Kakashi already had his own teaching methods for the two, but the unexpected arrival of Jiraiya and Sasuke's unrelenting thirst for power disrupted his plans.
The two of them made their way to where Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were training.
Although it was already dark, they could still see Sasuke and Naruto standing on the treetops, panting heavily.
Sakura was standing on the ground, watching the two of them.
When Yoruha and Kakashi arrived, Sakura approached them, especially taking a moment to look Yoruha up and down.
Curiously, she asked, "Yoruha, did you actually train? You don't look like it."
"Oh? And how did you figure that out?" Yoruha replied.
Sakura circled around him once and said, "Your clothes don't even have a single wrinkle. How could you have been training? Don't tell me you and Kakashi-sensei slacked off all afternoon?"
"That's not acceptable. Even though you're strong, if you don't put in effort, you'll stagnate and eventually be surpassed by Sasuke—or even Naruto."
Yoruha smiled but didn't say anything.
Kakashi interrupted Sakura and asked, "How are they doing?"
He was asking about Sasuke and Naruto.
Sakura beamed. "They've both mastered it! Even Naruto has been working really hard at training!"
As she spoke, she glanced at Yoruha, clearly saying it for his benefit.
She wasn't hostile toward Yoruha; in fact, she was concerned that he might slack off and let his skills deteriorate.
Yoruha understood her intentions but chose not to comment.
There was no need to.
Kakashi looked up at the treetops, where Sasuke and Naruto stood, still panting as they stared each other down.
The two were obviously competing.
"That was quick. Sasuke I can understand, but Naruto mastering it this fast is surprising," Kakashi remarked.
Sakura looked at Kakashi curiously and asked, "Kakashi-sensei, you didn't slack off earlier, did you?"
Though Sakura suspected Yoruha might slack off, she wasn't entirely sure.
Kakashi replied calmly, "Do you think he'd let me? Even if I wanted to rest, he wouldn't let me."
Sakura glanced at Yoruha, puzzled. "But why doesn't Yoruha look like he's been training at all?"
Kakashi also turned to Yoruha, finally noticing the same thing.
Even Kakashi's clothes had a few tears in them.
Kakashi sighed helplessly. "That's true. He doesn't show a single trace of training."
"This is what we call a difference in level," Kakashi muttered to himself, saying things that Sakura couldn't comprehend.
She looked at Kakashi and Yoruha with a bewildered expression.
"Being able to control chakra with such precision… it's even better than mine," Kakashi said with a smile at Yoruha.
Yoruha didn't respond, offering only a faint smile.
Sakura leaned closer to Yoruha and whispered, "What's Kakashi-sensei talking about?"
Yoruha replied, "He's just saying his usual cryptic things, nothing to worry about."
Sakura glanced between Yoruha and Kakashi, suspecting they were hiding something from her.
Since neither of them would elaborate, Sakura decided not to dwell on it further.
She sidled up to Yoruha and asked, "Yoruha, where were you two training earlier? There were several tremors a while ago—I almost thought Zabuza was attacking us again."
"If the commotion hadn't been so big, I would've sworn it was him."
"An earthquake?" Yoruha asked.
Sakura nodded. "Yes, the tremors were quite strong."
The place where Yoruha and Kakashi were training was far from where Sakura was, with a forest separating them. She had no idea that the "earthquake" had actually been caused by Yoruha.
Yoruha glanced at Kakashi, then replied, "Maybe this area is on a seismic fault line. After all, earthquakes are pretty common in a place like the Land of Waves."
Sakura didn't question it further and accepted Yoruha's explanation.
The so-called earthquakes Sakura mentioned were actually caused by Yoruha's initial use of Chidori and several Earth Release jutsu later.
Though Earth Release techniques are primarily defensive, they do create significant disturbances when activated. They also consume a large amount of chakra, which explained why Kakashi's chakra had been so heavily depleted.
Meanwhile, Sasuke and Naruto, standing on the treetops, noticed the arrival of Kakashi and Yoruha. They prepared to descend but forgot that their chakra was already nearly exhausted.
As they attempted to walk down, both quickly realized they were out of chakra.
"Sasuke! Naruto!" Sakura shouted in alarm as she saw them lose their balance and fall from the treetops.
Kakashi exchanged a glance with Yoruha, who nodded in response.
Just as Sasuke and Naruto felt their minds go blank and nearly lost consciousness, Kakashi and Yoruha vanished from their spots.
In the next moment, Yoruha appeared beside Naruto, and Kakashi appeared beside Sasuke.
Both grabbed the falling pair around their waists.
In an instant, Kakashi descended to the ground in a flash of blue lightning, while Yoruha landed in a streak of golden lightning.
After placing Sasuke and Naruto on the ground, Kakashi smiled and remarked, "Your speed's faster than mine now."
Naruto and Sasuke, who had just been set down, finally came to their senses.
Realizing they had been saved by Kakashi and Yoruha, the two exchanged a glance, both feeling humiliated.
They had originally planned to show off the results of their afternoon training in front of Yoruha and Kakashi. Instead, they had messed up.
Naruto stared at Yoruha. A moment ago, all he'd seen was a flash before he found himself on the ground.
For the first time, Naruto experienced Yoruha's overwhelming power firsthand.
Even Sasuke was visibly shaken as he looked at Yoruha.
When he had seen Yoruha appear beside Naruto, the golden lightning had been so fast that it left only afterimages. Sasuke had never seen Yoruha in such a state before.
Sasuke had always known he wasn't a match for Yoruha yet, but now he realized the gap between them was like a vast chasm—an insurmountable difference.
Sakura was stunned too.
She could understand Kakashi's speed; he was an elite jonin, after all.
But Yoruha turning into a golden streak of lightning, even faster than Kakashi, was something she hadn't expected. The speed was so incredible she could only catch the afterimage.
Sakura murmured to herself, "Was he training in that jutsu with Kakashi-sensei just now?"
"That had to be a Lightning Release technique. He's never shown anything like that before."
"I can't believe I said he wasn't training earlier. How could someone like him ever slack off? Sakura, you're so stupid. If he were lazy, he wouldn't be so much stronger than us."
She felt ridiculous for doubting Yoruha earlier.
Thinking back to how Yoruha had merely smiled at her suspicions, Sakura now felt like a fool. The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she became.
For a moment, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all fell silent.
Neither Yoruha nor Kakashi noticed the trio's reactions.
Kakashi looked at Sasuke and Naruto and said, "You both depleted too much chakra. That move you just tried was far too dangerous."
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