Having overextended himself as a Sharingan, Kakashi had collapsed into a heap. In this chapter, he awakes like a man still recovering from a nightmare. He and his team discuss the mysterious young assassin, but as his mind clears, the master Ninja comes to a horrible realization.

     

As Kakashi recovers from the ordeal of the battle, he reveals that the unknown boy was part of a fire extinguishing unit, responsible for erasing any evidence that a ninja was alive, which the corpse of Zabuza might otherwise reveal.

Back in the forest, we see the boy in the ANBU mask, but rather than attending to a dead man, he cares for the now resurrecting Momochi Zabuza. The patient harshly removes bloodied needles, as large as skewers, in spite of the warning from the boy that if he removes them too roughly, he will die for real. The boy is not an ANBU; the mask is counterfeit. He removes it to reveal a youthful visage. Zabuza knows he will take a week to recover, after which he vows revenge upon the Sharingan.

At the same time, back at Kakashi's sick bed, the teacher is awakening to the realization that Zabuza is still alive. His students and the bridge builder are horrified. But the logic is inescapable. The weapons that supposedly killed him were needles used mostly in acupuncture healings, and were rarely mortal unless delivered to vital spots. The boy also took the body home, a body that was heavier than himself, when all he required to complete the task of erasure was the head. Only Naruto appears pleased to hear that Zabuza is still alive, for he was jealous that the powerful enemy had been conquered by what appeared to be a mere youth. Naruto wants to be both conqueror and hero.

As they plan to engage in special training, the very young grandson of the old man appears. The boy, Inari, is aloof, morose, and rude, for he will not greet these wondrous guests who have saved his grandfather's life. He states that there is no hope, they will all die, and that there is no such thing as a hero. This disturbs Naruto, who plans to confront the abnormal boy, but finds him alone, and pining for his deceased father, a man who had been a hero, but who is now dead.

In the next scene, the recovering Sharingan has taken his students into the forest for special training of their Chakra. The knowledgeable Sakura is chosen to explain the subject: Chakra is an energy that a Ninja needs to utilize a technique. The energy comes from the body and is collected from every cell and from the spirit energy that comes from training and experience. Techniques from from these two energies are squeezed out of the body and molded together, enabling one to execute techniques by forming seals.

Kakashi explains that the amounts of energy required will be different for each technique, the energies coming from different elements: earth, water, fire, thunder and wind. Without control, the energy cannot be used effectively and the technique will be weak or not executed at all. To practise this they must climb trees, but they must accomplish it without using their hands. They do this by gathering their Chakra at their feet and allowing it to hold them to the tree. The purpose is to accumulate the right amount of molded Chakra in the right location. As the feet are the most difficult to hold Chakra, this exercise will allow them to master any kind of technique.

On their first attempt, Naruto can only gain a short distance up the tree, while Sasuke makes it just below the top. It is Sakura who is the most accomplished and ends up reaching a branch on her first attempt.

Kakashi slyly comments to his students, "Maybe Sakura, and not someone else, is the closest one to becoming a Hokage right now." The dart lands heavily on the boastful Naruto. To inspire Sasuke he says, "The Uchiha clan isn't as great as I thought, either."

Back at the hut where Zabuza is recovering, a visitor appears, the powerful Gatoh and his bodyguards. He is sarcastic and contemptuous of Zabuza's failure. The mysterious boy shows a powerful force of protection towards Zabuza, in a threatening display that could have destroyed Gatoh and his bodyguards, if Zabuza had not restrained him. It is here where we finally learn the identity of the boy. He is called Haku.

Back in the forest, the young Ninjas are still trying to climb trees, but without much success. Despite Naruto's immediate limitations, Kakashi secretly suspects that the boastful young Ninja, above all others, even including himself, has the greatest potential of all for the future.



(Chapter 11 next)