They got Kakashi to Tazuna's house, Aceso was tending to him, when he opened his eyes.

" I think I overdid it with my Sharingan," Kakashi suspected.

" Dad, you overdid it," Aceso corrected. Kakashi laughed softly.

" Waking up, huh?" Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter asked as she walked over. " Are you alright?"

" I've been better," Kakashi answered. " Without Aceso, I would probably feel a lot worse."

" It'll be a few days before he can move normally," Aceso informed as Kakashi struggled to sit up.

" See, it's better if you don't move, so just lie down," Tsunami advised.

" Right," Kakashi groaned as he lied back down. Footsteps entered into the room.

" Look, the Sensei's coming around," Naruto noted.

" Listen, Sensei, your Sharingan is amazing and everything," Sakura began as she walked over and kneeled. " But if it puts that strain on you, maybe it's not worth it."

" Sorry," Kakashi apologized.

" He overdid it," Aceso informed.

" When will he be able to move?" Sasuke asked.

" Not for another few days," Aceso answered.

" Huh. Well, you did take down one of the most powerful ninja assassins, so we'll be safe for a while," Tazuna concluded.

" Right, but you know that boy with the mask, what about him? " Sakura asked.

" He's from the elite tracking unit of the Village Hidden in the Mist," Kakashi answered. " Those masks are only worn by the most elite shinobi."

" What exactly do they do?" Narutoasked.

" The Anbu Blacks Ops, also known as The Inferno Squad, destroy all traces of a rogue ninja's corpse. The Shinobi's body contains many secrets--Ninjutsu, chakra, special medicines used on his body. These are the secrets of his village. If his enemies find them, his people will be in grave danger. For instance, if I were to die at the hands of an enemy, he would try to analyze my Sharingan. In the worst case, my entire Jutsu could be stolen and used against our home village. It is the sacred duty of the Shinobi trackers to prevent this, to keep the village secrets safe. If a ninja betrays his village, the trackers hunt him down, eliminate him, and obliterate every trace of his existence. That's their specialty."

" Sensei?" Aceso asked after a second of silence, he looked at her. " Don't most ninjas travel with a team, including the trackers?"

" I find that strange that there was only one as also," Kakashi admitted. He then began thinking and touched his eye.

" Hey, are you okay? Sensei?" Naruto asked.

" Hm? " Kakashi came back to reality. " Oh, yeah. To finish what I was saying, tracker ninja deal with the body immediately, on the spot, so there's no room for error."

" Is that really important?" Sakura asked.

" Think about it," Kakashi advised. " Do you remember what that tracker did with Zabuza's body?"

" We don't know what he did, I mean, I guess he took it away," Sakura recalled.

" Exactly. But why?" Kakashi asked. " He should have worked on Zabuza right there, as quickly as possible. Think of the weapons he used for the takedown. Do you remember what they were?"

" Throwing needles," Sasuke answered.

" No way," Aceso gasped.

" Exactly," Kakashi agreed. " None of it adds up."

" Huh?" Naruto sounded.

" What are you all yammering about?" Tazuna asked. " You demolished that assassin."

" Here's the truth. Zabuza's still alive," Kakashi blurted bluntly. Sakura, Tazuna, and Naruto all gasped. Tazuna's daughter gasped.

" But we saw his body!" Naruto exclaimed. " Believe it!"

" Kakashi Sensei and Aceso, you checked him yourselves," Sakura pointed out. " You said that his heart stopped."

" His heart did stop," Kakashi confirmed. " But...that was just a temporary state to stimulate death."

" As I think about it, the tracker just hit Zabuza's pressure points in his neck, it would make his arms numb for a week," Aceso explained.

" The weapons that tracker used are called Senbon," Kakashi informed. " They can pierce deeply, but rarely kill unless vital organ."

" None in the neck," Aceso stated." They're modified from needles used for medical treatments, like acupuncture,"

" Trackers are trained to know every detail of the human body causing the heart to stop temporarily while keeping the body alive is an easy matter for them," Kakashi continued. " First, he carried Zabuza's body away, even though it's much heavier than he is. Second, he used Senbon, which has a precise effect but are rarely fatal. From these two factors, we can conclude that the tracker wasn't trying to destroy Zabuza. He was trying to save him."

" Come on, you're overthinking this, aren't you?" Tazuna questioned.

" Encountering suspicion, the ninja prepares quickly," Kakashi explained. " Hesitation leads to disaster. Every Shinobi knows this saying."

" Ahh..." Naruto smiled and laughed.

" Why are you pleased to hear Zabuza's alive?" Aceso asked.

" I can get another shot at him!" Naruto shouted in excitement.

" Sensei, you said prepare quickly," Sakura recalled. " But how can we do that when you can barely move?" Kakashi laughed. " Huh?"

" I can still train you," Kakashi informed.

" Hold on a minute," Sakura exclaimed. " A little last-minute training won't make us strong enough to fight Zabuza. You could barely defeat him, even with your Sharingan. We have to be reasonable about this."

