Chapter 14

Late at night, Naruto crossed his arms as he watched Sakura and Sasuke lying on the grass, panting from exhaustion.

"We're not done yet. You've mastered the exercises, but there's still one last thing."

"Monster... You're a monster... How can you have so much stamina and energy?!" Sakura could hardly believe it.

Naruto hadn't shown the slightest sign of fatigue the entire time they had been training—not even a single drop of sweat on his face!

"I'm an Uzumaki," he replied indifferently, shrugging.

"And I'm a Haruno! What does that have to do with anything?!" Sakura frowned, not understanding what he meant.

Naruto rolled his eyes.

Was Sakura really comparing her insignificant, lineage-less surname to the prestigious Uzumaki Clan?

"My clan, the now extinct Uzumaki Clan, hails from the Hidden Whirlpool Village in the Whirlpool Country."

Sasuke and Sakura lifted their heads from the ground, looking at him with curiosity. Neither of them had ever heard of the Uzumaki before.

But what shocked Sasuke the most was realizing that, just like him, Naruto had also lost his clan. For the first time, he noticed some similarities between them.

"The Uzumaki were distant relatives of the Senju Clan. In fact, the symbol of Uzushiogakure is still all over Konoha, even on the Chūnin and Jōnin vests. Our village and theirs were great allies."

Though when the time came, Konoha didn't lift a finger to help them.

Naruto didn't say that part out loud. He didn't want to get into that topic now.

Sasuke and Sakura waited in silence, eager to hear more.

"The Uzumaki were famous for their mastery of Fūinjutsu, though I don't know much about it myself. Their skill in that field brought them recognition, but it also made them a target. In the end, multiple villages allied to destroy Uzushiogakure and wipe out the Land of Whirlpools."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, thoughtful.

"Mmm... I don't know what else to tell you..."

"Oh, right. Even though we don't have dōjutsu or Kekkei Genkai like other prestigious clans, the Uzumaki possess an incredible life force. We age more slowly and have absurd stamina. Because of this, we're also ideal Jinchūriki. That's why the Fourth Hokage chose me as a baby to seal the Kyūbi inside me."

[Minato Namikaze: H-he's blaming me... isn't he?]

[Mito Uzumaki: Yes, he is.]

[Kushina Uzumaki: Did you really have to tell them? I don't think it's a good idea to let that boy, Sasuke, know you're the Kyūbi's Jinchūriki if you don't even know if you can trust him.]

[Naruto Uzumaki: Don't worry! It's better this way than having them find out some other way. Last time, they only realized it years later... Even when I lost control sometimes and the Kyūbi's chakra surrounded me, they never suspected a thing!]

As for Sakura and Sasuke...

The revelation hit them like a bucket of cold water.

They never would have imagined that Naruto was a Jinchūriki!

"T-though I probably shouldn't have said that..." he added, as if he had just remembered.

"W-we won't tell anyone!" Sakura quickly assured.

Sasuke said nothing but nodded. If even the Hokage kept it a secret, that meant it was classified information.

Naruto pretended that was the reason for his concern. In reality, he doubted Sakura. Besides having a big forehead, she was also a gossip.

But in the end, he was sure she wouldn't say anything.

[Hashirama Senju: Why does it matter if people know he's a Jinchūriki?]

[Tobirama Senju: Brother... If this information leaks, other villages might attack Konoha to capture its Jinchūriki before he reaches his full potential.]

[Hashirama Senju: Back in my time, no one dared to attack Konoha! I doubt they would now.]

[Madara Uchiha: Idiot. They didn't attack because you were there.]

[Tobirama Senju: If you hadn't handed the Tailed Beasts over to other villages, we would have nine Jinchūriki right now. Konoha would be the most powerful, and no one would dare challenge us.]

[Hashirama Senju: Now that I think about it... Maybe that was a mistake.]

[Madara Uchiha: Wait... is Hashirama actually rethinking something...?]

[Tobirama Senju: I can't believe it either.]

Naruto snapped his fingers to get the others' attention.

"Alright, let's finish the training."

"What are you going to teach us now?" Sakura asked, without the skepticism she had at the start.

After everything they had learned that night, she no longer doubted Naruto. In fact, she wanted to keep training with him.

Sasuke felt the same, though he wouldn't express it as openly as Sakura.

"For you, Sasuke, I'll teach you the D-Rank Body Flicker Technique and the B-Rank Great Fire Dragon Technique."

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise. Learning two techniques in one night... now that was interesting.

He remembered that Shisui was feared for his mastery of the Body Flicker.

Shisui didn't just master the technique—he created his own version, the Afterimage Clone.

A technique that let him move at such high speeds that he left images behind, like clones. Shisui could use these images to attack, dodge, and even appear intangible if an enemy struck him.

But Sasuke didn't know that. And while Naruto was aware of the technique, he had no intention of teaching it to him... at least, not yet.

Not until he was sure he could truly trust him.

He was also interested in the Great Fire Dragon Technique. From the name alone, he assumed it was a stronger variant of the Dragon Fire Technique.

What Sasuke didn't realize was that, in the future, he himself would be the one to create it.

Naruto had recreated it based on the Dragon Fire Technique he had obtained from the chat group.

He would have attempted the same with Chidori, but unfortunately, he didn't have Lightning Release.

"And what about me?" Sakura asked.

"I'll teach you the D-Rank Body Flicker Technique as well, and in addition, the A-Rank Mystical Palm Technique."

"An A-Rank Technique?! Since when do you know Medical Ninjutsu?" Sakura asked in surprise, looking at him curiously.

Naruto shrugged again.

"I just felt like learning it. Don't ask so many questions. That's why Sasuke doesn't like you."

Sakura puffed her cheeks and blushed, briefly glancing at Sasuke in embarrassment.

"And I'll only teach you the basic principles. It's a complicated technique, so it'll take time to learn. Stop by the hospital every day—they teach it to those who want to learn. The Mystical Palm is a lifesaver on the battlefield."

Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Alright, let's get started."