"Partial Expansion Jutsu! Human Boulder!"
"Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
Inside the simulated training grounds projected by the Mirror World, the data clones of Shikamaru and Choji executed a flawless combo. Shikamaru extended his shadow like a rope, latching it onto Choji—who had already turned into a massive spinning ball—directing him straight toward Naruto like a runaway wrecking ball.
"You know… ever since I unlocked Flying Thunder God here, some of these fights have started feeling a little too easy."
Naruto watched the attack draw near and muttered with a calm tone. He gave a flick of his kunai, and in the blink of an eye—vanished.
Thunk!
In the distance, Shikamaru—still controlling Choji—suddenly collapsed. A kunai, wrapped in pale blue chakra, pierced clean through his heart from behind.
With Shikamaru down, Choji lost control and crashed directly into a wall. His jutsu was immediately dispelled, and as he tried to steady himself and stand, Naruto reappeared before him—and drove a kunai into his throat.
Battle over.
"Congratulations. You have acquired Yin-nature chakra."
"Congratulations. You have gained training experience in Partial Expansion Jutsu."
Naruto showed no expression as he calmly pulled up the system interface and selected the portrait of the Third Hokage.
If he couldn't get Earth Release chakra from Shikamaru, then it was time to try the man who had mastered all five basic chakra natures: Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Since the Mirror World had reached 20% data sync, Flying Thunder God could be used here again. He could also view the chakra affinities of each clone, but many data sets still remained incomplete.
For example, he still couldn't challenge his father's clone—Minato's data hadn't synced enough. However, some of the challengers he could fight had apparently leveled up. Their combat behavior wasn't as rigid as before.
Naruto had noticed that Shikamaru's data clone possessed Earth-nature chakra. Yet, after several battles, all he'd gained were variations of Shadow Possession techniques and Yin-nature chakra.
Still, that turned out to be helpful—Naruto could finally put the genjutsu training he'd acquired from Shisui Uchiha to practical use.
Right now, he had Wind, Fire, Water, Lightning, Yin, and Yang chakra. Earth was the only one left.
Fortunately, the Third Hokage's data was complete. As the "Professor" of ninjutsu, the odds of gaining Earth Release from him were high.
After confirming the challenge, Naruto appeared once again in the training ground. Across from him, the data clone of the Third Hokage was quickly solidifying from a translucent state.
Just as Naruto was preparing to mark his opponent before the clone fully activated, Kurama's voice rang out.
"Naruto, school's over. Those two brats next to you are staring at you."
"Got it."
Naruto exited the Mirror World immediately. As his mind returned to the present, he found Shikamaru and Choji standing almost shoulder-to-shoulder beside him.
"What are you guys doing?"
Naruto asked calmly.
Shikamaru twitched but said nothing. Choji, however, spoke up with curiosity.
"Naruto, how do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Sleep! Like that!" Choji waved his hand in front of Naruto's face. "Shikamaru's been studying you for days."
Naruto turned his gaze toward Shikamaru.
"You've been studying me?"
"Yeah. I've been observing you lately," Shikamaru admitted. "Back at the academy, I really thought you were just spacing out. You always needed the bell or someone yelling your name to wake you up."
"But now… there's no bell, and the teachers don't even call roll. Yet you still wake up only at lunch and dismissal. Every single day."
"So, I reached a conclusion… you've been sleeping with your eyes open during class."
Naruto's blue eyes gleamed with amusement. After a brief pause, he admitted:
"You're right."
Shikamaru's expression lit up.
"Then—can you teach me?!"
Choji immediately perked up his ears too.
Naruto gave a slight shake of the head and glanced toward a certain person walking away alone. He smiled faintly.
"Innate talent. Can't be taught."
Shikamaru slumped in disappointment and stood up with a sigh, glancing toward his father off in the distance.
"Well, I'm heading home. School resumes tomorrow."
Choji, also dejected, said goodbye and left as well. His father had come to pick him up.
Soon, the open field among the ruins had mostly emptied.
Just as Naruto stood and was about to walk away, he felt something—Hinata and her guardian were still standing behind him, a short distance away.
Naruto turned around—and Hinata quickly lowered her head.
"Lady Hinata, he's saying goodbye to you."
"N-Naruto-kun~"
Hinata raised her head and saw Naruto waving to her from afar. She immediately lifted her small hand and waved back enthusiastically.
After parting ways with Hinata, Naruto climbed a nearby hill.
Sasuke was sitting alone by the lakeside pier, his back long and stretched in the sunset.
"Naruto, why are you staring at Sasuke like that?"
Minato, observing silently, couldn't guess what his son was planning.
