Chapter 20: Battling KakashiEarly the next morning, Naruto and Sasuke arrived at the training ground, obediently skipping breakfast.In those stories I read before, everyone always ate breakfast and got there late; they really didn't treat Kakashi like a person. Who could be sure that Kakashi was actually late and not just observing from the shadows?To be safe, Naruto decided to play his part well first.At this moment, Naruto was sitting on the ground pretending to doze off, but in reality, he was in the Sealing Space making breakfast for the fox.This was a tacit understanding between the human and the fox. Eating in the Sealing Space was useless for Naruto, but he enjoyed the feeling of eating with the fox.Moreover, the fox could always come up with something new every time it ate, which he never got tired of watching.Sakura was sitting to the side reading a book about medical Ninjutsu, while Sasuke stood with his arms crossed, lost in thought. Of course, it was also possible he was just acting cool.As for Kakashi, he was currently hiding in the bushes, peeping at the three of them.With Naruto's secret reminder, the others also knew Kakashi had already arrived, but they didn't understand why he wouldn't come out.They waited like this until ten o'clock, when Kakashifinally feigned a late arrival."Yo, everyone, good morning."However, when faced with Kakashi's greeting, everyone just stared at him intently, with no one speaking."Ahem, because a black cat walked in front of me, so..."'So what did you do to that black cat?' the three of them thought to themselves."Um, well, okay, the alarm is set for twelve o'clock." Kakashi awkwardly took out a black alarm clock, placed it on a tree stump, pressed the switch, and then took out two bells."Today's lesson is: before twelve o'clock, snatch the bells from my hands. Those without bells will not get lunch, and will have to be tied to the tree stump over there and watch me eat my bento."'So that's why you told us not to eat, huh.' Sasukeand Sakura looked at Kakashi speechless."Wait a second, Teacher, why are there only two bells?" Sakura asked after glancing at the number of bells."Good question. Having only two bells means that one person will definitely be tied to the tree stump, and that person will be considered to have failed the mission, lost their qualification, and be sent back to the academy.At least one person, or at most everyone might have to go back. Oh right, using shuriken is also fine. If you don't hold the determination to kill me, you won't be able to snatch the bells." Kakashi looked at the three of them with a serious expression."Understood." The three said in unison."Mm, plenty of spirit. I'm starting to like you guys. Well then, after I say start, it officially begins."Kakashi hung the bells on his waist, looked at the calm and collected trio in front of him, and spoke."Ready, start!"Following Kakashi's command, the three of them vanished from the spot instantly."A so-called Ninja must be able to hide their own presence well... Hm?" Just as Kakashi sensed Sasuke and Sakura's presence, he suddenly discovered a massive lump of Chakra appearing in front of him, an amount so vast it made even him envious."Let's have a fair and square showdown!" Narutosaid loudly to Kakashi, arms crossed."Huh?" Kakashi tilted his head, looking at Narutowith some confusion."I'm telling you, is there something wrong with you?""The one with the problem is your hairstyle!"Saying this, Naruto charged straight at Kakashi, though he kept his speed relatively slow.Watching Naruto's slow movements, Kakashi didn't make any move, which left Naruto a bit confused.Logically speaking, Kakashi should have taken out his "Make-Out Tactics" book, but he wasn't doing anything, which made him inevitably feel a hint of vigilance.Naruto actually forgot one point: when he was learning swordsmanship from Gekkō Hayate, Kakashi was present. However, the fox hadn't evolved its sensory abilities at that time, which led Naruto to overlook this.So, he actually had a certain concept of Naruto's strength.At this moment, Naruto had already reached Kakashi, throwing a punch that was easily blocked by Kakashi.Immediately following with a roundhouse kick, Kakashi crouched to dodge. Naruto threw another straight punch, and Kakashi vanished right before his eyes.Naruto immediately activated the fox's sensory ability, and then he sensed a fluctuation of Chakrabehind him."Hooked," Naruto thought to himself, but then he felt something was wrong because the temperature behind him suddenly rose."Damn it, still exposed." Naruto cursed unwillingly, his hands quickly forming seals."Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."A massive fireball instantly flew towards Naruto's back. Naruto also turned around instantly and slammed his hands on the ground."Water Release: Water Formation Wall."The collision of water and fire produced a large amount of mist, instantly covering the center of the battlefield."The little guy has quite a lot of bad intentions, doesn't he."Kakashi's voice rang out from within the mist."Likewise."Naruto replied through gritted teeth, then split into several Shadow Clones to surround himself while he crouched down and began fumbling with his legs and arms. The reason he was so angry, besides the failed operation, was that the chili oil, pepper powder, lime powder, and various other underhanded tools he had spent all night preparing were now all wasted.Especially the lime powder; that stuff had cost him a significant amount of his savings to buy. Thinking about it made his heart ache to death, so he decided to stop pretending; he was going to beat Kakashi up to vent his anger.Very quickly, the four weights were removed, totaling eight hundred catties. He had asked the Third Hokage to get them for him when he was ten; after all, he was quite poor, and weighted gear was rather expensive.Kakashi didn't intend to attack at this moment; his original intention was to get a good understanding of his students' strength, so he didn't take any action regarding Naruto removing his weights.However, just because he didn't take action didn't mean the others wouldn't.Several shuriken flew at him from different directions. He used a Kunai to knock them down one by one, but before he could make any other move, a long blade shimmering with lightning had already arrived in front of him.Watching Sasuke raise the blade to slash at him, Kakashi's pupils constricted sharply."Such fast speed," Kakashi remarked internally, dodging to the side at the same time. But he was ultimately a split second too slow, and the lightning-natured Chakra attached to the blade scorched a patch of his flak jacket black."This kid, has he actually already mastered nature transformation and shape transformation?""Shanaroo!"A loud shout came from above Kakashi's head, and a fist shimmering with a metallic luster slammed down towards him.Kakashi dodged this blow by a hair's breadth, but before he could take any action, the fist struck the ground directly beneath his feet. The ground instantly cracked, causing his body to sway, and he hurriedly retreated. A pit over two meters in diameter appeared where he had originally been standing, and a pink-haired girl appeared in the hole."What terrifying power." Kakashi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with lingering fear; if he had been hit by that just now, he would have broken at least a few ribs."Teacher is indeed very strong." Sakura stood up and tapped her fists together, emitting a metallic clanging sound.Kakashi could clearly see that Sakura was wearing a pair of gauntlets on her hands, with earth-natured Chakra flowing over them."Now that's more like a Jonin." Sasuke sheathed his blade and stood in place, staring straight at Kakashi."Jeez, I wanted to catch you off guard, didn't expect you to see through it, Teacher." Naruto held his long blade and slowly walked to stand between the two."I'm telling you guys, isn't this a bit excessive?" Kakashi looked at the three, each equipped with a piece of gear, and all of them high-end items infused with Chakra metal, and couldn't help but twitch his eyelids."Can't help it. After all, you are a Jonin; if we don't go all out, we can't threaten you." Sakura stuck out her tongue playfully and assumed an offensive stance."I don't want to go without lunch; I am super hungry right now." Naruto spun his blade, covering it with wind-natured Chakra."Before killing that man, I cannot stop moving forward." Sasuke assumed the opening stance of Thunder Breathing, lightning surging around his body."Is it necessary to be this serious?" Kakashi spread his hands helplessly."It is!" ×3"Sigh, seeing you all like this, I have to get serious for the first time in a while." Saying this, Kakashipulled up his headband, revealing that spinning three-tomoe Sharingan.Seeing this, Sasuke's pupils just constricted, and he didn't say anything. Kakashi saw that his little trick didn't work, so he didn't waste words and waved at the three little ones."Come on, second round, start."
