62 journey to Sand

Six weeks later

in Senju clan compound there's a boy of 13years old wearing weights running while dodging kunais and shurikens from different directions. after reaching the finishing line. he stopped and collapsed. a bit later he sat on ground "Shishou, it's been more than a month. you still haven't started our training. I don't know why we are doing this pointless foundation training."

I smiled "Sasuke Kun, being an Uchiha you certainly have a better foundation than others but it's not good enough. if you don't believe me, just remove the weights and use all the jutsu you have learned."

Sasuke got excited "really, I can remove these damn weights?". then I replied, "only for now". his face instantly got crestfallen. he nodded and removed them. "wow, my body feels very light." he dashed towards a tall tree and within just a few seconds he reached the top. he got surprised and checked his hands and legs and murmured "is this really me?"

after he got down I said "see, now you see the results? although your speed had increased tremendously, you still won't be able to surpass that kid from gai's student yet".

he nodded "I know rock Lee, his speed really is the best in this generation". then I said "your training hasn't finished yet. after this, we will start your kenjutsu basic training. and also we will focus on your chakra control". he nodded

I asked, " how many times you can use Chidori". he thought for a while "three months ago, my limit is around 3 times at best". I shook my head "no, it's not enough. I guess we also have to increase your chakra capacity. ok, let's continue your training. put weights on". he mumbled, "not again".

Two months later at Hokage office, Tsunade reading the list "Shizune, are these all available for this mission right now?".Shizune replied, "yes Tsunade sama."

Tsunade shook her head "some of the shinobi in this list will be one day become a pillar of Konoha. so, it's better if we give priority to these guys in this important mission" and circled some names in the list.

after a while, 7 people are standing before Hokage. Neji, Rock Lee, Hinata, Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and Shikamaru. Neji and Shikamaru are the only people who made to Chunin. as for why Naruto hasn't made into Chunin. Tsunade didn't give the reason and punched him when Naruto raise a ruckus in the office. Kakashi is the only jonin and others are still genins.

Tsunade frowned "where is Sasuke?". Neji replied "hmm, wasn't he here all the time Hokage sama?" he pointed his finger towards space beside Naruto. then suddenly Sasuke appeared "well, your byakugan is as impressive as ever". Neji smiled "well, I wasn't the only one to notice though"

Sasuke looked towards Kakashi "I guess". then looked towards Tsunade and bowed a bit "I apologize for Hokage sama. I just want to test my new jutsu".

Kakashi who was a bit surprised thought 'it seems his temperament changed quite a bit'. Tsunade nodded "ok, for this mission. you'll be divided into two teams. team A Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata. team B Shikamaru, Neji, Sasuke, and Rock Lee and Shikamaru will lead the team."

"you two teams will do two different roles when you reach Sunagakure as for the details, Kakashi will explain on the way." Sakura then asked "sensei, how come Sasuke wasn't in our team. did you do mistake when placing him on other team" then she looked towards Hinata "ah, I don't mean any bad Hinata." she waved her hand "it's ok" she appeared very cool on outside but inside her mind " a chibi Hinata excitedly jumping from place to place." yay, I'm on Naruto's team".

Tsunade replied "no, there's no mistake. teams were decided this way for a reason. anyone know the reason". Shikamaru was thinking and Sasuke who was standing there silently replied: "to maintain balance".Naruto got confused "what do you mean by that?". Sasuke replied "forget about this." he looked towards Tsunade and asked, "can I ask how much time this mission would take?"

Tsunade replied "at least two weeks to a month. any problem with it?". he shook his head "I should report it to my shishou. I can't accept the mission without his permission".Neji frowned "Sasuke, are you rejecting Hokage's orders?". He shook his head while folding his hands "sorry but unless it's an emergency,a shinobi has a right to deny Hokage's order. moreover, I'm not rejecting her order. I'm saying that I need permission from my Shishou to take at least a month leave for training.

Sakura squealed "Sasuke kun, just now you looked so cool" Tsunade coughed Sasuke came into her sense"Ah, I apologize".

Tsunade then "ok, Sasuke you may go and take his permission." then she looked at others "now, if anyone has any problem. say it now. you can see a mission which takes these many members is difficult. I'll put some other genin or Chunin if someone wants to leave."

later, Sasuke entered our clan compound. he reached my home. "Shishou, are you here?".then no replied came he went inside and saw Miura just playing with fishes in the aquarium. "Miura?" she looked towards him "Sasuke Niisan". he asked, "where is shishou?". she replied, "Papa is in the library". he nodded and walked towards the library found me.

then he asked, "good morning Shishou, what are you doing?". I replied without looking at him doing my work "Come and sit Sasuke kun". he came and sat beside me "what are you doing?". I replied, "just researching some Uzumaki scrolls".

