Chapter 19

"By the way..." Before leaving, Kakashi turned to the three of them.

"Don't think I didn't notice that you figured out the true purpose of the test."

The three of them tensed at his words.

Naruto and Sakura let out awkward laughs.

"Although, that only confirms that you were more than qualified from the start."

With those words, Kakashi vanished, leaving them behind.

[Sakumo Hatake: I'm glad to see my son hasn't turned into a complete idiot! I must thank the Sage of the Six Paths for that!]

Naruto smiled as he watched Kakashi leave, though deep down, he was frustrated with himself.

He had shown strength superior to his teammates, but even so, he wasn't satisfied.

He had wanted to pass the bell test using only Taijutsu and Shadow Clones that he had "learned" from the Third Hokage.

But Kakashi was far stronger than he had imagined.

Seeing him through a screen and facing him in real life were two completely different things.

Naruto realized that from now on, he would have to take things seriously.

He couldn't just rely on the group chat to improve; he also needed to train and grow stronger on his own.

No matter how much power or how many techniques he received from the chat members, he needed to make them his own.

"BECAUSE THIS IS THE POWER OF YOUTH!!"

Naruto couldn't help but joke to himself.

"What do we do now?" Sakura asked, sitting on the ground as she took a break.

Sasuke turned to her.

"Train, of course."

Sakura rolled her eyes at his response.

Even though she was exhausted and didn't want to keep training, if Sasuke asked for it...

"Actually, Sakura should go to the hospital," Naruto interjected. "Before we start doing missions outside the village, you should learn the Mystical Palm Technique."

Sasuke nodded in agreement.

Even he knew how important it was to have a teammate skilled in Medical Ninjutsu.

Seeing that Sasuke agreed, Sakura's energy returned immediately.

Even though she didn't like the idea of being away from Sasuke, the thought of him praising her once she mastered the Mystical Palm Technique was enough to motivate her.

"Then I'm off! I need to go to the hospital right away!"

She grabbed her things and ran out of Training Ground Three.

[Mikoto Uchiha: Fufu~ Poor girl, she doesn't realize she has no chance with our Sasuke.]

[Fugaku Uchiha: Sasuke's duty is to restore the Uchiha Clan. He has no time to waste on that girl.]

[Izuna Uchiha: If that's the case… shouldn't he get closer to that big-foreheaded girl? She doesn't seem like a bad option. She has talent as a Medical Ninja, as Naruto mentioned.]

[Izumi Uchiha: Forget it. You wouldn't understand.]

[Izuna Uchiha: ???]

[Shisui Uchiha: Sasuke definitely can't be with that girl.]

[Madara Uchiha: Now that I think about it, that boy, Sasuke, looks a lot like you, Izuna.]

[Izuna Uchiha: You think so too? I've been wondering about it for a while…]

[Madara Uchiha: Could it be that Fugaku is your grandson and we never knew?]

[Fugaku Uchiha: I think I would know if that were the case…]

[Izuna Uchiha: I also never had a woman when I was alive…]

[Tobirama Senju: HAHAHAHA! I KILLED YOU AND YOU WERE STILL A VIRGIN!]

[Hashirama Senju: Brother, I never saw you with a woman either.]

[Tobirama Senju: WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON, TRAITOR?!]

[Izuna Uchiha: Heh…]

At Training Ground Three, after Kakashi and Sakura left, only Naruto and Sasuke remained.

"Do you want to keep training?" Naruto suggested.

Sasuke, who had made great progress the day before and during the fight against Kakashi thanks to Naruto, nodded without hesitation.

The two of them sparred the entire day without stopping, improving their Taijutsu.

Even when Sasuke left at dusk, Naruto decided to stay.

Following Might Duy's guidance from the group chat, he continued training until his body couldn't take it anymore and collapsed from exhaustion.

…

The missions that Team 7 undertook in the following days were absolute torture.

They were clearly overqualified for D-Rank missions.

