The morning sunlight slanted through the academy windows, dust drifting in golden beams like drifting chakra motes. The moment class ended, Naruto burst out the door in a blur of orange, yelling across the yard:
"ETHAAAAAAN! ROUND TWO! CHAKRA TRAINING! LET'S GOOOO!"
Every student turned.
Iruka rubbed his temples.
Sasuke pretended not to listen but absolutely listened.
Ethan tightened the straps on his pack and followed Naruto toward the familiar treeline. He didn't run—he moved with quiet confidence, steps measured, posture steady. Naruto circled him like a hyperactive puppy the whole way.
"You ready, Ethan? You ready? I'm ready! I've been practicing ALL NIGHT!"
"You're supposed to sleep," Ethan said.
"I DID sleep. For… like… twenty minutes. Maybe."
"That's not sleep."
"It counts!"
Ethan sighed, but fondly. "We'll work with whatever you've got."
Naruto pumped his fist so hard he almost fell over.
---
THE CLEARING AGAIN — BUT NOT ALONE
The forest clearing looked exactly as they left it: scattered leaves, the crooked training post, the creek whispering under the trees. But today, the air carried something else.
A watching presence.
Ethan felt it before he saw it—Predator Instinct murmuring at the back of his mind. Quiet. Sharp. Focused.
Someone was here.
Naruto didn't notice. He jumped into the clearing like a boulder flung from a catapult.
"OKAY ETHAN LET'S START WITH LEAF LIFTING BECAUSE I TOTALLY DID IT YESTERDAY AND I BET I CAN DO TWICE AS MUCH TODAY AND MAYBE—"
Ethan crouched, whispering:
"Before we do anything… hold your leaf."
Naruto blinked. "Huh? But we didn't—"
"Hold it."
Naruto scrambled, yanking a handful of leaves off a branch and dropping most of them.
"Okayokayokay I got it!"
Ethan placed his own leaf on his palm.
Naruto copied him, cross-legged, brows furrowed and intense.
"Good," Ethan murmured. "Now stabilize your breathing. Do what we practiced."
Naruto inhaled.
Exhaled.
The leaf shivered—gently, not explosively.
Then—
Hovered.
Barely, barely above his skin.
Naruto's eyes widened but he didn't shout this time. He held the breath. Held the concentration—
And the leaf stayed steady.
Ethan smiled softly. "Good. Very good."
Naruto whispered, trembling with excitement:
"I—I did it again?"
"You made it look easy."
Naruto's grin threatened to tear his cheeks open.
But Ethan's eyes flicked toward the treeline.
A dark silhouette leaned there—lean, quiet, pretending he wasn't observing.
Sasuke.
Ethan didn't call him out. Instead, he continued calmly:
"Ready to try something harder?"
Naruto slammed his hands on his knees. "YES!"
---
STEP TWO: CONTROLLED ROTATION
"Now," Ethan said, "we rotate the leaf. Slowly. Like it's turning on a breeze."
Naruto stared at him like he'd been asked to perform surgery.
"Rotate… but slow… but also not explode…?"
"Exactly."
"…This feels like a trap."
"It's training."
"Same thing!"
Ethan demonstrated.
Chakra rose in a smooth, spiraling current, lifting the leaf just a hair above his palm. With a subtle pulse, the leaf rotated—calm, rhythmic, elegant.
Naruto's elbows shook in anticipation. "I WANNA TRY—"
He poured chakra up—
The leaf shot upward like a rocket.
Naruto screeched, "NO NO NO COME BACK—"
It ricocheted off a tree and slapped Sasuke dead in the forehead.
Sasuke stepped out of the shadows, leaf sliding down his face.
Silence.
Naruto froze.
Ethan froze.
Sasuke stared with the calm, quiet rage of a cat whose nap had been ruined.
"…Dobe," Sasuke muttered. "Even your leaves attack people."
Naruto pointed. "SASUKE?! You—you were WATCHING?!"
"You were loud," Sasuke said. "Hard not to."
Naruto spluttered, face red. "W-Well—Ethan's teaching me chakra stuff! So there! I bet he can teach me faster than the Academy ever did! And then I'll be BETTER THAN YOU."
