At the training grounds
As the group arrived at the training grounds, it was obvious to Naruto that things had changed a lot since he had left. Not only were there numerous shattered boulders lying around, but there also seemed to be less trees than he remembered.
"Uh, Kakashi-sensei? What's been going on here?" he asked. Sakura seemed equally confused.
"Yeah, every time I asked you about it, you kept changing the subject." she said. Takeshi spoke up.
"Actually, that would be my handiwork, gotta practice on something." he explained.
"Ok, so what exactly do you specialise in, then?" asked Sakura.
"Mostly ninjutsu and taijutsu, although I'm ok with genjutsu. But I mostly use my sword when I fight, that's why there's a few less trees. You want a demonstration?" he asked. Both Naruto and Sakura nodded. "All right, that one should do nicely." he announced, indicating a fairly tall and thick tree a short distance away. He then ran at the tree, grasping the sword on his back. Once close enough, Takeshi seemed to disappear for a split second as he sliced at the trunk. With a crash, the tree split into hundreds of pieces, all of which crashed to the ground, as Takeshi swung his sword twice, then spun it before replacing it on his back, gasping slightly. Naruto and Sakura were speechless.
"H-How did split into so many pieces? He only cut it once!" exclaimed Naruto, while Sakura just stared. Kakashi chuckled.
"That...was Takeshi's kekkei genkai. It's called the Kousokudo, or the Speed of Light. It allows Takeshi to move faster than light, which is why it looked like he temporarily vanished. You only saw him slice once, but in reality he probably sliced it over a hundred times in a split second. The downside is that this requires an enormous amount of chakra. A normal ninja would probably die, and even Takeshi only uses it occasionally." he explained.
"Wow, awesome!" shouted Naruto. Takeshi smiled as he came back over.
"Glad you think so." he said, but Sakura was looking at him disapprovingly. "What?" he asked her.
"Was there really any point to spinning your sword around like that?" she asked, at which he laughed a bit.
"I knew you'd ask. It helps with my concentration, if I got it wrong I'd cut myself. But mostly I just enjoy it." he replied. Sakura sighed and shook her head.
"Boys." she exclaimed.
"Hey!" cried both Takeshi and Naruto.
"Hey, not bad!" came a voice from behind them. They turned to see the members of Team 10; Shikamaru, Choji and Ino watching.
"Um, how long have guys been there?" asked Naruto.
"The whole time." replied Shikamaru. Ino then piped up.
"So, who's the new guy?" she asked, staring at Takeshi dreamingly.
"Name's Takeshi, Takeshi Hatake. Nice to meet you." he replied with a smile. Team 10 were just as surprised as Naruto and Sakura had been.
"Hatake? You mean you're..." stuttered Choji.
"Yes, he's my son. Adopted, actually." answered Kakashi.
"Oh, I see. That explains that special technique he used before." said Shikamaru, always the observant one. "So, Naruto, finally came back, huh?" he asked, turning to face Naruto.
"Yep, just got back today." he replied.
"And let me guess, Sakura's already beaten you up?" Shikamaru joked.
"Uh, yeah." Naruto replied, embarassed. While their conversation had been going on, Sakura and Ino had gotten into an arguement over something.
"That's right, you heard me, Billboard Brow!" shouted Ino.
"Shut up, Ino-Pig!" Sakura shot back. The two girls continued to shout at each other while the guys just stared. Takeshi raised an eyebrow.
"Are they always like this?" he asked Shikamaru.
"Yep, every day. It's troublesome. Would you believe they were friends as kids?" replied Shikamaru. Takeshi looked startled.
"You're kidding!" he exclaimed, as the girls continued their shouting match. "Well, on the plus side, that Ino's pretty beautiful, even when she's angry." Ino somehow heard this over her and Sakura's shouting, because she immediately stopped and turned to face Takeshi.
"You...really think I'm beautiful?" she asked, blushing.
"Uh...yeah." replied Takeshi, rubbing the back of his neck, a blush evident on his face as well.
"No one's ever...said that to me before. Thank you." she replied, giving Takeshi a quick kiss on the cheek, before walking off humming happily to herself. Takeshi and the others were speechless. Shikamaru was the first to speak.
"Wow, she's never acted that way before." he said, amazed.
"Really?" asked Takeshi.
"Yeah, probably because the person she had a major crush on never even said a word to her. You're one lucky guy." replied Sakura.
"I guess so." Takeshi agreed.
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