Although working up the courage to ask Senju Haruto for training had made Sasuke feel extremely tense, once he finally blurted it out, a strange sense of relief washed over him.
He didn't dare meet Haruto's gaze directly, but slowly, his eyes drifted back to him anyway.
"Me too, me too!"
Naruto shot his hand up eagerly. Unlike Sasuke, his natural boldness and carefree nature made him fearless in such situations. To him, Haruto had always been like an older brother—he never carried the kind of pride or pressure Sasuke did when asking for help.
"Haruto."
Kakashi quickly spoke up as well, supporting Sasuke's request. In truth, bringing Team 7 on this mission wasn't just about fulfilling their duty as shinobi. Kakashi had also hoped this would be a chance to temper his students. And Haruto, being a shinobi stronger than himself, was without question the best possible teacher.
Even if they had only a few days to train under him, it would be an experience that could last a lifetime.
"Very well then. Come with me."
After a brief silence, Haruto finally nodded and accepted Sasuke's request.
But when he turned toward Naruto—who looked just as excited and expectant—Haruto shook his head firmly without the slightest hesitation.
"Eh?! Why not?!"
Naruto immediately pointed at Sasuke, indignant. "Why does he get to, and I don't?"
"Because your chakra control is already leagues ahead of Sasuke's," Haruto replied without even pausing to think. "If you tried to follow his exact training, it'd be nothing but a waste of your time."
He let the words hang in the air for a moment before adding casually,
"Instead… you should work on developing a new jutsu."
"Develop a new jutsu?!"
Naruto and Sasuke shouted in unison, both caught completely off guard.
Sasuke's heart especially churned with conflicting emotions.
He had thought that training with Haruto would help him close the widening gap between himself and Naruto. Perhaps even erase it altogether.
But now he was hearing that Naruto had already reached the point of creating new techniques entirely!
"Kakashi," Haruto said, turning his head toward his old comrade, "I'll leave this matter to you."
Even though Kakashi could no longer mold chakra properly, guiding Naruto in the development of a new technique was something he could still do. After all, in the original flow of events, it had been Kakashi who helped Naruto incorporate wind-style nature transformation into the Rasengan.
"A new jutsu, huh?" Kakashi murmured, his brow furrowing.
"Yes."
Worried that Kakashi might not immediately catch his meaning, Haruto lifted his hand. Chakra swirled in his palm, condensing into a perfect Rasengan.
The Rasengan—a jutsu of immense difficulty to learn. And yet, once the principle was understood, it became surprisingly straightforward.
"Rasengan…"
Kakashi's throat tightened. He had guessed Haruto's intent, but even so, it felt almost unbelievable.
As the student of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, Kakashi not only knew the Rasengan but also understood its flaw: it was incomplete. His teacher, the Fourth himself, had spent half his life trying to add chakra nature transformation to it, but had failed.
That failure had driven Kakashi to abandon the Rasengan and instead create Chidori.
And now… Haruto was suggesting he guide Naruto through the very challenge even Minato couldn't conquer.
"…You really are something else, Haruto," Kakashi muttered in awe.
"What's this new jutsu?" Naruto scratched his head, utterly lost. "I don't get it."
To him, Rasengan and Shadow Clone Jutsu were his specialties.
Could this "new jutsu" really have something to do with the Rasengan?
"In that case, it's decided," Haruto said, wrapping things up. "Kakashi—you'll oversee Naruto's training to complete his new technique. Sasuke, you'll come with me."
"Wait."
Kakashi suddenly shifted the conversation, directing everyone's attention toward Sakura.
Unlike Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura's personality made her far less interested in training or growing stronger. If anything, she was more of a hopeless romantic—so long as she could be near Sasuke, little else mattered to her.
But as her teacher, Kakashi had no intention of letting her miss this chance.
"Sakura, Haruto is even stronger than I am. Why don't you join Sasuke in his training?"
More than simply ensuring this mission's success, Kakashi's real desire was for all of Team 7 to grow—especially Sasuke and Sakura.
Of course, Sakura didn't catch any of his real meaning. To her, his words rang with only one crucial implication:
With Sasuke.
Her cheeks flushed faintly, and she nodded—shy, but quietly thrilled at the thought of training alongside Sasuke without Naruto barging in.
With everyone's roles set, Haruto led Sasuke and Sakura into the forest near Tazuna's home.
Protecting Tazuna remained their mission, so they couldn't stray too far. Haruto had even set up a protective barrier around the house, modeled after those in the Hidden Leaf Village. While smaller in scale, it was still enough that if anyone approached, Haruto would sense it instantly.
A safeguard, just in case.
"You already know the essence of chakra, right? That it's formed by mixing spiritual energy and physical energy."
Haruto stood in the forest clearing, arms folded across his chest as his gaze swept over Sasuke and Sakura.
As the top students of the Academy, this was knowledge he didn't need to waste time explaining.
"However," Haruto continued, "while you can extract chakra, you still don't know how to properly use it."
"But we can still perform ninjutsu," Sasuke retorted immediately, his pride pricked. Haruto's words sounded far too basic. He might not be on Naruto's level right now, but he was still leagues ahead of the average genin.
"That's true," Haruto admitted calmly. "But even so, because of your poor chakra control, you burn through chakra far too quickly. Battles become short and unsustainable. Problems snowball from there."
He paused, letting his words land before focusing squarely on Sasuke.
"Especially you, Sasuke. If I'm not mistaken, you're from the Uchiha clan, aren't you?"
Sasuke blinked, confused as to why Haruto would bring up his clan, but nodded honestly.
"Then you should already know: true Uchiha prodigies awaken the Sharingan, just like your teacher Kakashi has."
"But the Sharingan consumes massive amounts of chakra. With your current control, even if you activate it, you won't be able to sustain it for long."
Sasuke's breath caught. His eyes narrowed sharply, suspicion flashing in them.
"How do you know so much about the Sharingan?"
"Why, you ask?"
Haruto's lips curled into a sly smile. His dark pupils began to shift, three black tomoe emerging as his irises bled into a vivid crimson.
Sasuke froze. His eyes went wide, disbelief twisting across his face.
"Th-three tomoe Sharingan?!"
This was impossible.
The Sharingan was the Uchiha clan's unique bloodline limit—exclusive to them.
So why… why could he wield it too?