"After that break, you've all improved quite a bit."
Kakashi was an experienced elite jōnin. He could tell at a glance how the three of them had changed.
Sasuke had been training hard—his raw combat ability had improved the most.
Naruto's strength also seemed to be skyrocketing lately.
And Hanabi went without saying. She looked like she was barely managing to stay on her feet, yet Kakashi found that no matter which angle he considered attacking from, Hanabi seemed utterly without openings. She was the most troublesome of the three.
—When did Team 7 get this competitive?
Kakashi suddenly felt a sense of crisis.
At this rate, if he kept slacking off as an elite jōnin, wouldn't he end up becoming the weakest member of Team 7?
That was genuinely alarming.
"Ooh ooh ooh, Kakashi-sensei, I can't wait anymore! Do we have some crazy awesome big mission today?!"
What happened in the Land of Waves hadn't broken Naruto's spirit.
Quite the opposite—because his record now included an "A-rank mission" evaluation, Naruto was fired up and eager to pad his résumé with a few more entries.
"You—last time was just an exception. We'll talk about big missions when you can actually handle things on your own."
Kakashi did want to take on C-rank missions, but the Chūnin Exams were just around the corner, and he had no intention of sending his students out of the village on field assignments right now.
"—So, today's mission is weeding, garbage pickup, and grounds maintenance."
"Huh?!"
Naruto was not having it.
"Kakashi..." Kushina had also spotted Kakashi.
As Minato's student, Kushina was acquainted with him.
But then again.
During this time, Kushina had been watching Naruto's situation in the village with her own eyes.
She hadn't really seen any overt physical bullying, but there was a constant undercurrent of cold hostility—it kept happening every few days.
It wasn't outright discrimination, exactly.
Plenty of people talked behind his back, but nobody dared say anything to his face.
The real problem was the wall of rejection that had been built around him, leaving Naruto almost completely isolated on the fringes of society.
Kushina didn't like Konoha as it was now.
Having returned from the afterlife, all she had left was Naruto.
As long as she could watch this child grow up safe and sound, she could return to the Pure Land in peace.
"If only I could drag the Nine-Tails down with me."
Kushina's thoughts suddenly turned to Kushina Yuki.
That girl had tried to extract the Nine-Tails once before.
And it was Kushina herself who had played the "villain" that time.
"If she'd succeeded, would Naruto—without the Tailed Beast—finally be able to fit in with everyone?"
But then Kushina reconsidered. If the only reason people changed their attitude was because the Nine-Tails was gone, and she felt relieved because of that—wouldn't that make her no different from those villagers?
—Can't lose.
At the very least, she couldn't lose to Kushina Yuki when it came to being a mother!
Kushina found herself gripped by a strange competitive urge.
"A mission like this, I can handle by myself," Hanabi spoke up. "As for Sasuke and Naruto, I was hoping Kakashi-sensei could spare some time to—"
"No way! You can't just dump the mission on Hanabi!" Naruto wasn't about to back down. He thumped his chest. "Team 7's missions should be done together, no matter how simple!"
"Ah, I feel the same way." Sasuke stepped forward too. "For a ninja, the mission comes first."
"Mm." Seeing the dynamic between the three gradually shifting, Kakashi was satisfied. Their teamwork had improved dramatically.
This would be a major advantage for the upcoming Chūnin Exams.
Unfortunately, Naruto talked a big game but was the weakest link when it came to the actual work.
During weeding, he pulled up crops along with the grass. During garbage cleanup, the river current swept him away. On the forest patrol, he got chased by a wild boar straight into a trap-mine field.
It was so absurd that even Kushina couldn't hold back: "Stop trying to show off like that!"
Always racing to be first, only to trip over his own feet.
[LMAO, even Mom couldn't take it anymore]
[My wife spent the whole time just watching the show]
[Sasuke bailed him out every single time—just get together already, you two]
"Dammit, I didn't mean for any of that to happen." Naruto had been trying to steal the spotlight.
"Well, anyway, the missions are done, so I'll go file the reports." Kakashi-sensei seemed distracted, and left quickly.
"Yosh! Then I'm going back to training too! Just you wait, Sasuke, Hanabi—I'll definitely catch up to you guys!"
Naruto was self-aware about this much, at least—he was the weakest member of Team 7.
To catch up with Hanabi, to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Sasuke, he had to close the gap no matter what!
Even if it meant taking lessons from that damn fox hag!
"Now then, let's continue where we left off." Hanabi turned to Sasuke.
"Techniques?" Sasuke's expression sharpened.
"What? What? What what?"
Naruto immediately perked up.
Why did it feel like he was the only one left out?
[Naruto: I'm the only outsider here]
[LMAO, a world where only the protagonist gets dunked on has been achieved]
[Completely out of the loop]
[Tonight's party time—guess who didn't get an invite? That's you, Naruto lol]
"Just some combat techniques." Hanabi said as she drew the katana she'd had fitted over the past couple of days. "In simple terms—swordsmanship."
"Th-that's a pretty dangerous weapon, isn't it?" Naruto swallowed hard. "Hey, hey, Hanabi—that rope technique you use, can I learn that one? I'll treat you to ramen!"
After a moment's thought, Naruto decided to offer up his most beloved Ichiraku Ramen as payment.
"My Adamantine Sealing Chains are way stronger than those ropes."
Kushina was not pleased.
"Tch, you spent half the day trying to teach me and I still can't do it."
"That's because you're an idiot, idiot."
"Why you—"
"Hm?!"
"Ugh..."
[Mom's jealous lol]
[Mom: I'm SO mad!]
["My blade, too, is plenty sharp" lol]
In the real world, Naruto was just standing there like a clueless statue, but viewed next to the video feed, the scene was hilarious.
"Hmm, for you, Naruto..."
Hanabi considered.
Naruto was currently learning Adamantine Sealing Chains.
If he actually mastered that sealing technique, he'd be practically invincible in the Chūnin Exams.
As for Naruto's learning speed—it was already insane, honestly. With just a bit more control, it might actually work.
"All right, I can teach you some techniques. But my Zhuixia isn't an ordinary rope, so prepare yourself mentally. Also, my chakra sensing method should be very useful for you, Naruto."
Mind's Eye of the Kagura.
This was also an Uzumaki clan technique—an ultra-wide-range sensory ninjutsu.
If Naruto could learn this under her guidance, that alone would be enough.
Conveniently, there was still about a week before the Chūnin Exams. Plenty of time to level up Naruto and Sasuke.
Besides, Naruto probably couldn't manipulate chains with the same precision she could.
But... Naruto had "chak-tons-ra"!
Brute force fixes everything, right?