Kakashi shook his head patiently.
"No, Naruto, Sasuke. Being able to use one or two jutsu doesn't mean you've mastered chakra. None of you can use chakra in a truly flexible and efficient manner. Your next training is about that: how to use chakra flexibly and precisely."
He then turned to Sakura.
"Sakura, can you climb a tree without using your hands?"
Sakura nodded in understanding.
Without much talk, she began to channel chakra continuously through her body, and the chakra slowly but surely gathered towards the soles of her feet.
She took a stance, then ran towards a large tree and began to climb it vertically, as if she were walking on a flat surface.
Naruto and Sasuke both widened their eyes in disbelief.
"Woah! Cool!" Naruto exclaimed.
Sasuke remained silent, but his eyes showed surprise and a hint of envy.
Sakura, with her white robe fluttering slightly, could indeed climb a tree vertically using only her feet, without any help from her hands.
After reaching a sufficiently high branch, Sakura jumped down lightly.
Kakashi said calmly,
"See? Climbing a tree like that requires very precise and constant chakra control at the soles of the feet. As long as you can master this kind of control, in theory, you can learn any technique more easily, because your foundation will be strong."
"The second goal of this training,"
Kakashi continued,
"is to maintain the flow of chakra that has been trained and accumulated. It's even harder to control and maintain chakra stably when you're fighting or moving quickly."
"Well, no matter how much I say, you won't truly understand and master it if you don't try it yourselves." Kakashi smiled faintly.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Kakashi took out two kunai from his pouch and quickly threw them until they stuck in the ground, right in front of Naruto's and Sasuke's feet.
"Now," Kakashi ordered,
"use your own strength to climb as high up the tree as you can, and carve a mark with your kunai at the highest point you reach." He pointed to the tall trees around them. "Then, try to reach a place higher than that mark and leave a new trace. You won't be able to climb like a leisurely walk at first, so start by running and use that momentum to stick, then gradually get used to balancing your chakra flow. Do you understand?"
Naruto enthusiastically picked up the kunai lying on the ground.
"Hmph! Training like this is easy for me!" he exclaimed confidently.
"Besides, I'm the one who develops the fastest among us!"
He immediately ran towards a tree and tried to climb, but instantly slipped and fell with a thud.
Kakashi didn't keep looking at Naruto, who was groaning in pain.
Instead, he said to Sakura,
"Sakura, you don't have to go with them for tree-climbing practice. Your chakra control is already very good. Come with me, there's something else I want to discuss and train with you."
Sakura was slightly surprised, but she jumped down from the tree branch where she had been resting for a moment and followed Kakashi away from Naruto and Sasuke, who had already started competing (and falling repeatedly).
"Kakashi-sensei, what should we do now?"
Sakura asked in confusion, curious about the special training he would give her.
Kakashi stopped in a slightly more open area. He looked at Sakura seriously.
"Sakura, I need to ask you something. During the fight against Zabuza yesterday... how did you deflect that kunai in mid-air?"
Sakura was a little nervous, but she had expected this question to come up.
She said in a low voice, trying to sound casual,
"Actually, Sensei... when I graduated from the academy and received this headband... I had just awakened the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai."
Kakashi was genuinely surprised when he heard that, though he tried to hide it.
His usually languid eyes widened slightly.
"Magnet Release? Like the Third Kazekage's?"
He then asked Sakura to demonstrate it.
Sakura nodded. She concentrated, then several kunai and shuriken she carried floated from her pouch, spinning slowly around her, completely controlled by her thoughts.
Then, she placed her hand on the ground, closed her eyes for a moment, and with a little effort, a few grains of iron sand hidden beneath the ground's surface began to be attracted and clumped together in her palm.
Kakashi's eyes widened for a moment seeing the demonstration.
The fine control and ability to attract iron sand, albeit on a small scale, were already very impressive for someone who had just awakened it.
He quickly readjusted his usual relaxed expression.
When Kakashi asked why she hadn't told him earlier, Sakura replied with a sweet and slightly shy smile,
"Well... I wanted to give you a surprise, Sensei. I thought this would be my secret weapon."
Kakashi could only let out a long sigh.
"Sakura, an ability like this is very rare and valuable. I will report this matter to Hokage-sama later after we return to the village. This isn't something that can be hidden."
Sakura didn't object.
Besides, she had indeed planned to show her ability after this mission was over and she was more proficient.
Wouldn't it be a waste if such a great ability was hidden continuously?
Kakashi was a bit confused about how to train Sakura further.
