Like a boiled crab, Inuzuka Hana hid behind Uchiha Izumi.
She no longer had the same lively attitude as before.
The seven-year-old Naruto didn't look any worse than them, and after saving her dog just now, Hana suddenly felt embarrassed.
She was originally different from her mother and brother's straightforward personalities, and now she was completely shy in front of Naruto.
Standing beside her, Izumi quietly teased her, and the two girls giggled in the gloomy forest.
Naruto led them to a small clearing.
"Let's examine things here," he said.
"O-Okay," both girls quickly came closer. "What should we check first?"
Naruto hesitated slightly, then said,
"The gap between a Genin trained in the academy and a ninja raised during wartime is huge."
"This is also why clan ninjas are so valued."
He pointed at a mossy footprint.
"This subtle trace… it was intentionally left by someone."
Then he picked up a broken branch.
"And this was left behind by the target."
Izumi's eyes lit up.
"I get it! It's a dead branch that the target stepped on!"
Naruto smiled faintly.
"Half correct."
He brought the branch closer to their eyes.
"This branch isn't dry enough to break just by stepping on it. And looking at the fracture, it clearly wasn't caused by a sharp force."
"I was probably too careless when setting it up. It's a rough fake."
Hana and Izumi looked at Naruto with admiration, almost instantly becoming his fans.
Naruto tossed the branch aside and continued.
"Don't be discouraged. Moss traces can also be left by animals, but fake clues can only be made by humans."
Izumi's eyes sparkled.
"Then we're going in the right direction!"
"Smart," Naruto praised with a smile.
He then pointed at a flipped stone.
"Look. The back is dry, but the front is still wet."
"A stone?" both girls were surprised.
Hana raised her hand excitedly.
"I know! This is also a clue left by the target!"
Izumi added,
"Could it also be a fake clue?"
Naruto nodded.
"That's possible. But the moisture tells us the target hasn't gone far. They probably passed here about fifteen minutes ago."
The two girls looked at him with shining eyes, full of admiration.
At that moment, Hana suddenly sniffed the air deeply.
"That smell!"
She ran to a cluster of small flowers.
"Look here!"
Naruto and Izumi walked over.
Hana pointed at some crushed flowers.
"Someone stepped here, right?"
Naruto nodded approvingly.
Hana immediately lifted her head proudly, like a kitten being praised.
"Good job. Let's move," Naruto said, leading them forward.
In this kind of primitive forest, jumping between trees was much faster than running on the ground.
From afar, Yamato watched and recorded everything, amazed.
"How strong are his practical skills? A genius… worthy of being the Fourth's son."
Naruto continued leading them until they reached a mountain stream.
Along the way, Hana and Izumi learned a lot about tracking.
Hana carefully observed every nearby rock.
Naruto looked at Izumi, who was staring at fresh marks in the water, and smiled.
"Don't bother. That's a fish trail."
"Oh…" Izumi stood up, slightly embarrassed. "So it's a fake clue?"
Naruto laughed.
"Exactly. The purpose of fake clues is to make you think everything is left by the enemy."
Izumi frowned slightly.
"If I can't find the target…"
As the top student in her class, she felt that everything seemed like child's play in front of Naruto.
"I need to improve my tracking skills."
Hearing that, Naruto smiled.
He opened his water bottle, took a sip, then handed it to Izumi.
"Here, drink."
"Oh… okay."
As Izumi took a sip, her face suddenly turned red.
Indirect kiss…?!
Naruto then teased both girls.
"You both did great. The tracking ability of the Inuzuka Clan and the perception of the Uchiha Clan are among the best in Konoha. Being able to do this already is impressive."
Hana looked at Naruto, a bit dissatisfied.
"Why do you know so much?"
Naruto smiled mysteriously.
"Secret. Now let's move to the second part—survival training~"
At that moment, the Nine-Tails (Kurama) inside Naruto shouted angrily:
"You brat! You made me scout just so you could flirt with girls?!"