Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 24 The First Training with a Teacher

"Good morning~" When the white-haired ninja appeared on the training ground with a smile, the sun was already so scorching that you could faint if you didn't stay in the shade.

Sasuke was almost losing his temper from being exposed to the sun, but he still refused to admit defeat, saying, "I thought ninjas had a sense of time, especially Jonin."

Kakashi replied without batting an eye, "Sorry, I went to help an old lady cross the street."

Sasuke had never seen such a shameless person before. His Sharingan bulged out, and he looked like he could unleash a fire jutsu at any moment.

Naruto was much calmer and comforted him, saying, "Maybe Kakashi-sensei is just happy to help others."

No way.

This guy went to the shopping street early in the morning, then headed straight to the cemetery, staying there until almost noon before finally arriving. Naruto didn't want to reveal his incredible sensory range so soon, and it was the first time he'd seen Kakashi-sensei with such a pessimistic side. The teacher he remembered was always smiling, only showing him his most reliable side. Did his former teacher really spend this much time at the cemetery? What was he thinking when facing his old friends' tombstones? Even worse, someone calling himself "Uchiha Madara" had just been spotted near the cemetery. He remembered that Akatsuki had recently taken control of the Land of Rain, right? Their members were frequently active in various countries, busy raising money for their "world peace" plan, each one teetering on the edge of overwork. Judging by how often Shisui had been going to the base lately, he was definitely worrying about Itachi's health again. How come the real leader of Akatsuki still had time to come to Konoha all the time?!

Thinking of the mountain of plans piled up by "Hui," Naruto was filled with grief and indignation, even contemplating catching a certain peeping tom in the act on the spot. Damn it, so what if he has a space-age Mangekyou Sharingan! Recently, the accuracy of his unmarked Flying Thunder God Technique has almost reached the level of his marked version; he refuses to believe that Kamui alone can't break through it!

Sasuke and Naruto hadn't actually been to this unique training ground, filled with towering rocks, very often. They usually chose the more challenging Nakagawa River for their climbing. However, Kakashi's training methods were also unique. Naruto had never been trained individually by Kakashi before, so he naturally didn't know about climbing with one hand behind his back and without using chakra. The two children stumbled and fell several times at first, but they quickly became quite skilled, though they couldn't keep up with Kakashi's speed as a long-limbed adult.

The three of them worked under the scorching sun for several hours, but Naruto was the first to give up. He felt dizzy and let go of the handle, landing safely on his own instincts. Then, he tried to move himself into the shade while enduring nausea.

"Naruto! What's wrong?" Sasuke, who was almost at the top, also came down. He stepped down using the protrusions on the stone wall, landing a little slower than Naruto. As soon as he landed, he supported the seemingly swaying figure, helping him on his final journey.

"I think I'm getting a bit of heatstroke." Naruto pulled open his collar and felt that although he was burning up, he wasn't sweating much. He immediately started circulating his chakra to catch his breath.

Kakashi encountered this situation during his first time teaching and hurriedly came downstairs. He was quite experienced in dealing with heatstroke, so he took out a towel, wet it, and planned to take off the child's shirt to cool him down.

His hand had barely grasped the hem of the child's clothes when another child grabbed him, his eyes even redder than when he had fought with him, almost baring his teeth.

What are you going to do?

"It's getting colder." That's why taking care of kids is such a hassle!

“…I’ll do it.” Sasuke extended his hand decisively, fearing that Naruto’s condition couldn’t be delayed any longer.

At this moment, the patient lying down silently stretched out a hand and said, "Um... actually, it's not necessary. Just circulating your chakra will be enough."

"Really?"

"It really is, really. You can touch it if you don't believe me."

The cool, refreshing touch was a world apart from the intense heat he had felt earlier. Sasuke immediately withdrew his hand, then touched Naruto's forehead again, still a little worried, before he was convinced that Naruto's temperature had returned to normal.

Kakashi found it a bit strange, but he was more concerned about the physical issue, so he asked, "Naruto, do you usually use chakra?"

"I guess so..." Naruto's voice trailed off. He used his senses for so long that he also used chakra to maintain a constant body temperature. Even though he knew it was a bad habit, he couldn't break it!

“That won’t do.” Kakashi said in a very serious tone, “Chakra can indeed bring convenience, but keeping the body at a constant temperature for a long time will wear down the resistance to heat and cold. If you run out of chakra one day, you will easily get sick.”

Can the chakra of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki really be depleted?

Naruto silently complained in his heart, but outwardly he humbly accepted the lesson. Unfortunately, Kakashi couldn't see it, but Sasuke knew that his friend didn't take it seriously, so Naruto was inexplicably given the cold shoulder.

When buying groceries, Sasuke refused to speak even though he was right next to them, and simply picked up what he wanted to eat and left. The atmosphere after the meal was unusually heavy and quiet; they even skipped the usual goodnight greetings, and Sasuke set the plates and left without a word.

"What on earth is he angry about?" Naruto was completely baffled and didn't think he had done anything wrong.

Kurama gloated while simultaneously sighing. Naruto's neglect of his health had finally been discovered by someone other than himself, meaning there would be another person to keep Naruto in check—something to be happy about. But seeing Naruto's nonchalant attitude, he also felt that this path was incredibly difficult and fraught with peril.

Humans are supposed to pursue immortality, right? How did Naruto, this weirdo who doesn't value his life at all, come to be!

"Because you never intended to change, you idiot!"

"Why are you calling me an idiot, Kurama! I'm not stupid at all!" Naruto raised his fist in annoyance. "Since you have chakra, why don't you use it? Sasuke taught me this! He's been going to the alternate dimension every day since then. It's extremely cold and hot in there, and you can't do without chakra to protect yourself."

"That's a future matter! Right now, you're just a little kid in Konoha. Are you planning to train yourself to be weak and sickly from a young age? Don't go out and say you're my Jinchūriki. The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki getting heatstroke? You'll embarrass yourself!"

Naruto wanted to argue with Kurama, but he couldn't deny the fact that he had almost suffered heatstroke. Hikaru was also busy, and he couldn't even spare a moment. He hadn't really been abusing his body; he was just too busy and had developed a habit of not paying attention to his health.

Does he really have to lose his senses? He had finally managed to achieve full-time sensory coverage and developed the ability to perceive the outside world even in his sleep, such as waking up immediately when a certain masked man appeared.

It still won't work, will it? What if we miss something? Konoha has been quite peaceful lately, but the undercurrents will never stop.

Let's try to appease these two devils...