Naruto rubbed his lower back with a look of grievance as he got up from the ground.
Carl glanced at him and said,
"Well? Feeling a little better after that hit?"
Naruto froze for a moment, then silently nodded.
Carl kicked the Scroll of Seals toward him.
"Learn the Flying Thunder God. As the son of Namikaze Minato, not knowing this jutsu would be a bit embarrassing, don't you think?"
Naruto opened the Scroll of Seals and stared quietly at the descriptions of the Flying Thunder God Technique for a while before speaking.
"Carl, this jutsu was really famous in the ninja world, right? Because of... Father?"
Carl nodded.
"Yeah. Your father's title as the Yellow Flash once resounded throughout the entire shinobi world. That fame came from mastering the Flying Thunder God. But this jutsu is incredibly difficult to learn. Since your father's death, no one's been able to master it the way he did."
Hearing that, Naruto nodded solemnly, his expression turning serious. He followed the instructions in the Scroll of Seals, making some awkward gestures with his hands.
Carl watched from the side. He remembered there was a team in Konoha that also tried to learn the Flying Thunder God, but even after years of training, they couldn't perform it independently. They could only use it for limited, functional teleportation — actual combat was out of the question. The results were nowhere near what Minato could do.
To master the Flying Thunder God, the most crucial requirement was spatial awareness — and that was precisely what blocked ninety-nine percent of shinobi.
Without a natural talent for space perception, no matter how detailed the Scroll of Seals described the training, it would be impossible to learn even a fraction of it.
But when it came to Naruto, Carl believed he probably did have that talent. After all, he was Minato's son — surely he inherited something good from his father, right?
Then again, genetics could be unpredictable. Some people really did manage to dodge all their parents' good traits and only inherit the flaws...
...
Time passed minute by minute. Under Carl's gaze, Naruto's hand movements grew faster, and it looked like he was forming hand seals.
Although the Flying Thunder God seemed instantaneous when performed by the Second or Fourth Hokage, that was because they had mastered it completely. For beginners, using hand seals was a normal way to help control chakra flow more precisely.
After forming several seals, Naruto slapped his palm onto the ground. When he slowly lifted his hand, a simple-looking mark appeared on the floor.
Carl recognized it immediately — it was the same Flying Thunder God formula once demonstrated by the Second Hokage.
Excited, Naruto called out,
"Carl! Look! Did I do it right!?"
Carl smiled slightly.
"Not bad. At least it looks convincing. But whether it works or not — we'll have to test it. Step back a bit."
Naruto obediently nodded and jogged to the doorway, about seven or eight meters away from the mark on the floor.
Since Naruto had just started learning, Carl didn't expect him to teleport freely yet. He pointed at the mark.
"Try to teleport to that mark."
Naruto closed his eyes immediately, recalling the notes from the Scroll of Seals and trying to sense the spatial coordinates of the mark.
But ten minutes later, his expression turned frustrated.
"It's not working, Carl… I can't do it..."
Carl tilted his head slightly.
"What's there to apologize for? You already did something impressive. Right now, no one else in Konoha could even get this far. You're just like your father, Namikaze Minato — a genius."
Being called a genius made Naruto's face flush red with excitement. He clenched his fist tightly, his voice trembling.
"Carl! I won't let you down! I'll master the Flying Thunder God just like my father — I'll make the name of the Yellow Flash echo across the ninja world once more!"
Carl blinked at the sight of the fired-up Naruto and said,
"Uh… honestly, I wasn't expecting that much. I was just curious to see if you could pull it off."
"...Could you not ruin the mood?"
Carl shrugged with a smirk.
"Just being honest. But you said you'll make the name of the Yellow Flash resound again, huh? That goal's a lot more ambitious than just becoming Hokage."
Naruto shook his head firmly.
"No. Those two goals don't conflict."
Carl raised his eyebrows, surprised. He had thought Naruto would start hating Konoha and give up on being Hokage.
Naruto continued,
"I'll become Hokage just like my father! I'll make everyone acknowledge me!"
As he spoke, Naruto's face turned red with passion. Carl could tell his obsession with becoming Hokage had only grown stronger.
He sighed inwardly. As long as Naruto didn't shout about wanting to be Pirate King in front of him, he could chase whatever dream he wanted.
Then Naruto looked at Carl expectantly.
"Carl... I'll succeed, right?"
Carl nodded gently.
"Of course you will. I believe that more than anyone — the future Seve— …Hokage."
With his memories of Earth, Carl had no doubt Naruto would become Hokage one day. Still, he suddenly wondered — with his interference, would Naruto still be the Seventh Hokage?
Naruto didn't notice Carl's slip of the tongue. All that mattered to him was hearing "future Hokage." That alone made his heart race.
He grabbed Carl's sleeve tightly.
"You'll be there to see me achieve my dream, right?"
Carl raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment.
"Not necessarily. I might be gone by then."
Naruto's expression instantly fell. He lowered his head, disappointed.
But before he could say another word, Carl suddenly kicked him, sending him straight back onto the Flying Thunder God mark.
Watching Naruto groaning on the floor and rubbing his backside, Carl said impatiently,
"Thinking that far ahead is useless. Master the Flying Thunder God first. I've got something to take care of, so I'll be leaving for a bit."
As he finished speaking, Naruto watched in shock as Carl's figure began to distort — and in the next instant, he completely vanished, leaving behind only a faint ripple in the air.
And in that subtle ripple, Naruto's eyes suddenly widened — as if he had just grasped onto something important.
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+100 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg