Chapter 107 - 10

Chapter 10: Little Minato NamikazeWith a personal endorsement from Uchiha Itachi, son of the Uchiha Clan Head, the rumors in the village quickly died down, and Konoha gained yet another genius Ninja.For the little tots at the Ninja Academy, they were witnessing the rise of a living legend. As a Ninja at the age of 5, Naruto Uzumaki was destined to be the "child of other parents" that adults constantly compared their kids to for quite some time.In a sense, this made the Ninja Academy even more fiercely competitive. Aside from Uchiha Sasuke, who still wanted to challenge him again, and the young girls who harbored secret crushes on him, most people felt a sense of grievance and resentment toward Naruto.Of course, they probably would not be able to confront Naruto anytime soon. Having become an ANBU operative early on and secured a steady official position, a thick barrier had already formed between them.Under normal circumstances, ANBU operatives were usually tasked with various missions issued by the village, typically related to assassination and espionage. Otherwise, why would they be called the Anbu—literally meaning a special mobile assassination force that remained in a state of combat readiness even during times of peace?However, Naruto had already prepared himself to get blood on his hands, as long as nothing stopped him from learning Ninjutsu.Unfortunately, he had underestimated his own importance. His work after joining turned out completely different from what he had imagined."I see that you are already able to mobilize a fraction of the Nine-Tails Chakra. This must be the legacy left behind by Minato back then.""Very well, since you have now joined the Anbu, the first mission assigned to you is to continue the arrangement of Minato and completely master the power of the Tailed Beast." Hiruzen Sarutobicertainly was not willing to let Naruto go out and fight bloody battles.Just a short while ago, his old comrade-in-arms, Danzo Shimura, had even come knocking, claiming he wanted to give Naruto a comprehensive Roottraining package!Absolute nonsense! Was that any way to train a Jinchūriki? A Tailed Beast was a weapon of mass destruction that would leak its power at the slightest emotional fluctuation.Since Minato had already prepared everything before his death, and Naruto was already showing results, simply following in his predecessor's footsteps was more than enough.After all, the Third Hokage was already getting old, and he knew he could never do a better job than the exceptionally talented Fourth.During that argument, Hiruzen had roped in his other two old companions, and after securing their support, he directly drove Danzo away."Since you have all made up your minds, what more is there for me to say?" Danzo looked stubbornly at Hiruzen Sarutobi.That gaze, brimming with deep affection, proved too much even for the leader of Konoha, who had always upheld a tradition of prioritizing men. He ended up promising to cede other rights, such as granting Danzo more autonomy regarding the Uchiha issue.Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that with Naruto around, it would not take more than a few years to completely subjugate the Uchiha. As long as they dragged out the time, the future would ultimately belong to the village—and to him, the Hokage.This was the confidence that Little Minato Namikazegave him. The expected timeline for Naruto to mature had been brought forward by an entire generation. Given Naruto's talent, growing into the next Yellow Flash was just around the corner. At present, it seemed that timeline could even be advanced significantly.Hearing that he would not be assigned missions, Naruto thought to himself that such a good thing existed—could they be making him sit in an office to study the Will of Fire?! If so, he would rather go back to studying at the Ninja Academy.Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly presented his schedule: completely bypassing all those empty theories, every single objective was aimed at helping Naruto master his power.True enough, the Nine-Tails Incident had hit the Third Hokage far too hard; once he grasped any hope that could reverse the decline, the Old manwould hold onto it for dear life.What more was there to say? Naruto naturally accepted it with joy. Using the village's resources to handle his own matters and enjoying the benefits of the Anbu without having to do anything was fantastic."You should also master Ninjutsu properly. Relying solely on the Rasengan will not be enough to handle complex battlefield situations. Furthermore, the pinnacle of Sealing Jutsus, the Five Elements Seal, requires five types of Chakra to execute. Even if it is just to master this single technique, your Ninjutsu