Downstream of the Naka River, outside Konoha Village, in the farmland area.
The morning sun shone on the green rice paddies. A gentle breeze blew, and the rice stalks swayed softly.
A water channel about three meters wide cut through the fields. The water wasn't very clear, floating with some leaves and debris.
"Ahhh!!! This is so annoying!"
Suddenly, a yell broke the tranquility of the fields.
Naruto stood by the water channel, holding a long pair of tongs. The garbage bag at his feet was already half full.
His face was full of irritation, his blue eyes glaring at the silver-haired Jonin sitting on a tree trunk not far away.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto dropped the tongs and waved his arms. "Every day it's either picking up trash or catching runaway pets! This is nothing like the Ninja missions I imagined! We're Ninjas! Ninjas should be doing cooler missions!"
On the tree trunk, Hatake Kakashi leaned back against the tree, holding an orange-covered book in his hands.
Icha Icha Paradise.
He glanced up at Naruto, then lowered his head to continue reading, saying leisurely, "This is also a necessary part of Ninja Training. Patience, attention to detail, perseverance… these qualities are very important in missions."
"But—" Naruto started to argue, but was interrupted by a gentle voice from the side.
"Naruto—"Hinata said softly. "Kakashi-sensei must have his own reasons. Besides, besides, these missions can also train our observation skills and endurance—"
As she spoke, she stepped barefoot into the shallow paddy field and diligently cleared debris with her tongs.
Menma, standing on the other side, was pulling some dead branches out of the water channel.
"If you're bored—" Hearing Naruto's complaint, he turned his head, a smile appearing on his face. "How about we play a Ninja Game?"
"Ninja Game?" Naruto perked up, his blue eyes sparkling. "What game?"
Menma walked to the edge of the water channel.
This channel diverted water from the Naka River, irrigating this large expanse of farmland. Because it hadn't been cleaned for a long time, this section had accumulated a lot of garbage.
Plastic bottles, plastic bags, dead branches and leaves, and even a few old pieces of clothing.
He lifted his foot, Chakra coalescing, controlling, distributing at the sole.
The next moment, Menma stood steadily on the water's surface, causing a slight ripple.
Menma put his hands on his hips and smiled at Naruto. "Remember I taught you at the Hokage Rock last time? Control and focus your Chakra on the soles of your feet. It not only lets you walk on cliffs as if on flat ground, but also allows you to walk on water or trees. In Ninja Combat, this is an essential skill."
Naruto's eyes widened even more.
He looked at Menma standing on the water, then at the ground beneath his own feet, and swallowed.
"O-of course I know!" Naruto bluffed, and like Menma, lifted his foot to step onto the water.
Having learned before at the Hokage Rock, for the first three seconds, he successfully coalesced Chakra on his soles, and the water supported his weight.
A smug smile just appeared on Naruto's face, but after three seconds, his Chakra Control went haywire, his left foot slipped, and with a 'plop', he fell into the water channel.
Water splashed everywhere.
Naruto emerged from the water, his blonde hair plastered wetly to his face, spitting out a mouthful of water.
Clearly, walking on water was much harder than walking on solid rock.
"Dammit!" He climbed ashore, undeterred, wiping his face. "I'm definitely going to master this!"
Kakashi glanced over from the tree, the corner of his mouth under his mask twitching upward slightly, but he quickly returned his attention to his book.
Although his gaze wandered across the text, his perception remained focused on the three Genin.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto's voice rang out again. "Look! I'm standing on it!"
Kakashi looked up.
Naruto was wobbling precariously on the water. His posture was ugly, his Chakra Fluctuations unstable, but he was indeed barely managing to walk on water.
And Menma stood beside him, one hand hovering behind his back for support, giving quiet guidance.
"Don't be so impatient. Calm your mind and feel the Chakra flowing through your Chakra Pathway—"
Hinata also stood on the water, her movements much steadier than Naruto's.
Her pure white eyes were fixed on Naruto, her gaze encouraging.
"Not bad." Kakashi said lazily. "Keep it up."
Throughout the afternoon, Team 7 spent their time by the water channel in this training that seemed like play but was actually serious practice.
Under Menma's guidance, Naruto repeatedly practiced walking on water. Each time he managed to stand on the surface for a few minutes, he would get distracted by picking up garbage and fall in again.
Then he would get back up, undeterred, and continue practicing.
Hinata carefully cleaned the garbage from various parts of the channel.
Her Chakra Control was excellent to begin with... walking on water wasn't difficult for her, though performing such detailed work simultaneously required some practice.
