"Your talent is actually very good. Unfortunately, you've lacked the will to become stronger."
"..."
Sakura thought Ethan was refusing to teach her, but after thinking carefully, she realized he wasn't wrong.
Among her peers, she might be the least motivated one. She hadn't noticed it before, but this Chunin Exam had brought many things to the surface.
Even Choji, who always seemed to be eating, and Shikamaru, who acted lazy all the time, had been secretly working hard. How else could they have mastered their clan's secret techniques at such a young age? Did she really think those were basic ninjutsu anyone could learn?
"But it's not too late to start working hard."
Sakura looked up at Ethan, carefully observing his expression. Only after confirming that he wasn't mocking her did she repeat her question.
"So what should I do?"
"Find the right direction. Then train hard."
As for the direction, Ethan didn't recommend medical ninjutsu or anything like that. Instead, he suggested she start by learning some supportive Water Release ninjutsu and genjutsu.
Right now, Sakura hadn't reached the level of determination she would have in the future. Forcing her down a set path wouldn't be helpful. It was better to let her explore something suitable for her current mindset.
"In a team battle, you can act as support. Learning a few defensive techniques can also help protect those two idiots who don't understand the meaning of defense."
Sakura felt Ethan's advice made a lot of sense. This way, she wouldn't feel useless anymore.
At this point, Naruto had finished learning the basic Wind Release theory from Kakashi. From here on, Naruto would need to train on his own.
As Kakashi walked over, he happened to notice the papers Ethan had been holding. Most of the markings were unrecognizable to him, but on one sheet, there was a symbol—or rather, a few characters—that he knew very well.
"That's..."
His pupils contracted slightly. He forced himself to swallow the words that nearly slipped out.
He already knew which ninjutsu Ethan had received from the Third Hokage. What he hadn't expected was that Ethan had actually begun studying it so soon.
"Isn't it too early?"
Could Ethan really learn such an advanced technique in just a month?
But on second thought, even if he couldn't master it in a month, so what? The Hokage had already marked Ethan as someone to nurture. Giving him access to this technique was probably to ensure he could better protect himself.
Compared to that, what did a single Chunin Exam matter?
In the days that followed, Naruto and Sakura trained with newfound determination. Because they had clear goals, even Sakura—who didn't have to participate in the next round—was unusually motivated.
This also indirectly spurred Sasuke. After waking up and learning that Naruto and even Sakura were training with Ethan, Sasuke checked out of the hospital early and joined them.
Sasuke also had a sparring match with Ethan. Even though he had recovered physically, he was still easily defeated.
Sasuke wasn't even surprised. What surprised him more was that even with his Sharingan activated, he was still soundly beaten.
"Your physical strength isn't enough."
Ethan's assessment reminded him of what Lee had said to him earlier: your eyes can see my movements, but your body can't keep up.
"Should I do weighted training too?"
"No. Kakashi-sensei seems to have another plan for you. He's been waiting for you to be discharged so he can give you specialized training."
Using Lightning Release to stimulate the body and increase speed was one of the advantages of Lightning-nature chakra users, though Sasuke didn't know that yet.
And Kakashi's special training wasn't just about teaching Chidori. He would also help Sasuke master Lightning Release nature transformation. If Sasuke already had the Lightning element, then it would be about learning how to apply it properly.
It was just that in Kakashi's original plan, he hadn't expected so many people to be watching.
"Uh... aren't you all supposed to be training?"
"We just want to know what Kakashi-sensei is teaching Sasuke. Why is he only teaching Sasuke? Kakashi-sensei is playing favorites!"
"Playing favorites!"
"Playing favorites!"
Kakashi looked at Ethan speechlessly. You're not even my student. And isn't the Flying Thunder God Technique enough for you to worry about?
If Kakashi had voiced his thoughts, Ethan would definitely have told him: something as simple as the Flying Thunder God Technique? I've already mastered it. I'm just picking which formula looks best.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)