Chapter 21: End of the Assessment"Second round, start."As Kakashi's voice fell, Sakura was the first to rush forward, her armguards wrapped in Earth-attribute Chakra as she slammed them fiercely towards Kakashi.Kakashi sidestepped to dodge, a short blade suddenly appearing in his hand as he held it to his side, blocking Sasuke, who was attacking from the flank."Chakra weapons, I have those too." Kakashi's voice carried a hint of teasing. When he left the house this morning, he had suddenly spotted this short blade that his father used to use. For some reason, he felt like he absolutely had to bring it along today. So, following his gut, he brought it, and now it was coming in handy."Don't forget about me!" Naruto's voice appeared behind Kakashi, his long sword carrying fierce Wind-attribute Chakra as it thrust straight towards Kakashi's kidney area."What a troublesome kid!" Feeling the target of Naruto's attack, Kakashi, with lines of black sweat on his forehead, activated the Body Flicker Technique to escape the trio's encirclement.Just as he landed, however, he felt three fierce wind blades sweeping towards him."He even has sensory abilities?" Kakashi thought to himself, but his hands didn't stop. As he completed the hand seals, he slapped the ground, and an earth wall instantly rose, blocking the three wind blades."Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire!"Several small fireballs flew towards Kakashi from the side. Having a deep understanding of the Uchiha's Fire Release, he naturally knew the insidious trick behind this move.These were no ordinary fireballs; each one concealed a high-speed shuriken.Instead of choosing to counter with Ninjutsu, he leaped straight backward, only to discover to his surprise that the fireballs turned to follow him.Soon, he caught sight of a thin wire attached to the back of each fireball, and the other ends of the wires were held in Sasuke's hands."Manipulated Shuriken Technique? Splendid." The fireballs hit Kakashi directly, but at the moment of impact, Kakashi exploded into a puff of smoke."A Shadow Clone?" Sasuke looked with some surprise in the direction where Kakashi had disappeared, then turned to look at Naruto."Over there!" Naruto pointed in a direction, and Sakura instantly leaped high into the air, throwing a punch at the spot Naruto indicated.Accompanied by a massive rumbling sound, the ground in that area was smashed into a deep crater by Sakura, and Kakashi jumped straight out from the earth."That was close, so close. I almost got hit." Kakashiwiped his forehead with some lingering fear, then looked at Naruto."This sensory ability is truly terrifying. To think you could find me even there.""Hehe, Sensei, if you don't start getting serious, you're going to lose." Naruto smiled and pointed his sword at Kakashi."You've got a big mouth, kid." The tomoe in Kakashi's eye began to spin, and he then looked at Sakura."Ninja Battle Tactics, Number One: Genjutsu.""Oh no, it's Genjutsu." Sasuke's pupils contracted. He instantly arrived in front of Sakura, blocking Kakashi's follow-up attack so Sakura wouldn't be eliminated immediately.Naruto had warned them about Genjutsu, but being warned didn't mean they could block it. The Genjutsu of a Three-Tomoe Sharingan was an instant kill for most shinobi, and very few could block it, which was one of the reasons the Uchiharan rampant on the battlefield.In a battle between Ninja, victory or defeat is often decided in an instant. Once caught, even if one breaks free from the Genjutsu quickly, it is enough to die several times over on the battlefield.As for Sasuke, an Uchiha who spent every day playing with swords alongside Naruto, his cultivation in Genjutsu was practically non-existent. Aside from the time he and Naruto tricked Iruka, he had never used Genjutsu again. To put it bluntly, his current Sharingan was just a dynamic vision enhancer and a Genjutsu firewall; he hadn't even unleashed fifty percent of its true capabilities.Having basically no research in Genjutsu, he could only guard Sakura at this moment, unable to take the initiative to attack.Now, it was Naruto's turn to act.He quickly created a dozen Shadow Clones and rushed towards Kakashi, his long sword carrying violent Lightning-attribute Chakra as his physical speed suddenly surged."Dance of the Crescent Moon: Multi-Chain!" All the Shadow Clones, including the original body, attacked Kakashi continuously from different directions. The speed was so fast that even Kakashiwas slightly overwhelmed."Hayate really lost out by not charging you for this sword technique." Kakashi teased as he dealt with Naruto's attacks.These words left Gekkō Hayate, who was watching the battle through a crystal ball alongside Sandaime, speechlessly grumbling."It's not like I created this sword technique. This is Nidaime-sama's sword technique, okay? If anyone's charging, it should be Nidaime-sama."Just after he finished grumbling, he slapped his own forehead, realizing he had been completely sidetracked by Kakashi.Seeing this, Sandaime burst out laughing."You still have the energy to talk? It seems my attacks aren't strong enough." Naruto gritted his teeth and intensified his onslaught.Feeling the force transmitted through his short blade, Kakashi instantly shut his mouth.So this kid actually hadn't used his full strength yet? This power is probably even stronger than Sakura's."Thunderclap and Flash: Six Fold!"With a roar from Naruto, violent lightning began to surge around all the Shadow Clones. They then flashed rapidly and irregularly around Kakashi, while their swords slashed at Kakashi at lightning speed.The speed was so great that Kakashi's Sharinganspun furiously, the tomoe almost merging together.However, this was the first time they had coordinated with so many Shadow Clones, and the supposedly continuous attacks still showed a flaw, allowing Kakashi to find an opening to strike.With a Body Flicker, he arrived right in front of Naruto's real body, thrusting his short blade straight at Naruto's chest. At this stage, Naruto didn't have so many tricks up his sleeve, so his real body was still quite easy to find.Naruto's pupils contracted, and he immediately raised his sword to block. However, the expected attack did not come. Kakashi abruptly retracted his short blade mid-way, lowering his body until he was almost flat on the ground.His left foot kicked up fiercely against Naruto's chin, sending him flying straight into the air.With another Body Flicker, he appeared beneath Naruto. Two rolls of bandages appeared in his hands, wrapping Naruto up like a zongzi. He then grabbed Naruto, spinning him head-first, and slammed him toward the ground.With a loud crash, Naruto smashed a huge crater into the ground. Kakashi leaped away before landing, having adjusted Naruto's landing posture from head-first to back-first."Ninja Battle Tactics, Number Two: Taijutsu."Kakashi stood up, patted the dust off his hands, and turned to look at Sasuke, who was still guarding Sakura."Only you are left. Well, are you going to run away?" Kakashi's voice carried a hint of teasing, his tone returning to its previous laziness."Impossible!" Sasuke said resolutely."If you abandon the dead weight behind you, you still have a chance to grab a bell." Kakashi's enticing voice continued."In your dreams. If you want me to abandon my comrades, it'll be over my dead body." Sasukesquatted slightly, taking an offensive stance. The lightning around him raged wildly, making him look like a thunder god descended to earth, while the Sharingan in his eyes spun rapidly."Is that so?"Saying this, Kakashi began to slowly form hand seals, and soon, a surging torrent of lightning also began to swirl around his body."Ninja Battle Tactics, Number Three: Ninjutsu."As Kakashi's voice fell, a ball of violent lightning formed entirely from Chakra began to appear in his hand, emitting a piercing sound like the chirping of a thousand birds, accompanied by rumbling sounds like exploding thunder."You should have investigated me, right? As the so-called Copy Ninja, I have indeed copied quite a few Ninjutsu, but this technique is my very own exclusive creation."Kakashi slowly raised his head, his eyes cold as he looked at Sasuke, who was staring intently at him."S-rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu: Lightning Cutter!"As Kakashi's voice fell, he transformed into a flash of lightning, instantly appearing in front of Sasuke, his right hand's four fingers pressed together as he thrust straight toward Sasuke's chest.Even though Sasuke's eyes saw it, his body could hardly react."Damn it, move! Move!" Sasuke roared in his mind, his face contorted. Seeing Kakashi's attack about to hit him, at this critical moment, his body finally moved.With extreme effort, he managed to twist his body aside. However, a bloody scratch was still grazed across his chest, and a burnt smell wafted from the wound.But before he could rejoice in dodging the attack, he found that Kakashi's assault had not stopped. Instead, it thrust straight toward Sakura behind him."Sakura!" Sasuke shouted in panic, hoping to wake Sakura up, but Sakura still stood there, completely motionless.Just as Kakashi's attack was about to hit Sakura, a long sword wrapped in a stream of water suddenly appeared in front of Sakura, steadily blocking the attack."What?" Seeing Naruto suddenly appear, Kakashi's pupils shook. He hadn't expected that after taking that hit, Naruto would actually be able to stand back up.However, his shock was a bit premature."Shanaroo!"A sharp roar suddenly erupted from Sakura's mouth. Her right fist slammed fiercely into Kakashi's chest, and immediately after, Sasuke's foot, carrying the power of thunder, kicked Kakashi in the side.Yet before the three of them could rejoice, Kakashiexploded into a puff of smoke and vanished from before their eyes."Another Shadow Clone?!" the three of them yelled, gritting their teeth. They immediately stood back-to-back, on guard against an attack that could come at any moment."What do we do, Naruto? This guy is too slippery, we can't catch him at all." Sasuke's voice carried a hint of irritation. Even in a three-on-one fight, they couldn't even manage to injure their opponent."There's no other way. We have to use our trump card." Naruto was also helpless. He originally didn't want to use the fox's Chakra, but in this situation, they clearly couldn't win without a buff.Subsequently, a layer of red Chakra bubbles began to slowly surface on Naruto's body. Just as it was about to envelop him, a voice entered the trio's ears."Stop!!" Kakashi instantly appeared in front of the three of them, interrupting Naruto's actions."Don't just use the Tailed Beast's power so casually." Kakashi pressed down on Naruto's head, his hand suddenly stiffening as he spoke somewhat helplessly."What's there to fear? It's not like I'll lose control." Naruto curled his lip and said."It's just an exercise, there's really no need." Kakashipulled his forehead protector back down, covering his Sharingan."Then what about our assessment?" Sasuke looked at Kakashi and asked."That is, naturally... everyone passes."
