Matatabi paused, its expression puzzled. After a moment, it shook its head.
"I feel like there's something wrong with what you just said… but I can't quite figure out what."
Naruto chuckled softly.
"Just a random joke, that's all. Absolute freedom doesn't exist, especially one-sided. Don't overthink it."
Matatabi's pupils shifted.
"Naruto, what are you planning to do with Kurama when the time comes?"
"Do with Kurama?"
Naruto looked confused.
"Honestly, that's a strange question. You should already know that Kurama and I have an agreement—he'll be freed from my body within sixteen years."
"Once he's free, he can go wherever he wants. I'm just a human—what right do I have to tell Kurama where to go?"
Matatabi lowered its head again, but this time, it pressed its jaw directly against Naruto's head and said in a low voice,
"Kurama personally told me that you're different from other humans. And you already know the truth about the Ten Tails and the Infinite Tsukuyomi. If I'm not wrong, Kurama—"
"What aren't you wrong about?"
A familiar voice rang out beside them. Matatabi froze, slowly lifting its head. Its gaze locked with Kurama's crimson, vertical-slit eyes, already glaring fiercely.
"Kurama, you're back?"
Matatabi greeted awkwardly, then sheepishly shuffled toward a corner of the rather cramped seal space.
"Hmph!"
Kurama's eyes were sharp. "Mind your own business."
"...What's going on?"
Isobu stirred to life, blinking blankly. It had just returned, but the tense atmosphere was obvious.
Why was Kurama glaring so intensely at Matatabi?
"Nothing much," Naruto said with a smile, looking at Kurama.
"We should head back to Konoha."
"Hold up."
Isobu moved in front of Naruto, raising a claw.
"I just picked up a few interesting chakra-release techniques."
"Chakra-release techniques?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes and bumped his fist against Isobu's claw.
"That's… the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation and Air Palm? Wait, you even got Chōji's Butterfly Mode technique?"
"Isobu, don't tell me you cleared all the puppet simulations in the Mirror Dimension?"
"No."
Isobu retracted his claw and continued,
"Matatabi forbade me from going after Han, because in the Mirror Dimension, even his jinchūriki can fully transform into their Tailed Beast. Also, your father's simulation is locked—it can't be challenged."
"And didn't you stop me from fighting Yagura too?" Matatabi's eyes widened, clearly displeased by Isobu's retort.
"Silence!" Kurama roared, then shut its eyes.
"Naruto, didn't you say we're going back? What are you still doing here?"
"Alright, alright."
Naruto laughed as he exited the seal space.
The moment he vanished, Matatabi's body stiffened like a statue. Kurama grinned viciously and immediately entered the Mirror Dimension.
Isobu gave both of them a silent glance, then his own eyes dimmed.
The Next Day
"Uzumaki Naruto! You've gone too far!"
Sasuke was trembling as he glared toward a certain part of the forest. His usually cold face was twisted with rage, his eyes bloodshot—yet his Sharingan hadn't activated.
"What's wrong, Sasuke? Didn't you always want me to train with you?"
A gentle voice drifted out from the woods.
"In the past, I always brushed you off, saying 'next time' or 'some other day.' But not anymore. From now on, I'll help you practice your shuriken skills every day. And I'll even train with you on the Great Fireball Technique."
With the sound of soft footsteps approaching—pad pad pad—the speaker stepped out of the trees. Or rather… they did.
It wasn't just one person—but a whole group of them.
Each one was identical—clad in ANBU gear, and every one of them looked like Uchiha Itachi. After emerging, they didn't speak again—just stared gently at Sasuke from afar.
"Aaah! Aaahhh!!! I'll kill you!!!"
Sasuke roared. His killing intent exploded, electricity arcing over his body as he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
"That was fast…"
One of the Itachis shook his head slightly.
Five more Itachis stepped forward.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Five fierce wind gusts surged forth. Sasuke lasted only a single breath before being sent flying, slamming into a tree with a loud thump.
"Dammit!"
He stood up furiously, pulling out a scroll and giving it a shake.
Poof!