From the tree-climbing demonstration and the metal control earlier, it was clear that Sakura had excellent chakra control; her potential in chakra control might even be the best of anyone Kakashi had ever met.
"Because you have Magnet Release,"
Kakashi began to explain,
"then you automatically also have affinities for its constituent basic elements, namely Wind Release and Earth Release. We will start by training those two elemental affinities of yours to strengthen the foundation of your Kekkei Genkai."
So, Kakashi taught Sakura how to train her elemental affinities: the classic method of splitting a leaf using wind chakra, and making small dolls or simple shapes from earth using earth chakra.
Sakura decided to focus on mastering the leaf-splitting training first, as she felt it was more challenging and would be very useful for sharpening her chakra control.
She returned to where Naruto and Sasuke were practicing tree climbing, sat cross-legged under a different tree, and calmly began her own training, a leaf between her palms.
After concentrating for a while, she heard Naruto's voice calling her.
"Sakura-chaaan!"
Sakura stopped her attempt to split the leaf in her palm, slightly frustrated at not having succeeded yet.
She turned towards Naruto, who approached her with a hopeful expression.
"Naruto? What is it? What happened?"
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly.
"Hehe... Well, I just wanted to ask you, Sakura-chan,"
he said, his voice a bit softer than usual.
"How did you climb so high so easily earlier? Is there a special secret? I've tried so many times but I keep falling!"
Sakura smiled at Naruto's antics.
"Actually, Naruto, controlling chakra to stick to a tree isn't too complicated, but it does require patience."
She then explained patiently.
"The most important thing is that you have to calm your mind and truly feel the flow of chakra within your body with your heart. Don't rush."
"Center your mind and focus on controlling that chakra flow," Sakura continued.
"Imagine you're gathering it at the soles of your feet, then release just enough constantly so you can stick. Not too much, not too little. Balance is the key."
She paused for a moment.
"That's all I need to say. You have to feel it yourself."
Sakura turned out to be quite talkative when explaining something she understood.
Naruto seemed to listen intently, though his expression showed a mixture of understanding and confusion.
He nodded enthusiastically.
"I get it! Or at least, I'll try it! Thanks a lot, Sakura-chan! You're the best!"
Then he happily ran back to his tree and followed the method Sakura had taught him.
Miraculously, after trying a few more times with more calm and focus, Naruto succeeded! He ran up the tree much more easily than before, though still not perfectly.
Sasuke, seeing Naruto's rapid progress, couldn't help but glance at him with annoyance and curiosity.
'What secret did that Dobe learn from Sakura? Damn it, I can't be beaten by Naruto!' Sasuke thought furiously.
Then he started running up his own tree with more desperation, falling again and again, but kept trying.
Kakashi, observing from a distance while leaning on his crutches, nodded slowly.
'Naruto, this kid... he even has far more chakra reserves in his body than I do. If he continues to train diligently and is willing to listen, sooner or later he will surpass Sasuke. And there's a high chance he will also surpass me someday.'
As day began to darken and the sky started to be adorned with orange hues, Kakashi gave some final instructions to his three students and told them to return to Tazuna's house to rest.
However, Sasuke and Naruto, consumed by their competitive spirit, continued to compete with each other, unwilling to lose.
Every time one of them managed to reach a higher point, the other would try even harder.
"Naruto!" Sasuke called out, his voice slightly breathless.
They were both nearing the top of a very tall tree.
Naruto, who was struggling to maintain his footing, was slightly surprised.
"Huh? What is it, Teme? I'm trying to concentrate, don't bother me!"
Sasuke looked a little embarrassed and awkward, something he rarely showed.
"Uh... Naruto," he said in a low voice,
"you... you asked Sakura for the secret to tree climbing earlier, right? What... what did she tell you?"
Hearing Sasuke's question, Naruto couldn't help but lift the corner of his mouth, forming a mischievous grin.
"Oh, that? The secret from Sakura-chan?" Naruto teased.
"I'm not telling you, Teme! Hehe."
He said with a very mischievous expression on his face.
Naruto's words instantly annoyed Sasuke.
"What did you say, Dobe?!"
"Naruto! Sasuke! It's getting dark, hurry back!"
Sakura, who had been waiting for quite some time, finally shouted from below.
At this moment, Sasuke and Naruto were still competing with each other, and neither of them wanted to stop first.
Sakura shouted again, her voice slightly louder.
"You two! It's really starting to get dark! Hurry back before Mr. Tazuna worries!"
The two boys still ignored her, too absorbed in their rivalry.
At this point, Sakura's patience had run out.
Anger was welling up inside her.
She was tired from training and wanted to take a bath and eat immediately.