"Why didn't that guy just tell me all this yesterday?!"
Sasuke grumbled to himself, frustration bubbling under the surface.
But his irritation quickly gave way to confusion — because he couldn't understand what Naruto was doing.
Before him stood dozens of Naruto's Shadow Clones, all gathered around trees, slapping leaves into their palms over and over. Only one Naruto leaned calmly against a tree in the distance with his eyes closed, doing absolutely nothing.
The forest floor was already littered with torn leaves.
Sasuke's heart skipped —
Naruto could create this many clones?
And they were obviously training... but Sasuke couldn't understand what kind of training.
"I'm still too weak…"
Clenching his fists, Sasuke pushed off the stone platform, performed a hand seal, and—
Poof!
Seven Shadow Clones of Sasuke appeared.
"Tch… Including the clone I sent to school, eight is my limit!"
Sasuke and his clones cast a glance at Naruto's seemingly endless army and got to work. Some practiced Fire Style and hand seals, while others moved to the target dummies and began training with shurikenjutsu.
As for the real Sasuke — he went straight to setting up the mechanized crossbows.
Yesterday, when he had been shot in the head — even while armored — he finally understood how terrifying Naruto's throwing technique really was. This morning, his entire body was sore and bruised.
"Damn it… even with my Sharingan awakened, I still wasn't a match for him…"
And what frustrated him more—was that he only awakened his Sharingan with Naruto's help.
Inside the Sealed Space, the Nine-Tails narrowed his eyes as he looked toward the projection of Naruto's soul.
"Fourth Hokage… what do you think of that Uchiha brat?"
Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, was observing Sasuke through Naruto's senses. He nodded slightly.
"He's got talent. Judging by his age… he might be the youngest Uchiha ever to awaken the Sharingan."
The Nine-Tails hummed in agreement, then turned the topic.
"And you're really not going to tell Naruto about that?"
Minato's expression faltered.
"Whether I tell him or not… I think he already knows. I don't know why, but… I just have this feeling."
The Nine-Tails chuckled and flicked one of his ears.
"Heh! Same here. That brat spends all his time in that Mirror World. I'd be shocked if he didn't know by now."
Minato stared silently at Naruto's soul projection.
"Kurama… do you think Naruto resents me?"
The Nine-Tails turned away, closed his eyes, and lay his head down.
A moment later, his voice echoed within the space.
"That kid's already accepted you as his father."
Minato blinked, taken aback—
Then smiled and gave the beast a small bow.
"Thank you."
Meanwhile, in the Mirror World Training Field, Naruto was locked in combat with a data-replica of the Third Hokage, who wielded his massive Monkey King Staff with surprising agility. Naruto's clones surrounded the battlefield, looking for openings to strike.
So far, Naruto hadn't used Flying Thunder God. Though he had already placed marks on the Third Hokage, he was deliberately limiting himself to conventional ninjutsu and taijutsu.
What surprised him, however, was that the Third Hokage's data clone could even summon the Monkey King: Enma using Summoning Jutsu, even in this simulated world.
Clang!
Blocking a wide swing with two kunai, Naruto kicked off the staff and flipped backward, landing lightly with chakra already forming in his throat.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
At the same moment, four clones jumped in from the side—each completing their own hand seals.
"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"
"Water Style: Syrup Capture Field!"
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
The Hokage's movements froze—trapped by the shadow jutsu and sticky syrup.
Naruto's fireball and the Earth Dragon Bullet hit simultaneously, engulfing the elder Hokage in flame and debris.
But before Naruto even touched the ground, his chakra sensing flared—he vanished in a blur.
Poof!
The ground beneath where he had been exploded upward as the Third Hokage emerged, unharmed, using an Underground Substitution Technique.
He spun his Nyoi Staff into a wide arc, slamming it forward with a twist of his armored shoulders. The staff extended rapidly, growing longer and thinner by the second.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One by one, Naruto's clones were swatted into puffs of smoke. Only the original remained, sticking to the side of a stone wall using Tree-Walking Technique.
"What is this guy—some kind of monkey king?"
Naruto scoffed, forming a hand seal and creating another clone.
Then, with a flick of his wrist—
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A rain of shadow-cloned kunai screamed through the air toward the Third Hokage.
Unbothered, the Hokage stabbed his staff into the ground and made a hand sign.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
Naruto's eyes flashed. He had been waiting for this.
His clone was already holding a dark, swirling chakra sphere in its hand.
Over the past few days, the Third Hokage's clone had used many Earth Release jutsu. Naruto had tested similar conditions against other targets.
"This is it. If I'm right… this is the one."
Flash!
The clone used Flying Thunder God.
BOOM!
The battle ended in an instant.
Ding!
"Congratulations! You've gained experience in Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"
"Congratulations! You've gained experience in Lightning Style: Thunder Smash!"
"Congratulations! You've obtained Earth Chakra Affinity!"
Naruto finally smiled.
He exited the Mirror World and reentered the Sealed Space, walking up to Kurama.
He raised his fist.
"Kurama… we finally have all five chakra natures. We can break the Five Element Seal the Third Hokage placed on me."
The Nine-Tails sat up abruptly and bumped fists with him.
"Heh! You finally collected all five, huh?"
Naruto nodded and exited the sealed space.
As soon as his eyes opened, he saw Sasuke — still panting and slumped against the stone platform.
This time, though, he was wearing armor.
Naruto gave him a once-over, then walked over casually.
"Hey, do you even know how many bowls of rice you eat in a meal?"
Sasuke blinked in confusion, sensing something in Naruto's tone.
He lifted his visor and asked:
"What are you talking about?"
Naruto gave him a small smirk, then said flatly:
"Nothing. Just send one of your clones with me. I'm going to teach him tree-walking."
"Tree-walking?" Sasuke blinked again.
Naruto simply nodded and started walking into the woods.
Back then, Sasuke didn't know anything. He had seen Flying Thunder God once and thought it was a genjutsu.
If not for Naruto, he would've been nothing more than another fodder genin with only Fireball Jutsu.
But since Sasuke had worked hard and created so many clones—
Naruto figured he deserved a little push in the right direction.
Sasuke hesitated, then silently nodded to one of his clones to follow.
Soon, Naruto stopped beside a massive tree and looked at Sasuke's clone.
"Some say failure is the mother of success. You think that's true?"
The clone thought for a moment, then nodded.
Naruto snorted.
"Maybe that's true… for ordinary people."
"What's that supposed to mean?" the clone asked, frowning.
Naruto didn't answer. Instead, he turned to face the tree, placed one foot against the trunk, then calmly walked up it — step by step — until he reached the midpoint.
Sasuke's clone stared, eyes wide.
"You're a ninja. And more than that… you're an Uchiha."
"For a shinobi, as long as you find the right method, there's no such thing as failure."
"And for someone with the Sharingan… success doesn't require sympathy or excuses."
"It has nothing to do with failure."
(End of Chapter)
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