The next morning, Sora awoke to the gentle sound of soft snoring coming from beside him. He turned carefully to his side and saw Naruto laying there peacefully, drooling slightly with quiet snores escaping from her lips.
He slowly and quietly got up from the bed and decided to get himself ready for the day ahead. Though Naruto would be officially put into a team today, which was an exciting milestone for her. For him, however, he would be added into her team the day after, so he had one more day to wait.
He had still not told her about this arrangement yet. He had been planning carefully to do a few missions first and get enough money saved up to buy a large batch of quality ingredients so he could cook a big, elaborate meal as a wonderful surprise to celebrate with the new team.
Heading quietly to the bathroom, he began to brush his teeth thoroughly, and after he was completely done with that, he made his way to the kitchen and started heating up a pot of water on the stove.
Closing the lid carefully on the pot, he started cooking a simple but satisfying dish for their breakfast. Scrambled eggs with a variety of fresh vegetables mixed in.
It only took a few minutes to prepare since the eggs don't take very long to make when cooked properly. After he was done with the cooking, he turned off the fire under both the pan and pot. He grabbed two cups from the cabinet and poured hot water into them, then added coffee powder to each cup and mixed them in thoroughly.
He added sugar to Naruto's cup since she doesn't like to drink coffee if it wasn't sweet enough for her taste. After he finished preparing the drinks, he put them carefully on the table and grabbed some fresh bread from the shelf and spread a generous amount of jam on the slices.
After doing that, he put the prepared bread down on the table and headed back to where the eggs were sitting. He grabbed a bento box from the dish rack and started carefully adding rice to the bottom layer, then placed the scrambled eggs on top, added sliced tomatoes, and included an extra apple jam sandwich in case she was still hungry after eating the main portion.
Putting the lid securely on the bento, he left it sitting on the kitchen counter for later and headed to the bathroom to take a relaxing bath.
By the time he was done bathing and getting cleaned up, Naruto was waiting outside the bathroom door. She yawned deeply in obvious tiredness from just waking up. He gently dragged her into the bathroom and helped her wash her face with warm water and assisted her in brushing her teeth properly.
After that was complete, he handed her a clean towel and left her to finish up while he went back to the kitchen. He carefully packaged the bento box he had prepared earlier and left it sitting prominently on the kitchen table, then sat down in his usual spot and began drinking his hot coffee slowly.
A while later, Naruto finally entered the kitchen area and sat down at the table, eating her jam sandwich with enthusiasm and drinking her sweetened coffee.
Looking up at the time displayed on the wall clock, she suddenly realized she was running late and quickly started eating faster, then grabbed her prepared bento box.
"I'll see you later," she said hurriedly in a rushed voice and quickly left through the door.
Sora slowly and leisurely drank his coffee while sitting alone and started carefully planning out the rest of his day. He knew he was going to complete some missions to earn money and continue his regular training routine. But after that was finished, he wanted to dedicate time to do something he had been patiently waiting to work on.
He took out a special kit from a closet where he kept it hidden and opened it up carefully. He had been working on sewing for a while now. It was a beautiful kimono he was crafting by hand. Though it was nearly finished at this point, it wasn't meant to be completely finished just yet.
Naruto's birthday was coming up in exactly one month and he had been preparing this special gift since last week when he started the project. He carefully and meticulously sewed each individual strand and patch with great precision and attention to detail.
He made the deliberate decision to spend some time working carefully on this meaningful sewing project for a little while before eventually heading out to complete a mission for the day.
Academy rooftop
"Now that we're completely finished introducing ourselves properly, I have an important announcement to make." Kakashi eye smiled in his characteristic manner.
Naruto looked visibly excited and enthusiastic because she was finally in a team of her own. Sasuke remained quiet and brooding as he usually was, while Sakura continued her persistent fangirling directed toward him without pause.
Kakashi didn't think much of them overall, but he had high expectations and expected much from two members in particular. That was Naruto and Sasuke specifically. As for Sakura, he was quite disappointed in what he saw, but it wasn't entirely unexpected given what he knew.
In his professional opinion, Sakura as of now was unfit to be a ninja in the field. If it was only her fangirling behavior he could be fine with it and overlook it, but she wasn't a capable fighter either, which was more concerning.
The only thing he could realistically think of for someone like her with her current skill set was genjutsu, but he wasn't a genjutsu master himself and couldn't train her properly in that area.
