Although everyone considered Sasuke a genius, he had a rather sober self-awareness. What kind of genius was he? Uchiha Itachi was the real genius!
Without needing the Sharingan to copy, without requiring elders to repeatedly explain the secrets of ninja techniques, and without even needing to be told the sequence of hand seals, Itachi could master the "Great Fireball Technique" in the blink of an eye just by watching it once, relying solely on his own comprehension.
It took Sasuke a full week to learn the "Great Fireball Technique." Compared to his older brother, he was completely useless.
Adding to that, after being defeated by Ino once and seeing her diligently practicing "Water Severing Wave" and "Earth-Style Wall" these past few days, it was clear that she was a genius who combined both effort and talent. His pressure remained, but he no longer considered himself a genius. Since he wasn't a genius, it was understandable that he hadn't instantly mastered the Chidori.
Sasuke was learning the Chidori. Although his progress was slow, he was gradually mastering this A-rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu through practice.
Sakura was learning Genjutsu while also studying the Water Prison Technique.
In terms of Genjutsu proficiency, the few staying at Tazuna's house were about the same. Ino knew the Hell Viewing Technique, Kakashi was merely competent, far from mastery, and Asuma had a girlfriend who was a Genjutsu master. To find common topics, he would occasionally chat about Genjutsu, accumulating some knowledge and thus knowing a couple of techniques.
These three actually all knew Genjutsu, but they hadn't invested much effort in this field.
Sakura had matured somewhat by now, her infatuation not as severe as before. Plus, being in close proximity, she felt certain she could win Sasuke's heart. Seeing Ino busy practicing ninja techniques every day, she no longer harbored much hostility toward her.
During breaks, she would ask Ino for advice on Genjutsu, then consult Kakashi, and finally Asuma.
She discovered that the three of them had entirely different approaches.
Ino had a wild imagination. Her Hell Viewing Technique emphasized grandeur.
Sakura had Ino cast the Genjutsu on her once, and she found herself in a ninja school called "Suzuran," witnessing the daily fights among the ninjas there—the so-called "Suzuran Domination." It was quite a scene, with rain pouring down and umbrellas being thrown. Finally, the leaders named Uzumaki Genji and Uchiha Tamao, along with their respective gangs, engaged in a fierce battle in the mud.
She felt as if she couldn't control her own body, shouting from the sidelines, "Stop! You guys need to stop fighting!"
That night, as she rested, Sakura still felt as if someone was whispering in her ear, "Genji, you must conquer the world."
This Genjutsu felt both real and unreal, leaving Sakura struggling to distinguish between reality and illusion for a long time after it ended. She even looked at Naruto and Sasuke with a strange expression.
Kakashi used the Hell Viewing Technique on her once. In his Genjutsu, she saw nothing but darkness—heads rolling on the ground, blood flying everywhere, and corpses scattered all around.
Asuma's Hell Viewing Technique was incredibly intricate, layer upon layer. Sakura managed to break free from the illusion with her willpower, only to realize much later that she was still trapped in the Genjutsu, just in its second layer.
One was grand, one was terrifying, and one was intricate. The three of them had entirely different approaches to Genjutsu, leaving Sakura utterly bewildered.
Both Sasuke and Sakura had their own gains.
Naruto was in a tough spot; his foundation was far worse than the Naruto who had been trained by Jiraiya three years later.
Kakashi was really not good at teaching disciples. He was a genius himself, and when it came to practicing ninja techniques, he could basically master them with a bit of practice. When he taught Ino the "Earth-Style Wall," he demonstrated it once and then told her to practice on her own. The same went for teaching Sasuke the "Chidori"—he showed it once and then left him to practice. Many things that Kakashi took for granted and didn't feel the need to explain were things that Ino and Sasuke could grasp through their own talent. Naruto, however, couldn't.
Explaining the Wind Style Chakra Nature Transformation was like pulling teeth for Kakashi. No matter how much he broke it down, Naruto just couldn't get it, driving Kakashi to the brink of despair.
Every day, Naruto would create a bunch of shadow clones and practice relentlessly, but he still hadn't made any progress. The eight of them stayed at Tazuna's house for six days. On the evening of the sixth day, Ino's shadow clone found traces of Zabuza. After waiting two more days, news came from Mitokado Homura that the Hidden Mist Village was willing to engage in limited contact with the Hidden Leaf Village. The Hidden Leaf Village hoped that their two teams could work together to capture Zabuza and Haku—especially Haku—and bring them to the Hidden Mist Village.
Everyone stopped their training and gathered to discuss the next steps in their strategy.
Ino was the first to share her reconnaissance findings.
Pointing at the map, she said, "This small island at our seven o'clock direction is most likely where Zabuza and Haku are. They're about nineteen kilometers away from us."
Once they had the location, the next step was to launch a surprise attack.
Both Asuma and Kakashi, as Jonin, would definitely go. Shikamaru, Choji, and Sakura would stay behind to guard Raiga Kurosuki and Ranmaru, while Ino, Naruto, and Sasuke would join the mission.
The five of them sailed to the target island and, without much difficulty, found Haku grinding herbs.
Naruto was furious at the "big sister" who had deceived him and charged forward with a roar.
Haku immediately used a Water Instantaneous Body technique to create a distance of over ten meters.
A thick mist began to spread over the nearby area, and Zabuza appeared.
Kakashi quickly issued combat orders: "You three deal with this boy. Remember, the village wants him alive, but your lives are undoubtedly more important. Survival is the top priority. Asuma, let's take on Zabuza."
"Got it!" The two Jonin moved left and right, charging toward the center of the mist.
During the war between the Hidden Leaf Village and the Hidden Mist Village, Asuma, due to his rebellious nature, had gone to serve as a guardian ninja for the Lord of Fire Daimyo and had little experience fighting Mist ninja. Leading Team 10, Ino had somewhat made up for this gap. During their usual sparring sessions, he had gained some experience in dealing with the Hidden Mist Technique and Water Release Ninja Techniques.
Asuma had a flint placed in his molars. He immediately used it to ignite the gunpowder transformed through Chakra Nature Transformation, and without waiting for the two to react, he spat out the gunpowder.
"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"
The gunpowder scattered rapidly, and a second later, a massive explosion erupted in the area covered by the mist.
The violent explosion briefly dispersed the mist, and the sound of the explosion made Haku turn his head. The beautiful boy exclaimed, "Mr. Zabuza!?"
In response, Sasuke unleashed the sharp, buzzing sound of "Chidori" from his hand! Sasuke was still quite inexperienced with this technique, as both the speed of the Ninja technique activation and his physical movement were somewhat slow.
He had charged less than a third of the distance when Haku reacted. As a ninja possessing the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, Haku spread his arms wide, and several ice mirrors materialized behind him. He took a step back, entering the ice mirrors, and then began to move rapidly, disregarding spatial obstacles.