[It's over! I said the wrong thing! Now I'm screwed!]

  Naruto's expression turned bnk. Kakashi, hearing Naruto's inner thoughts and seeing this expression, smiled even more broadly.

  "Don't say I didn't give you a chance. Here's the deal: if you can leave the water, today's training ends here. How about that?"

  Naruto stared intently at Kakashi, trying to find some clue in his eyes. But Kakashi's gaze remained as unchanging as ever, his dead-fish eyes revealing nothing.

  [Damn it, I'll give it my all!]

  Naruto knew Kakashi was serious this time. He immediately made up his mind, concentrating a rge amount of chakra in his feet. His body swayed, and he quickly darted around Kakashi, rushing toward the shore. But in the next moment, Kakashi appeared in front of Naruto, blocking his path, and swung his bde at him.

  Naruto's pupils contracted sharply. He twisted his body to dodge, but he was still too slow. The bde nded on Naruto's shoulder. Instead of the expected gush of blood, the strike felt like an electrified steel whip—sharp pain, numbness, and a burning sensation spread across his shoulder. The numbness quickly spread throughout his body, causing Naruto to stagger. Only then did he notice that it was the back of the bde that had struck him, crackling with electricity.

  "It seems you're not ready to leave the water yet. So, stay here and keep training with me."

  Naruto took two steps back, putting some distance between them, his expression grim. If it were just about training hard, he would have agreed without hesitation. But now, Kakashi was forcing him to train under what felt like a torture, and he couldn't accept that.

  "Big bro, are you punishing me?"

  "Hmm? What do you mean? I'm just helping you, Naruto."

  "Fine!"

  [Kurama!]

  Naruto suddenly erupted. Crimson chakra surged from his abdomen, forming a thin film that enveloped his entire body. His nails grew sharp and long, the whisker marks on his face became more pronounced, and his mouth involuntarily curled back, revealing sharp fangs.

  For the first time, Kakashi's face showed surprise, but it quickly turned serious. He revealed his Sharingan.

  [To think he mastered the Nine-Tails' power in just one night! Naruto, you truly are a genius!]

  A flicker of excitement fshed in Kakashi's eyes. Naruto's legs exploded with power, causing the water surface to erupt. A massive amount of water was bsted into the air as Naruto shot toward Kakashi like an arrow from a bow.

  Kakashi's body flickered with electricity, turning into a bck streak.

  Boom!

  The red and bck streaks collided. Naruto was still in a leaning-back sprinting posture, about half a meter from the shore. Kakashi, his body crackling with electricity, smmed his elbow into Naruto's back.

  "Gah!"

  Naruto let out a pained grunt, his eyes widening, pupils diting. His body gradually went limp and colpsed, the crimson chakra around him dissipating.

  At the moment Naruto was about to colpse, Kakashi caught him with one arm, pced his sword back on his back with the other, and then lifted him up with both hands.

  Naruto had failed, but Kakashi seemed unusually pleased, his eyes brimming with unconceable joy.

  "To have reached this level on your first attempt at using the Nine-Tails' chakra? You're quite impressive, Naruto."

  Kakashi's voice was surprisingly gentle. Naruto opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound. The elbow strike he had just received wasn't a simple one—at the moment of impact, a small amount of lightning-attribute chakra had been injected into his body, causing him to lose sensation instantly and colpse. Although he had regained some feeling now, his entire body was still recovering from the paralysis, and even his vocal cords were tense, making it impossible for him to speak.

  Kakashi smiled and patted Naruto's head, then gently tossed him onto his back.

  As the sun set, Kakashi carried Naruto along the vilge road, their shadows stretching long under the evening sun, painting a serene picture.

  "Naruto, do you know what the most terrifying thing in this world is?"

  Kakashi suddenly asked out of the blue. Naruto had regained his ability to speak, but many of his muscles were still as tense as if they were cramping, occasionally twitching. Despite the pain, Naruto was furious. He knew Kakashi meant no harm, but the pain was undeniably real.

  "I don't know."

  Naruto's tone was harsh. He didn't want to talk to Kakashi at all, but Kakashi wasn't bothered. Instead, he chuckled at the response.

  "Many might say it's despair, but in reality, it's hope. When you first climbed out of the water and heard that you still had to train, you must have felt despair, right? If I hadn't given you hope ter, would you still have made that choice?"

  Kakashi's words struck Naruto like a bolt of lightning. He had always thought he understood Kakashi well, knowing the story, but now, for the first time, he felt that the man carrying him was so unfamiliar, so inscrutable.

  [Yes, Kakashi would never kill me. I still have to go to school tomorrow, and he would never seriously injure me. If it weren't for that glimmer of hope...]

  Naruto didn't dare to continue that train of thought. He was already terrified, and just then, Kakashi's voice rang out again.

  "The ANBU prison holds many prisoners, some of whom have been locked up for a long time. Most of them will never see the light of day again, yet none of them have tried to commit suicide. Do you know why?"

  Naruto remained silent, offering no answer. Kakashi gnced forward and continued, "Because they still hold onto hope. Some have people they want to protect, some have unfinished business, and some have people they want to kill... In truth, by the time most prisoners are thrown into the cells, the people and things they were tied to have already been resolved. But we never tell them that, because those things are the st threads of hope keeping them alive. Once that hope is extinguished, they will fall into utter despair and seek death. Especially for those who still possess important information—if they lose hope, we'd have to assign people to watch over them. Isn't that particurly troublesome?"

  Kakashi's final tone carried a hint of teasing, but it left Naruto feeling cold to his core. The cruelty of it was unimaginable, just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine. And Kakashi's voice continued.

  "So, Naruto, when I faced enemies in the past, I never let them fall into complete despair before they lost their fighting spirit. Otherwise, i might provoke an unexpected counterattack."

  [Naruto is silent, but in his heart, the image of Deidara surfaced.]

  [Isn't it terrifying to drive an enemy who still has fighting spirit into despair? If one could still fight, who would choose to die? Isn't Sasuke's battle with Deidara the best proof of that?]