Chapter 22: The First Mission"Everyone passes!" Kakashi looked at the three of them and said with a smile."Yay! We don't have to go back to the academy!" Sakura instantly jumped up in joy."Finally, we can eat." Naruto rubbed his stomach and said."Tch, I still don't feel completely satisfied." That was Sasuke."You three..." Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose in resignation.Kakashi pulled out two more bento boxes from his backpack, and the four of them enjoyed a pleasant lunch together. Although Naruto didn't get full, he really liked this kind of atmosphere."We start official missions tomorrow. Don't be late," Kakashi instructed after finishing his meal, and then he left."What do you guys think?" Sakura asked, looking at Naruto and Sasuke."Training, of course. We need to make up for yesterday," Naruto said with a shrug."Indeed. To coordinate with you, I didn't train at all yesterday," Sasuke said, looking at Naruto with a trace of resentment."Then let's go, the usual spot." Naruto waved his hand and led the two of them toward their training ground.Arriving at the training ground, the three of them first held a brief meeting to review today's battle and reflect on their shortcomings."Honestly, I feel like we didn't show our full strength this time. We got defeated before we could even use many of our powerful moves."Naruto rubbed his chin. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something strange about this test."True. I get the feeling he was intentionally trying to end it as quickly as possible," Sasuke added."Do you think Kakashi-sensei has detailed intelligence on us?" Sakura glanced at them and whispered.Hearing Sakura's words, both Naruto and Sasukefroze. They exchanged a glance and blurted out in unison, "That's it!""No wonder something felt off. Except for that last move, he suddenly burst with power against Sakuraand me, taking us down in an instant." Narutoscratched his head in frustration. If he had known this earlier, he could have prepared for it."But where did he get his intelligence from?" Sakuratilted her head in thought."The Third Hokage?" Sasuke guessed."Probably not. I specifically talked to the old man, and he wouldn't lie to me about something like this." Naruto thought for a moment, and suddenly, someone came to mind."Yo, Hayate." Kakashi, who had come to the Hokage Building to submit his report, happened to spot Gekkō Hayate, who was about to change shifts."Kakashi-senpai, how was it? The intelligence this time." Gekkō Hayate looked at Kakashi with a sly grin."Ah, it was a huge help. But is it really okay for you to do this? That kid is technically your disciple, isn't he?" Kakashi smiled and gave a thumbs-up."Hehe, that kid needs to learn a lesson. Who told him to think intelligence wasn't important back then?" Gekkō Hayate chuckled mischievously."Honestly, that was like six years ago, wasn't it? You really hold a grudge," Kakashi said, facepalming with a sigh."It's for his own good. His strength can grow, but his attitude can't get arrogant, or he'll easily suffer for it. It's better to suffer a setback from one of our own than at the hands of an enemy.""You really went to great lengths for Naruto's sake.""That kid is like a younger brother to me. I hope he can go far. After all, he has the potential."Meanwhile, Naruto, who had been the recipient of this "well-meaning care," was currently clutching his head and rolling around on the ground in a tantrum."Ahhhh! Hayate-sensei, you actually sold me out! Ahhhh!"Sakura and Sasuke watched Naruto helplessly, wanting to comfort him but not knowing what to say.This habit of Naruto's actually carried over from his past life. In the Xu family, except for Mother Xu, everyone loved to fool around. If things went well, it was fine, but if they didn't, throwing tantrums and rolling on the floor was the least of it. Because of this, everyone got whipped by Mother Xu more than once.After quite a while, having thrown enough of a fit, Naruto finally scrambled up from the ground, muttering grumpily that he would definitely get his revenge later."Alright, if you're done fooling around, hurry up and continue the review," Sasuke said with a sigh."Oh." Naruto reluctantly shuffled over and resumed scribbling and drawing on the paper.However, while the three were discussing, the fox's voice suddenly echoed in Naruto's mind."Brat, you are truly too weak.""Huh?!" Already angry, Naruto immediately saw red."You smelly fox! What's that supposed to mean?! You want to fight?!""Hmph, you are not even worthy of being this old man's opponent." The fox tilted his chin up, retorting with a look of disdain."You, you, you!" Naruto was so angry his words sputtered. His face flushed bright red, and he began to emit white steam like a steam engine."Despite possessing my sensing ability, didn't you notice that the brat named Kakashi barely had any Chakra left at the time?"The fox's words stunned Naruto, and his face, which had looked ready to burst with blood, began to return to normal."You mean Kakashi was out of Chakra back then?""Why else do you think he wanted to end it quickly? His control over Chakra is extremely precise—precise enough to know exactly how much Ninjutsuit would take to deal with you while keeping enough in reserve."The fox's words made Naruto steal a few extra glances at him. After all, the fox rarely praised anyone."If he hadn't miscalculated your physical endurance and ended up getting outplayed by you guys at the end, he should have finished the battle with energy to spare. After all, he even calculated exactly how long it would take that little girl to break free from his genjutsu."Perhaps spending so much time with Naruto had lessened the fox's hatred for humans, as there was actually a hint of admiration in his eyes when he spoke of Kakashi.Naruto, however, wasn't too surprised by this. After all, with a negative buff that constantly drained his Chakra, Kakashi would have been beaten to death long ago from overconsumption if he hadn't learned to control it."But that's not right. When he was right in front of me, I clearly sensed that he still had quite a bit of Chakra left."Naruto scratched his head, trying hard to recall the situation at the time, and raised his doubts."Hehe, do you remember when he put his hand on your head?" the fox said with a sly laugh."I remember. What about it?""This old man helped replenish some of his Chakraat that moment.""You! You!" Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He opened his mouth and started rapping a storm of complaints, while the fox simply blocked his own hearing and continued happily devouring his food.Because Naruto was out of it, Sasuke ended up leading the review. Afterward, the three began their sparring practice—a three-way, one-on-one-on-one free-for-all.However, most of the time it was Naruto in a one-versus-two. Since they hadn't fought to their hearts' content in the morning, all kinds of skills were flying everywhere during the afternoon spar, completely plowing up the entire training ground.After they finished, Naruto and Sasuke became Sakura's practice targets for healing. Though it was mostly Sasuke; Naruto's recovery rate was so terrifyingly fast that it was impossible to tell whether Sakura's healing was working or if he was just recovering on his own.Early the next morning, the three arrived at the meeting spot they had agreed upon with Kakashi. Today, Kakashi was surprisingly not late, arriving right on the dot."As Team 7's first mission... let's see, cleaning up trash in the lower reaches of the river. Hmm, let's go. Let's try to get it done this morning. We still have to help out at the pasture this afternoon."With that, Kakashi put away the mission scroll and turned to leave, leaving the three of them staring at each other in bewilderment."I remember this guy usually talks a lot. How come he's so quick and straightforward this time?" Narutoscratched his head and followed. Sasuke and Sakura didn't say anything, just shrugged and quickly caught up with Kakashi.The master and his three disciples made their way to the Liusha River—bah, wrong story.When they arrived at the lower reaches of the river that needed cleaning, they were greeted by all kinds of trash floating on the water, as well as the murky, slightly foul-smelling river."How long has it been since this was cleaned?" Sasuke looked at the scene with utter disgust."Isn't this supposed to be running water? Why does it feel like a stagnant pond?" Naruto looked further downstream, somewhat puzzled."Hehe, you'll find out once you finish cleaning. There's a surprise waiting," Kakashi said, glancing at Naruto and then upstream, his voice tinged with amusement."Kakashi's words instantly put Naruto on high alert. When this old slacker spoke like that, there was bound to be trouble. He was definitely up to no good."Still, the cleaning had to be done. Holding long tongs, the three stood on the water's surface and began clearing the trash.Kakashi leaned against a tree trunk and read his adult novel. Since the three already knew how to walk on water, there wasn't much for him to do, making this much easier than he had expected.He was comfortable, but Naruto and the others were miserable. It wasn't so bad standing on the bank, but once they were in the middle of the river, the stench instantly made their scalps tingle.Having just finished clearing the trash on the surface, Sakura was already starting to find it unbearable."I can't take it anymore, it's way too smelly." Sakuraretreated to the bank, taking deep gulps of fresh air."Naruto, think of something." Sasuke also took a few strained breaths."Hmm, let me think." Naruto rubbed his chin, looked at the river water, and then at a certain slacker leisurely reading a book in the tree. Getting a sudden inspiration, he grinned mischievously."I've got an idea."Immediately after, Naruto summoned dozens of Shadow Clones. Some ran toward the upstream, while others began forming hand signs, aiming their direction right at Kakashi.
