Sasuke's twin sister, But Neji's first love

The Forest of Chakra

Kakashi suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor. We all looked at one another, worried. We had to get him back to Tazuna's house—but one of us would have to carry him.

Later, I walked into the room where our sensei was resting and found him awake.

"Listen, Sensei... your Sharingan is amazing and all, but if it puts that much strain on you, maybe it's not worth it," Sakura said.

"Sorry," the masked ninja replied quietly.

"Well, it did help him take down a really powerful assassin," Tazuna added. "So we'll be safe for a while."

"But what about the boy with the mask?" Sakura asked, continuing the conversation with Kakashi.

I started zoning out, only catching fragments of what they were talking about—something about the Anbu. I heard movement and snapped back to reality, noticing Sensei sitting up with a hand over his face.

"Hey, Sensei, are you okay?" I called out.

"Hm? Oh... yeah," he replied. "To continue my story from earlier..."

I watched him for a moment, then nodded.

"Do you remember what weapon was used to 'defeat' Zabuza?"

I thought for a bit until it clicked. They were just regular senbon needles.

"Here's the truth," Kakashi said, locking eyes with me. "Zabuza is still alive."

My eyes widened. How are we supposed to beat him? We barely made it out last time...

"Don't worry," he added. "I may not be able to move, but I can still train you."

"What? How is last-minute training going to help us? You barely made it out alive even with your Sharingan."

"Don't you see? We survived because all of you worked together as a team. You've all grown—especially Naruto."

"Huh... so you have noticed, Kakashi-sensei? Things are going to get better, believe it!!"

"I don't believe it, and nothing's going to be good!!"

We all turned at the sound of a boy's voice. A kid in a bucket hat stood there, scowling.

"Who the heck are you!?" Naruto snapped.

"Naruto, don't talk to a kid like that," I said, eyeing the boy.

That must be the bridge builder's grandson, I thought as his mother scolded him.

"Mom, don't you see? All these people are going to die."

Tch. Thanks for the faith, I muttered mentally.

"What did you say, you little brat!? Listen here—do you know what a super ninja is? Well, I'm that, only a lot better!"

And there goes Naruto being Naruto, I thought, rolling my eyes.

"You're just full of stupid ideas!!!"

"...What'd you say!?" Naruto yelled, stomping toward the boy while Sakura tried to hold him back.

"If you want to stay alive, you should go back to where you came from," the boy muttered before storming off.

I stared at the door for a moment before watching Naruto follow him out.

⸻

"Okay, everyone—training starts now," Kakashi announced.

I nodded.

"We'll review what chakra is."

"Everyone knows what that is already," Sasuke muttered.