And Menma performed effortlessly throughout.
He could not only stand steadily on the water but also pick up garbage scattered in the water channel while guiding Naruto.
Kakashi had only ever seen this level of exquisite Chakra Control at such a young age in a very few prodigies.
"As expected of the top graduate." Kakashi murmured to himself. "Learned to walk on water even before graduating... did Hinata teach him?"
The sun gradually rose to its zenith, and the temperature climbed.
By the time the garbage in the water channel was mostly cleaned up, Naruto could finally walk on water as if on flat ground.
He even ran back and forth excitedly, splashing water everywhere.
"See that, Menma-nii? Hinata? I did it!" Naruto shouted excitedly, his earlier frustration and boredom completely gone. He was as lively as a puppy just learning to run.
Menma stood on the water, smiling at this guy.
The sunlight shone on Naruto's wet blonde hair, his smile amazingly bright.
Just then,
A flood of memories surged into his mind, causing Menma's body to tremble slightly.
One of his shadow clones had been released, returning with important information to the main body.
Menma's smile didn't change, but his eyes deepened slightly.
While continuing to guide Naruto in practicing finer Chakra Control, he quickly sorted through the information brought by the shadow clone in his mind.
The meeting at the Land of Stars Administration Center… the friction with Kirigakure… intelligence on Konoha's Chunin Exams… the Kumogakure mission… Otogakure…
'Chunin Exams?' Menma thought to himself, 'Even Kumogakure wants to get involved... That old man is playing quite big this time.'
He recalled the Chunin Exams from the original work. Orochimaru's Konoha Crush Plan, the joint invasion of Sunagakure and Otogakure, the fall of the Third Hokage… an event that changed many people's destinies.
But now, because of his intervention, many things were different.
Sunagakure no longer existed. Gaara was in the Land of Stars, with Temari and Kankuro.
Orochimaru had become his subordinate, though that guy still had his own schemes.
But Kumogakure seemed to have been invited. Amegakure had changed its leader early—
The variables had increased, but the core vortex was still in Konoha.
The corner of Menma's mouth curled up slightly. A plan was gradually taking shape in his mind.
'Since that's the case—' He thought, 'Then let's add some fuel to the fire, make the Chunin Exams a little more exciting.'
"Menma-nii!" Naruto's shout interrupted his thoughts. "Look! Is this the right way to control Chakra?"
Menma snapped back to the present and looked at Naruto.
The blonde-haired boy was carefully coalescing Chakra on the soles of his feet, trying to perform a jumping motion on the water.
His movements were clumsy, but his focus and effort were moving.
"Yes, just like that." Menma said gently, walking over to Naruto. "But when you jump, the Chakra output needs to be smoother. Here, let me show you."
He leaped lightly, his body tracing a graceful arc through the air, landing on the water three meters away, causing a small splash.
That effortless control made Kakashi narrow his eye again from his spot not too far away.
Hinata also stopped her work, her pure white eyes fixed on Menma.
She could see that at the moment Menma jumped, the Chakra on his soles changed in an extremely exquisite way, providing enough thrust while quickly converting to cushioning upon landing.
Her 'sister' might not even be able to achieve that level of control.
"So amazing—" Hinata murmured in admiration.
Naruto was even more excited. "I want to learn that too! I want to jump just as cool!"
"Then keep practicing." Menma smiled. "But before that, we need to turn in the completed mission. Kakashi-sensei and the client are waiting."
Kakashi on the tree heard his name, looked up, and closed his book. "Good work on the mission. It's about time for lunch. You can rest this afternoon."
"Yay!" Naruto cheered, almost falling into the water again.
The four packed up their tools.
Kakashi jumped down from the tree and stretched. "Let's go, I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen."
"Really?" Naruto's eyes lit up even more. "Kakashi-sensei is so generous today?"
"Occasionally I have to reward my hardworking subordinates." Kakashi said lazily, then looked at Menma.
Menma calmly met Kakashi's gaze, his smile unchanged. "Naruto has a lot of talent. He just needs some guidance."
"Is that so." Kakashi neither agreed nor disagreed, turning to walk toward Konoha. "Then I'll be relying on you from now on."
The four walked along the path through the fields, the sunlight stretching their shadows long.
Naruto bounced along in front, incessantly talking about what he had learned from walking on water.
Menma listened, occasionally responding.
Hinata walked quietly beside Menma, occasionally murmuring in agreement.
Kakashi had pulled out Icha Icha Paradise again, as if that not-so-large book contained endless stories.