He had no intention of dying here.
At his side, Haku stopped Zabuza, having clearly seen the killing intent in his eyes.
If Gatō said one more word, Zabuza might truly act on it.
"Please, Zabuza-sama," Haku said softly, "after all, he is the employer."
Zabuza glanced at Haku but said nothing more.
He lowered the Executioner's Blade in his hand.
Yet the icy chill radiating from him made Gatō fully experience the terror of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Gatō took several steps back and muttered,
"If you don't kill that old man Tazuna before the bridge is finished, you can forget about getting the rest of your payment."
Leaving those harsh words behind, Gatō hurriedly fled from Zabuza's hideout.
Although Gatō was a despicable man himself, he was nothing compared to Zabuza — the ruthless killer who, right after graduating from the ninja academy,
had slain all his classmates.
After Gatō left, Zabuza looked toward Haku.
"Why did you stop me from killing that bastard?"
Haku walked closer and explained calmly,
"If you kill him, it'll cause a disturbance.
The Hidden Mist's Anbu will surely come after us."
Zabuza didn't reply.
---
Meanwhile, in the forest behind Tazuna's house, Kakashi stood before Yoruha, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura.
"Starting now," he said, "you'll begin your training."
"For chakra control, one of the best methods is… climbing trees."
As soon as Kakashi said this, Naruto laughed.
"Kakashi-sensei, climbing trees? Who can't climb trees?
That's supposed to be training?"
Kakashi ignored him and walked up to a nearby tree.
He lifted one foot and pressed it against the trunk — then placed the other foot as well.
In the next moment, Kakashi was standing perpendicular to the tree trunk, as though gravity no longer applied to him.
The sight left Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura completely stunned.
"Kakashi-sensei… he's actually sticking to the tree!"
Naruto exclaimed in disbelief.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed in thought.
Kakashi continued walking upward step by step until he reached the top of the tree —
then calmly hung upside down beneath a branch.
This left the three of them speechless.
Still hanging upside down, Kakashi explained,
"You must focus your chakra at the soles of your feet.
The key is balance — too much or too little, and you'll fall."
"If you can do as I do, your chakra control will improve by an entire level."
After finishing, Kakashi walked down from the tree.
"Alright, your turn. Try it out."
Naruto was already too eager to wait.
He shouted and charged toward a large tree.
Sasuke walked toward another one,
while Sakura chose the tree between the two of them.
Yoruha, however, stood still.
He already knew how.
Kakashi didn't say anything.
He had intended this exercise for Sasuke and the others anyway, and he already knew Yoruha had mastered it long ago.
Naruto took his first step — and immediately fell flat on his back, smacking his head against the ground and raising a huge bump.
"Ow, ow, ow! That hurts!"
Naruto groaned, rolling on the ground.
Sasuke, on the other hand, managed several steps upward before losing balance halfway and falling.
Still, he landed far less embarrassingly than Naruto.
To everyone's surprise, Sakura succeeded on her very first try.
She was now sitting on the trunk, waving down cheerfully.
"Kakashi-sensei, look! I did it!"
Naruto, still sprawled on the ground,
stared up at her in admiration — and a bit of jealousy.
"She's amazing," he muttered.
"As expected of the girl I've got my eyes on."
Yet deep down, he was frustrated.
Even if Sakura was the girl he liked,
he couldn't help feeling envious.
Sasuke glanced at Sakura, frowning slightly.
He wasn't jealous — he had long known
that Sakura's chakra control was exceptional.
He wanted to ask her for tips,
but his pride held him back.
After all, at the academy, he had always been the top student.
To now ask Sakura for advice… he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Kakashi looked at Naruto and Sasuke with a small grin.
"Well, it seems the girl was the first to succeed after all.
As expected, Sakura's chakra control is the best."
He added teasingly,
"Didn't someone always say he wanted to become Hokage?
Looks like you've got a long way to go."
Then he turned to Sasuke.
"And it seems the Uchiha clan isn't as perfect as I thought, either."
His words struck both Naruto and Sasuke directly.
Of course, Kakashi wasn't mocking them seriously — he was using provocation to push them.
Both boys had strong pride, and this method worked best on them.
As expected, Naruto was the first to react.
"Kakashi-sensei! That was just a fluke!
I'll definitely do it next time!"
Sasuke didn't respond —
he simply walked back to the tree and began again in silence.
As Naruto returned to try again, he noticed Yoruha still standing beside Kakashi.
"Yoruha, aren't you training too?" he asked curiously.
Yoruha said nothing, but Kakashi answered for him.
"Yoruha has already mastered it," he said.
"In fact, he succeeded on his very first try."
Naruto's mouth twitched.
He really shouldn't have asked.
He knew Yoruha was far stronger than them —
of course he'd already trained in this before.
Sasuke said nothing and kept practicing.
Sakura remained on the tree, watching the two boys below.
Her gaze eventually drifted toward Yoruha.
"He must have known how to do this long ago…
of course he did — he's so strong."
"What a strange person.
He's so skilled, and yet I barely noticed him back in the academy."
She thought back to the two times Yoruha had saved her life, and she felt genuine warmth toward him —
not romantic, but friendly gratitude.
After all, he was practically her savior.
Now, curiosity stirred within her.
Despite being classmates for six years,
she realized she knew nothing about Yoruha.
While Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura continued training,
Kakashi turned to Yoruha and said,
"They're working on their exercise.
It's time I gave you yours."
Yoruha nodded.
The two didn't train there —
instead, they moved several hundred meters away to a lakeside clearing.
Standing by the lake, Kakashi sighed.
"This reminds me of that night by the water.
If your chakra hadn't gone out of control back then, you would've succeeded."
Yoruha nodded.
"It was unexpected… but I think I can control it now."
"Oh?" Kakashi asked. "You've mastered it?"
Yoruha looked at him and smiled faintly.
"Shall I try?"
Kakashi stepped back a few paces.
"If your chakra goes wild again, the impact could be serious."
Yoruha shook his head.
"It won't. I'm confident I can succeed this time."
Kakashi hesitated for a moment,
then nodded.
"Alright. Try it. I'll keep watch around the area."
With that, Kakashi retreated dozens of meters.
The last time Yoruha lost control,
the explosion radius had been enormous.
He wasn't about to stand too close again.
---
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