" Sakura, why was I able to stop Zabuza?" Kakashi asked. "Because you all helped me. You've grown." He looked at the medical ninja. " Aceso?"

" Huh?" Aceso asked as she looked at him. 

" Lord Hokage was right to bring you along on this mission," Kakashi admitted. " Naruto."

" Huh?" He asked.

" You've grown the most," Kakashi complimented. Naruto laughed nervously

" So you noticed, Kakashi Sensei," Naruto cheered. " Now things are gonna get better. Believe it."

" I don't believe it!" a new voice shouted. " And nothing's gonna be good!"

" Hu?" Naruto and Sakura asked as they turned to see a little boy in overalls and a hat with blue and white stripes.

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded as he pointed.

" Inari, where have you been?" Tazuna asked.

" Welcome back, Grandpa," Inari cheered as he flew into the man's arms.

" Inari, that was very rude," Tsunami scolded. " These ninja helped your grandpa and brought him here safely."

" It's okay, it's okay," Tazuna assured as he pets Inari's head. " I'm rude to them too." He laughed.

" Mom, don't you see these people are going to die," Inari said as he faced his mother. " Gato and his men will come back and find them and wipe them out."

" What did you say, brat?" Naruto demanded as he got to his feet.

" Naruto!" Aceso scolded.

" Listen up," Naruto continued, ignoring her. " You know what a super ninja is? Well, that's me, only a lot better. I'm gonna be Hokage." He put his fist up. " This Blato."

" Gato," Aceso corrected.

" Oh, whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me."

" Ha. There's no such thing as a hero," Inari mocked. " You're just full of stupid ideas."

" What'd you say?" Naruto demanded as he walked forward.

" Naruto!" Sakura yelped as she held him back. " Calm down."

" If you want to stay alive, you should go back where you came from," Inari advised before walking away.

" Inari, wait," Tazuna called out. " Where are you going?"

" To look out at the ocean," Inari answered as he opened the doors. " I wanna be alone." Naruto was growling.

" Sorry about that," Tazuna apologized. Everyone left the room as Aceso continued to tend to Kakashi's injury.

" Are you sure your up for training?" Aceso asked.

" It'll be a piece of cake," Kakashi assured. " I do have more chakra in me thanks to you."

" You have chakra in you mainly because of rest," Aceso reminded him. " Don't give me the credit."

"You're too modest," Kakashi laughed. " You should come to training as well."

" I'm not exactly your student, Dad," Aceso reminded him. 

"You are part of this mission," Kakashi reminded her as he put a hand on her head. "You are my student as much as those three knuckleheads."

"As for this training?" Aceso asked.

"Chakra training," Kakashi answered. "I need you there for medical assistance."

"All right," Aceso nodded. 

Kakashi removed his hand. " Come on, we can't burn daylight." She got Kakashi crutches for him to help move around, and then they headed into the woods.

" All right, training starts now," Kakashi confirmed.

" Right," Naruto agreed.

" First, we will begin with a review of chakra," Kakashi instructed. " The ninja's basic source of power. Understanding chakra is essential."

" We know that," Sasuke stated.

" He's right," Naruto confirmed. " A long time ago, we learned about --Uh, cattra."

" Chakra," Aceso corrected.

" Daa," Naruto whimpered.

" Go ahead, Sakura," Kakashi suggested.

" All right, Naruto," Sakura began as she put her hands on her hips. " I'll explain it simply so you can understand it." She then held out a scroll. " Chakra is the elemental life a ninja uses in Jutsu. It's the source of all his power. Now, this energy has two forms, physical energy, which exists in all the cells in the entire body, all working together, and spiritual energy, the primal source of power, which is intensified through training and experience. As you see, these two types of chakra must be drawn out and brought together in order to perform Jutsu. Notice the interplay between physical and spiritual power. That's the key. Finally, hand signs focus and unleash the chakra."

" Right on all points," Kakashi confirmed. " Iruka Sensei really did have some excellent students."

" Ha!" Sakura cheered.

" What's the big deal with all these complicated explanations?" Naruto asked. " The whole point is to learn the Jutsu, isn't it?"

" Naruto's right for once," Sasuke agreed. " We're already using chakra energy in our Jutsu."

" No. You have not mastered this power," Kakashi corrected. " You've barely scratched the surface of it."

" What do you mean?" Naruto demanded.

" Let him explain Naruto," Aceso advised as she crossed his arms.

" It's just like Sakura said," Kakashi began. " You have to draw on physical and spiritual energies and then combine them within in yourself. But...how do you do that?" Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto all glanced at each other. " Each Jutsu requires different types of chakra in different proportions. You must select and combine them in exactly the right way. Up to now, most of you've guessed at the proportions, hoping they'd come outright. Even if you produce a lot of Chakra, unless you can balance and control it, it's all worthless. The Jutsu won't work at all or it'll just be a joke. You waste so much energy that way. Then you're out of chakra, and you can't fight at all. You're just a target."

" Most of us?" Sasuke asked.

