Chapter 66

"Quiet!" Naruto snapped, digging a finger in his ear with an impatient scowl.

At the sound of his master's voice, the roaring Satori fell silent. It clamped its massive claws, strong enough to tear steel, over its toothy maw. For a creature with no eyes, it managed to look remarkably chastised.

'Ugly-cute? My ass.' Naruto thought. 'This thing is just ugly and nowhere near cute.'

Even a Level 3 Satori got rubbed into the ground by Naruto, so a Level 1 Satori stood even less of a chance. Naruto had subdued it a long time ago.

There was more than one Satori within the Box of Ultimate Bliss, the Level 3 and Level 1 versions weren't the same creature, though only one could be released at a time.

"As expected of Uzumaki-sama," an Uchiha murmured in awe. "Even a monster like that obeys his every command."

Sitting with Mikoto in the crowd, Karin puffed out her chest like a proud little hen. 'That's my brother's summon.'

Powerful summons could indirectly boost a ninja's strength. When a ninja was truly in sync with their summoning, they could unleash immense combat power, for example, Jiraiya and Gamabunta, the Third Hokage and Monkey King Enma, Hanzo and Ibuse, or the Fourth Hokage and Gamabunta. Their combined efforts yielded a power far greater than they could achieve alone. With the Fourth Hokage, Gamabunta had even managed to pin the Nine-Tails.

However, powerful summons were often unruly, extremely difficult to tame, and some could even turn on their summoners. Take Manda and Orochimaru, for instance.

The fact that Naruto could make such a vicious and powerful summon obey with just one sentence earned him not just admiration but outright worship from the assembled Uchiha. Worship of the strong was a tradition in the ninja world, and even the arrogant Uchiha were no exception, especially now that harsh reality had filed down their sharp edges.

"Alright, the test officially begins." Naruto settled into the stands, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "Who will be the first challenger?"

"I am." Izumi stepped forward without hesitation.

The gentle girl she once was had been burned away that night, consumed by fire and bloodshed. She had lost her family, her friends, and the boy she loved, all while being forced to watch him cut down their kin. All the warmth in her heart had turned to ash. Now, there was only training. A cold hatred pushed her forward, always forward. The Uchiha were a clan of deep love, it was the source of their power. Losing that love was what awakened the Sharingan, the Eye that Reflects the Heart. Her love for Itachi had unlocked her three-tomoe. Her hatred for him had unlocked her Mangekyo. She craved the strength to kill him with her own hands, and this was the first test of that resolve.

Gazing at Satori, Izumi slowly drew the Katana from her waist.

Izumi was formidably strong, her kenjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu had all progressed significantly during this period. To have awakened the Mangekyo at the age of thirteen, her talent was undeniably powerful. In the entire Uchiha clan, no one possessed stronger talent than her, save for Sasuke and Itachi.

But it wasn't enough. Not without her Mangekyo.

Satori's mind-reading rendered her ninjutsu useless, it dodged every attack before she finished the signs. Sharingan Genjutsu was equally pointless against a creature with no eyes. And taijutsu... going hand-to-hand with Satori was suicide. Her blade shattered against its hide without leaving so much as a scratch.

Naruto had set the timer for thirty minutes. Izumi lasted twenty before she failed. Satori pinned her to the sand with one massive hand, and no matter how she struggled, the beast didn't budge. Finally, voice tight with frustration, she admitted defeat.

If Izumi had failed, the others stood no chance. Inaho, a leader of the younger generation, managed nineteen minutes. Tekka held out for fifteen. Yashiro, the veteran, lasted the longest at twenty-five. The rest fell in short order.

It was a total rout.

"You're too weak," Naruto's voice cut across the silent beach. "I'm disappointed."

His words were merciless. At this level, they might be a match for one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and a mid-tier one at that. They weren't exactly weak, but they were far from strong. The ninja world was full of monsters who could kill them and take their Sharingan for a prize. White Zetsu was already scouring the continent for any sign of Uchiha survivors. If not for Naruto's superior sensory abilities, they would have been discovered long ago.

'If you can't fight on the level of a Tailed Beast,' he thought, 'you can't protect yourself. And I won't let you leave here until you can.'

Faced with his reprimand, the Uchiha lowered their heads in shame. They had been so confident, thinking thirty minutes against a mere summon would be easy. The humiliation was absolute.

"Starting today," Naruto announced, his voice ringing with authority, "all Uchiha between the ages of ten and fifty will begin my special training. Every ninja here will learn to last at least forty minutes against Satori."

Left to train on their own, the Uchiha would stagnate, remaining at this level even years from now. Any truly powerful opponents they faced would easily wipe them out. From now on, he would personally oversee their training. He wanted to forge an elite ninja force directly under his command. The Uchiha's talent couldn't be wasted like this. 

If any other Uzumaki clan members had existed, he would've also wanted to train a force composed entirely of his own clan. Such a combination of their complementary strengths would be invincible. Unfortunately, the Uzumaki clan had been annihilated.

"If you don't meet the standard, you'll train until you do." His philosophy was simple: train them until they broke, heal them, and do it all over again. He had been practicing Yang Release lately, mending broken bones was no trouble at all, he could also attach severed limbs if needed.

"This is my minimum requirement," he said, his gaze sweeping over them. "Understood?"

The prospect of being trained personally by Naruto sent a wave of shock and excitement through the clan. They had all seen what his "devilish" training had done for Karin. The girl was only eleven, but her training regimen put grown men to shame, and the results were terrifying. She could now take on ten Uchiha her age at once and win easily. Even those with a newly awakened Sharingan wouldn't dare face her, one of her punches was enough to make you taste last week's dinner.

"Understood!" they shouted.

"I didn't hear you. Not at all." Naruto's voice was sharp. "Such a soft voice, and you expect to revive the Uchiha? Say it again, from the top."

"UNDERSTOOD!?" The roar shook the very air.

Naruto nodded, a grim smile on his face. "Good. That's more like it."

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