Today, in the shinobi world within the Fire Country, a town named "Bamboo Town" was bustling with activity.
This was all due to orders from the local noble.
Throughout the vast town, banners of the Whitebeard Pirates were hung above all the Fire Country's emblems, signifying that a town with tens of thousands of residents had come under the "protection" of a pirate crew.
However, the so-called Whitebeard Pirates actually consisted of only two people and one of them was more like an accessory.
—Whitebeard.
—Naruto.
It was clear who was the accessory.
The Whitebeard Pirates' flags were hung on many tall buildings in the town, making them very noticeable.
Two injured ninjas from the Sarutobi clan of Konoha were also admitted to the local hospital.
It was because of these two injured ninjas that the town was so compliant.
"This is a huge mess. Doing this is practically declaring war on the Fire Country," Kakashi muttered helplessly, dragging a suitcase while glancing back at the town.
Seeing the Whitebeard Pirates' flags raised higher than the Fire Country's emblem made him feel numb.
But he couldn't stop it.
He knew his strength compared to Whitebeard's.
He couldn't expect the Fire Country nobles to maintain their "pride" and "dignity" in front of Whitebeard.
Kakashi even thought that Konoha overestimated the importance of nobles.
When facing Konoha, they acted high and mighty.
But in front of Whitebeard, they were more cowardly than stray dogs.
Forget it.
Let the daimyo of the Fire Country and the old folks in Konoha worry about this mess!
Kakashi chose to stop thinking about it.
His mission was to stay close to Naruto and make sure Whitebeard didn't take him out of the Fire Country. Other than that, it was best not to meddle too much.
He then focused on Naruto, who had finished his "carrying stones" training.
The next training was "carrying treasure."
The so-called treasure was the protection money Whitebeard extorted.
Provided by the noble who had been defrauded.
Naruto's arms, legs, abdomen, and back were all tied with weights. These weights weren't stones or iron blocks.
They were bundles of cash!
And gold bars!
"So... heavy..." Naruto's forehead veins bulged, his face turning red. "These gold bars are much smaller than stones, but why are they so heavy?"
The bundles of cash were manageable for Naruto.
But the gold bars provided by the Fire Country noble...
Showed him the burden of wealth.
"Gurararara! Foolish son! You think this bit of treasure is heavy?" Whitebeard laughed heartily, carrying Murakumogiri on his shoulder. "When I sailed the seas, each haul was several hundred times what we have now! Gurararara!"
"If only we had a large ship to store the treasure." Whitebeard lamented, "A ship to store treasure would be great."
Kakashi remarked, "A ship can't travel on land."
In truth, Kakashi couldn't understand why Whitebeard needed treasure.
Did he really need money?
It didn't seem like it.
From what Kakashi knew, Whitebeard never paid for food, so he didn't need money.
So why extort protection money and claim a town as the Whitebeard Pirates' territory?
What was Whitebeard's motive?
"Hey, white-haired kid!" Whitebeard suddenly looked at Kakashi, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "You ninjas have a lot of strange tricks. Do you have techniques to store items?"
"We do," Kakashi confirmed.
He had used sealing scrolls in front of Whitebeard and Naruto during their journey.
The food pills he carried were in sealing scrolls.
"Can anyone learn this trick?" Whitebeard asked.
Kakashi thought for a moment, "Pretty much."
"Gurararara! Then teach my foolish son! The Whitebeard Pirates will have a place to store our treasure." Whitebeard grinned.
"Whitebeard-sama, do you really not know ninjutsu?" Kakashi couldn't help but ask.
He remembered that sealing techniques weren't particularly difficult.
Most ninjas could do it.
"Gurararara! What? Trying to get information out of me?"
Whitebeard laughed dismissively. "I don't know any ninjutsu. The first time I saw mud and water being spit out was in the shinobi world."
This response left Kakashi speechless.
So Whitebeard wasn't a ninja?
If he didn't have a lot of chakra, how did he possess such immense strength?
And how did he use a "kekkei genkai" that could cause tremors?
Wait!
Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized something crucial. "Whitebeard-sama, do you not know chakra extraction?"
He recalled that when Whitebeard used his immense strength and "kekkei genkai," there was no chakra fluctuation!
"I don't know!" Whitebeard replied confidently. "I've never heard of it!"
This answer left Kakashi questioning everything.
His knowledge from the ninja academy felt useless. He had encountered a blind spot in his understanding.
How was this possible?
Did this mean Whitebeard didn't have chakra?
Or did he have chakra comparable to an ordinary person?
This was inconceivable!
"Why do you keep asking questions, white-haired kid?" Whitebeard frowned. "Are you going to teach him or not?"
Kakashi didn't want to teach; he wasn't fond of teaching.
He saw himself as an ANBU ninja, not a teacher.
Kakashi explained, "Storing items is a sealing technique that requires solid ninjutsu basics and sufficient chakra."
"Naruto's physical condition is indeed exceptional, but he hasn't attended the ninja academy yet. He doesn't know how to extract chakra and doesn't have enough of his own chakra."
"Why waste time talking? Start with chakra extraction!" Whitebeard commanded, not giving Kakashi a chance to refuse. "Show me how you ninjas spit fire and water."
Whitebeard was genuinely interested in "ninjutsu," which could replicate the abilities of devil fruits without actually eating one.
"Alright," Kakashi reluctantly agreed.
Facing a giant sword and a man who even the Third Hokage couldn't defeat, Kakashi had no choice.
"Huh?"
Naruto's eyes lit up with excitement, momentarily forgetting his fatigue. "I can learn ninjutsu? White-haired uncle, are you going to teach me ninjutsu?"
"Yes," Kakashi replied weakly.
He had given up resisting.
...
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