training must begin," the Third instructed.Naruto thought to himself that it was easy for him to say. He knew very well that ever since his Old man, he was born with Wind Style Chakra nature, and Minato's talent could not help him in this regard.However, since this was a request originating from Hiruzen Sarutobi's intentions, considering that Orochimaru, that Rogue Ninja, also knew the Five Elements Seal, it was worth learning just to avoid being suppressed when he eventually crossed paths with him in the future."This is a Chakra test paper. Test your attribute first, and I will arrange a training plan for you." The Professor of the Shinobi World was indeed an authority when it came to Ninjutsu, and Naruto had no objections to that.Upon discovering that he only possessed the natural wind attribute, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not discouraged. There was no need to be overly proficient in other attribute Ninjutsu; as long as he could channel the corresponding Chakra, it would suffice."Grandpa Third, since it is the wind attribute, does that mean I can use Wind Style Ninjutsu?""The notes left by his father once explored the idea of integrating wind attribute Nature Transformationinto the Rasengan. Can something like that be done?" If possible, Naruto really wanted to create the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken."Naruto, you must not aim too high before mastering the basics. Proficiency in the wind attribute can be left for future research. The most urgent task is to first cultivate Chakra of the other attributes."The Hero of the Shinobi possessed a shrewd and seasoned vision; no Ninjutsu could rival the sheer destructive power of a Tailed Beast Bomb, something he had deeply experienced during the Nine-Tails Incident.For a Jinchūriki, various attribute Ninjutsu were practically useless except for showing off. On the contrary, cultivating attribute Chakra as a prerequisite for casting the Five Elements Seal was a preparation that could actually serve practical purposes.Hearing this, Naruto had no choice but to honestly carry out attribute training. Although he really wanted to use Ninjutsu to show off, he knew that Sealing Jutsus were ultimately the most useful.However, at this rate, the progress of his surface-level strength would be far too slow. Since the power of the Nine-Tails could not be completely exposed, if he truly displayed too monstrous a level of talent, who knew if Obito would come straight for a beheading?Kamui was simply too insidious. Coupled with his dread of that pair of Mangekyō Sharingan capable of rewriting willpower, an insecure Naruto urgently needed other means to protect himself without overly arousing the vigilance of the mastermind behind the scenes. Striking the right balance here was quite difficult for him.While training according to the plan formulated by Hiruzen Sarutobi, Naruto also racked his little brain and started thinking, and he actually managed to think of a life-saving trick he had not learned yet—namely, the reverse Summoning Technique, which served as the foundation for the Flying Thunder God.If one were to say that the vast majority of people in the Shinobi World wanted to use the Summoning Technique to enhance their combat power, Naruto, who only wanted to use it to run away, was truly one of a kind.Contracting a suitable Summoning Beast had nothing but benefits for Naruto. Whether it was for enhancing combat power or for making a quick getaway, it was an extremely useful Ninjutsu.Thinking of it, he acted on it. Coincidentally, Naruto's nominal job was as a Hokage bodyguard, allowing him to receive Hiruzen Sarutobi's guidance at any time, so he inquired about what summoning scrolls were worth contracting in Konoha."Summoning Technique? No, it is still too early for you." In fact, he had already made arrangements in his heart; this technique had to wait for Jiraiya to return and teach it, considering Mount Myōbokupossessed the Shinobi World's peerless Sage Artstraining method.As to why he did not allow it right now, naturally it was because Konoha could not completely trust the toads—did they not see how his beloved disciple Jiraiya had been led astray.Before Little Naruto's worldview was fully formed, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never let him be influenced by those bizarre creatures. When it came to molding him, how could a toad ever get a turn? Naturally, he had to receive the Will of Fire first.Naruto also saw through his reservations. After pondering over it, he recalled a few other Summoning Beasts where he definitely did not have to worry about the contractor being influenced.If he guessed correctly, that method was right inside present-day Konoha, seemingly called... Nine-Faced, Svāhā.