The Hokage's Residence.

His eyes closed, the Third Hokage ponders on what he saw during Kakashi's test. A sudden gust of wind brushed past his face. "Greetings lord Hokage." said the silver haired man as he knelt down on one knee. Gesturing him to get up with his right hand, the Third Hokage commanded "Give me your analysis on what happened Kakashi. You do not need to recount the details, I already know". He opened his eyes and stare right down at Kakashi's kneeling form.

"Sir, Naruto's prowess is certainly surprising and Sasuke is extremely proficient in using the Sharingan, probably comparable to the likes of Itachi. However, they do not seem to have the ability to cooperate with each other. Furthermore, as you have observed he was able to execute a complete rasengan at his age."

"Oh why do you think that they do not have the ability of cooperate with each other?"

"Based one reason alone. Judging by his behavior, Sasuke seems to have a strong thirst for power. He has no qualms in taking every opportunity given to him. Naruto is well aware of this. Rather than confronting him, he is playing a defensive game. He chooses to ignore Sasuke's actions. Even when he destroyed Naruto's clones, he did not show any reaction as if he knew something was up."

"And does this relate to what he tried to confirm the last minute?"

"Quite possibly, he did not seem to be disappointed but rather pensive for the lack of better words."

"Do you relate Sasuke's reaction to the massacre?"

"Again I could only hope that it is the case."

The Third Hokage closed his eyes once again.

"Kakashi what do you think is the Uchiha's curse is? Where do you think that their true tragedy lies? Do you know what the Second replied with as it is?

Kakashi kept silent.

"It was their thirst for power."

"Naruto was able to use the rasengan wasn't he? Well I did sneak a peek at him a few times the past week or so. Kakashi would you believe me if I say that he created it alone? That too within a week."

Impossible! The fourth took more than two years to create it from the scratch and I had to train for weeks to form a complete rasengan. Isn't this a little bit too preposterous? Kakashi remained his position, dazed by the sudden revelation.

...............

Deep in his dream world, Naruto ponders on what aspect he should master next. After meditating for 5 hours, he gets up and recalls the scenes from earlier. Currently I lack in not having a jutsu based on an element and my sensory abilities are not as sharp as I would like them to be... Should I try nature transformations then.... Naruto does have an affinity towards wind.

Naruto creates a heap of leaves. After creating a thousand clones, Naruto split them into 2 groups of 500. Then he gave out the following commands; one group is to focus on cutting the leaves in half using their chakra alone; the second group was blindfolded and were given ear plugs, then made to fight each other. That should probably help in reducing the time taken to successfully track an opponent.

For the next 10 hours, Naruto switches between both tasks, reviewing each task at the end of each hour. By the eighth hour, he was able to perfectly slice the leaf in half. Waterfall training will probably have to wait till next time. Afterwards he spent one and a half hours solely focusing on his sensory techniques. It was then a thought struck him.

What if I used wind chakra to reduce friction in my movements.. After all air is something which is almost certain to be present in most battlefields. He then focused solely focused on the wind and his chakra flow. However he still hasn't reached to the expected degree of control.

Well I still have not completed the waterfall training. He glanced at his open palms. If you really think about it, the human body can be considered a weapon. Lightning and wind are the ideal chakra types to enhance their abilities; let's try focusing my wind chakra around my body.

Unfortunately, the 15 hours have been used up and with a green flash he returned back to the real world.

........

Naruto got up just before daybreak. Preparing for his daily routine, Naruto couldn't help but frown at the memory of yesterday's unpleasantness. It seems like he truly is seeking to be more than an avenger. The question is what makes this Sasuke differ from the one I know. What are his true motives? Is it truly to just avenge his clan? Or is it something far more malicious?

He took a sip of water and sat down on his bed. What would happen to Sakura then? How would her fate change? Is she going to blindly follow him, crushing herself by the harsh reality? From what I see it has almost become fanatical worship, as she if is kissing the very ground he is walking on. He took a look at the clock and then silently left the house. Would I have to kill one or both of them? Do I just leave them alone?

...........

Tension permeated from the silent training ground. A group of 3 genin continue to silently wait. The dark haired lad was sitting on branch on top of a tree, the girl twisting her pink hair as she keeps glancing at the dark haired boy and yellow haired youth who seemed more interested in the clouds than other two. They continued to wait for a more than an hour in awkward silence.

Suddenly a man appeared before then. "Good morning team, I once again apologize for being lost in the maze of life. Ah, by the way we have got our first mission" Kakashi announced with a nonchalant tone to his voice.

"Our first mission is to weed out the garden belonging to one named Izumi."

"Sensei why are we doing grunt as mission?"

"Because you certainly can't do anything else right now so stopping asking anymore question, let's just get to work."

..........

Four days later, in the training grounds, Naruto alongside his clones are focusing their wind chakra around their tenketsu. Naruto roared and released his chakra throughout his body, releasing a strong strand of wind chakra around him, drawing the air around and trying to consolidate around his. It continued to twist and turn around him before it exploded blowing him back towards his clones.

Two days ago, Naruto completed the waterfall training allowing him to have a better grasp at controlling wind chakra. However he keeps on failing to control the chakra flow throughout his body. The wind chakra as it gather air explodes. It seems like I'm just not balancing the forces, but how should I achieve this? Getting back up, he shook his head and made his way back to his apartment.

After cleaning himself up and changing to a pair of shorts, he took out a can of soda, walked up to the window and took a sip. Staring at the night sky, he started humming a nameless tune. He closed his eyes and smiled, I wonder how my family from earth are doing. I wonder how my parents are holding up. Is my little baby sister still the little darling devil? How are my friends doing now? Are they all fooling around as they used to?

A gentle breeze lightly caressed his cheek. I do not regret. I do not feel sad; I do not feel that I have been given the short end of the stick. I gave my life for my sister's, pretty sweet deal eh? He chuckled and continued gaze at the stars in silence.

Sorry about the late release, had to attend to an emergency.