Chapter 65

Land of Whirlpools

A sea breeze swept over the coast, rippling the dawn light across the ocean's surface. Waves broke against the shore in a steady rhythm, meeting a golden beach packed with people. As far as the eye could see, it was a sea of backs, each bearing the red and white fan of the Uchiha clan.

"Fugaku-sama has arrived!" A murmur went through the assembly as they parted, making way. Fugaku walked slowly onto a simple wooden platform built on the sand, followed by several Uchiha shinobi.

"I wonder who will pass this test," one of them mused aloud.

Only those who passed could leave the Land of Whirlpools. It was a rule set by Naruto and approved by the entire clan.

"It has to be Izumi-sama, of course. She'll pass. After all, she's awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan!" An Uchiha clan member declared proudly, his chest puffed out as if he, not Izumi, had awakened the legendary eye. "The Mangekyo is the dojutsu of the Uchiha after all."

"No, I don't think Izumi-sama will win." Another Uchiha clan member interjected earnestly, rattling off the Mangekyo Sharingan's limitations as though he could personally best it. "While the Mangekyo is the strongest dojutsu of the Uchiha clan, it can't be used frequently. Her eyesight would quickly fade if she pushed it. Izumi-sama wouldn't risk her Mangekyo for a small test like this."

Anyway, they aren't fighting, so what's wrong with saying a few words? Every Uchiha now knew that the Mangekyo couldn't be used often. Fugaku had publicly revealed the truth about the Mangekyo's limitations within the clan, deeming it for the clan's benefit.

"My money's on Inaho," another piped up. "He's the youngest to awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan. He even tried to intercept that madman. He didn't succeed, of course, but just trying says something about his strength."

The title of "that madman" belonged to only one person.

"What are you talking about? Tekka is the youngest with three tomoe."

"I think it'll be Yashiro-sama," an older Uchiha said, placing his faith in the older generation. "He's from the same era as Fugaku-sama and one of the clan's best strategists."

"Doesn't matter," someone else cut in, lowering their voice. "I heard Uzumaki-sama is overseeing the test again."

As soon as that Uchiha finished speaking, the entire scene fell silent.

"I just hope he doesn't make the test impossible this time," a younger shinobi whispered, covering his eyes as recalling a bad memory of previous test.

"It won't be like last time, where no one passed, right?"

The Uchiha exchanged uneasy glances.

"Uzumaki-sama is just... too strong."

"If Uzumaki-sama is presiding again, no one will be able to pass."

The Uchiha groaned collectively.

A collective groan went through the clan. The last test, personally supervised by Naruto, had a simple rule: anyone who could take one of his punches without going down would pass. Thirty-four challengers had stepped forward, and every last one of them, Izumi included, went down in a single hit.

Itachi and Obito had shown them the gulf that could exist between one Sharingan and another. Naruto had shown them that the gulf between two people could be wider than the one between a human and a pig.

Ignoring the resentful stares, Fugaku addressed the crowd, that Naruto will indeed be presiding over this test.

A wave of Uchiha slapped their own foreheads. 'It's over,' someone muttered. 'No one's passing this year either.'

"Alright, that's enough chatter," Naruto's voice cut through the murmurs. "The rules this time are simple: anyone who can endure my summon's attacks for thirty minutes will pass."

Brevity was Naruto's style, there was no point in superfluous talk. He preferred to get straight to the point.

As Naruto made his announcement, the Uchiha below erupted discussions.

"Wait, did you hear that? He's not fighting himself!"

"Just a summoned beast? And only for thirty minutes? There's a big chance now!"

"Then Izumi, Inaho, along with rest should have no problem."

"Damn, I should've signed up. This sounds almost easy."

Amidst the sudden surge of optimism, Naruto slammed his palm to the sand. "Summoning Jutsu!"

*Poof!*

A huge cloud of white smoke erupted, and when it cleared, the Box of Ultimate Bliss stood on the shore.

'Easy?' Naruto thought, a faint smirk touching his lips. 'Then let's see how you handle the power of one of the weapons from Sage of Six Paths era.'

Naruto placed his hand on the box and began to channel chakra. Summoning Satori required chakra, even for him. Through his extensive use, Naruto had gradually understood the box's functions. It summoned different forms of Satori depending on the chakra channeled into it.

These Satori were generally divided into one to three levels, with Level Three being the strongest and Level One being the weakest. Intelligence and strength also increased with the level. Level Three Satori could speak human language, imitate any creature, and possessed extremely high intelligence.

Level One Satori was the weakest, with intelligence only slightly beyond that of a mindless beast. Its strength and regenerative capabilities were the lowest, and its threat level was the least. But its limited mind-reading ability would assist it against most enemies, though only able to perceive the thoughts of those who felt fear. If the target was fearless, its mind-reading was useless.

Level Two Satori was much larger and possessed a certain degree of intelligence, with same mind-reading limitation. 

Level Three Satori was the legendary 'world-destroying' monster, boasting peerless recovery, intelligence, and mind-reading abilities. Incidentally, the Satori that usually trained with Naruto was Level Three, the one that inherited Muku's memories. 

This was the same Level Three Satori in canon naruto-verse that had disoriented even powerful shinobi like Killer B and Naruto himself, along with Mui. Even Naruto, utilizing his full Sage Mode power, couldn't inflict a single injury upon it. In fact, if it hadn't been for plot armor of being saved from Ryuzetsu's Dragon Life Reincarnation Jutsu, Naruto would have been killed. Leading to death rate of comparable to 4th Shinobi World War, maybe even more.

'A Level Three would be too much,' Naruto considered. 'Izumi might stand a chance with her Mangekyo, but no one else would. No, a Level One is just right for this.'

"Come out, Satori!" he commanded.

The 'Joy' face on one of the box's four sides slowly slid open.

*Roar!*

Accompanied by a roar that reverberated through the sky, the monstrous, toothy, eyeless form of Satori slowly emerged.

'Such a malevolent chakra.' Fugaku's Sharingan flared to life instantly, as he stared at the creature. He glanced at Naruto, a flicker of worry in his eyes. 'If a beast that powerful gets out of control... it could turn on its master.' This chakra felt even more ominous, more chaotic, than the Nine-Tails'.

Behind him, several Uchiha clan members scheduled to take the test, led by Izumi, also wore grave expressions, activating their Sharingan and tensing, preparing for combat. 

Level Three was simply too strong, if it appeared, the Uchiha would have no hope at all, including Izumi, unless she fully utilized the power of her Mangekyo Sharingan.

Level One Satori was just right.

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