Before the smoke even cleared, Sasuke charged forward once more. Reaching the spot where he was previously blasted back, he leapt into the air.
"Interesting," said the first Itachi with a smile.
Thick mist began to rise from the forest.
"Die!"
Sasuke's Sharingan snapped open. He swung both arms, manifesting an arc-shaped blade of pure chakra that slashed downward.
Boom boom boom!
The mist echoed with the sound of exploding balloons as shadow clones burst one after another. Sasuke landed, panting, wielding a massive pair of cleavers larger than his own body—Hiramekarei.
Gazing at the fog-filled woods, an ominous feeling rose in his chest. Just as he grew alert, a sudden gust slammed toward him.
Clang!
"The Executioner's Blade!"
Sasuke barely managed to block it with Hiramekarei.
He recognized the sword—but the force behind the strike was oddly light?
Before he could dwell on it, the ground began to shake.
"Earth Release: Binding Earth Prison!"
Boom!
Sasuke felt himself plummeting. Sparks danced across his body as he tried to leap free—but then he heard a voice he loathed.
"Forgive me, Sasuke~"
"Water Release: Raging Torrent!"
He looked up just in time to see a waterfall-like surge of water crash down from above.
Then—darkness.
Ten minutes later, Sasuke came to.
But something was off—his eyes were filled with killing intent as he glared at the Itachi clone healing him.
"I really will kill you."
His voice was cold as ice.
"I believe you will," the clone replied with a gentle smile.
"Once you've awakened eyes like mine."
"Die!!"
Lightning flashed. Sasuke's face twisted in fury as he plunged his arm straight through the Itachi's chest.
Poof!
The clone burst into smoke.
"Your hatred… still isn't deep enough."
Another clone appeared, whole and calm.
"Aaaaagh! You'll pay for this!"
Sasuke sprang to his feet, hurling dozens of shuriken in a flash.
Ten minutes later, he sat on the ground again—battered and bruised. And once more, Itachi was the one treating his wounds.
"What the hell do you want?!"
His Sharingan still spun, but he seemed slightly calmer.
The clone smiled.
"My foolish little brother…"
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
Veins bulged on Sasuke's forehead. He couldn't take it anymore.
"Cut it out already!"
"Cut it out?"
The clone stood with a smile.
"You don't like this form? Too bad. From today on, until your Sharingan evolves to three tomoe—your training partner will be Uchiha Itachi."
Sasuke's face twisted.
"What did you say?!"
"I said it clearly."
The clone continued calmly.
"Of course, if you'd rather sit alone in Konoha and figure out training by yourself… I won't stop you."
"You—!"
Sasuke's expression shifted rapidly, visibly torn. After a moment, he said coldly,
"You'll regret this."
The clone chuckled warmly.
"Hearing that, I almost do regret it. Maybe I should have your father come train you instead?"
"Die!!"
Sasuke's eyes gleamed. Out of nowhere, a kunai slashed across the clone's throat.
Half a Year Later
With only a month left until the New Year, the Land of Snow looked unchanged. Its seasonal environment remained cold and white—its climate control tech not yet fully operational.
Naruto's main body sat in a laboratory. On the wall behind him, five large characters were painted in different colors: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water.
He stared at a massive display screen showing a sealed test chamber, several hundred square meters in size. Inside, ten shadow clones stood at evenly spaced intervals, each holding a fiery, orange-red sphere.
Naruto picked up the microphone and said,
"Begin."
The fireballs began to rapidly expand. In mere seconds, they were the size of washbasins. A few heartbeats later, some had grown to over a meter in diameter.
BOOM—
A fiery explosion filled the screen. Data streams instantly began scrolling across it.
"According to the feedback and clone data, when wind chakra is infused, the Fire Release Rasengan shows much lower rejection than the Water Release Rasengan."
"How is that possible? Isn't water supposed to be the most adaptable of all elements? Does that principle not apply to ninjutsu?"
Naruto stared at the monitor, lost in thought. Then, he turned to the five elemental characters on the wall.
"Maybe it really does have to follow elemental weaknesses and compatibility. That would explain why wind chakra works better with a fire-based Rasengan. But what about Ice Release?"