Chapter 23: Panda TofuKakashi Hatake, who was reading, suddenly felt a cool breeze blow by, which made him feel refreshed. Just as he was preparing to adjust to a more comfortable position, a foul stench hit him, making him frown.As a Jonin, this level of odor wasn't enough to make him lose his composure, but the breeze carrying this stench was clearly abnormal.He put away his book, turned his head, and saw a sight that made his vision go dark.The original river had simply disappeared, revealing the foul-smelling mud at the bottom. Several of Naruto's Shadow Clones were standing on the bank, wind-attribute Chakra gushing from their hands, directed right at him.Kakashi couldn't help but rub his forehead. This kid was just like his teacher's wife, both fond of pranks, and he had even diverted the river. Thinking of this, he shook his head and moved to another spot to continue lying down.Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto, along with a bunch of Shadow Clones, were using the iron shovels provided by Naruto to grunt and clear the mud.Naruto had made these himself. Apart from cooking, his other hobby was blacksmithing, for which he had specifically gone to Tenten's shop to learn for a while.Besides some tools, he had also forged quite a few weapons. Although he didn't know how to use them, they looked cool. He even planned to forge a "Monkey King" set for himself once he came of age; it would definitely be super cool, although those two pheasant tails were hard to find.As Sasuke was digging, he suddenly felt his shovel hit something. He used the shovel to push aside the mud, and what he saw was an object emitting a metallic luster with characters engraved on it, which looked very familiar.He pulled Naruto over to see if he had seen it anywhere before.As soon as Naruto took one look, he froze.On it was a string of characters he was all too familiar with: "Shi Ba Zi Zuo".He instantly understood what the "surprise" Kakashimentioned was.He hurriedly told his Shadow Clones to run upstream. Before long, he received news from his Shadow Clones: the upstream area was his private territory.So, the blockage downstream was actually caused by himself.Thinking of this, Naruto couldn't help but slap his forehead. With a melancholic look, he patted Sasukeon the shoulder, said nothing, and turned back to continue working.Seeing Naruto like this, Sasuke understood somewhat. His mouth twitched, and he also turned his head to continue working, though he felt a bit guilty toward Sakura, who was still grunting and digging through the mud with a pained expression.Naruto took 60% of the blame for the downstream blockage, and Sasuke took 40%. When they fought, they often knocked all sorts of junk into the river. This time, they had sabotaged themselves, and dragged Sakura into it too. Both tacitly agreed not to mention it, fearing a beating.After clearing the riverbed, the three planned to go home and take a bath. However, Sakura felt the other two were looking at her strangely, making her wonder if she had been pickled by the stench. Terrified, she didn't even say goodbye and ran straight home.In the afternoon, Kakashi brought the three to the ranch. The task this time was to clean the ranch and milk the cows.Sasuke was somewhat reluctant; he thought doing these tasks was a waste of time. Sakura was fine with it; her focus was currently on medical Ninjutsu, and her head had been aching from reading books lately, so doing tasks to relax was quite nice.Only Naruto was the most excited. Although he lived in the mountains in his past life, he had never seen a cow before. His curiosity about new things filled him with motivation."Sasuke, don't look so reluctant. Look how fun this is," Naruto nudged Sasuke and said with a grin."Only you would find this interesting," Sasukesighed helplessly."I really want to do some high-difficulty missions."Kakashi looked at the three with some surprise. He hadn't expected Sasuke to be the first to lose his patience; he had originally thought it would be Naruto. However, he didn't intend to take on C-rank missions just yet; he wanted to polish these three little brats' temperaments first.Thinking of this, Kakashi continued reading with peace of mind.Time flew by, and over a week passed. Narutoworked conscientiously without showing any signs of impatience, while Sasuke's expression grew uglier, and even Sakura was gradually becoming impatient.After all, Naruto knew the plot, so he was waiting for Tazuna. This old man was dishonest; he had described what was at least an A-rank mission as a C-rank one.C-rank missions were usually taken by Chunin and Genin. For a mission to a small country like the Land of Waves, given the Third Hokage's personality, he would definitely reserve it for a Genin team as a test.With a Jonin backing them up, doing a C-rank mission was no problem.The problem was, there were currently only three Genin teams in the village, and Neji's team was out on a mission.As for the boss of Tazuna's mission, Zabuza Momochi, an S-rank rogue ninja who could go back and forth with Kakashi—it was hard to say if Asumacould beat him, but Kurenai definitely couldn't.If Kurenai ended up taking the mission, he would probably only be able to drink with Asuma in front of his grave.And Zabuza would also gain the honor of being hunted across the Ninja World by the son of the Third Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.As for whether Kurenai would give up the mission at the Demon Brothers?Naruto's answer was impossible. With Kiba there, it was impossible to let Kurenai give up the mission. Hinata's gradually growing competitive spirit, which she hadn't even noticed herself, wouldn't let her choose to give up either. Although Shino was more rational, if Kiba and Hinata chose to continue, he wouldn't refuse.Therefore, to avoid the above situation, Naruto had to snatch this mission.However, with Sasuke's current state, if he wasn't allowed to vent, he would probably blow up. Tazunawouldn't come to Konoha for at least another half a month, so he couldn't let Sasuke ruin his plan.In the evening, Naruto and Sasuke, having finished their training, were lying on the sofa resting, while Naruto's Shadow Clone was cooking.It was strange; Naruto always felt his Shadow Clones were becoming less and less normal. Like this one, every time it appeared, it was holding a kitchen knife. It didn't like to fight or train; it just loved to cook, calling itself "Uzumaki Little Master Chef.""Little Master Chef, is dinner ready? I'm starving." Naruto lay on the sofa listlessly, like a dried-out salted fish."Don't rush me. Good cuisine requires tempering through a thousand trials," the voice of the Little Master Chef came from the kitchen. Soon, he pushed out a dining cart.There were two plates on the cart, covered by semi-circular iron lids.Then, the Little Master Chef placed the plates in front of Naruto and Sasuke respectively and simultaneously lifted the lids.Two dazzling rays of golden light appeared before the three of them as the lids were lifted."Holy crap! Glowing cuisine! You actually managed to research this??" Naruto looked at the Little Master Chef with an expression like he'd seen a ghost."Heh heh, of course. You must know I was born for cooking!" The Little Master Chef's expression was incredibly proud at this moment.When the golden light shone on his face, Sasukefelt a warmth, and his originally restless heart calmed down a little.As the golden light faded, two plates of black and white tofu, like exquisite white jade and obsidian, appeared before them."Panda Tofu, has the effect of calming the mind and spirit. Please enjoy." The Little Master Chef placed the lids on the cart, but he didn't notice that the cloth on the cart was folded up a bit, and the lid was pressing right on it, causing a very faint light to leak out from inside.Just as he was preparing to leave, Naruto suddenly called him to stop."Tell me, Little Master Chef, did you hide something in those lids?" Naruto stared at the Little Master Chef's back with a deadpan expression.The Little Master Chef froze on the spot, standing like a statue, completely motionless.Seeing that the Little Master Chef didn't move, Naruto slowly stood up from the sofa and walked toward him.The Little Master Chef was already sweating profusely. Seeing that the matter was exposed, he sighed heavily, turned around, made a classic head-knocking and tongue-sticking gesture at Naruto, and then burst into a cloud of smoke and vanished.Naruto, who received the Little Master Chef's memories, was stunned for a moment, then quickly ran to the cart and flipped the two lids over."You brat! I was wondering where the glowing cuisine came from! You're playing this trick on me, huh! That's really something!!" Naruto gritted his teeth in anger.Sasuke looked up at the two inverted lids and was instantly speechless.The so-called "glowing cuisine" was just the Little Master Chef installing two light bulbs in the lids and using the light reflected off the smooth surface of the Panda Tofu."You brat, not studying cooking properly and messing around with this nonsense all day. Just wait until you come out next time!" Naruto pushed the cart back to the kitchen angrily and opened the remaining dishes. Sure enough, there was a light bulb in every lid.He threw the lids aside, put the other dishes on the cart, pushed them out, and set the whole table full.His and Sasuke's daily training volume was terrifying, so they ate a lot every day. It took this whole table of food plus a large barrel of rice for the two of them to be full.Honestly, he didn't know who ate more, him or Hinata, but it didn't matter. He could afford to raise her no matter how much she ate; the ingredients were endless anyway."Naruto, this dish, you did it on purpose, right?" After the meal, Sasuke pointed to the plate that held the Panda Tofu and said to Naruto."Yeah, you saw through it, huh." Naruto made the same head-knocking and tongue-sticking gesture as the Little Master Chef, which made Sasuke's forehead twitch with black lines."Stop acting cute, it's disgusting. Why did you suddenly think of making this dish?" Sasuke looked at Naruto with an extremely disgusted expression and said."It's because I saw you were always restless lately, and your training was distracted, so I thought I'd help you calm down." Naruto shrugged, then leaned back on the sofa, pillows his head with his hands and said."