Although, according to the original story, he didn't need any help and would have been fine, Xia Li really wanted to make a change.
She shook her head, thinking of the perverted incidents that would happen later. That was still far off, and she didn't know how much she could grow by then—so there was no need to worry for now.
Xia Li took a step forward and walked toward the Hokage's office.
…
In fact, convincing the Third Hokage wasn't particularly difficult.
Xia Li first explained her intentions clearly, and under the Third Hokage's serious gaze, she began giving detailed reasoning and proof.
She explained that what Konoha needed was not a Nine-Tails jinchūriki who could go out of control at any moment, but a Naruto Uzumaki who could control the Nine-Tails' power. She used the examples of the previous two jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
Neither Kushina Uzumaki nor Mito Uzumaki had abilities that could easily spiral out of control.
The Third Hokage understood this, of course, but he worried that Naruto's power was still too weak. If Naruto became stronger, the Third Hokage would allow him to gradually learn how to control the Nine-Tails, naturally under Jiraiya's guidance.
This was exactly what Xia Li expected. After all, the Third Hokage, especially one who had lived through the era of Mito Uzumaki, would certainly understand these principles. It was just that his death had come too suddenly, leaving many things unfinished.
Since the concept Xia Li proposed had been validated in principle, the next step—verification—was straightforward.
Xia Li first demonstrated his sealing techniques, using the Eight Trigrams Seal and the Four Symbols Seal. While not as refined as the Fourth Hokage's, it was enough to show he could re-seal the Nine-Tails in Naruto if it went out of control.
Of course, this assumed the Nine-Tails' original seal was intact.
Then, Xia Li requested that the Third Hokage leave a Flying Thunder God mark on Naruto and pre-seal him. This way, even if Naruto lost control, Xia Li could approach him immediately and re-seal the Nine-Tails.
Xia Li remembered that after explaining her idea, the Third Hokage pondered the feasibility for a long time before finally agreeing.
As Xia Li had said, having Naruto control the Nine-Tails early would be a good thing for Konoha. Not only would it increase his power, but it would also reduce the risk he posed.
Most importantly, the Third Hokage trusted Xia Li's abilities, and that was what mattered most.
In reality, Xia Li, having mastered the Eight Trigrams Seal, the Four Symbols Seal, and the Flying Thunder God technique, could leave a mark on Naruto. As long as the Nine-Tails' seal wasn't fully broken, it would be completely safe.
What reassured the Third Hokage most was that Xia Li viewed the issue from Konoha's perspective. Still, he cautioned her to be careful and avoid revealing too much.
Xia Li understood. After all, even if the Third Hokage agreed, not everyone would. Danzo, for example, would certainly oppose such a slow, risky control method. He would rather take Naruto and tame him for his own use.
Xia Li also thought the other advisors might agree. Her plan was cautious—if it failed, she could revert to previous measures; if it succeeded, it would be very beneficial. So the likelihood of approval was high.
When the day of her meeting with Naruto arrived, Xia Li went to that familiar house.
"Xia Li! Welcome!" Naruto's eyes lit up when he saw her approach. "You finally came! I've been waiting for you. You said you'd teach me the Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Don't rush. There's plenty of time," Xia Li replied.
"Hm…" Naruto hesitated, not wanting to interrupt. He could feel the coldness around Xia Li, but it was much less than before.
Finally, he couldn't help but tell Xia Li about the mock exam. He had almost been eliminated but barely passed thanks to the tardy teacher.
Xia Li listened quietly, nodding. In fact, both Sasuke and Naruto were stronger than in the original story. Sasuke was fine—the original story was already tough; now he was simply working harder and had greater strength. With the Sharingan and tomoe, he had significantly improved.
Naruto, however, was far stronger than his original version. His physical abilities might surprise Kakashi, though not to the point of causing trouble, as the power gap was too large.
"So, Xia Li, how exactly do you use the Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Naruto asked finally. Xia Li had explained before but hadn't gone into detail, and Naruto grew impatient.
"Well, I left a note at the door with some instructions. Now you can create a shadow clone to memorize the note's contents, and then try dispelling the clone," Xia Li said. Explaining it verbally might be tricky. When she had taught theory before, it had been the same—he had abandoned it the first time anyway.
So it was better for Naruto to learn through practice. Using the body to learn is better than just using the brain.
"What's the point of that?" Naruto asked, confused, but he created a shadow clone and followed Xia Li's instructions.
His face turned red as Xia Li leaned back, watching patiently.
Soon, she saw Naruto's face flush. He glared at her, shouting:
"Xia Li! I didn't go and kiss that guy on my own!!"
Xia Li smirked mischievously. "I took a photo~"
Naruto's eyes widened.
"Also, didn't you notice how you even knew the information on the note? You haven't even seen it," Xia Li said, smiling at Naruto.
Naruto froze. Right—he hadn't looked, so how could he have known?
His eyes slowly brightened.
Chapter 115: The Nine-Tails (Vote for Me)
Xia Li thought he understood, but Naruto scratched his head again.
"But what's the point of this?"