" Aceso transferred chakra to you and Naruto, that takes a lot of chakra," Kakashi answered. " She has consistent training, being raised in the hospital in all."

" Uh...so how do we change that?" Naruto asked before letting out a few laughs.

" Train so hard that controlling your chakra becomes second nature," Kakashi advised. " To achieve this goal you must be ready to put your life on the line."

" What do we have to do?" Aceso asked.

" Heh-heh-heh," Kakashi laughed. " Climb a tree."

" Climb a tree?" all four young ninjas asked. Kakashi has Aceso do this a long time ago, no harm in going over it again.

" That's right," Kakashi confirmed. " But...there's just one rule."

" Which is?" Aceso asked.

" No hands," Kakashi answered as he lifted his hands.

" What?" Sakura asked. " You're kidding."

'This lesson,' Aceso thought to herself. The last time she had this lesson from Kakashi was when she was five. 

" Am I?" Kakashi asked. " Let's see." He did the hand symbols, focused the chakra to the bottom of his feet, walked over to a tree and started climbing up it with no hands, they all gasped.

" He's climbing," Naruto noted.

" Straight up," Sakura added.

" And he's only using his feet," Aceso added as they watched him go upside down on a branch.

" Well, you get the idea," Kakashi gathered. " Focus the chakra towards the soles of your feet and use it to connect to the tree. This is one way to apply the power of chakra."

" Wait a minute!" Sakura protested. " That's a nice trick, but how does it help us Zabuza?"

" It's the only way to fight him, Sakura," Kakashi answered. " That's the entire goal of this training. First, you'll learn to draw a precise amount of chakra to a precise point in your body, Aceso has only mastered that when she focused the chakra in her hand to transfer it to Naruto, Sasuke, and I. But this is difficult, even for advanced ninja. This type of climbing requires a subtle mix of physical and spiritual energy. And the bottoms of the feet are the most difficult points to focus Chakra. Are you getting the picture? If you can master this, you'll be able to master any Jutsu. Well, theoretically. The second point is to learn to maintain your chakra levels. When a ninja is focused in battle, it's even harder to control and maintain his chakra levels, a deadly mistake. To avoid this, maintaining chakra must become second nature, effortless. Well, I can talk about this all day, but that won't advance your skills, will it?"

" I suppose not," Aceso agreed as she titled her head.

" You need to apply the power of chakra, through training," Kakashi instructed as he threw four kunai knives, having them land right before where they stood. They all gasped. "Use the Kunai knife to mark the tree at the highest point you can climb without using your hands. Then try to get past that mark the next time and the next. At first, you'll need to run at the tree so your momentum can take you as high as possible until you get used to it. Ready?" They all grabbed a kunai knife.

" I'm more than ready!" Naruto said enthusiastically. " This is gonna be no sweat all the way. Believe it! Remember what you said, Sensei, I'm the one who's grown the most."

" You're definitely the one who talks the most," Kakashi remarked. " Now get focused and do it." Everyone drew the chakra to the bottom of their feet, a small smoke half-circle appeared as it did with Kakashi.

" I got it!" Naruto exclaimed. " Charge!" All four of them ran at the tree, Aceso felt her feet climbing up the tree, no hands. She got to a certain point and then sat on a tree branch. She then looked down to see Naruto rubbing his head, and Sasuke staring at a mark he made on the tree.

" Looks like us girls are dominant today," Sakura cheered. Aceso looked over to see Sakura sitting in a lower branch across from her on a different tree.

" You're right," Aceso laughed as they looked back down.

" Hey, this is fun!" Sakura shouted, all the boys looked up to see the two sitting on tree branches.

" Huh?" Sasuke and Naruto asked as they looked up.

" Sakura!" Naruto gasped.

" Aceso!" Sasuke gasped. Both girls giggled.

" Well, looks like the female member of the squad has the most advanced chakra control, no surprise from the medic" Kakashi complimented. " Well done, Sakura and Aceso." Both girls laughed.

" Yeah, way to go, Sakura and Aceso!" Naruto cheered. " I always knew you two were awesome. Believe it!"

" Whatever," Sasuke groaned.

" Well, not only does Sakura and Aceso understand chakra, they can control and maintain it well," Kakashi complimented. " We spoke about someone becoming Hokage one day, didn't we? Seems Sakura and Aceso's got the best chances of that, wouldn't you say?" Naruto glanced up at him. Aceso had no desire to become Hokage. " And as for the great Uchiha clan, maybe they're not so great after all."

" Shut up, Sensei!" Sakura demanded. " You talk too much." The two boys glared at each other.

" All right!"Naruto shouted as he faced the tree. " First, I'll match Sasuke. Then I'm going all the way to the top. Believe it!" They all continued to their tree climbing training, Aceso found herself going higher and higher. Soon she laid against the tree, exhausted.

" Ow! Ow!" Naruto groaned. He had several bumps on his head. " Ah?" He looked back at where his last mark was made. He got up, screamed at the tree, and stomped his foot.