...Thanks, but..."However, before Sasuke could finish his sentence, Naruto interrupted him."I know you want to become stronger and want revenge, but in your current restless state, your training won't achieve the desired results. In this state, can you really become stronger?"
Chapter 24: I Plan to Die for a BitAt night, Sasuke lay in his room alone, staring blankly at the ceiling. Naruto's words made it hard for him to fall asleep.He also knew that training couldn't be rushed, but the more he realized this, the more anxious he became, falling into a vicious cycle.He got out of bed, put on his shoes, and went to his usual training ground. To his surprise, he found that Naruto was actually there too."Yo, you're finally here?" Naruto turned around and waved at Sasuke."What are you doing?" Sasuke looked at Naruto, who was wearing a skin-tight suit, holding his sword, and staring at him."I knew what I said today would definitely make you overthink things. That's your problem—you're always overthinking and getting yourself stuck in a dead end. So, I plan to give you a goal." Narutostretched his body and gestured for Sasuke to come over."What goal?" Sasuke also drew his sword from his waist, spun it around, and took an offensive stance."The Mangekyo Sharingan." As Naruto's voice fell, he transformed into a bolt of lightning, instantly appearing in front of Sasuke. The power bursting from his long sword sent Sasuke flying back."How do you know about that?" Sasuke didn't counterattack immediately after landing. That single strike had completely numbed his entire arm, with a force several times more terrifying than Sakura's."What do you think?" Naruto said, pointing to his stomach.Meanwhile, inside the Sealing Space, Naruto's Shadow Clone was already voluntarily preparing a feast for the fox."So? Do you have a way to help me awaken it?" Sasuke, recovering his breath, rotated his wrist and looked at Naruto with a serious expression."Not for now, but I have some ideas. Want to hear them?" Naruto took a defensive stance, signaling Sasuke to attack."Let's hear it." Seeing Naruto's stance, Sasuke didn't hold back. With a swing of his long sword, a massive fireball appeared at the tip. He then pressed it down, sending the fireball hurtling straight toward Naruto."The Uchiha's Sharingan requires intense emotional fluctuations to awaken—anger, hatred, love, and so on. As long as the emotion is intense enough, it can be awakened.But you happen to be an outlier. Your mind is too strong, which is why the death of your entire clan only allowed you to awaken a single tomoe. If anyone else had faced that situation, they would have gone mad long ago." Facing the fireball, Narutocalmly slashed his sword upward. A pillar of mud, a mixture of water and earth, shot into the sky, crashing directly into the fireball and causing a violent explosion."So? Is that a compliment or an insult?" Using the explosion as cover, Sasuke charged straight into the center of the blast, instantly appearing before Naruto and slashing down with his sword."Just take it as a compliment. The reason you couldn't use the Sharingan afterward was first because your body was too weak, and second because your mind was still that of a normal person, not warped by hatred. If I hadn't fed you so much food, you might not have been able to awaken it again even if you were beaten to death that day," Naruto said as he clashed with Sasuke."So physical fitness is also a factor?" Sasuke dodged Naruto's slash and immediately threw several shuriken."You could say that, but the key is still the burst of emotion." Naruto knocked down all the shuriken and then unleashed three wind blades."But when I awakened my second and third tomoe, I didn't have much of an emotional outburst either." Lightning flickered beneath Sasuke's feet, and with a swing of his long sword, he dispersed the wind blades."No duh, how much food had I fed you by then? Your physical fitness far exceeded that of your peers, and your Ocular Power was practically overflowing back then. Hinata told me that something kept seeping out of your eyes, which is why I chose to stimulate you. The result was obvious; the awakening went very smoothly." A fireball identical to the one Sasuke had created earlier erupted from Naruto's sword, and he hurled it toward Sasuke."So you plan to stimulate me now too?" Sasukelowered his body, lightning coating his sword. With a sudden thrust forward, he pierced straight through the fireball, the tip of his blade pointing directly at Naruto's chest."No, I plan to die for a bit." Naruto sheathed his sword, opened his arms, and welcomed Sasuke's strike.With a squelch, the sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang in Sasuke's ears. This strike cleanly ran through Naruto's chest."Are you out of your mind?! Why didn't you dodge?!" Sasuke's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. He went completely numb, letting go of the sword and shouting at Naruto."Pfft, cough, cough... Didn't... didn't I tell you? I... I plan to... die... die for a bit..." Naruto spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, swayed twice, and fell straight backward.As Naruto hit the ground, the long sword in his chest caused secondary damage, and a large amount of blood instantly gushed from his chest."Naruto!!!" Only now did Sasuke realize something was terribly wrong. He let out a loud cry and rushed to Naruto's side."Naruto! Naruto!! Don't scare me! Tell me this is a joke, right? Tell me! Tell me! Say something! Naruto!!!" Looking at the gaping wound on Naruto's chest that was still gushing blood, Sasuke broke down completely, utterly lost on what to do.However, Naruto's eyes had already begun to lose their luster. Blood and foam kept spilling from his mouth, and he no longer had the strength to speak."Naruto, don't die. Please, don't die, Naruto! Naruto!!"Meanwhile, inside the Sealing Space."Emmm, kid, don't you think you're going a bit too far?" Kurama looked at Sasuke sobbing in despair over Naruto's body outside, his face twisted in exasperation."Uh, well, I actually want to say that I didn't plan to make myself look this pathetic. Do you believe me?" Naruto scratched his cheek awkwardly."...Just keep playing with fire. Don't blame me when you get beaten up later." The Nine-Tails glanced at Naruto, then chugged the cola in his cup, letting out a satisfied burp."By the way, Kurama, my body is in this state. Is it really okay? I won't actually end up dead, right?" Naruto felt that something was off, which made him panic a bit."Don't worry, with this old man here, you won't die." The Nine-Tails continued eating meat very calmly."Um, Kurama, have you noticed that it seems to be getting darker and darker around here?" Narutolooked around, swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly.Hearing Naruto's words, the Nine-Tails froze. He raised his head to look around, and a bead of sweat the size of a bean suddenly appeared on his round forehead."Fox, fox, say something! Don't scare me!" Narutolooked at the Nine-Tails, his voice trembling on the verge of tears."Sh-Shut up, this old man... this old man is thinking." The Nine-Tails was also panicking now. According to his original plan, a stab wound on Naruto could easily be healed. But now, he realized his Chakrawasn't working at all—or rather, the effect was so weak that it was completely insufficient to save Naruto's life in this situation.Just as he was frantically trying to think of a solution, he suddenly saw the sword in Naruto's chest."Oh no, the residual Chakra on that sword is still destroying your cells. If we don't pull it out quickly, even this old man won't be able to do anything." The Nine-Tails scratched his head in frustration, extremely anxious."What? Your Chakra has this kind of limitation?! How come I've never heard of this?" Naruto's eyes widened as he stared at the Nine-Tails, his eyes filled with suspicion."Isn't this all your fault?" The fox glared at Narutoand said testily."What does this have to do with me? Don't go shifting the blame onto me!" Naruto pointed at the fox and roared."It's because of that Breathing Style you created! Its destructive power is more than a grade higher than ordinary Chakra. The amount of Chakra this old man used to heal your body before was several times what it takes for normal injuries!" The fox's temper flared up as well, slamming the floor and roaring at Naruto."Bullshit! If it's really that powerful, how could I not beat that salted fish Kakashi!" Naruto jumped in anger, pointing at the fox's nose and cursing."Can you two stop arguing and think of a way quickly? I feel like I'm getting weaker and