"Um."
Chiharu nodded obediently.
"As expected of the child of Minato-sensei and Kushina-sama."
Kakashi exclaimed in admiration. When he was Chiharu's age, he had also begun trying to condense chakra.
However, he didn't have as strong a physique as Chiharu, so he didn't succeed until he was three years old.
Although he didn't have the ability to sense chakra like a sensor-type ninja, shinobi with a certain level of strength could distinguish between those who had activated their chakra and ordinary people through careful observation.
Apart from certain movement habits, people who possessed chakra had subtle differences in their physical appearance compared to ordinary people.
Although Kakashi didn't show it much, to be frank, among the young ninjas of Konoha, only Itachi and Shisui had comparable talent to his own.
He wasn't surprised at all that Chiharu had such ability. After all, she was Minato's child.
Naruto, who had been excited about his father's strength moments earlier, suddenly changed his expression.
Why?
Naruto kept repeating this question in his mind.
If what Kakashi said was true, why had he practiced hard for more than a year but still couldn't control his chakra?
Being the child of the same parents, Chiharu had learned hand seals in no time and condensed chakra in a very short period.
In comparison, Sasuke's father was the head of the Uchiha clan, and his brother was also a genius.
Sasuke had already learned basic chakra manipulation, while Naruto still lagged behind.
Naruto couldn't find answers to the questions in his mind, nor was it easy to share these concerns with others.
"What's wrong?"
Kakashi noticed that something was troubling Naruto and asked.
"It's nothing. Thanks for helping us earlier," Naruto shook his head and replied.
Kakashi responded: "It was no big deal."
"Chiharu, it's time for us to go home," Naruto turned and said to his sister.
"Um."
Chiharu nodded, then said to Kakashi: "Goodbye, Brother Kakashi."
Naruto left with his sister in a hurry.
Kakashi was a little puzzled, but he had other matters to attend to, so he departed as well.
After returning home, Naruto said nothing, walked to the giant tree in the yard again, and began to practice.
"Bang! Bang!"
Naruto used every muscle in his body to strike the tree, and the sounds of impact echoed throughout the courtyard.
The afternoon sun was hotter than in the morning, and coupled with Naruto's relentless practice, sweat quickly soaked the boy's clothes and dampened his hair.
Beads of sweat kept dripping down his tender cheeks.
"Brother, please take a rest."
Chiharu grew anxious, but Naruto, who usually listened to her, seemed not to hear her this time.
Because he was hitting too hard and his mind was distracted, Naruto accidentally cut his palm.
He winced slightly, but didn't bother treating the wound and continued to practice.
Seeing this, Chiharu was alarmed and said, "Your hand is bleeding! You need to treat the wound immediately."
"This little injury is nothing," Naruto replied dismissively.
Chiharu saw that he wouldn't listen to any advice, and with their parents away from home, she needed to take action.
She gritted her teeth and walked toward Naruto.
As she approached him, she suddenly broke into a run.
Though she hadn't begun formal training, she already had a basic understanding of chakra, and her movements were relatively quick.
With her small stature, she slipped right into the gap between Naruto and the tree.
Naruto was about to throw a straight punch when he saw Chiharu in front of him. His eyes widened in shock.
Although Chiharu was clever beyond her years, she was still a little girl less than two years old. When Naruto's fist came toward her, she instinctively closed her eyes.
Naruto desperately twisted his arm aside, and the resulting breeze barely ruffled the bangs on Chiharu's forehead.
"Chiharu, are you hurt?" His face changed drastically.
After hearing Naruto's voice, Chiharu cautiously opened her eyes. Her small body was pressed against the tree, surprise evident in her expression.
"I'm fine," she said.
Naruto sighed in relief, then asked anxiously: "Why did you suddenly run in front of me? That was very dangerous!"
"What if I had hit you? You could have been seriously hurt!"
In his anxiety, Naruto's speech pattern briefly resembled Kushina's.
"It's because my brother is injured and ignoring me," Chiharu said softly. She walked to Naruto, reached for his hand, and examined his injured palm.
"If an injury isn't treated promptly, it can become more serious." She tugged at Naruto, intending to take him out of the house.
She didn't know how to treat wounds yet, so her plan was to take Naruto to the Konoha hospital.
"There's really no need to worry about such a minor injury," Naruto chuckled. He tried to hold Chiharu back, wanting to return to his practice.
"No, the wound must be treated!"
Chiharu's childish face suddenly became serious, looking remarkably like Kushina.
Naruto had never seen her like this before, and he felt a little unsettled.
"Also," Chiharu continued with a sigh, "I understand how my brother feels right now, but Dad always says that if training isn't done properly, it not only has no benefit but can actually damage your body."
"So, this afternoon, brother, you need to rest properly."
"But..." Naruto's eyes darted around uncertainly.
"If my brother doesn't agree, then I'll just have to follow his example."
As she said this, Chiharu turned around and got into position.
Although she had never practiced this way before, she had memorized all the movements just by watching Naruto train.
Afraid that Chiharu would hurt herself and seeing that he couldn't persuade her otherwise, Naruto could only nod obediently.
Chiharu's face lit up with a smile. She took Naruto's arm and pulled him toward the house.
"Brother should know how to treat his own wounds."
She knew that Naruto often fought with Sasuke, and to hide it from their mother, he would always clean up the traces of their fights.
Naruto surrendered completely—he was no match for Chiharu's determination.
As the sun set, Minato finished his work and returned home.
"Dad."
Seeing Minato, Chiharu and Naruto in the living room turned their heads and spoke in unison.
"Haha, I heard that something happened with you two in the village today," Minato smiled as he greeted Naruto and his sister.
He had heard everything from Kakashi. Because of the incident, Hyuga Hiashi had even brought his retainer and Hinata to apologize to him.
But given Minato's personality, he certainly wouldn't punish anyone over such a minor issue.
And he'd heard that Chiharu had already taught that Hyuga retainer a lesson in her own way.
At this moment, Minato noticed some unusual movements from Naruto.
With a quick glance, he spotted the gauze roughly wrapped around Naruto's palm.
There was still a little blood seeping through the bandage.
Minato's smiling face suddenly changed, and concern appeared in his eyes.
"What happened? Naruto, how did you get hurt?"
Kakashi and the Hyuga retainer had reported to him that Naruto and Chiharu weren't injured during their earlier encounter.
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