These types of missions were usually assigned to Genin who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy, like them. But for Naruto, they were absurdly easy.

The tasks were simple: mowing grass, helping on farms, walking or retrieving pets… basically, community service that had nothing to do with combat.

However, what frustrated Naruto the most wasn't the nature of the missions, but the pay.

D-Rank missions generated almost no income, and in many cases, they weren't even paid since they were considered community work. To make matters worse, any reward had to be split into four parts.

Of course, Kakashi had no qualms about taking his share.

Even Sasuke was starting to get impatient, but both decided to endure it while Sakura focused on learning the Mystical Palm Technique.

[Madara Uchiha: What kind of missions are these? This is so boring…!]

[Izuna Uchiha: Brother, understand that these are times of peace. Everything is better now.]

[Madara Uchiha: Peace? Don't make me laugh…]

[Izuna Uchiha: What do you mean? We're clearly at peace, brother!]

[Hashirama Senju: Izuna is right, Madara! We finally achieved it, this is what we always wanted!]

[Tobirama Senju: For once, I agree with Madara…]

[Hashirama Senju: WHAT?! WHY?!]

[Madara Uchiha: Don't you see it, Hashirama? I can smell it from here… it stinks. All of Konoha is rotten. It smells like someone who hasn't bathed in a long time and tries to cover up the stench with a strong, sweet perfume. It may mask the stench of shit, but it still makes a horrible combination… I'm holding back from throwing up.]

[Tobirama Senju: A strange metaphor… but I can't deny that I see it the same way.]

[Hashirama Senju: I don't understand, Tobirama. Explain yourself.]

[Tobirama Senju: Naruto told us about Danzo's actions. I'm concerned that that idiot student of mine is up to something. He's always been obsessed with the Hokage position… even when I was alive.]

[Hashirama Senju: Just because of that, you think the village is rotten?]

[Tobirama Senju: Brother, you don't get it. Danzo, the defamation of Sakumo, the Uchiha Clan massacre… countless geniuses of Konoha have died under suspicious circumstances.]

[Hashirama Senju: Are you implying Danzo is behind all of this?]

[Tobirama Senju: It's just a theory for now, but it's becoming more likely.]

[Shisui Uchiha: In my case, Danzo ambushed me to steal my Mangekyo Sharingan. My technique, Kotoamatsukami, is a Genjutsu so powerful that it allows controlling someone's mind without them realizing it.]

[Tobirama Senju: Then my suspicions are correct… Though I must say, if you had that power, you could have used it to stop your clan's coup and save them.]

[Izuna Uchiha: Since when do you care about the Uchiha Clan?]

[Tobirama Senju: I don't care at all. I'm just pointing out what I would have done in his place.]

[Shisui Uchiha: I tried… but Danzo ambushed me and stole one of my eyes. Before dying, I gave the other one to Itachi and threw myself into the Nakano River.]

[Fugaku Uchiha: So that's what happened… I always wondered about your fate.]

[Mikoto Uchiha: Many suspected Itachi at the time…]

[Fugaku Uchiha: And not without reason.]

[Madara Uchiha: And this is just Konoha. I don't even want to imagine the corruption hiding in the other ninja villages. Like the brat said, the world is on the brink of a Fourth Great Ninja War. Even if people talk about peace, there has never been any. Peace is just an illusion…]

[Hashirama Senju: Is there really no way to achieve true peace? One that never ends...?]

[Madara Uchiha: I already told you before, Hashirama. The only way to achieve true peace is to unify all the Elemental Nations into one. If we had joined forces back then, we could have made it happen. But you turned your back on me… and with that, so did my own clan.]

[Hashirama Senju: If only I could go back…]

[Tobirama Senju: Don't you dare sympathize with Madara, Hashirama. Somehow, he'll end up betraying you.]

[Izuna Uchiha: You just had to ruin everything with those words, damn you, Tobirama!]