That particular title belonged to Kurenai, who was the acknowledged expert. He didn't know how and why exactly Sakura was put on his team in the first place.
"Another person will join the team in the near future, this person already has some field experience and was added here because he didn't do well with his other team," he lied deliberately at that particular part.
It was actually because he liked to work alone and preferred solitude. The three students looked at him in obvious surprise at this unexpected news. Sasuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion and distrust.
Someone that would join team 7 at this stage would most likely have to be someone that graduated last year or the year before that at the latest.
Because if it was someone who graduated longer before that time period, then that person would likely be incompetent or have serious issues if they were being assigned to a genin team that had just graduated recently.
"And you also have a test tomorrow morning, I suggest you don't eat anything beforehand or else you'll likely puke it out during the exercise." He said in a matter-of-fact tone.
He suddenly exploded into a large ball of smoke and disappeared. Seeing that Kakashi had gone and left them, Naruto stood up and planned to leave the rooftop.
Sasuke stood up from his position and began following closely beside Naruto as they walked. Sakura pursed her lips in obvious jealousy and frustration. Since a few years back, Sasuke had been consistently following and protecting Naruto wherever she went.
All the girls in the academy were quite jealous of this special treatment, but not wanting to anger Sasuke or face his wrath, they said nothing about it out loud.
"Sasuke, Naruto, how about eating together as a team." She asked hopefully, making sure to include Naruto in the invitation to seem more mature and team-oriented.
Naruto turned to face her directly.
"Sorry, I have to go train right now." She said apologetically and ran off quickly, with Sasuke quickly following behind her without hesitation.
Sakura was left behind, unable to even keep up with their pace, and just stood there alone watching them disappear. In the past years after Sora had left the academy, she began to stand out more prominently after taking first place in the exams, but that was only in the intellectual department and written tests.
In all the other practical categories it was always between Sasuke and Naruto competing for the top spots. She had been jealous of their natural abilities, but she knew deep down in her heart they worked incredibly hard for it and earned their positions.
She sighed heavily to herself and walked home alone with her thoughts.
"Maybe, the new teammate will be a nice person," she muttered quietly to herself hopefully, trying to stay optimistic about the situation.
Training ground 4
"Today I'll be teaching you a brand new technique that I've developed," he said as he turned his attention toward Sasuke. "I have just recently created it myself. Though something like this isn't normally shared with others, but since you're protecting Naruto so diligently and you have lightning nature chakra, I'll teach you this technique." He said with a slight smile.
Sasuke's eyes widened considerably in shock and surprise. Sora had actually created his own original jutsu and was now willing to share it with him? He knew and fully understood the incredible significance of something like this being offered to him.
He paid his complete and full attention as a proper show of respect for what was being given to him. Sora nodded at this display and then performed the lightning flash armor technique. Lightning began to flash brilliantly and appear all around him, forming into a protective armor that covered his entire body.
The ground beneath his feet burnt crisply and turned black from the intense heat and energy. Sasuke's eyes widened even further in amazement. He knew immediately that a jutsu like this wasn't of any low category or rank.
He gulped audibly in shock and complete surprise at what he was witnessing.
"This technique is called the Lightning Flash Armor," he paused deliberately, adding suspense to the moment. "It uses concentrated lightning chakra to enter directly into your muscular and nervous system and charges them up, supercharging them and making you significantly stronger and faster in combat," finishing his sentence, he suddenly multiplied into several copies.
"It increases your overall speed by multiple times beyond your normal capabilities," he said as his voice rang out clearly from one clone to another in rapid succession.
Then the clones became increasingly blurry and completely disappeared from view entirely.
"What you just saw were afterimages created by using my enhanced speed and the residual lightning chakra that was left behind in my wake." He explained in detail.
Sasuke shook visibly in excitement at the display of power. Sora then clenched his fist tightly and punched the ground with significant force. A huge and deep crater formed instantly from the impact.
Sasuke was now fully and completely aware of the true power of this jutsu and its incredible versatility in battle. He looked straight at Sora with deep gratitude in his eyes.
"I'll remember this favor you've done for me," he said, his voice full of genuine emotion and strong conviction.
Sora then took out a storage scroll and opened it carefully, laying it flat on the ground before them. Inside the scroll were a pair of braces, a pair of gauntlets, and a beautifully crafted katana.
He put on the braces first, then he picked up the katana with care and threw it directly to Sasuke. Sasuke caught it with surprise evident on his face.
He looked directly to Sora, waiting patiently for an explanation about this weapon.