weaker." The Shadow Clones, who were originally cooking for the fox, were now lying on the ground, unable to move.In the outside world, Sasuke suddenly felt an intense, piercing pain in his eyes. A strange power was gathering toward them.Tears of blood flowed from his eyes. The tomoe in his eyes began to spin and merge, finally forming a bizarre pattern that somewhat resembled a clock, but without the markings."Ame-no-Minakanushi!" An icy voice escaped Sasuke's mouth. Immediately, a strange ripple appeared around Naruto's body.Immediately after, Naruto's body seemed to have its rewind button pressed. The blood flowed back into his body, the wound began to heal, and his entire body stood straight up from the ground, with the sword in his chest slowly pulling itself out.Inside the Sealing Space, Naruto, the Nine-Tails, and the Shadow Clones all seemed to enter a rewind mode. Especially the Nine-Tails—the food he had eaten and the drinks he had chugged flew back out of his mouth, landing back onto the plates and into the cups.However, during this rewind process, their consciousnesses remained clear. Their memories did not rewind along with their bodies.However, just as the sword was halfway out, Sasuke collapsed straight to the ground, his eyes rolling back, foaming at the mouth, completely unconscious.The moment the rewind stopped, Naruto returned to the outside world to take control of his body and immediately pulled the long sword out."Kurama, heal me quickly!" Naruto shouted in his mind. He immediately ran over to Sasuke, checked his breathing, and finding that he was still alive, immediately carried him on his back and sprinted toward the Konoha Hospital."An overexertion of mental energy and Chakra. He needs to rest for about a week. I'll give him some treatment and put him on an IV drip, and he should basically recover," the attending physician said to Naruto, pushing up his glasses."Alright, thank you, Doctor. Sorry for the trouble." Naruto bowed politely in gratitude."You must progress step-by-step during your usual training. Don't let this kind of situation where you train yourself to exhaustion happen again, otherwise it will damage your lifespan." The doctor's voice was very serious. These two were the future of Konohahandpicked by Lord Third; they couldn't be allowed to die young."Yes, I'll definitely be careful next time." Narutobowed again in thanks, then took the bill to pay. The price made his teeth ache, but there was nothing he could do. Sasuke ended up like this entirely because of him, so he could only grit his teeth and bear it."Kurama, maybe I should just open a restaurant," Naruto said, lying on the fox's stomach, his entire being looking completely washed out."...If you're not afraid of that old man, Lord Third, giving you a beating, you can try." The fox glanced at Naruto speechlessly while continuously cleaning the plates and cups with water. That rewind earlier had completely grossed him out. Even though the food had returned to its original state, he still chose to have Naruto's clones clean it up, and had even asked them for quite a few buckets of water to start washing the plates and cups."Sigh, I'm so poor. Oh, right, how about going to the black market to take on bounty missions?" Naruto's eyes lit up, and he sat up to look at the Nine-Tails."...You just can't feel comfortable without causing some trouble, can you? That place is full of rogue ninja. You, a Jinchuriki, going there to take on missions—what, do you want to become a rogue ninja too?" Although the Nine-Tails was used to Naruto's antics, this ridiculous idea of going to the black market to take on missions lowered his estimation of Naruto's bottom line by yet another grade."A rogue ninja? That's not out of the question." Naruto rubbed his chin, seriously considering the idea."Are you crazy? Do you know how many people hunt down rogue ninja? Plus, you're a Jinchuriki. Konoha would probably mobilize everyone to hunt you down. Do you really want to die?" The Nine-Tails sat up in shock, looking at him with utter disbelief."Don't I have you? Besides, being enemies with the entire Ninja World—just thinking about it is thrilling." Naruto's eyes were full of little stars. Clearly, he was genuinely starting to ponder this plan.Seeing this, the Nine-Tails knew things were going south. In truth, he didn't care whether Narutobecame a rogue ninja or not. But once Narutobecame one, it would mean endless pursuit. Combined with his status as a Jinchuriki, it wouldn't be a minor scuffle like with ordinary rogue ninja; Ninja from other nations would definitely get involved as well.Right now, this kid was still too weak, so becoming a rogue ninja wasn't worth it. Most importantly, if the kid had to deal with pursuits every day, he'd lose half his life, and his own food supply would be gone.Thinking of this, the fox immediately spoke up: "If you become a rogue ninja, what about your two little girlfriends?""Huh? Where did I get two little girlfriends? Isn't Hinata my only wife?" Naruto scratched his head, looking at the Nine-Tails in confusion."Heh." The fox suddenly wore a look of utter disdain, leaving Naruto completely dumbfounded."Wait, make yourself clear. I, Uzumaki Naruto, walk straight and act upright. Aside from Hinata, where on earth do I have a second girlfriend?" Naruto was in no mood to think about being a rogue ninja now. This was a matter of his reputation, and he had to hash it out with the fox."Heh." The fox merely responded with another look of disdain, and went back to cleaning the tableware."Kurama, you want to fight, don't you?!""Bring it! Whoever chickens out is a coward!"In an instant, an earth-shattering battle broke out inside the Sealing Space. Except for the sealing gate, almost everything Naruto had decorated was completely trashed. In the end, the battle concluded with the fox performing a body slam, pinning Narutobeneath his butt.As for the matter of becoming a rogue ninja, it had been completely forgotten by Naruto. Today was Kurama's victory—twice.
That's Hard to Look AtChapter 25: A Relationship That Is Hard to Look At DirectlyA week later, Uchiha Sasuke walked out of the hospital with a cold face, while Uzumaki Narutofollowed behind him, carrying a pile of things in various bags.After returning home, Uchiha Sasuke plopped down onto the sofa, crossed his arms, and remained silent, the cold air radiating from him enough to freeze someone to death."Hey, Sasuke, can you stop being angry? Wasn't I just trying to help you awaken your eyes?" Uzumaki Naruto put the things down, came to UchihaSasuke's side, and began massaging his shoulders and pounding his legs with a fawning expression."If this is your method for awakening eyes, then I would rather never awaken them in my entire life." Uchiha Sasuke's voice was devoid of any emotion, terrifyingly cold."There's no other way. The awakening process for your Uchiha clan is just like this; it requires extremely intense emotional fluctuation." Uzumaki Naruto scratched his head and said cautiously."Then how come I didn't feel any strong emotional fluctuation when I evolved to the three-tomoe Sharingan?" Uchiha Sasuke sneered and said coldly."How much of my cooking had you eaten by then? Your Chakra levels and Ocular Power were already fully up to standard, so a little stimulation was enough." Uzumaki Naruto lifted his chin and said with a bit of pride."So you knew I was up to standard back then? Then look at me now, am I up to standard? Hmm? Why did you still need to use this kind of method to stimulate me to awaken my eyes?" Seeing Uzumaki Naruto like this, Uchiha Sasuke's anger flared up, and he grabbed him by the collar and roared."...I just saw that you were in a hurry, so I wanted to try it out." Uzumaki Naruto wiped his face, turned his head away, and said with some embarrassment."No matter how urgent it is, I would never gamble with a companion's life! Do you know what it feels like to kill a companion with your own hands? Do you know how desperate I was when I watched you lose your life force? This feeling—I never want to experience it again in my life." Uchiha Sasuke let go of Uzumaki Naruto, slumped back on the sofa, covered his eyes with his left arm, and a clear tear flowed from the corner of his eye.Uzumaki Naruto looked at Uchiha Sasuke, his heart filled with mixed emotions. The living room fell into silence, with only Uchiha Sasuke's barely audible sobbing."...I'm sorry, it won't happen again." After a long while, Uzumaki Naruto finally spoke."Uzumaki Naruto, this is the last time. If there is a next time, we are finished." Uchiha Sasuke wiped his face, his voice still trembling slightly."Mm."Meanwhile, outside the villa, the expressions of Sakura, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata, and Hanabi were extremely strange."I say, are we still going in?" Hanabi raised her hand weakly and asked in a low voice."I, I don't know." Hinata's expression at this moment was incredibly colorful, containing shock, confusion, sadness, and even a tiny bit of excitement?"How about... we watch a bit more?" Sakura's expression was no less intense, and Inner Sakurawas roaring crazily, smashing things everywhere."I keep feeling like this scene is a bit familiar." InoYamanaka touched her chin and began to ponder."I remember now, it's exactly like those scenes where lovers argue, exactly the same." As she spoke, Ino Yamanaka took out a book, flipped through it, and then waved it in front of Hinata and Sakura."