The entire building echoed with Naruto's agonized screams, resembling the cries of a sughtered pig. However, this did nothing to stop Kakashi from taking him away.

  "Alright, stop yelling. Even if you scream your lungs out, no one's coming to save you. You'd better save that energy for training. Oh, and since you skipped training yesterday, today's session will be doubled."

  "What?! Big bro Kakashi! What are you saying? Do you even have a heart? I've been at school all day! I dragged my exhausted body here to train with you, and instead of being grateful, you're doubling the workload?!"

  "Ahhh~ But you don't look all that tired to me. In fact, I'm pretty sure you've been sleeping all day. Don't think I don't know."

  Naruto immediately fell silent, no longer struggling, just gring at Kakashi with wide eyes.

  [Damn it, how does he know what I've been doing at school? Could he have been secretly watching me all along? I was careless. I didn't think he'd take things so seriously. Weren't you supposed to be the irresponsible one? Why are you suddenly keeping tabs on me?]

  Naruto didn't say it out loud, but he was already grumbling in his heart. Kakashi, hearing Naruto's silent accusation of his ck of responsibility, tightened his grip on Naruto's hand and then tossed him aside.

  "Alright, you're on your own from here. Today's training is tree climbing. Even though you've mastered the two Wind Release techniques I taught you, your chakra control still isn't precise enough. You need more practice."

  "Yes... I understand."

  Naruto steadied himself and responded weakly, but deep down, he was actually quite pleased.

  [Ah! Tree climbing again? Perfect! I'll just find a spot with lots of trees and take it easy. But how does Kakashi know I've mastered those two jutsu? I've never even shown them in front of him. Could he have been there that time? That jerk! He saw me getting bullied and didn't even step in to help, just hid in the shadows!]

  After figuring it out, Naruto couldn't help but curse Kakashi in his heart again. Kakashi was already used to being silently cursed by Naruto during training. This kind of cursing happened at least twice a day during their sessions.

  The two quickly arrived at their usual training spot. Kakashi walked over to the waterfall where he usually practiced his sword swings, casually waving his hand behind him without turning around.

  "Naruto, you'd better give it your all today. I expect to see results. Don't even think about scking off."

  "Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'll go climb some trees then."

  Naruto just nod his head his feet moving slowly as if he were actually preparing to train. But in his heart, he was completely dismissive.

  [Give it my all? Have I ever given it my all? Training? What a joke!]

  Naruto entered the woods, found a rge tree, and leaned back against it, letting the cool breeze wash over him as he slowly closed his eyes.

  "Ahhh~ It's so comfortable here. Although sleeping in css is also nice, the desks are just too hard. My hands go numb from resting on them, and I can't even lie down."

  Naruto, who was sleeping with his face slightly tilted, suddenly felt something wet drip onto his face. When he opened his eyes, he was nearly scared to death. A rge dog was baring its teeth right in front of him, and strands of drool were hanging from its dark, menacing fangs the liquid that had just fallen on his face was the dog's saliva.

  "Whoa! What the hell is that?!"

  Naruto jumped up as if he had stepped on a cat's tail. When he looked around, he realized he was surrounded by dogs—five of them, all different sizes, each baring their teeth as if they were about to pounce on him at any moment. What's more, each dog wore a forehead protector from the Hidden Leaf Vilge, leaving no doubt that these were ninja dogs.

  "Grrr~ Woof!"

  One of the medium-sized dogs lunged at Naruto first, its ferocious attack instantly bringing back memories of being chased by dogs in his previous life. His mind went completely bnk.

  "Help! Kakashi, you jerk!"

  Naruto bolted, sprinting up the trunk of a towering tree over fifty meters tall in one breath. He sat on a branch, panting heavily. But before he could fully calm down, Kakashi's voice rang out from below.

  "Looks like you don't need to practice tree climbing anymore. You climbed up pretty fast. Since that's the case, let's move on to the next exercise. Come down and follow me to the ke for water-walking practice."

  "No way! Today's training was supposed to be tree climbing, right? I made it to the top, so I've already completed today's task!"

  "But I also mentioned earlier that since you skipped training yesterday, today's workload is doubled."

  Kakashi shrugged, looking helpless. Naruto was stunned for a moment, then exploded in anger.

  "You jerk! That's not fair! Each training should have its own dedicated day!"

  "Well, I think it's fair. Now, hurry up and come down."

  Kakashi sounded impatient, but Naruto refused to budge. He clung tightly to the tree trunk, refusing to come down.

  "I'm not coming down!"

  "Sigh~ Why do you have to be so stubborn? Wouldn't it be easier to just listen?"

  Kakashi sighed, then swung his bde at the tree. The massive tree, which would take three people to cut, was sliced through like tofu. As the tree began to fall, Naruto lost his bance. He tried to leap to a neighboring tree, but before he could even take off, Kakashi had already grabbed the back of his colr.

  The moment Naruto felt something unusual, he turned his head. Kakashi's expression was as indifferent as ever, but Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

  [How is this possible? Is this Kakashi's speed? How can he be so fast?]

  Kakashi's strength was something Naruto thought he understood. Even now, as he was training in swordsmanship, Naruto still believed Kakashi's power was within his expectations. It wasn't until this moment that he realized Kakashi's strength had far surpassed what he had imagined. From cutting down the tree to leaping up, it took less than two seconds. Even when Naruto had scrambled up under the pressure of being chased by a dog, it had taken him four or five seconds. Yet Kakashi had done it in an instant—and not by climbing, but by jumping.

  Hearing Naruto's inner astonishment, a hint of pride flickered in Kakashi's eyes, but that pride didn't make him go easy on Naruto.

  After nding, Kakashi simply carried Naruto to the ke surface where he usually practiced his sword swings. The ke shimmered under the sunlight, its clear waters revealing fish swimming beneath.

  "Alright, count down to three seconds and then hold on tight."

  "What? Kakashi, you can't be serious—"

  "Three, two, one!"

  Without paying any attention to Naruto's protests, Kakashi counted down to three and throw naruto into the ke.