Ethan sighed. "Naruto—"
Sasuke crossed his arms. "If he teaches you, he can teach me better."
Naruto gasped. "HEY!"
Ethan raised both hands. "Calm down. I can help both of you—"
Naruto and Sasuke whipped toward him faster than kunai thrown from point-blank range:
"YOU CAN?!"
Ethan breathed in.
The Panel pinged quietly behind his eyes.
---
PANEL — SOCIAL TRAJECTORY ALERT
Observation: Uchiha Sasuke has entered early training orbit.
Stability Risk: Moderate
Opportunity: High — dual mentorship increases village cohesion probability.
Recommendation:
Offer neutral guidance.
Avoid favoritism.
Balance Naruto and Sasuke's growth trajectories to reduce future deviation spikes.
---
Ethan nodded.
"Alright," he said, "but today is Naruto's session. Tomorrow, I'll help you too, Sasuke."
Naruto beamed triumphantly.
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Fine."
But Sasuke didn't leave. He moved to the side, leaned against a tree, and watched with the intensity of someone collecting weaknesses like they were kunai.
Naruto whispered loudly, "He's totally copying me."
"I can hear you," Sasuke said.
"GOOD."
Ethan clapped once. "Naruto. Try again. Less power. More shape."
Naruto nodded, eyes burning with determination.
He placed the leaf.
Focused his breathing.
Gathered chakra—
And this time…
The leaf lifted smoothly.
Wobbled—
Rotated—
And held.
Naruto's breath hitched.
Ethan nodded slowly. "Perfect."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed a fraction, impressed despite himself.
Naruto whispered, voice cracking:
"Ethan… I-I'm doing real ninja stuff."
"You are," Ethan said softly. "And you'll get even better."
Naruto's smile barely fit his face.
---
STEP THREE: WALKING ON WATER (NARUTO'S REQUEST)
"Okay okay okay," Naruto said, vibrating. "Teach me something COOL. SUPER cool. Like—like—walking up trees! Or on water! Or—"
Ethan shook his head. "You're not ready for chakra flow through your feet. You'll launch yourself into the sky."
Naruto's eyes sparkled. "But that sounds AWESOME."
"No."
"Awww."
Sasuke smirked.
Ethan pointed to the creek. "We'll start with sensing your chakra through your feet. No climbing. No running. Just feeling."
Naruto stepped in the creek.
Yelped. "COLD! WHY IS IT ALWAYS COLD?!"
"Focus on your center," Ethan said. "Then push chakra downward. Not hard—just enough to feel the current moving under your toes."
Naruto closed his eyes.
Chakra surged—
The water whumped outward like someone dropped a boulder into it, drenching Ethan, Naruto, and Sasuke in one massive splash.
Naruto blinked, dripping. "…Oops?"
Ethan wiped his face. "That's… one way to do it."
Sasuke spat water. "Idiot."
Naruto puffed up. "HEY! I just have too much chakra! I'm POWERFUL!"
"You're wet."
"I'M POWERFULLY WET!"
Ethan laughed under his breath. "Let's try a gentler push."
---
THE BREAKTHROUGH
After ten, twenty, thirty failed attempts, Naruto collapsed onto the grass, exhausted but glowing with pride.
"That… was… AWESOME."
"You improved," Ethan said. "A lot."
Naruto grinned, cheeks flushed. "Do you think—maybe—one day I'll be good at this? Like really good?"
Ethan looked him dead in the eyes.
"You're going to become one of the strongest ninja in the world."
Naruto froze.
Then whispered:
"…Promise?"
"I don't need to promise," Ethan said. "You're already walking the path."
Naruto looked away quickly, eyes wet.
Sasuke shifted uncomfortably.
Ethan stood. "Same time tomorrow?"
Naruto leapt up. "YES. YES YES YES—"
Sasuke cut in quietly. "Mine too."
Ethan nodded. "Both of you."
Naruto glared. "BUT I'M FIRST."
"We'll alternate," Ethan said.
Sasuke smirked. "Sounds fair."
Naruto threw his hands up. "NO IT DOESN'T—"
But Ethan was smiling.
The future had just shifted.
And all three of them could feel it.