Kakashi had long since formed his own methods for teaching both Naruto and Sasuke.
But with Jiraiya's sudden return and Sasuke's growing hunger for power, things were moving faster than even he expected.
He and Arata made their way to the training area where the three Genin were practicing.
By now, the sky had turned dark, but even under the dim light they could see Sasuke and Naruto — both standing breathless atop the trees, sweat dripping down their faces.
On the ground, Sakura watched anxiously, her hands clasped in front of her.
When she spotted Kakashi and Arata approaching, she hurried over — and, of course, immediately began inspecting Arata from head to toe.
"Arata, did you even train today? You don't look tired at all!"
Arata smiled faintly.
"Oh? And how can you tell whether I did or didn't?"
Sakura crossed her arms, circling him like a detective.
"Your clothes aren't even wrinkled! No dirt, no sweat — nothing! Don't tell me you and Kakashi-sensei slacked off the whole afternoon?"
"That's not good, you know! You might be strong, but if you don't keep training, Sasuke — or even Naruto — will surpass you someday!"
Arata just chuckled quietly.
Before he could respond, Kakashi raised a hand to interrupt.
"Sakura, how are they doing?"
"Both of them have mastered it!" she replied proudly. "Even Naruto's been working really hard today!"
She glanced at Arata again while saying that, clearly aiming her words at him.
Not out of malice — but genuine concern.
Arata could read her intentions easily but didn't bother responding.
Kakashi looked up at the two boys, still panting at the top of the trees, staring at each other with pure competitive fire in their eyes.
"Impressive… Sasuke, sure, but Naruto managed it this fast too," Kakashi murmured.
Sakura tilted her head.
"Kakashi-sensei, don't tell me you two were the ones being lazy and taking a break somewhere?"
She still didn't quite believe Arata had trained.
Kakashi gave her a look so flat it could've sliced paper.
"You really think he would let me rest? Even if I wanted to, he'd never allow it."
Sakura blinked at Arata again.
"But why doesn't he look like he trained? Even your clothes are torn, Sensei."
That made Kakashi pause. He looked down at himself — indeed, his uniform had a few new rips and scorch marks.
Then his gaze slid toward Arata, whose attire was still perfectly neat.
"Huh. You're right…" Kakashi said with mild amusement. "Not a single mark."
He smirked to himself.
"So that's the difference, huh."
"The difference?" Sakura echoed, completely lost.
"His chakra control," Kakashi explained softly. "It's absurdly precise — better than mine, even."
He smiled under his mask as he looked at Arata.
"To fight with that level of finesse and still look untouched… impressive."
Arata simply gave a polite smile in return.
Sakura frowned, whispering curiously,
"What's he even talking about?"
"Oh, that's just Kakashi-sensei being mysterious as usual," Arata replied casually.
Sakura glanced between the two of them. She could tell they were keeping something from her, but she decided not to pry.
Instead, she leaned closer and asked in a low voice,
"So where did you guys go to train? Earlier there were a few tremors — I thought Zabuza came back to attack us!"
"Seriously! The ground shook several times. I almost panicked."
Arata blinked.
"Tremors?"
"Yeah," Sakura nodded quickly. "They were pretty strong too!"
Arata and Kakashi exchanged a brief glance.
"Ah," Arata said smoothly, "maybe this area's near a fault line. We are in the Land of Waves — earthquakes aren't exactly rare here."
Sakura accepted the explanation without question.
Of course, those "tremors" had been caused by Arata's training — his Chidori strikes and a few powerful Earth Release techniques that had shaken the terrain for miles.
No wonder Kakashi's chakra reserves had nearly hit rock bottom.
Up in the trees, Naruto and Sasuke had just noticed Kakashi and Arata's arrival.
They both tried to climb down, but in their exhaustion, they forgot one important detail — their chakra reserves were completely spent.
"Naruto! Sasuke!" Sakura cried as both boys suddenly slipped from the bark.
For a split second, both of them felt their vision blur.
Then—
Flash!
Two streaks of lightning tore across the clearing.
Arata and Kakashi vanished simultaneously.
The next instant, Kakashi appeared beneath Sasuke in a burst of blue light, while Arata reappeared beneath Naruto, his movement a golden flash.
The pair landed softly on the ground, each carrying one Genin in their arms.
Kakashi smirked.
"You're getting faster, Arata. I think you just outpaced me."
Naruto blinked, still dazed — he'd barely registered what happened before he found himself standing safely on solid ground.
Even Sasuke was stunned, his usual calm expression breaking.
He had seen it — the instant Arata moved.
That golden lightning — brighter and quicker than Kakashi's — had seemed to split the night.
He'd always known Arata was stronger than him, but now… now he realized the gap between them wasn't just wide.
It was immeasurable.
Sakura stood frozen, eyes wide.
Kakashi's blue lightning she could accept — he was a jōnin, after all.
But Arata's golden flash?
That was something else entirely.
So fast that her eyes couldn't even track it — only the afterimage remained, shimmering like sunlight reflected on steel.
"Was that… a Lightning Release technique?" she whispered. "Did he just learn that from Kakashi-sensei?"
"He's never shown that before…"
The realization hit her like a wave.
"I actually said he didn't train. How stupid can I be?" she muttered, cheeks reddening.
"If someone like him ever slacked off, he wouldn't be this strong. Ugh, Sakura, you idiot…"
She remembered the patient smile he'd given her earlier and felt a rush of embarrassment.
He didn't even correct me. He just smiled.
Now she felt like the biggest fool in the world.
While Sakura sank into silent mortification, Arata and Kakashi were checking on the boys.
"You two drained too much chakra," Kakashi said sternly. "That last move was reckless. You could've been seriously hurt."
Naruto and Sasuke both looked away, red-faced, unable to meet his eyes.
After all… nothing was more humiliating than trying to show off — only to need rescuing a second later.
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