The next morning arrived with the kind of gentle Konoha sunlight that pretended it had no idea the world contained monsters, wars, trauma, and small children capable of blowing up training grounds by accident.
Naruto bounded out of the Academy with the energy of a caffeinated squirrel.
Sasuke exited like a drifting shadow.
Ethan followed, hands in his pockets, already scanning the environment.
The boys met up in the usual clearing—wide enough to train, quiet enough to focus, hidden enough to avoid...unwanted spectators.
Today would be harder.
They all felt it.
Naruto plopped down. "SO. What are we doing today? More leaf spinning? More chakra finger-explodey stuff? More trying-not-to-die exercises?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Try not to embarrass yourself."
Ethan clapped his hands once.
Naruto and Sasuke snapped to focus instantly.
"Today we start chakra sensing," Ethan said.
Naruto blinked. "Chakra… sensing?"
"You'll learn to feel chakra around you. People. Objects. Even terrain."
Sasuke's eyes sharpened.
Naruto's face shifted into awe.
Ethan knelt and placed one palm against the ground.
"Watch."
A wave of subtle chakra rippled outward from Ethan's hand—smooth, even, careful. The leaves rustled as if they recognized him. The birds startled, then settled. The earth hummed like it had been waiting for someone to touch it properly.
Naruto's jaw dropped.
Sasuke inhaled sharply—a small sound, but Ethan heard it.
"THAT WAS SO COOL—"
Ethan raised one finger. Naruto shut up.
(Progress.)
---
STEP ONE: CHAKRA SENSING — THE QUIET INSIDE
Ethan motioned for them to sit cross-legged.
"Close your eyes," he said. "Breathe in. Breathe out. Slow."
Naruto immediately inhaled too hard and almost choked.
Sasuke breathed like he'd practiced since infancy.
Ethan shook his head with affectionate resignation.
"Chakra sensing isn't loud," he said. "It's listening. You're not pushing chakra out, you're letting the world answer."
Naruto frowned. "But… the world doesn't talk."
"It does. You just never shut up long enough to hear it."
Naruto gasped, offended.
Sasuke snorted.
Ethan continued, voice softer now.
"Breathe. Feel the ground. Feel the air. Feel the space."
The clearing shifted.
Birdsong softened.
Wind stilled.
The forest seemed to hold its breath.
Naruto's chakra swirled like a loud whirlpool—messy, bright, hopeful.
Sasuke's chakra pooled like cool water—contained, heavy, quiet.
Ethan watched both.
"Good," he murmured. "Now reach—not with force, but with attention."
Slowly, unbelievably—
Sasuke's head tilted.
Naruto flinched.
"I felt… something," Naruto whispered.
Sasuke opened his eyes, shocked.
"…Me too."
"You sensed each other," Ethan said. "That's step one."
Naruto fist-pumped and fell over.
Sasuke pretended he hadn't.
---
STEP TWO: FOOT-FLOW CONTROL — THE SILENT STEP
Ethan stood.
"Next: chakra through the feet."
Naruto blinked. "Like tree climbing?!"
"Not yet," Ethan said. "Today is about balance. Refinement."
He demonstrated—chakra flowed through his soles, sinking him into the earth with a perfect, anchored stance. He looked rooted. Immovable.
Sasuke exhaled slowly.
Naruto stared like Ethan had turned into a mountain.
"Try it," Ethan said.
Naruto stomped the ground. Nothing happened.
Sasuke controlled his chakra too tightly—the result was stiff grounding.
Ethan corrected their posture, guiding Naruto's ankles, adjusting Sasuke's hips, rebalancing their weight.
"Chakra is a conversation," he said. "If you shout, it shuts down. If you fear it, it stiffens. Match it. Respect it."
Naruto blinked at his feet.
Sasuke stared at the earth like it had insulted him.
Slowly—
Naruto's stance stabilized.
Sasuke's grounding softened.
For one moment, both boys were perfectly balanced.
