Kakashi looked at Sakura for a moment, then gave a small nod.
"That was a very determined declaration, Sakura. Having the resolve to face your fear, even at the cost of injuring yourself, is indeed an important quality for a ninja."
And then his very next sentence completely shattered the hot-blooded mood.
"However, Sakura… while that was certainly dramatic…"
He pointed at the back of her hand, which was still steadily bleeding.
"If you just leave it like that, you'll be dead from blood loss before long."
"Eh?!"
The passionate expression on Sakura's face froze solid.
She lowered her head to stare at the blood still flowing from the wound, felt the growing weakness creeping into her body, and went completely blank.
"I-I'll die?"
"Pfft—"
Sasuke abruptly turned his head away, shoulders trembling slightly.
Naruto, meanwhile, could only press a hand to his forehead in exasperation.
Without the Nine-Tails inside her, she still dared to pull something like that? This girl really had gotten too carried away.
"All right, stop standing there in shock."
Naruto quickly stepped forward. One hand gently took Sakura's injured hand, while the other pulled a clean bandage and disinfectant from his ninja pouch.
"Bear with it, Sakura-chan. I'll stop the bleeding and disinfect it first. And don't ever do something this reckless again. There are plenty of ways to show resolve."
As Naruto carefully treated her wound, Sakura's earlier fiery determination dimmed.
So even you think what I did was just foolish?
But then, in the next breath, Naruto said,
"Sasuke and I have never thought of you as a burden. We're teammates. We support each other and grow together. That's what Team 7 is, isn't it?"
Sakura looked at Naruto's focused, gentle profile, and suddenly her nose stung. She almost burst into tears on the spot.
Right then, another hand extended into view, holding out a small porcelain bottle.
It was Sasuke.
He still had his face turned away, his tone just as awkward as ever.
"A special wound medicine from the Uchiha clan."
Sakura froze.
She looked at Sasuke, then at Naruto.
The last lingering trace of gloom in her heart vanished completely.
"Thank you… Sasuke-kun," she said softly.
Naruto smiled, took the bottle, and spread the pale green ointment over Sakura's wound.
The medicine felt cool against her skin. The bleeding quickly slowed, and the pain eased substantially.
"There," Naruto said, tying off the bandage neatly. "Don't let your left hand get wet for the next few days, and don't put too much strain on it."
Watching the scene in front of him, Kakashi's smile deepened beneath his mask.
The process had been a bit roundabout, but Team 7 was growing faster than he had ever expected.
A small boat cut through the cold, damp sea fog.
Kakashi leaned against the side of the boat as though he were resting, but his eyes were quietly moving over his three students.
The battle against the Demon Brothers had exposed a lot of problems.
Although Sasuke possessed clan techniques, in actual combat he was still relying mainly on taijutsu and shurikenjutsu. Against stronger enemies, that would put him at a disadvantage.
Sakura, meanwhile, had almost no offensive options at all. No matter how excellent her theory knowledge was, it would not help much in a real fight.
As for Naruto, although his tactical sense and use of shadow clones were outstanding, his offensive methods were too limited. He lacked the destructive force of elemental ninjutsu.
It was time to teach them something with real substance.
Kakashi straightened up and broke the silence aboard the boat.
"Since we've got a little time, let me give you all a quick lesson. You saw it for yourselves in the last battle—if you know one or two practical ninjutsu, it can save your life when it matters. It can also be the key to defeating an enemy."
All three of them immediately focused on him, especially Sasuke, whose eyes lit up at once.
Kakashi reached into his pouch and took out three sheets of paper that looked completely ordinary.
"These are chakra test papers. They can be used to determine your chakra nature. Understanding your own chakra nature is the first step to learning ninjutsu of that element."
He handed one to each of them.
"Slowly channel chakra into the paper and observe the change."
Sasuke went first.
As he fed chakra into the paper, half of it wrinkled while the other half caught fire.
"Oh?" Kakashi raised a brow. "Wrinkling indicates Lightning Release, while burning indicates Fire Release. Sasuke, you have both lightning and fire chakra natures. Quite gifted."
Sakura accepted hers with some nervousness and carefully infused it with chakra.
Half the paper became damp, and the other half crumbled into pieces.
"Damp means Water Release, and crumbling means Earth Release." Kakashi nodded. "Sakura, you have both earth and water chakra natures. Very good talent there too."
Lastly, it was Naruto's turn.
He took the paper and sent chakra into it.
The next instant, it split neatly in two down the middle.
"Only one change, and it cut cleanly down the center…" Kakashi rubbed his chin. "That's the most typical sign of Wind Release. Naruto, you have a single wind chakra nature."
So it's still this attribute after all. I was half hoping transmigrating here would change something…
Naruto sighed inwardly.
"Wind Release is known for its cutting power. It's highly offensive. Unfortunately, the nature I specialize in is mainly Lightning Release, and I'm not particularly skilled in high-level wind techniques. I'm afraid I can only teach you some basic Wind Release ninjutsu."
Kakashi sounded faintly apologetic.
As a teacher, being unable to provide deeper guidance in the elemental nature most important to his most promising student left him feeling a little regretful.
Naruto, however, only smiled.
"It's fine, Kakashi-sensei. As long as I build a solid foundation, there'll be chances to learn stronger techniques later."
What a good kid…
Kakashi smiled too and let the matter drop.
He continued explaining the basics of chakra nature transformation.
"A ninja's chakra is divided into five fundamental natures: fire, wind, lightning, earth, and water. These five have mutual advantages and disadvantages."
He lifted a hand and began tracing out the relationships.
"The cycle of superiority goes like this: Fire overcomes Wind, Wind overcomes Lightning, Lightning overcomes Earth, Earth overcomes Water, and Water overcomes Fire. Remember that. In battle, if you use an element that counters your opponent's, you can often achieve far better results with much less effort."
Naruto thought for a moment, then decided to stir things up a little.
"So that means Sasuke-kun and I are a pretty good match in terms of elemental compatibility."
Sasuke had already been a little annoyed that earlier, when the team was deciding whether to continue the mission, Naruto had prioritized Sakura's feelings first.
Now, hearing Naruto say this, his temper flared up immediately.
He gave a cold snort and replied in a pointed tone, "Yeah. The only thing that can beat lightning is wind. Feeling proud of yourself, dead last?"
He put special emphasis on the words dead last, making his irritation impossible to miss.
Naruto, however, shook his head.
"No, Sasuke-kun. That's not what I meant."
"Hm?" Sasuke blinked and instinctively turned back.
Kakashi and Sakura also looked at Naruto curiously, unsure what he was getting at.
Then Naruto gave Sasuke a bright smile and said in a warm, gentle voice:
"What I meant was… the only thing that can make fire burn even stronger is wind."
Sasuke: confusion → thinking → error in processing → system reboot → reboot failed → total mental shutdown
Uchiha Sasuke gave up trying to think.
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