...I feel that if either of these two were a girl, there would be no room for anyone else." Sakura glanced at the book Ino Yamanaka put in front of her and said with her head drooping.In the end, they went in. They had originally come to celebrate Uchiha Sasuke's discharge from the hospital, but now that they had heard something extraordinary, they had to discuss it with the two of them."So, you all heard it?" Uzumaki Naruto scratched his head and asked with some embarrassment."Mm-hmm." The four of them nodded in unison, looking at Uzumaki Naruto, then at Uchiha Sasuke.Uchiha Sasuke was made to feel quite uncomfortable by their gazes, his earlobes turning slightly red, yet he didn't say a word."Since you know, there's nothing to be done about it." Uzumaki Naruto sighed."So, Naruto-kun, what exactly happened?" Hinatagrabbed Uzumaki Naruto's hand, her eyes filled with worry.Immediately, Uzumaki Naruto recounted the events of that day to everyone.Upon learning the ins and outs of the matter, Hinata's expression immediately became ugly."Naruto-kun!""I'm sorry! I was wrong! It will never happen again!" Just as Hinata was about to say something, Uzumaki Naruto immediately stood straight and bowed in apology, which blocked the words Hinata wanted to say right back."Naruto-kun, I know that when it comes to companions, you always spare no effort and do your utmost to help. But, occasionally, you also need to consider yourself and consider me. Everyone gradually became familiar and became friends because of Naruto-kun, but precisely because we are friends, you also need to think about whether your friends can accept you doing things like this." Hinata placed her hand on Uzumaki Naruto's face, stroked his cheek, and said softly."Mm, I know." Uzumaki Naruto took Hinata's hand down, placed it to his lips, and kissed it, smiling."Alright, alright, save the public displays of affection for later. What's the situation with Sasuke-kun?" Sakura resisted the urge to burp, waved her hand, and then looked at Uchiha Sasuke sitting to the side."According to this guy's words, it's that it's awakened, but not fully awakened." Uchiha Sasukepointed at Uzumaki Naruto and said with annoyance."Huh? What does that mean?" Ino Yamanaka looked at Uchiha Sasuke, then at Uzumaki Naruto, somewhat confused."In short, it means he has indeed awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, but he can't use it right now because the hardware foundation isn't up to par." Uzumaki Naruto spread his hands and said."In that case, brother-in-law, didn't you just busy yourself for nothing?" Hanabi's small face wore a hint of imperceptible heartache."Small problem, just need to nourish him more. The main thing is that he overused it right after awakening it that day, leading to physical and mental strain. Just need to build it back up." Uzumaki Naruto waved his hand dismissively, his expression calm and indifferent."Don't you have any idea in your heart why I overused it?" Uchiha Sasuke glanced at Uzumaki Naruto and said coldly."Uh, well, that was a mistake back then. The Fox wasn't pulling its weight, and there was nothing I could do." Uzumaki Naruto smiled awkwardly."Brat, you want to fight again, don't you?" The Fox's somewhat angry voice echoed in Uzumaki Naruto's mind."Ten meals, ten meals, okay?" Uzumaki Narutocrossed his two index fingers and said to the Fox with a fawning expression."Hmph!" The Fox snorted coldly and didn't speak again."In any case, I need to trouble you all to keep this a secret. It must absolutely not be revealed to anyone, including the Old Man." Uzumaki Naruto's tone was very serious.He didn't actually care if others knew, but he had to guard against Danzo. If that guy found out, there's no telling what kind of trouble he'd stir up. Once his strength improved in the future, he'd just deal with Danzo first."Okay, we promise to keep our mouths shut." The four of them looked at each other and immediately nodded in agreement."In that case, for safety's sake, I'll add a restriction to your minds so that others can't probe them even if they want to." Ino Yamanaka raised her hand and said."Will there be any danger?" Uchiha Sasuke asked with a frown. He had a bit of PTSD now and was terrified of letting his companions get hurt because of him again."Rest assured, rest assured, this is something our Yamanaka clan uses specifically to protect secrets. I simplified it a bit and deleted the dangerous parts, though the effect will be a little weaker." InoYamanaka said with a smile."Then thank you, Ino." Sakura spoke first, then went and sat down in front of Ino Yamanaka.Hinata shook her head at Uzumaki Naruto, who was preparing to stop them, then pulled Hanabi along to sit behind Sakura, waiting for Ino Yamanaka to act.Soon, Ino Yamanaka finished placing the restrictions on the three of them, then reached out and tapped her own forehead, setting it up for herself as well."Alright, now there's no problem." Ino Yamanakastood up, clapped her hands, and said somewhat proudly."Now that the matter is resolved, what are your plans for next?" Uzumaki Naruto looked at the four of them and asked."Training." Uchiha Sasuke said directly."I wasn't asking you. Also, the doctor's orders are that you must rest for another week. During this week, you are forbidden from using Chakra and the Sharingan." Uzumaki Naruto rolled his eyes at Uchiha Sasuke and said."Let's go for a walk in the streets. It just so happens our team doesn't have any missions for the next two days." Ino Yamanaka tapped her chin, thought for two seconds, and said."That's perfect, our team doesn't have any missions either. You and Sakura take him away, so he doesn't sneak off to train when he's idle." Uzumaki Narutopointed at Uchiha Sasuke and said."Why our team doesn't have missions, I hope someone reflects on that properly." Sakura glanced at Uzumaki Naruto with annoyance."Ahem, let's skip this topic, okay, skip it. Hinata, what about you guys?" Uzumaki Naruto coughed dryly twice, then turned his head to look at Hinata."Naruto-kun, do you want to go for a stroll too? Our team also has a three-day holiday." Hinata extended an invitation to Uzumaki Naruto."Sure, wherever Hinata-chan wants to go, I'll go with you." Uzumaki Naruto accepted decisively."I say, brother-in-law, did you forget something?" At this moment, Hanabi's voice came eerily."Huh? Did I?" Uzumaki Naruto scratched his head and asked, somewhat confused."The promise! You completely forgot about the promise you made to me, right? What happened to taking me out to play once a week? Last week I waited for you all day with eager anticipation, and it was one thing that you didn't show up, but are you planning to stand me up again this week!" Hanabislapped the table and shouted at Uzumaki Naruto, huffing with anger."Ah!! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. Last week, because of that incident, I completely forgot. And now that Uchiha Sasuke just got discharged, it didn't cross my mind at all." Uzumaki Naruto revealed a look of sudden realization, then put his hands together and kept apologizing to Hanabi."Hmph, I think you never took my business to heart at all; your head is just full of big sister and training." Hanabi pouted unhappily, her voice as thin as a mosquito's, which only Hinata, who was sitting next to her, heard.However, this made Hinata's gaze toward her younger sister become complicated.And the Fox, who was busy eating, watched this chaotic scene outside and couldn't help but snort in disdain at Uzumaki Naruto once again.
end, to make it up to Hanabi, Naruto planned to take her out to have some fun over the next two days. Hinata expressed that she wanted to join as well. Naruto and Hanabi naturally had no objections; in fact, both of them were quite happy about it, though Hinata's expression was a bit more complicated.Sasuke, meanwhile, was dragged away by Sakura's terrifying strength. At this moment, unable to use Chakra or his Sharingan, he was little more than a chick in Sakura's hands.Ino followed along, and on the way, they bumped into Kakashi, who was planning to head to the bookstore. At this moment, he looked like a salted fish lazily sunbathing on a beach, exuding an aura of pure lethargy.As for Naruto, he ran into Kurenai and Asuma, who were out on a date.Why was everyone so relaxed?Because a certain blond-haired guy had been bored out of his mind two days ago, so he went to find the Third Hokage. He told him it didn't matter that Sasuke was hospitalized; he could handle Sasuke's share of the work himself.The Third Hokage said that was against the rules, but Naruto immediately started forming hand signs without a word. The Third Hokage immediately changed his tune, saying that rules were made by people and could be changed.The Third Hokage had originally intended to just throw a couple of missions at this headache-inducing blond to get rid of him, but the blond declared he wanted to challenge his own limits.The Third Hokage was just about to refuse when he saw the blond's twitching hands, so he had no choice but to agree. However, he soon regretted it.In two days, the blond, relying on his own strength, single-handedly added over a thousand completed D-rank missions to Team 7's record.This scared the Third Hokage so much that he immediately called a halt. There was no helping it; if the blond kept going like this, how would other Genin survive?Genin relied on these D-rank missions to make a living, and with the blond completing over a thousand at once, the other Genin would have no missions left to do.In the end, the Third Hokage paid out of his own pocket to issue a mission forbidding the blond from taking any other missions for a week. Watching this, Naruto was stunned, exclaiming that the older generation still knew how to play the game.Immediately after, the Third Hokage changed the mission mechanism overnight: only one mission could be accepted at a time, and the next could only be taken after completing the current one.Since D-rank missions were temporarily exhausted, other teams had nothing to do and also started their break.The one who enjoyed this the most was naturally Kakashi. Those thousand missions had been accepted in the team's name, so he also received a share of the mission rewards. Sitting at home while the rewards fell from the sky—it made him incredibly happy.Soon, the happy days came to an end. Sasuke finally fully recovered. As for his Mangekyo ability, only one was known so far: Time Reversal. When this ability was activated, it required continuous consumption of Chakra and Ocular Power.Once stopped, the Time Reversal would instantly end. As for other abilities, Sasuke hadn't had a chance to feel them out before he passed out.Now that the Mangekyo couldn't be used for the time being, he didn't know what other abilities he might have. He would have to wait until his body's various indicators met the requirements to re-awaken the Mangekyo before he could find out.The reassembled Team 7 arrived at the mission assignment location. Just as the Third Hokage was about to issue a D-rank mission, Naruto spoke up immediately."Old Man, I want to go out and play." Naruto looked at the Third Hokage with a smile."If you go out now..."However, before the Third Hokage could finish, he was interrupted by Naruto."I want to go out and play." Naruto still had that same smiling expression, but his tone had become somewhat dangerous."