"This is a specially crafted katana that I had made specifically for combat. It can cut through solid boulders like they were soft butter. Though it's not a cursed weapon, it has something special that makes itself quite unique compared to ordinary blades." He said with pride.
"Run your chakra through the blade," he instructed.
Sasuke did as he was told and watched carefully as the blade began to change slightly in appearance. The normal looking katana, now filled completely with his chakra, began to show what seemed like intricate seals inscribed upon its surface.
"Normal katanas cannot hold or conduct chakra properly and would break under the strain. This weapon was made with rare chakra metal. Not only can it conduct chakra efficiently, but it can also store large amounts of it and release it on command. Try slashing the air in front of you with all your strength and see what happens." He explained.
Sasuke gulped nervously at the detailed explanation. This weapon was far better and more powerful than he had initially expected it to be. He got into a proper combat stance and then slashed the air forcefully.
As he finished the slashing motion, his eyes widened dramatically as he saw a visible slash made of pure concentrated chakra leave the blade and move forward rapidly from his katana.
It kept going forward at high speed until it hit a large tree directly in front of him and left a deep and large gash carved into the trunk. His hand shook slightly as he gripped the katana tightly and turned back to face Sora.
"I promise you, this debt will be repaid properly, if not by me personally then by my descendants in the future." He said solemnly.
Sora shook his head in disagreement.
"You're already repaying me right now. I know you've been protecting Naruto consistently from the other jealous girls in the academy. What I'm doing here is simply an investment in our continued partnership," he added honestly.
Sasuke shook his head slowly. What Sora had done was truly kind and generous, though he clearly had an ulterior motive behind it, but it was completely acceptable to Sasuke given the circumstances.
Sasuke walked carefully to the middle of the training ground and began starting his training with the new and powerful ninjutsu technique.
While Sora grabbed the pair of gauntlets and handed them directly to Naruto, who had been waiting patiently for her turn to receive her gift.
She quickly and eagerly grabbed the gauntlets with both hands and immediately put them on, one on each hand. There were multiple intricate and complex seals carefully inscribed into them, significantly improving their overall capabilities to a very great degree. They were also expertly crafted and made with the same rare and valuable chakra metal that Sasuke's katana had been forged from.
"They have the ability to store large amounts of chakra within them and then release it whenever you want in the form of a concentrated beam or a ball of destructive and powerful chakra energy," he explained to her in detail.
She smiled brightly and happily at the thorough explanation and immediately released her abundant and naturally high chakra reserves into the gauntlets as they quickly filled up with the raw energy. Then she released a powerful and concentrated beam attack that completely destroyed multiple large trees and several heavy boulders that were directly in its path of destruction.
She smiled widely and excitedly at the incredible destructive power she now wielded in her hands. With her naturally high abundance of chakra reserves that she possessed, she could continuously and repeatedly use the beam attack for well over an hour or even longer without getting tired or exhausted.
He nodded approvingly at her successful demonstration and then turned his full attention to his own personal weapon that he had crafted for himself. Balling his fist tightly and with great focus, the sharp and deadly claws extended outward from the braces. He could also release powerful and concentrated chakra slashes with his claws whenever he needed to in battle.
But not only that particular ability, there was also a special and unique seal inside the braces that concealed and stored chains within them. He could take them out at any moment he wanted to and use them effectively in combat situations. He turned his body toward a training dummy that was set up nearby and calmed his hand to prepare. He then carefully extracted the chains from the seal hidden on the braces and then threw them forward with great precision, accurately aimed directly at the dummy target that stood before him.
The chains surrounded and wrapped around the dummy completely, binding it tightly. Sora then lifted both his arms upward with force and the dummy flew up high into the sky above them. He then spun his entire body around in a full rotation and slammed the dummy forcefully and violently into the ground below, causing a small but quite significant explosion upon the impact.
The smoke slowly dissipates and clears away, but after it did so it clearly showed the dummy now broken and shattered into multiple pieces scattered across the ground.
Satisfied with the results of his test, he took a moment and carefully inspected the chains in his hands. He felt like he was missing something important from the design. He looked closely at the end of the chains and examined them, then suddenly inspiration and realization hit him.
He could add a sickle head attached to the end of the chains. It would make the chains significantly more dangerous and versatile as a weapon in combat. He would need to commission it from a skilled blacksmith later since he didn't have the time as of now to forge and make his own from scratch since he would be starting missions with a new team very soon and needed to be ready.