(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)
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The meal ended quickly.
Anko fell into a state of depression, canceling her after-dinner shopping session with Kurenai and heading straight for the training grounds.
"We will be going then, Naruto," Colt said.
"Alright, see you tomorrow, Colt."
After agreeing on a time and place to meet the next day, Colt took Kurenai home.
The young maid Yakumo opened the door joyfully, immediately rushing up when she saw Kurenai.
"Kurenai-san!"
"Hello Yakumo, can you please prepare some tea for us?" Colt said, rolling his eyes.
He felt that Yakumo had come to see Kurenai as a mother figure, which exhausted him every time.
"Understood." Yakumo also rolled her charming eyes.
After spending so much time together, she already knew many of Colt's habits.
For example, after lunch every day, he would come to the yard for some hot tea and take a good nap enjoying the wind and sun.
However, the sun was a bit weak today.
Still, Colt took his usual place, and Kurenai joined his side.
Yakumo raised her head and frowned slightly.
She took out a drawing board and, with her superb artistic skills, quickly sketched the entire courtyard scene.
With a brush stroke, she swept away the dark clouds in the sky, recasting warm sunlight over the yard.
To make the air more refreshing, Yakumo also painted in a few wisps of breeze.
Colt, who was enjoying it, rolled over comfortably.
Kurenai looked stunned.
'Wow, is this how the Kurama clan's [Kekkei Genkai] is supposed to be used?'
"Yakumo, don't you think you're spoiling him too much?" she said, sounding a bit jealous - not of Yakumo, but of Colt. After all, she should have more priority since she knew her first.
Yakumo smiled cutely.
"Hehe, it's my responsibility to take care of Colt's daily life."
"Come on, Kurenai-san, let's chat over there."
Afraid of disturbing Colt's sleep, Yakumo dragged Kurenai to the other side.
They chatted in low voices, with occasional chuckles.
Time passed slowly, and as evening approached, Hinata and Ino also arrived.
It was rare for such a crowd to gather, so Colt simply went to the Hyuga clan and picked up the elated Hanabi, much to Hiashi's dismay.
The family came together for a big dinner.
"If only Koyuki and Temari were here," Colt sighed, looking at the lively group around the large table.
Kurenai gave him a meaningful look but said nothing.
Little Hanabi ate mouthfuls of rice angrily.
'Why are there so many girls…'
The group discussed Colt's upcoming mission in two days.
Regarding Sasuke's defection, except for the members of Team 7, the others didn't feel much about it.
Everyone had their own choices, and being from prominent families, they understood such matters.
For revenge, such actions weren't considered too extreme.
Of course, this was regarding Sasuke personally.
For Konoha, it wasn't a glorious thing.
Everything has two sides.
One person's poison was another's honey.
What Colt needed to do was keep all the sweetness for his own people and send all the suffering to the enemy.
After dinner, the conversation grew more animated, turning to topics typically discussed among women.
They decided to stay the night rather than go home.
Colt found himself ushered to the guest room, leaving him a bit dazed.
Were these women planning to abandon him?
Early the next morning, Colt first went to the Anbu base.
Though he held the position of Anbu Captain, he usually didn't concern himself with their affairs.
Today, however, he made use of his authority.
"Which of you are proficient in the [Wind Style] and have a good grasp of Nature Transformation?"
He looked at the few teams before him who had no tasks that day.
Several masked Anbu looked at each other, and one stepped forward.
"Colt-san, my [Wind Style] is passable."
"Ah, Cat. Come with me then."
Colt recognized his direct subordinate, Yugao in a Cat mask.
The two had worked together often over the past two years.
Yugao's [Wind Style] was indeed good, making her suitable for this task.
Since Naruto wanted to learn the [Rasenshuriken], mastering the Chakra Nature Transformation was the most basic step.
In truth, Asuma would have been the most suitable candidate.
But Asuma had known about Colt and Kurenai's relationship for a while now, and it had left him conflicted.
He hadn't expected to lose to a teenager and was still in a stage of self-doubt, drowning his sorrows in alcohol daily.
Colt couldn't be bothered to look for him.
Arriving at the training ground, they found Naruto already there.
The two got straight to the point.
"Naruto, do you understand the Chakra natures?"
Naruto nodded.
He still remembered the first time Colt used [Chidori], and how he had wanted to learn it too.
But Colt had told him then that he didn't possess the Lightning nature Chakra, which had disappointed him for a long time.
During his travels, Jiraiya had helped him test his nature, which turned out to be Wind.
Colt reached out and formed a [Rasengan].
"This is the basic [Rasengan], which only involves Chakra shape manipulation."
As he spoke, he infused it with Wind nature transformation.
The [Rasengan] subtly changed, spinning at high speed and emitting a sharp whine.
Sharp edges formed all around it, making it resemble a fat shuriken.
"This is [Wind Style: Rasengan]."
Naruto's eyes lit up.
"What powerful cutting force!"
"Yes, the nature of Wind is sharpness."
Colt dispelled the Chakra and introduced Yugao.
"This will be your teacher for the next few days. She'll teach you how to master Chakra Nature Transformation."
"You can just call her Yugao-sensei."
"Yugao-sensei, nice to meet you," Naruto said politely.
She nodded her head.
Looking at the empty ground around them, Colt thought they were lacking some teaching aids.
"[Earth Style: Earth-Flow Wall]!"
"[Water Style: Waterfall Basin Technique]!"
"[Wood Style: Wood Bridge Technique]!"
A simple small waterfall was quickly constructed.
"When you can split the waterfall, only then try adding Wind Chakra to your [Rasengan]."
Naruto nodded, indicating he understood, but asked another question.
"Colt, it's been a few days since we knew about Orochimaru's spy. We won't miss it because of my training, right?"
Sasuke was foremost in his mind.
If finding him would be delayed because of training, he'd rather postpone it for a while.
Colt shook his head.
"No, I've placed a [Flying Thunder God] seal near there. We can be there in an instant."
Naruto was relieved.
'It's time for Naruto to face some setbacks again,' Colt thought to himself.
He realized that while Naruto's desire to become stronger existed, it wasn't strong enough.
He needed to be stimulated by his current rival who outclassed him.