Kakashi returned to Tazuna's house that evening. He had found a quiet place deep in the woods and personally dug a pit to bury Zabuza and Haku together.
"Naruto, Sakura, protecting Tazuna for this period of time is left to you."
After Kakashi finished speaking, he walked to a corner, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to recover his Chakra.
The duel with Zabuza, the use of Raikiri and the Sharingan, plus the exhaustion from the successive battles, had pushed Kakashi's Chakra levels to the limit of his body's endurance.
The Sharingan had long since been covered by his headband again, every little bit of Chakra saved helped.
Kakashi entrusted the task of protecting Tazuna and overseeing the bridge construction to Naruto and Sakura, having them take turns on guard duty to ensure that no short-sighted guy would try to take advantage of the situation.
Naruto nodded in agreement, while thinking to himself, 'Perfect, I just happen to need time to train.'
Early the next morning, Naruto packed his things and prepared to leave. He tied his sandals in the entryway, checked the Kunai and shuriken in his ninja tool pouch, and then reached for the door.
"Naruto..."
Just then, Sakura's voice came from behind him.
She was standing in the hallway with her arms crossed, her tone carrying a sense of entitlement. "Sasuke needs someone to take care of him. His injuries haven't healed yet, I have to stay behind to change his bandages and cook. So, the mission to guard the bridge is left to you."
Naruto's hand paused on the door. He didn't answer immediately, but turned his head to look at Sakura.
Naruto's gaze made Sakura's heart skip a beat for no reason. The gaze lacked the previous fanaticism, there was only a cold scrutiny, as if he were assessing something completely unrelated to him.
"This is the last time."
After saying this, he opened the door, stepped out, and closed it behind him.
Sakura stood there, stunned for a dozen seconds.
The tone Naruto used just now was devoid of warmth. It didn't sound at all like the Naruto who used to hover around her every day.
And that look Naruto gave her at the end...
That undisguised coldness pricked a certain part of Sakura like a needle. It didn't hurt, but it made her extremely uncomfortable.
Once Sakura snapped out of it, her anger erupted like a volcano.
'Damn you, Naruto!"
The muscles on her face twitched slightly as she struggled not to scream, her knuckles white from clenching her fists.
'How dare you talk to me with that attitude? And you dare say 'this is the last time'?'
'What does that mean? Who do you think you are?'
'You weren't like this before. How dare you treat me like this? I... I'll never talk to you again.'
After her internal roar, Sakura took a deep breath and adjusted the angry expression on her face into a gentle smile as quickly as possible. She tidied her hair, carried a bowl of hot porridge from around the corner of the hallway, and walked toward the room where Sasuke was recuperating.
"Sasuke, I made some porridge."
—
Naruto walked along the path leading to the forest, feeling no ripples in his heart.
It wasn't that he didn't understand Sakura's intentions, but to him, every minute and every second was precious now. He had no time to play dating games with a twelve-year-old girl, and even less interest in continuing to play the role of a simp who comes when called and leaves when dismissed.
Naruto created a Shadow Clone and sent it to the bridge to follow Tazuna. This Shadow Clone had half of his Chakra, which was enough to handle any unexpected situations that might arise.
The Shadow Clone disappeared in the direction of the forest, while Naruto himself followed the path from his memories and walked into the forest where Team 7 had previously trained.
In this forest, he and Sasuke had climbed trees, using Chakra to cling to the trunks to see who could climb higher. They had competed so fiercely that they shredded the bark, eventually both falling from mid-air and ending up bruised and battered. It was also in this forest that he first met Haku.
Naruto stood in this familiar small clearing and looked around.
Tall trees blocked the sky and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the canopy and the moss on the ground felt soft underfoot.
Naruto didn't rush to start training. Instead, he first made security arrangements.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!
Poof, poof, poof, poof, poof...
Over fifty Shadow Clones emerged from the smoke. Without wasting a word, they automatically split into several teams and scattered in all directions through the forest.
Some crouched in the canopy, hiding in the dense leaves.
Some lay in wait behind bushes, their Chakra sensing pushed to the maximum to capture every movement within a hundred-meter radius.
Some patrolled along the stream, their gazes sweeping over the water surface and the grass on both banks.
Some guarded the entrance to the path leading into the forest, disguised as ordinary people leaning against tree trunks.
More than fifty clones surrounded this training area in an impenetrable defensive circle.
After doing all this, Naruto nodded with satisfaction.
Don't ask why he was so cautious. The answer is that he had massive amounts of Chakra, so he could afford these clones.
The lessons from his past life told Naruto that carelessness is the greatest enemy. He didn't want to be interrupted by someone suddenly breaking in, or have anyone see his training process at a critical moment.
Absolute Control was his greatest trump card. Before he was strong enough, this trump card could not be known by anyone. No, even if he were strong, he wouldn't let people know.