37. Skyrocketing! Kage-level Strength!

Shihouin Naraku carefully examined each prize he had won in the lottery.

"Supersonic Lightning Style Knife? This looks just like the technique used by Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki!" he said with excitement.

The technique involved injecting Lightning Style Chakra into a knife, creating ultra-high frequency vibrations that enhanced both its sharpness and penetrating power.

"It's similar to the Chidori Blade that Sasuke will develop in the future. The blade gets covered with Lightning Style Chakra for the same effect. I think Killer Bee used this move to block Sasuke's Chidori Blade during their fight!"

This ability would be extremely useful, especially since Shihouin Naraku had recently obtained Kurikara. He could definitely put this technique to good use.

"Master of Hand Seals... this power comes from the Hokage world."

Shihouin Naraku questioned the system directly and confirmed this was true. He also learned about the specific effects of this reward.

The Master of Hand Seals ability would affect him personally. From now on, any ninjutsu he performed would have hand seals formed at incredibly fast speeds, and he could even form them with just one hand.

The most important benefit was his ability to use simplified seals!

For example, the Water Style: Water Dragon Bomb Technique!

When Zabuza Momochi and Kakashi Hatake performed this jutsu, they needed to make forty-four hand seals, which was ridiculous. Yet the Second Hokage could execute the same technique with just three seals.

In the future, Shihouin Naraku would be able to form the fewest hand seals in the shortest time, just like the Second Hokage. His ninjutsu would be released before enemies could even react.

"Very useful!" he muttered to himself.

"For a ninja, a split second can decide between life and death!"

"The Master of Hand Seals ability will help me seize that crucial moment in battle and defeat my enemies!"

Shihouin Naraku then looked at the last reward: Sun Breathing, an ability from the Demon Slayer world.

This breathing method strengthened heart and lung function, using blood to quickly absorb large amounts of oxygen, temporarily and significantly improving physical fitness.

While this ability would be useful for Shihouin Naraku, the improvement wasn't that substantial. After all, he had other methods to enhance himself. However, the thirteen sword forms that came with Sun Breathing would help him greatly.

Upon mastering Sun Breathing, Shihouin Naraku instantly learned twelve sword forms and became proficient in them, which greatly improved his swordsmanship.

For now, though, he couldn't do what the founder Yoriichi Tsugikuni had accomplished—slashing 1,500 times in an instant!

Perhaps once he perfectly performed all twelve sword forms in a cycle, he might have a chance to complete the thirteenth sword form!

But the benefits of Sun Breathing extended beyond that. The system informed him that if he mastered Sun Breathing to its highest level and maintained it even while sleeping, he could slowly improve his physical fitness.

This was good news for Shihouin Naraku. Compared to his spiritual strength, his physical condition was somewhat lacking. Even if the improvement was slow, having a way to enhance his physical condition was valuable.

...

"Haah..." 

After letting out a long breath, Shihouin Naraku took another deep breath, feeling his heart beating inside his body. He began changing his breathing rhythm until he completely switched to Sun Breathing, then paused.

Whether walking, sitting, or lying down, Shihouin Naraku maintained the rhythm of Sun Breathing, never letting it falter. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt his physical condition slowly improving.

In the following days, Shihouin Naraku devoted all his time to Sun Breathing, trying to reach the highest level as quickly as possible.

Perhaps because he had mastered the twelve sword forms, he could maintain the rhythm of Sun Breathing while walking, sitting, or lying down without disruption.

But currently, he couldn't maintain this state while sleeping.

No one knew that Shihouin Naraku was steadily growing stronger.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, several months passed.

During this period, Shihouin Naraku completely absorbed his new powers and built a more solid foundation for himself.

With persistent effort, he entered the highest realm of Sun Breathing and could even maintain his breathing rhythm while sleeping, strengthening his physique at a pace so gradual it was invisible to the naked eye.

While Shihouin Naraku improved his strength step by step, Konohagakure remained peaceful and stable.

However, a situation arose with Uzumaki Naruto. His secret tree-walking training was discovered by Uchiha Sasuke.

Since their last sparring match, Uchiha Sasuke had noticed that Uzumaki Naruto's strength had increased significantly. The loser who had previously been defeated quickly now could fight with him for extended periods, sometimes forcing Sasuke to focus entirely just to maintain the upper hand.

How could Uchiha Sasuke, who prided himself on being a genius, accept this? After some tracking that he thought was secretive, he discovered Uzumaki Naruto's 'secret'!

Following a verbal confrontation, Uchiha Sasuke joined Uzumaki Naruto's training and also began the tree-climbing exercise ahead of schedule.

Although Sasuke's Chakra control was much better, he was often mocked by Uzumaki Naruto during the tree-climbing process. However, Naruto was also quite generous. He shared the same techniques that Hatake Kakashi and Sarutobi Hiruzen had taught him.

Faced with Uzumaki Naruto's loud taunts, Uchiha Sasuke, who was grateful for the help but couldn't always control his temper, eventually lost his cool, and the two began fighting.

As a result, Naruto ended up bruised and battered, while Sasuke was slightly better off, though still in an embarrassing state.

But Uzumaki Naruto's physique was unusually resilient, and he recovered faster. In a strange way, the two had fought to a tie.

And secretly, the bond between Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke grew stronger.

But they showed no affection toward each other and continued to argue constantly.

...

At a training field somewhere in Konohagakure.

"Crack!"

Kurikara returned to its sheath and vanished. Shihouin Naraku lowered his hand, exhaled deeply, and observed the training field around him, which resembled ruins. Flames and smoke still burned in several areas.

"Almost there!" he said to himself.

"Roughly speaking, my current strength should be at Kage-level, and not just one of those Kage-level ninja who are merely filling positions!"

With a smile, Shihouin Naraku watched the smoke gradually dissipate across the training field before turning to leave.

"The noise during training is getting louder and louder. My private training ground was completely destroyed last time. Although this one isn't completely ruined, it needs repairs. I should find another training ground for next time."

Shihouin Naraku felt a bit troubled. Although Konohagakure had over fifty training grounds, they wouldn't last long if he kept destroying them.

"Maybe I need to go outside the village..."

Lost in thought about his own matters, Shihouin Naraku made his way to the forest behind the mountain.

He had been busy with his own affairs for the past few months and hadn't visited Uzumaki Naruto at all. Anyway, he had already vaguely informed Sarutobi Hiruzen about his plans, and Shihouin Naraku guessed that the Hokage understood what he meant.

Otherwise, why had no one approached him about watching over Uzumaki Naruto for so long?

Having just finished his training, Shihouin Naraku was in no hurry and leisurely walked to the forest behind the mountain. However, as soon as he approached, he heard noises.

"Hehehehahaha... Stupid Sasuke, you lose!" came Naruto's smug laughter.

"Idiot!" The voice was somewhat unfamiliar, but Shihouin Naraku recognized it as Uchiha Sasuke.

It seemed that wherever these two went, arguments were inevitable.

There was no helping it—the reincarnations of Indra and Ashura's Chakra were like this, sometimes getting along, sometimes fighting, with no end in sight!

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