Ethan nodded. "Good. Hold—"
Naruto toppled.
Sasuke wobbled and pretended he didn't.
Ethan sighed. "We'll get there."
---
STEP THREE: SURPRISE PRESENCE — JONIN VISITOR
The air shifted.
Not chakra.
Not killing intent.
Just… awareness.
Ethan felt it before the boys did.
His panel flickered.
[External Signature Detected — High Level]
Rank: Jōnin
Intent: Observational
Threat: Neutral
A voice drifted from a branch above.
"Well, well… what do we have here?"
Naruto jumped a foot in the air.
Sasuke tensed.
Ethan simply looked up.
Kurenai Yuhi sat on a branch, one leg dangling, red eyes bright with curiosity.
Naruto screamed, "WHEN DID YOU GET THERE?!"
Sasuke scowled.
Ethan offered a polite nod.
Kurenai smiled softly. "I've been watching for a little while. You three are… interesting."
Naruto puffed his chest out. "Yeah, well, I'm gonna be Hokage!"
"Of course you are," she said warmly.
Her gaze slid to Ethan then—sharp, perceptive, too clever.
"You teach very well for someone your age," she said.
Naruto froze.
Sasuke stiffened.
Ethan's heartbeat stilled—but only for a moment.
He bowed slightly. "Just helping my classmates."
Kurenai's smile deepened with a knowing hint that made Ethan uneasy.
"Well. Keep it up. Konoha can always use more boys who help each other."
Then she vanished—smooth, silent, gone like mist.
Naruto exploded instantly.
"WE WERE WATCHED BY A JONIN—THIS IS THE COOLEST DAY OF MY LIFE—"
Sasuke quietly filed the moment away.
Ethan pretended his spine wasn't tingling.
---
STEP FOUR: REAL-WORLD APPLICATION — MOVEMENT + SENSING
Ethan clapped again.
"Back to training."
Naruto groaned.
Sasuke straightened.
The forest steadied itself.
This was the final drill.
"Chakra sensing with movement," Ethan said. "Walk. Feel each other. Track each other. Predict."
Naruto looked terrified. "Predict Sasuke?! He moves like a cat!"
Sasuke glared. "And you move like a loud rock."
"That's not even an ANIMAL!"
"It fits."
"TAKE THAT BACK—!"
Ethan put a hand on each of their heads.
They froze.
"Focus. Move. Feel. Respond."
They tried.
Naruto rushed.
Sasuke walked.
Naruto tripped.
Sasuke dodged.
Naruto cursed dramatically.
Sasuke smirked.
But gradually—slowly—impossibly—
Naruto began tracking Sasuke's movement.
Sasuke began anticipating Naruto's bursts of energy.
Their chakra flows danced—clumsy but connected, chaotic but aligned, messy but genuine.
Ethan's chest tightened with satisfaction.
This was it.
The beginning of them learning each other in ways the canon timeline never allowed.
---
THE SUNSET WALK — THREE SHADOWS IN GROWING LIGHT
They headed home as the sun dipped gold behind the Hokage Monument.
Naruto walked between them, swinging his arms.
Sasuke walked stiffly, deep in thought.
Ethan stayed alert—protecting without drawing attention.
Naruto suddenly looked up.
"Ethan… do you think I can get as good as you someday?"
Ethan looked at him—at the boy the world would rely on, the one who would bear impossible burdens and still smile.
"You can be better," Ethan said softly.
Naruto's eyes widened.
Sasuke shot Ethan a sharp glance he tried to hide.
Naruto beamed so hard it lit up the street.
"YEAH! I'M GONNA BE BETTER THAN BOTH OF YOU!"
Sasuke muttered, "In your dreams."
"THAT'S WHERE MOST OF MY GREAT IDEAS COME FROM—"
Ethan actually laughed.
And the night fell gently around three boys—
the stubborn one,
the quiet one,
and the outsider holding the timeline together by sheer force of will.
Tomorrow would be harder.
Better.
Louder.
And Ethan was ready.