Chapter 87

Chapter 87 - 87 Seeing Natsuki so effortlessly knock Sasuke flying, both Naruto and Sakura were utterly shocked. Although Natsuki had beaten Sasuke once before graduation, back then Natsuki had used quite a few tricks, including single-handed seals and Suiton (Water Release) techniques, to catch Sasuke off guard. But now, Sasuke had also grown significantly. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have been defeated so easily. Had Natsuki become way too strong?! "You guys don't really know the real Natsuki," Kakashi said rare words. "Back at the Academy, he deliberately hid his true strength. Even when he beat Sasuke, he wasn't using his full power. He didn't enjoy playing house at school — instead, he was already fighting real battles outside with real shinobi. While you were still playing around at the Academy, he had already defeated a genius from the Hyūga clan and was shamelessly seeking guidance from jōnin like us." "So, you're saying Natsuki knew Kakashi-sensei before, and that's why he's so strong?" Naruto and Sakura thought they understood, but in reality, they still didn't. Kakashi nodded... then shook his head. It was true Natsuki had sought advice from him and Gai, but most of the time, he relied on self-study. More importantly, he had a burning desire to become stronger, relentlessly training without slacking off — that was the true reason behind Natsuki's strength. Sasuke simply wasn't a match for him right now! Tenten looked at the innocent Naruto and Sakura with some pity. The three of them from Team Seven had no idea how hard Natsuki had worked to become strong. He was someone who, just to learn the Hachimon Tonkō (Eight Gates Technique), had trained himself to the point of fainting from pain in an extremely harsh environment. He was someone who, without any inheritance of jutsus, tirelessly invented and studied new ninjutsu and techniques day and night. He was someone who shamelessly sought out powerful people everywhere to learn from. How could someone like that possibly be weak? Even Tenten, his girlfriend, was inspired and guided by him — and had also become stronger herself. If she hadn't met Natsuki, she might have still been just as naive and adorable as the Team Seven kids now. "Ahem... the gap... is quite large." Sasuke climbed back to his feet. "Looks like I underestimated you. You really are strong, and you do have the right to evaluate me. But I won't give up that easily!" As he spoke, he quickly formed hand seals and prepared to unleash his Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). However, before he could, Natsuki suddenly disappeared. The next moment, Sasuke felt a tight grip on the back of his neck — Natsuki had grabbed him firmly. "You've lost," Natsuki said bluntly. "...I... lost." Sasuke forced the words out. Even with his Sharingan activated, he hadn't seen Natsuki's movement. He didn't even know when Natsuki had appeared behind him. The gap was just too large. There was no comparison. Continuing to fight would only bring humiliation. Natsuki released him and silently formed the seal of reconciliation, leaving Sasuke standing there in a daze. Naruto and Sakura hadn't even fully processed what happened. It was already over. They couldn't accept this result. In their eyes, Sasuke was so strong — how could he lose so easily? But reality was harsh. At this point, Team Seven simply couldn't tell the difference between strength and weakness. Naruto especially was completely naive. Just like during the Chūnin Exams — when Team Seven encountered Orochimaru, Sasuke realized the difference in power and tried to retreat. But Naruto questioned him — why retreat, wasn't Sasuke strong enough? Why not bravely fight? He had no idea that just one glance from Orochimaru had terrified Sasuke. If they didn't run, it would have been suicide! Sasuke might not fear death, but he wouldn't just watch Naruto and Sakura die. Thus, he chose to retreat. Naruto, who understood nothing, foolishly urged Sasuke to fight — resulting in Sasuke getting bitten by the snake. Although Orochimaru would probably have bitten Sasuke anyway later, the circumstances would have been different. At least it wouldn't have been blind ignorance leading to disaster! But back to the present. Seeing his students so devastated, Kakashi had a headache. "Natsuki, you hit them a bit too hard," Kakashi said. Natsuki scratched his head and defended himself, "Kakashi-senpai, don't worry. Sasuke has a strong heart. Only by taking a heavy blow can his ambition to become stronger be ignited. I'm doing this for his own good!" Kakashi was speechless. This guy was blatantly lying with a straight face. Still, even though that reasoning sounded forced... it wasn't entirely wrong. Sasuke often became stronger after setbacks. Maybe this was a good thing too. Kakashi decided not to pursue the matter and asked instead, "So, what did you want to ask me? Something about kenjutsu?" Natsuki pulled out two short swords from his scroll, tossing one to Kakashi. "Yes, it's about kenjutsu. I'm having trouble with Raiton: Shunshin (Lightning Release: Body Flicker Technique). I can't integrate it smoothly into my swordplay — I can only forcefully speed up using Hachimon Tonkō, but that's not ideal. Please teach me how to master Raiton: Shunshin, Kakashi-senpai!" "Raiton: Shunshin, huh? You really know how to give me a hard problem." Kakashi sighed but agreed anyway. In truth, he had some experience with it too. After all, his Chidori relied on extremely fast movement combined with Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique). Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to hit anyone. Since he had promised before to answer Natsuki's questions, he couldn't back out now. "Alright, come at me." "Thank you, Kakashi-senpai!" Natsuki didn't hold back. Lightning crackled around his short blade as he rushed forward. In an instant, sword lights and sparks of lightning clashed violently. Both moved so fast they became invisible — only flashes of electricity could be seen, crackling through the training ground. Sasuke, who had been feeling dejected, was now stunned. Even with his Sharingan at full power, he could only see afterimages. At this level of battle, he couldn't even follow with his eyes. Naruto and Sakura were even more dumbfounded. "Natsuki's already strong enough to fight Kakashi-sensei...?" They knew very well how strong Kakashi was. Not to mention the whole bell test — just during the Land of Waves mission, Kakashi had soloed Momochi Zabuza, which already felt ridiculously powerful to them. Yet now, they saw Kakashi using incredible kenjutsu, moving so fast he became invisible — and Natsuki, a peer, was able to fight back evenly. The blow to their pride was even harsher than before! Sasuke's whole body trembled. "So... when he fought me earlier... he was just playing? No... no way! The gap can't be this huge!" At that moment, they also noticed something about Tenten standing nearby — her eyes were darting quickly, focused and anxious, but not confused. She seemed to actually see the battle. Sakura couldn't help but ask, "Tenten, you can see them?" Tenten blinked, then nodded, "Yeah, I can see them clearly." The three were stunned. "Eh? How?!" Tenten shrugged. "Probably because I'm used to it. Natsuki's speed is always this fast — when I sparred with him, I had no choice but to adapt. Once you get used to it, it's not that hard. And if you become strong enough, it's not difficult to see their movements." Strong enough? Meaning... they were just too weak right now, even unable to see the shadows of the real fight? Sasuke pressed, "Why is Natsuki asking Kakashi-sensei for kenjutsu guidance?" Tenten answered straightforwardly, "Because Natsuki practices the Hatake-ryū Kenjutsu — the sword style of the Hatake clan." (End of Chapter) [Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][/zaelum] [+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter] [Thank You For Your Support!]