The Next Morning
Kakashi stood before his three students, a cane supporting some of his weight as he leaned casually against it.
"Do you know tree climbing?" he asked, eyeing them.
Sasuke glanced sideways at the others, trying to measure their reactions.
Haruto gave a nonchalant nod, while Naruto confidently started nodding too—then hesitated, scratched his head, and shook it instead.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Alright then."
Without another word, he turned to a tall tree beside them. He calmly walked up to it, placing one foot against the bark—then the other—and casually strolled up the vertical surface like it was flat ground.
"Whoa!" Naruto gasped. "That's awesome, Kakashi-sensei!"
Haruto narrowed his eyes. Didn't I teach him this already? Twice?
"Cool… yeah, cool your ass," Haruto muttered to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Sasuke and Naruto stepped forward to begin their training as Kakashi explained the principle of focusing chakra to the soles of their feet to adhere to surfaces.
Kakashi then turned to Haruto. "Aren't you going to join them?"
"I already did," Haruto replied casually.
Kakashi tilted his head. "How?"
"Well... I kinda figured it out by accident. One day I just stuck to a tree while messing around."
Kakashi stared for a moment. "You accidentally discovered tree walking?"
Haruto shrugged modestly. "It's not even that good."
Kakashi gave a small, thoughtful nod. "Then you have great chakra control, Haruto. That's a good sign."
Before Haruto could say anything else, Kakashi clapped his hands. "Okay, let's stop training here."
Naruto blinked. "But we just started, Kakashi-sensei!"
Kakashi gave an eye-smile. "How about something more fun? A sparring session. You three… versus me."
Haruto's eyes lit up. "Yes!"
He had been itching for a real challenge—and Kakashi, even tired and injured, was far from easy prey.
The trio lined up, with Sasuke glancing at Haruto with a competitive smirk. "Don't drag us down."
Haruto didn't answer. He was already shifting his stance, focused.
Kakashi's gaze hardened as he dropped the cane and entered a battle-ready posture. "Come."
Haruto didn't wait. In a flash, he dashed forward with chakra-enhanced speed, drawing close before Kakashi could fully assess his movement. His first strike was a feint—aimed at Kakashi's shoulder, but he twisted mid-air and sent a low kick toward his ankle.
Kakashi blocked it cleanly and retaliated with a jab. Haruto ducked under it, countering with an upward palm that brushed against Kakashi's chin.
Fast, Kakashi thought, impressed.
But before Haruto could follow up, Kakashi's hands blurred—Clone Jutsu.
Two shadow clones rushed from both sides. Haruto spun, ducking under one and dispersing it with a clean hit to the ribs. The other grabbed him from behind.
Naruto's clone interrupted just in time, tackling the clone off Haruto. Sasuke fired a flurry of shuriken to force Kakashi back, and Haruto leaped again, going for another exchange.
This time, Haruto and Kakashi traded real blows. Chakra reinforced Haruto's fists, and though Kakashi held back, the rhythm of their movements was tight. A parry here, a punch there—Haruto was no genius, but he was learning with every hit, adapting like a brawler with surprising instinct.
Finally, Kakashi spun behind him and flicked Haruto's forehead with two fingers, sending him sliding back a few feet.
"Good," Kakashi said. "You're improving faster than expected."
Haruto wiped a bit of sweat from his brow and smirked. "Still didn't win, though."
"You're not supposed to," Kakashi replied with a chuckle. "But you're not supposed to last this long either."
...
This is a small chapter as I am giving another chapter that'll won't align with the title right now, so after this chapter is posted I'll post another