Xia Li was silent for a moment, then sighed and began explaining the purpose of the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"In other words, you can have your clones help you study jutsu and theoretical knowledge, while your main body focuses on training that the clones can't handle," Xia Li added.
"Most people can't endure the strain when clones return to the original body after learning. Your physiology is unique—you can handle most of the damage from clones. But don't start with too many clones at once. Having more clones is helpful for learning."
"Oh! That's why you said the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu is a technique only I can use!" Naruto's eyes brightened.
"Yes. Do you want to try it now?" Xia Li asked.
"Of course!" Naruto could no longer contain himself and formed the hand seals.
"The Art of Multi-Shadow Clones!"
Instantly, Xia Li sensed an enormous chakra surge. She remembered that in the original story, Naruto often used Shadow Clones but only created one or two at a time.
Now, she thought, either he was calling it wrong, or his chakra extraction wasn't correct. The chakra contained in even one or two clones should be… immense.
Soon, five Narutos appeared before her.
"Yoshi, let's study! You know where the books are," Naruto shouted happily.
But what happened next made Xia Li twitch.
The clones started resisting one another. Eventually, Naruto grew frustrated, and they ended up fighting each other. In the end, all the clones disappeared, leaving only Naruto…
"Hmm…" Xia Li raised her head and asked if he wanted to continue. This seemed tricky.
"What's wrong, Xia Li?" Naruto asked, puzzled.
"Each clone is not exactly the same as you. They inherit your thoughts and part of your personality, so they have their own will," Xia Li explained.
"This proves you don't actually want to study theory."
Xia Li paused. Even she had things she didn't want to do, but her clones would not hesitate. As an adult, she could usually suppress instincts and think rationally.
Naruto, however, couldn't always do that.
"Really?" Naruto squinted, suddenly realizing he didn't want to study either. He thought it would be easier to have the clones do the work.
He paused, then formed four clones. Xia Li watched, curious to see how he would handle tasks he didn't want to do.
Soon, she understood. Though it seemed like a waste of time, the clones eventually agreed to study.
Seeing this, Xia Li thought Naruto liked showing off. Clones could sense the main body's thoughts, so why bother convincing them?
And did it really work?
Xia Li shrugged. Naruto was always full of surprises, but after this, the clones probably wouldn't refuse again.
"Yay!" Naruto gestured to Xia Li triumphantly, grinning broadly, showing his white teeth.
"Well done," Xia Li said, ruffling Naruto's short, golden hair. It was slightly stiff, a bit prickly, while Sasuke's hair felt smoother.
He beamed with happiness at the praise.
"Naruto, there's something important coming up. Before we proceed, I need your opinion," Xia Li said suddenly, her expression serious.
Although she had the Third Hokage's consent, the real subject was Naruto. If he refused, she would not proceed.
"Hm? What's going on?" Naruto asked, swallowing nervously.
Once she sorted her thoughts, Xia Li told Naruto about the Nine-Tails, including that the Nine-Tails' rampage had been controlled, his parents had been killed protecting him, and that the Nine-Tails' seal had been restored.
Of course, she did not reveal their identities, letting Naruto discover that himself later.
She also explained her plan: to open a channel for Naruto to communicate with the Nine-Tails and potentially borrow its power.
After finishing, she watched Naruto silently, waiting.
This was not an easy decision. Even if the Nine-Tails had been controlled, could he forgive it easily? Xia Li wasn't sure she could. But Naruto…
"Xia Li, the Nine-Tails is really sealed, right?" Naruto asked.
"Yes," Xia Li nodded.
"It makes sense that it would want to break free. After all, it was under control at the time…" Naruto's mood darkened slightly, but he continued.
"So what do you suggest?" Xia Li asked.
"Let's do as Xia Li says. I don't know if I can forgive it, so I want to meet it. If not, I'll at least make it use some power to help me live!" Naruto scratched his head, smiling.
Xia Li looked at him, a bit confused, then nodded.
Yes, he understood Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. If they were alive, Naruto might have had a happy childhood, and the Nine-Tails wouldn't have been separated from Kushina so quickly, its chakra transferred to Naruto.
By then, Naruto would have grown up.
But he didn't know any of this. He had never seen Minato or Kushina. He longed for parental love, but perhaps had never truly felt it.
For Naruto, his resentment toward the Nine-Tails likely came from years of being treated differently.
Xia Li thought for a moment and let it go. She couldn't fully understand. After all, the Fourth Hokage had reconciled with the Nine-Tails, so why should Naruto care so much?
"Then lie down like before, and expose your stomach," Xia Li instructed.
"Okay."
Naruto quickly arranged the bed. It was no longer in the original position, and from the window outside, the room's interior couldn't be seen. He had clearly taken Xia Li's advice.
But Xia Li suspected Naruto didn't fully understand why he needed to do this.
Soon, Xia Li placed her hand on Naruto's abdomen. In the past, this would have required Naruto to release a large amount of chakra to reveal the seal.
Now, with Xia Li's mastery of sealing techniques, this step was unnecessary. The seal soon appeared on Naruto's body as Xia Li closed her eyes.
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