Over the past six months, he had tried injecting wind into a Water Release Rasengan—and water into a Wind Release Rasengan.
The water-based one could barely manage it. But the wind-based Rasengan reacted violently to water chakra—losing control and morphing into a hybrid technique like a water cyclone or a massive storm vortex.
After a while, he created ten more clones.
"If the Fire Release Rasengan shows promise, then we keep testing."
The moment he gave the order, the clones vanished from the lab—and reappeared in the sealed chamber on-screen, forming identical flaming Rasengan.
Meanwhile, in Konoha
Two of the village advisors entered the Hokage's office meeting room.
"Hiruzen, regarding the jinchūriki's post-graduation arrangements, I think you should reconsider carefully," Koharu Utatane said solemnly.
"Reconsider?" the Third Hokage frowned.
"You think my plans for him are inappropriate?"
Homura Mitokado answered with a serious look.
"Yes. We believe it would be safer for the jinchūriki to stay in the village under close supervision. That's how the previous one was handled."
"We also reviewed other villages' protocols. Not a single one trains their jinchūriki in normal squads. Even Kumogakure's 'perfect jinchūriki' is usually kept hidden in a secret location—only summoned when the Raikage gives the order."
"You make a fair point."
The Third Hokage spoke calmly.
"But the current era is different. Konoha needs its jinchūriki to become an active combat asset."
Koharu narrowed her eyes.
"And what about the risks during missions? Jiraiya's intel confirmed that Akatsuki is targeting all the tailed beasts. Plus, there's always the chance he could go berserk."
"Not to mention," she continued, "he doesn't even know about the Tailed Beast inside him. How can you be sure he won't defect after learning the truth? Just look at Iwa's Four-Tails jinchūriki. He ran away too—only returning because Akatsuki forced his hand."
The Third nodded.
"I understand. Don't worry. I've already made arrangements."
Koharu exchanged glances with Homura, then asked again,
"We know you have Yamato monitoring him in secret—but why assign Kakashi to train Uchiha Sasuke?"
The Third Hokage's gaze darkened.
"Even though I've guided the jinchūriki since childhood, I must consider the bigger picture. Yamato's Wood Release isn't on par with the First Hokage. That's why we need the Sharingan—just in case we face another irreversible disaster."
Koharu's tone turned stern.
"Hiruzen, you know the Uchiha can't be trusted. And don't forget—Uchiha Itachi is still alive."
The Hokage shook his head.
"The Uchiha Clan is gone. Sasuke won't be a problem. And if he ever becomes one… someone will fix it."
Hearing that, both advisors nodded in silent agreement.
"But we should continue observing the jinchūriki. Better yet, have someone test him."
"Agreed. He's still young and too easily influenced."
Seeing their insistence, Hiruzen considered a moment.
"Very well. Next month is the New Year graduation exam. I'll make the arrangements then."
That Night – Mirror Dimension
"Yo, Naruto. How do you think that old man's going to test you?"
"Hard to say," Naruto replied.
"If he had a plan already, we'd know by now."
All three tailed beasts wore mocking expressions as they stared at the Third Hokage on the screen. Naruto's eyes were equally amused.
He wondered what move Hiruzen Sarutobi would make next.
Konoha Year 60 – Graduation Exam
"Iruka-sensei… are you sure I passed?"
Naruto looked a little confused. He was the first student called for the exam—but as soon as he walked into the classroom, he was handed a forehead protector without even being tested.
Iruka smiled warmly.
"If you didn't pass, Naruto… then last year's top student would need to retake the whole year."
Naruto chuckled.
"I see. Thanks, Iruka-sensei."
"So Naruto's the top of this year's class, huh?"
Mizuki, who had been sitting nearby, stood up with a sunny smile.
"I'll take him to the records room for registration. You can handle things here, right, Iruka?"
Iruka nodded.
"No problem."
"Let's go, Naruto. Can't believe Iruka actually taught the top student this year."
Naruto nodded back.
"Thanks, Mizuki-sensei."
As they left the classroom, Naruto silently reached out to Kurama in the seal.
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