...Sigh, fine, fine. Over there, please come in." The Third Hokage sighed helplessly, then waved his hand and shouted toward the door.Following the Third Hokage's words, an old man with a rope tied around his head, holding a bottle of liquor, opened the door and walked in, looking somewhat tipsy."C-rank mission, protect this Mr. Tazuna." The Third Hokage said, puffing on his pipe.Yes, Tazuna had arrived. He had reached Konohathis morning. Naruto had seen him on his way to the meeting point in the morning, so he dragged Team 7along until after lunch before going to pick up the mission."What is this? Why is it just a bunch of brats?" Tazuna leaned against the doorframe, took a swig of alcohol, and said with a drunken slur."I am a super famous bridge builder, Tazuna is the name. During the time I return to my country to finish building the bridge, you must do your best to protect me, super, super well."Although he had seen it in the original story, seeing this old man drinking and saying "super, super" in person still made Naruto twitch his mouth in exasperation.In the end, Team 7 decided to take the mission. Immediately, the three of them went back to prepare, planning to set off early the next morning.Naruto planned to say goodbye to Hinata. Hinatahad just finished a mission, so she was taken away by Naruto. As for his father-in-law, Hiashi, he was already numb to it. At this moment, he was busy guiding Hanabi in the Gentle Fist Art and didn't want to bother with those two at all."So, Naruto-kun, you're going out of the village for a mission?" Hinata asked while helping Naruto pack his clothes."Yeah, this mission requires protecting the client until the bridge is finished before we can return." Naruto was busy organizing ingredients with a group of Shadow Clones on the side."Then, Naruto-kun, take care of yourself." Although Hinata was smiling, her voice carried a hint of reluctance."Don't worry. You too, Hinata-chan. Make sure you eat well while I'm away. This time, I'll put all the special dishes into sealing scrolls; remember to eat them every day, Hinata-chan.""This, won't it be too much? You're leaving early tomorrow morning." Hinata's movements paused as she spoke with some hesitation."It's fine, I've experimented with it. Making them into buns works just as well. Just eat three of each kind every day," Naruto said, waving his hand dismissively.Naruto didn't have many clothes, and Ninjas always traveled light, so Hinata finished packing quickly. When she finished and walked out of the villa, she heard the Conductor issuing orders over there, directing the Shadow Clones to work.Yes, a new special Shadow Clone, the Conductor. Every time he appeared, he held a long chopstick as a baton. Anything that required teamwork was coordinated by him."You guys over there, hurry up with the dough! We don't have enough flour here. Those few, don't slack off, hurry up and get water! Little Chef, for heaven's sake, stop researching new dishes and get to work! The quantity this time is huge! Main body, stop spacing out! Take your wife and go buy sealing scrolls! Don't you have any idea how much money you have?"Seeing this scene, Hinata was dumbfounded. After all, she had only seen the Little Chef before; the Conductor had only appeared in the last few days, and the moment he came out, he performed a complete reversal of authority for Hinata.Naruto was so embarrassed by what was said that he quickly grabbed Hinata and ran."Naruto-kun's Shadow Clones, um, they have a lot of personality." Seeing Naruto's embarrassed look, Hinata couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle."Heh heh, you're too kind." Naruto twitched the corner of his mouth, then took Hinata to Tenten's Ninja Tool Shop. After all, there was a discount for buying things here, and as a poor guy, he had to save where he could.In the end, Hinata bought five scrolls without letting Naruto pay. The five scrolls were for storing food that enhanced Chakra, physique, mental strength, reaction speed, and Ocular Power respectively.Ocular Power was something that only worked if the person had a special ocular jutsu; otherwise, it was just a delicious, ordinary dish for others.After buying the items, the two didn't rush back. After all, they were still in the preparation stage, and if they really needed anything, the Conductor would have a Shadow Clone notify him.So, Naruto took Hinata for a stroll on the streets.The legend of the Nine-Tails in Konoha had already become an urban legend back when Naruto first enrolled. Because he had been a shut-in for four years, no one had actually seen him.Danzo had also given up on the Nine-Tails legend under the Third Hokage's coercion, but Naruto's reputation wasn't much better. After all, he was the King of Skipping Class, the kind who brought the whole school along with him."By the way, Naruto-kun, have you told Hanabiabout going on a long trip?" Hinata was eating a skewer of dango when she suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Naruto."Ah, this..." Naruto's hand, which was holding the food, froze. He stiffened in place, feeling a bit at a loss for a moment."Hinata-chan, help." Naruto looked at Hinatapitifully."No can do. This is a promise between Naruto-kun and Hanabi. Since it's a promise, naturally, Naruto-kun has to go say it himself." Hinata's eyes held a hint of playfulness as she said this somewhat mischievously."Ah? But, if I go tell her, Hanabi will kill me." Narutoscratched his head, saying with some difficulty."How about this? I'll go with you to tell her, how about that?" Seeing Naruto like this, Hinata couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle."Really? That's great, Hinata-chan, I love you to death!" Hearing Hinata's words, Naruto jumped up in excitement, then hugged Hinata and planted a kiss on her cheek. Hinata instantly turned into a steam-emitting maiden, causing passersby to sigh that it's great to be young.The two ate while walking and finally arrived at the Hyuga compound. At this moment, Hanabi had just finished her training, and Hiashi had also gone out on business.Hinata went home and brought Hanabi out. Narutoexplained his upcoming departure. He had originally thought Hanabi would throw a tantrum, but to his surprise, she just nodded and gave Naruto a few words of caution to be safe."Um, aren't you angry?" Naruto asked curiously, looking at Hanabi's calm appearance."It's not like you forgot; you're just leaving the village for a mission. Why would I be angry? Besides, the fact that you came to tell me means you remembered." Although Hanabi said this, the disappointment in her eyes was still noticed by Naruto and Hinata.The two exchanged a look, and then Naruto said, "How about this, to make it up to you, how about I make a big meal for you today? I'll also prepare some of your favorite food and put it in a sealing scroll.""Really? That's great! I'll go get a scroll right now." After saying this, Hanabi trotted back to the Hyugacompound.The Hyuga compound had empty sealing scrolls, but Hinata liked the feeling of shopping with Naruto, so she didn't choose to go home to get one. Besides, she wasn't short on money.Soon, the little girl came running back, thump thump thump, with a small bag on her back."Let's go, this time I want to pack lots and lots of delicious food." Hanabi said with some excitement."Okay, I'll fill your scroll up today." Naruto patted her head, and then the three walked towards Naruto's villa."Main body! Too slow! Are you dead out there?!" As soon as Naruto returned, the Conductor's roar came over, followed immediately by a chopstick flying at high speed, which was steadily caught by Naruto.This startled Hanabi; it was her first time seeing the Conductor."Isn't the timing just right? Look, this is just coming out of the pot." Naruto threw the chopstick back and then pointed at a stack of large steamer baskets just taken off the stove."Nonsense! If I didn't know you'd be wandering around outside, would I have only just finished one stack now?" The Conductor caught the chopstick Naruto threw back and said huffily."Conductor is awesome, calculating everything." Naruto very wisely provided emotional value, which the Conductor found very satisfying."Alright, enough talk, hurry up and pack." The Conductor curled his lips, then continued to direct others to work."Big sister, what is going on here?" Hanabi tugged on Hinata's sleeve and pointed at the scene in front of them, asking with some confusion."Be good, you'll get used to it. You'll encounter this often in the future." Hinata rubbed Hanabi's head, then walked towards Naruto, leaving only Hanabistanding there, tilting her head, watching in confusion.