Rasengan?

The western wind blew through Konoha's training ground, scattering lush leaves across the sky. A transparent leaf drifted down slowly, only to be struck by a rock and sent flying toward the target.

A young blond-haired boy stood in the middle of the field, throwing small stones with precision. Each one hit the red center of the target without a single miss.

"Chakra is really useful. If I relied only on physical strength, I would've been exhausted a long time ago," he muttered, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Naruto had been training here for over an hour, testing the ninjutsu he had learned today while honing his physical abilities. Overall, the results were quite satisfying.

The Body Flicker Technique and Shadow Clone Technique were incredibly practical, and he could use them without any difficulty. The rewards from the selector felt like pure enlightenment, eliminating the need for repeated practice to master them.

Only one technique remained untested—the perfected version of the Sexy Jutsu. Naruto planned to try it once he got home. For now, he wanted to refine his accuracy.

As he bent down to pick up another stone, the sound of footsteps behind him caught his attention. Without hesitation, he threw the stone toward the source of the noise.

But the stone never reached its target.

An elderly man in a Hokage robe caught it effortlessly. He let it fall to the ground before walking toward Naruto with a gentle smile on his face.

"Naruto, shouldn't you be more careful about attacking people so recklessly?"

Naruto feigned surprise and replied innocently, "Sorry, Grandpa Hokage. I heard a strange noise and thought a big, fierce yellow dog was coming at me."

The Third Hokage fell silent, his expression darkening slightly. The corners of his mouth twitched as if holding back a reaction. Seeing Naruto's face, which now resembled the Fourth Hokage even more, confusion flickered in his eyes.

Naruto looked so different. Not just his appearance, but his entire demeanor.

Taking a deep breath, the Third Hokage asked, "Naruto, have you experienced anything unusual lately?"

Naruto's eyelids twitched slightly. He had expected something like this. A drastic change in his behavior would naturally raise suspicion, especially from someone like the Third Hokage.

But he didn't expect the old man to ask him so directly.

"I don't really understand what you're talking about, Grandpa," Naruto said, scratching his head, pretending to be clueless.

The Third Hokage had always been kind and caring toward Naruto. When the villagers shunned him, he was the only one who showed him warmth.

No matter how much trouble Naruto caused, the old man was always tolerant. Even when Naruto vandalized the Hokage Rock, he never blamed him. He even helped Iruka overcome his own struggles and encouraged him to treat Naruto kindly.

On the surface, he seemed like the kindest old man in the world, the one who cared for Naruto the most.

But if he truly wanted Naruto to be treated fairly, all he had to do was reveal to the villagers that Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage.

Why go through all the effort to influence Naruto personally?

Yet, he never did. He never once clarified Naruto's lineage. If the reason was to protect the secrecy of the jinchuriki, then it made no sense.

If Konoha truly wanted to hide the identity of the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, why did they allow the fact to spread so freely among the villagers?

From this, Naruto could only conclude one thing—the Third Hokage wanted to shape him into someone who would unconditionally support him and his ideals.

But unfortunately, that plan had already failed.

The Naruto he had been molding no longer existed.

"Naruto, haven't you noticed how much you've changed?"

The Third Hokage's smile remained warm. "I heard you even defeated your classmates today. That's quite impressive."

Naruto smirked. As he considered his response, a voice echoed in his mind.

A screen appeared before him, displaying choices only he could see.

[Passive Selection Triggered!]

[The Third Hokage is testing you. He doesn't understand why you've changed so drastically and wants to determine if something beyond his control has happened. Choose your action...]

1. Be disrespectful: Insult him, call him an old fool, and tell him to leave. If he insists, threaten to wipe out his entire family. (Reward: 20% control over the Nine-Tails)

2. Act rationally: Challenge him to a duel, defeat him, and then humiliate him. (Reward: Rasengan)

3. Act recklessly: Use your power to control the Third Hokage and order him to gather thousand beautiful women for you. (Reward: Rinnegan)

4. Be ruthless: Cut him into pieces, slice him apart. (Reward: Wood Release)

Naruto scanned the choices quickly, his pupils narrowing slightly.

What kind of ridiculous options were these?

The third and fourth choices were nothing but suicide. Even the first one was too risky—saying something like that could land him in prison or worse, handed over to Danzo to be turned into a mindless weapon.

But what caught his attention was the reward for the second option.

"Rasengan?"

Among all the rewards listed, only Rasengan seemed... reasonable. It was a powerful technique, but it wasn't as overwhelming as the Rinnegan or Wood Release.

This made Naruto realize something—the difficulty of the choice seemed to determine the value of the reward.

The third and fourth choices were impossible to accomplish, so the rewards were absurdly powerful.

The first option was risky but still within reach, so the reward was moderate.

But the second option... a duel against the Third Hokage wasn't entirely out of the question. If he could win, Rasengan would be his.

A small grin formed on Naruto's lips. He had made his decision.

"Grandpa Hokage, before you ask me anything, you'd better defeat me first. Otherwise, I won't tell you a thing."

He took his stance and formed a hand seal.

The Third Hokage raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Naruto to challenge him so openly.

But before he could react, Naruto shouted with confidence.

"Sexy Jutsu—Perfected Version!"