"Uzumaki?" suddenly he thought of Naruto. then he said "Shishou, today Hokage sama called us" and recounted everything. I nodded "ok, you have my permission. but just remember to remove the weights only when you think your opponent is in the same level or better than you. later I will teach you a gravity seal. it'll be better than the weights." Sasuke asked, "then why didn't you teach me before". I shook my head "no, you aren't ready. while sparring your moments still aren't smooth yet."

then I took an empty scroll and wrote something and gave it to him "follow this training plan while you are away."

he nodded and left. I scratched my chin "this jutsu seems a bit complicated. I may need to go Uzumaki ruins later." then Miura ran towards me with a bowl of water on her hand "papa, see I heal this little fish". I patted her head "good job" she smiled "when I become big, I'll heal all who get injured"

after a while, all eight of them reached the gate.and they started their journey towards Suna. while they are walking. Sakura asked "Sasuke kun, that jutsu you used when we were in Hokage office is awesome. what is it? how did you stay invisible?. rest of them also looked at Sasuke. Kakashi replied "it's called Meisaigakure no jutsu. or you can call it simply Camouflage jutsu. if you can control the reflection of light around your body using chakra. you can turn invisible to naked eye. all Anbu know the jutsu which is quite similar to this one that lets them completely blend in darkness or shadows. only sensory ninja or inuzuka clan or those who have byakugan and Sharingan can spot them."

Sakura then "wow, I know my Sasuke is the best." and just she was about to catch him she passed through him. kakashi then said "I was just about to say this one is just a clone while the real one is on your other side. then Sasuke appeared "my Shishou said to practice this jutsu all the time". Kakashi smiled although for a different reason.

after a few hours, he undoes the Jutsu as his chakra is almost depleted.

by evening they reached the border. but didn't enter the desert and camped there. next day morning, rock lee woke up earlier than others to train but found Sasuke swinging a sword and practising.

"good morning Uchiha san. you start your training this early daily?". but he didn't get any reply from Sasuke. he was so engrossed in it that he didn't even notice Lee. rock lee got stunned and there's a fire appeared in his eyes and he started to do push-ups.

after an hour Kakashi woke up " hmm, where's Lee and Sasuke?" then he checked the nearby place and found one of them is swinging a sword and another one is doing one hand push-ups. Lee saw Kakashi and greeted him "good morning Hatake san" Kakashi nodded and saw Sasuke who was in his own world murmuring "296, 297, 298, 299." then he raised his sword high above his head "300" and he swung with his full force. a slight arc made of wind came out of it and slashed a 5 m rock vertically half but too bad it didn't get completely cut into two pieces. and his sword broke into pieces.

he threw away the broken sword "damn it, I still can't do it". then he sensed there are two people near him. he greeted " good morning Kakashi taichou, Lee. when did you guys arrive here?". Kakashi replied, "you were so engrossed in your training that you didn't even notice us. don't be careless. it's not safe here. you should be alert all the time."

Sasuke replied "I apologize. I will be careful from now on. if there's nothing else. I'm going to rest for a while. wake me up when you all are ready to go."

and he went to the campsite and slept. Kakashi was stunned and stood there like a statue for a few seconds. Lee woke him up "Hatake san what happened?" Kakashi shook his head "nothing. you continue". and he returned to camp thinking something.

an hour later everyone woke up including Sasuke, Kakashi asked: "Neji, what's the status". Neji spoke "we can't pass the desert now. I can see sandstorm is coming in half n hour. too risky to move. we should wait until it passes. Sasuke then said " ok, I'm going back to training. inform me when we are ready to go." and without hearing any response from anyone he left there.

Naruto then said, "somehow I feel like Sasuke changed very much compared to the past." Sakura then held her hands and spun one round squealed "My Sasuke kun is coolest after all". almost everyone thought 'this fanatic doesn't change at all'.

Kakashi thought "I guess Diran's impact on Sasuke is more than I thought. but I'm afraid a sudden change in character will always bring trouble. wait a second, even if it turns out as I fear it'll be on Diran's head anyway." he shrugged his shoulders.

four hours later, Sasuke counting "497, 498, 499". he swung it again with full force " 500", the result is the same as previous. he sat down and started to think "what is it that I'm missing" Kakashi then suddenly appeared behind him and said, "Sasuke, you are wondering why can't you succeed right". he turned back and nodded.

kakashi said, " I'm not an expert in kenjutsu or anything but when you are training, you should always start from small to big". Sasuke shook his head "no, shishou instructed me to don't ever practise on rocks which are less than 20ft at all." "Hmm? now that's interesting. well, you are on your own then".

a day later, the sand storm passed and they have crossed the desert safely and reached Sunagakure. Baki received them and all went inside kazekage's office. they were surprised to see Gaara and kankuro who were looking worried right now.