"Dad, come with me. Let's check out the newly updated data from Uchiha Itachi—and Kurama, you come too."
Naruto confirmed no one was monitoring the area. Then he brought Minato and Kurama into the Mirror World.
The system had just notified him that Itachi's memory data had updated again—meaning he'd already met Pain.
Sure enough, in the new footage of Itachi joining the Akatsuki, a figure wearing a black cloak with red clouds appeared.
At that moment, Kurama visibly reacted.
"Impossible! That guy… he has the Rinnegan!?"
Kurama's crimson pupils constricted and dilated rapidly. His fanged jaws clenched in disbelief.
Minato was equally stunned.
This man—Pain—actually possessed the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths: the Rinnegan.
"Father, Kurama, you've both already seen Itachi's memories of leaving the village."
"The real leader of the Akatsuki is the man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara—the one working with Itachi."
"He's the same one who controlled Kurama during the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha years ago. Pain is just his puppet."
Minato nodded solemnly.
He'd heard Pain's declaration just now—the Akatsuki's ultimate goal was to overthrow the Five Great Nations and dominate the entire shinobi world.
Kurama remained silent.
His mind was in chaos. And more than that—he was alarmed.
In one fleeting shot from Itachi's memory, he was sure he had seen… the husk of the Ten-Tails.
"Naruto, from now on, whenever Uchiha Itachi's data updates—you must take me into the Mirror World immediately."
"There are things I need to confirm."
"Alright."
Naruto agreed and exited the seal space.
He understood why Kurama was so on edge.
He'd seen it too.
But right now, it was time to talk to Sasuke.
If Jiraiya was being sent to investigate the Akatsuki… then Sasuke might need to become Naruto's insurance policy.
After confirming no one was approaching, Naruto walked along the path to the lake. Sasuke still hadn't moved—sitting at the dock, head buried in his knees.
Creak—
The wooden planks groaned beneath Naruto's footstep. Sasuke instantly shot up and turned.
"You!"
His eyes narrowed.
"Why are you here!?"
Naruto didn't respond immediately. He took a few steps forward—stopping about five meters away.
"Have your eyes awakened yet?"
Sasuke's expression darkened.
"If you came here to provoke me, then you'll pay for it!"
"Oh?" Naruto's voice was calm. "You're not even worth killing. What kind of price could you possibly make me pay?"
"You bastard!"
Sasuke's face twisted with rage. Naruto's words had hit the nerve—reminding him of Itachi.
He reached into his pouch and flung two shuriken at Naruto.
Clang! Clang!
Naruto didn't even flinch. With a casual flick, he countered both shuriken mid-air.
Sasuke was already rushing forward. He closed the distance and threw a punch straight at Naruto's face—
—but his wrist was caught.
Before Sasuke could react, Naruto's other hand clamped around his throat.
WHAM!
In a swift motion, Naruto slammed Sasuke down onto the dock.
"Your taijutsu is pathetic, Uchiha."
Only when Sasuke's eyes began to roll back did Naruto finally let go.
"You… damn… cough, cough—!"
Sasuke gasped and choked, trying to curse but instead falling into a fit of coughing.
"Keep crawling through life like this, then."
Naruto shook his head and turned to walk back up the hill.
"Aaaaaghh!!"
Sasuke's scream echoed. Fueled by rage, he forced himself to stand again.
Naruto turned back—just in time to see Sasuke forming hand seals.
He smirked.
Now things are getting interesting.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
What?!
He knows Fireball Jutsu too? When did—
Sasuke's eyes widened. Naruto hadn't even formed a single hand seal.
BOOM!
Two massive fireballs, each over three meters wide, collided mid-air.
Sasuke's fireball began to flicker and weaken almost immediately, while Naruto's continued surging forward—overwhelming him.
With a gasp, Sasuke leapt into the lake.
Moments later, he surfaced—only to see a pair of feet standing right in front of him.
"Do you want revenge?"
Sasuke looked up in disbelief.
"You call that a Fireball Jutsu? You're not even qualified to stand in front of me."
Naruto walked past him, leapt onto the dock, and placed a scroll on the ground.
"You have one night. Learn the jutsu in this scroll."
"Tomorrow—same time, same place."
Sasuke, still soaking in the water, shouted after him:
"Who are you!?"
Naruto stopped.
"Who else would I be?"
He turned slightly, glancing back.
"You want to know why your Sharingan still hasn't awakened?"
Sasuke's mind flashed with memories—his brother's face, the pain, the confusion.
"Why!?"
"Because your heart… isn't dark enough."
(To be continued…)
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