There were no signs of tsunami in the town that had been "robbed."
Whitebeard and his group took the treasure and left.
"Gurararara! The nobles in your Fire Country are much more cowardly than the ones on the sea."
Whitebeard made a sharp comment.
In his impression, the nobles on the sea were all arrogant and worshipped the Celestial Dragons.
Even though they were not Celestial Dragons themselves.
They acted as if they were and imitated their behavior.
In short...
They were very arrogant!
"..." Kakashi didn't know what to say because it seemed like Whitebeard had robbed many nobles.
This man didn't care about the authorities at all.
Kakashi even suspected that if the daimyo of the Fire Country appeared before Whitebeard, he would still rob him without hesitation.
Is this what a pirate is?
Even more outrageous than a rebel!
The three continued to the next town, walking from the afternoon until the evening before finally stopping.
Mainly because...
Naruto couldn't hold on any longer.
Thud—
Naruto collapsed face-first into the ground, and surprisingly, this time, he didn't get a nosebleed. He was getting used to the constant nose-diving.
Today's training was double that of yesterday's.
However, every time Naruto was about to give up...
Whitebeard would give him a slash!
The strong desire to survive surged the Nine-Tails' power within Naruto, restoring some of his strength.
Then, Naruto could move again.
Strangely, Naruto had been having similar strange dreams lately. He dreamed of a very vague but enormous figure, constantly cursing in his dreams.
—"Damn human, do you have any normal fatherly affection? This slash is meant to kill this kid, right?"
—"This kid is also an idiot. This torture-like training, and you call it practice? This is trying to kill him!"
—"Ah! Again? I've saved him fifty times! This kid has been on the brink of death fifty times!"
—"If I get the chance, I'm definitely eating this brat!"
Yes, the dreams were full of such curses.
Naruto, being carefree, didn't take it seriously.
He got up from the ground and rested face-down for about ten seconds, which was enough of a break for him.
Naruto hurriedly removed the gold bars tied to his body.
And the bundles of cash.
He wiped the dirt off his face, only making it dirtier, but his bright blue eyes were full of determination.
He looked at Kakashi.
That look made Kakashi a bit uncomfortable.
"Uncle Ninja..." Naruto began.
"My name is Hatake Kakashi." Kakashi, holding a copy of "Make-Out Paradise," said helplessly, "I'm only 19 years old, stop calling me uncle, okay?"
"Uncle Kakashi!" Naruto's eyes seemed to shine, "Teach me ninjutsu now!"
"Now?" Kakashi was taken aback.
He knew how tough Naruto's training had been. Didn't this kid ever get tired?
"Yes!" Naruto nodded vigorously. "If I can learn ninjutsu and medical ninjutsu, I can treat my dad when he's sick!"
This...
Is Naruto's motivation?
"Gurararara! As expected of my son!"
Whitebeard was very pleased.
"To become a ninja, you must first learn to extract chakra," Kakashi reluctantly took on the role of a ninja school teacher.
He tried to recall what his teacher had told him during his time in ninja school.
"Chakra is the essential energy for performing genjutsu, taijutsu, ninjutsu, and kekkei genkai. In other words, if a ninja runs out of chakra, they are like a lamb to the slaughter."
Kakashi took out a tiny scroll, about the size of a thumb, maybe slightly larger.
"This is chakra extraction. It's a required subject in ninja school. Of course, some clan children learn it before they even go to school."
...
Night fell quickly.
In the forest, a large bonfire was lit, illuminating an area of tens of meters.
A dozen skinned wild boars were skewered on sticks around the bonfire, creating a circle. It was a complete massacre, a true family extermination event.
Seasoned with spices.
The spices were from Kakashi's sealing scroll. He usually added them to his food pills, as chewing them dry was quite unpleasant.
Now...
The spices were "confiscated"!
"Dad! Uncle Kakashi!" Naruto's face was full of joy. "I... I think I've extracted chakra!"
In Naruto's palm, there was a faint chakra fluctuation.
Though it seemed very weak.
It was still visible to the naked eye.
"It took half an hour." Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, "In a way, this is top-tier talent. In ninja school, extracting chakra this quickly would place him in the top five of his class."
No wonder he's the child of Minato-sensei and Kushina-san.
He inherited their excellent genes!
...
Kakashi didn't know.
Inside Naruto, a certain Nine-Tails rolled its eyes.
If it didn't think disrupting this brat's chakra extraction would lead to more suicidal training, it would have messed with Naruto long ago.
It wanted nothing more than to torment this brat.
To take out its grudge against Minato and Kushina...
All on this brat!
But ever since this brat accepted Whitebeard as his father, the suicidal training had even scared the Nine-Tails.
Although tailed beasts can revive.
Kurama was special.
Because its body was forcibly divided into two parts, it didn't know if this part would revive if it died with the jinchuuriki.
"That guy really annoys tailed beasts!" Kurama muttered, referring to Whitebeard.
Originally, before Whitebeard appeared...
Naruto's miserable experience was a source of amusement for Kurama. I couldn't wait for Naruto's childhood to be even more miserable.
Seeing Minato and Kushina's child in such a pathetic state...
Would it pity him?
Would it feel sorry for him?
Ridiculous!
It was great!
Until Whitebeard appeared.
Things took a turn.
Naruto, who was once miserable, started doing better and better under Whitebeard's fatherly care.
How infuriating!
This guy, who looked human but wasn't, where did he come from?
At that moment.
Whitebeard's hearty laughter interrupted Kurama's thoughts.
"Gurararara! So, top-tier talent, huh? Foolish son, it looks like you're naturally suited to become the Hokage of Konoha!"
"Dad! I'll definitely become Hokage! No! I'll surpass Grandpa Hokage!!"
Naruto's smile was bright, and he sincerely thanked Kakashi, "Uncle Kakashi, thank you!"
This smile left Kakashi in a daze.
So...
All it took was a little care for Minato-sensei's child to show such a bright smile.
Kakashi, what have you been doing these past five years?
...
...