I didn't deliberate long about the gift, as this approach would not only grant Naruto greater self-control and provide me with an independent source of power, but also allow me to observe the reaction of Asura's chakra to Mokuton.
With the knowledge of the Snake Sannin and my own abilities, I managed to create something that would aid in documenting this moment.
Through telekinesis and electromagnetic control, I watched Naruto's genome transform at the cellular level. Everything proceeded as anticipated, but suddenly, the process intensified.
"As expected," I whispered, watching as Mokuton fortified itself within Naruto.
Naruto's cells absorbed the newfound power, adapting and transforming. I watched as new structures formed and interconnected, creating new pathways for chakra. The process was exhilarating. At one point, I noticed Asura's chakra, dormant within Naruto, beginning to interact with Mokuton, amplifying it.
Naruto cried out, his body tensing from pain, but he didn't surrender. I intensified my control, assisting his body in coping with the transformations. Green patterns on his skin grew brighter as Mokuton solidified its presence.
"You'll manage, Naruto," I said, continuing to observe. "You'll become stronger than ever."
—= Kurama =—
Kurama, the majestic and formidable fox, was confined within the dungeon of Naruto's mind—a cold, dark chamber with a massive sealed door embellished with intricate patterns and symbols that restrained his power. His nine tails swayed tensely as he observed events through his jinchuuriki's eyes.
"What the hell is this?..." the thought flashed in the mind of the millennia-old bijuu.
Because of the Fourth Hokage's seal, Kurama could hear and see what Naruto did. When Reed Richards had Naruto drink a vial of mysterious liquid, Kurama paid little attention, assuming it was yet another futile attempt to boost power. But now... Kurama sensed a familiar energy infiltrating every cell of Naruto.
"This is... Hashirama's chakra?!" Kurama mentally exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with alarm and astonishment.
The chakra he felt was incredibly similar to that which emanated from the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Kurama knew this energy all too well—the energy that could subdue and calm him, suppressing his power.
"Impossible... how did he do it?" Kurama tensed, his nine tails writhing in fury and anxiety.
From within his cage, he felt Naruto's energy shifting, his body adapting to new powers. He observed Naruto becoming stronger by the moment and understood that this man, Reed Richards, was no ordinary individual.
—= Naruto Uzumaki =—
The first thing Naruto sensed upon awakening was the surge in his chakra levels.
"How are you feeling?" his sensei's voice sounded.
The blond clenched his fist, testing the strength of his body. It didn't feel like much had changed.
"Strange. It seems I have more chakra," Naruto said. "Is that how it's supposed to be?"
"Ha, if you think only your reserves have increased, you're mistaken," Reed-sensei stated. "Let's head to the training grounds, unless you want to break something here."
Naruto nodded, sensing his body had become more powerful. His muscles felt infused with new strength, his skin denser, his bones sturdier. He rose from the bed, experiencing an extraordinary lightness and flexibility in his movements.
Once outside, Naruto noticed his perception of the world had sharpened. Every sound, every scent was more vivid. He felt truly alive.
"Sensei, I feel stronger, but it's not just because of the chakra," Naruto said, stretching. "My body is different. It's stronger and sturdier."
"That's natural," Reed-sensei nodded. "Hashirama Senju's DNA has altered your body at the cellular level. You now possess not only his strength but also his endurance."
At the training grounds, Naruto felt his body responding to commands faster and more precisely. He leaped upward, his jump twice as high as usual. Striking a tree, he left a deep imprint; the tree's roots cracked under the impact.
"Incredible!" Naruto exclaimed, looking at his hands. "I feel invincible!"
"I wouldn't be so sure that you're all that invincible," Reed-sensei said. "You already had incredible potential, but now that potential has been enhanced."
—= Reed Richards =—
We spent about two hours at the training grounds, during which Naruto, with the help of clones, tested his new abilities. The outcome of this training was a better understanding by the blond of his new physical parameters. His regeneration was now more potent, enabling him to train with even greater dedication and without worries about his health.
"Haaah..." Naruto panted heavily.
He looked utterly exhausted. But that was understandable, as besides physical fatigue, he also had mental exhaustion from the horde of shadow clones he used to hone his taijutsu. I glanced at the clock. The time allotted by Jiraiya was nearly up.
"That'll be all for today," I said, getting to my feet.
Before Naruto could protest, I added:
"Jiraiya's allotted time has come to an end."
The blond sighed, realizing that arguing was pointless. He stood up, trying to catch his breath and compose himself.
"Alright, sensei. Thanks for the training and the gift," he said with gratitude in his voice.
After that, he disappeared using Shunshin. I sensed Jiraiya's presence; he had been watching us for the past half-hour.
"Did you want to ask something, Jiraiya?" I said without turning my head.
"I knew my presence wouldn't escape you," the white-haired sannin emerged from the shadows with an awkward smile.
"You're an extremely noticeable person," I shrugged.
Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched at my veiled insult, but he restrained himself.
"But the question remains, what did you want to ask?"
"How did Naruto's reserves increase?" Jiraiya asked, his voice full of curiosity.
"Because of my gift," I replied. "As for what that gift is, you'll find out during your search for Tsunade. I didn't tell him to hide his new powers."
Jiraiya sighed, realizing he wouldn't get more out of me.
"Let's be honest, Naruto is unlikely to keep his mouth shut about this matter," Jiraiya said with a smirk.
"True," I nodded. "In any case, he'll show his best side."
"I hope so," Jiraiya said. "You've really done a lot for him. Thank you, Reed."
"Good luck in your search for Tsunade," I replied, watching as he vanished using Shunshin.
Meanwhile, I needed to obtain some more information. I already had data regarding Hashirama Senju's DNA and Uchiha Sasuke's DNA, which I managed to acquire without straying far from Konoha. However, while everything was clear with Hashirama, with Sasuke I needed information about the development of his eyes.
And in obtaining this information, the one who had just entered Konoha and headed towards the Dango restaurant would help me. I was moving in the same direction.
—\\—
A pleasant and relaxing atmosphere enveloped the dango restaurant. Despite the sizable crowd inside, my attention was captured by two figures clad in the renowned cloaks adorned with red clouds.
Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi were leisurely enjoying their dango at that moment. The decision to come here had been Itachi's, as he loved this restaurant.
They had noticed me even as I approached, but their attention didn't linger since there was no information about me in the Bingo Book yet, and I had no chakra for them to sense.
After ordering a couple of skewers of dango, I quickly finished them—the taste was incredibly delightful. At that moment, Itachi and Kisame began sipping their tea.
"I didn't think Uchiha Itachi would be such a lover of sweets," I remarked when I sensed Kakashi was already nearby.
It wasn't reasonable for me to allow a battle between Kakashi and Itachi.
My words caused the rogue ninja to freeze momentarily, but they quickly regained their composure and vanished from the restaurant.
Tracking their location wasn't difficult, as I had already analyzed their biomagnetic fields.
"Something needs to be done about speed," I said, finishing my tea and beginning my pursuit of Itachi and Kisame using my abilities.
Using telekinesis and control over electromagnetic fields, I created a low-resistance space ahead of me to avoid losing speed.
—= Itachi Uchiha and Hoshigaki Kisame =—
"Maybe we should have killed him back there?"
Kisame's irritation was palpable. Itachi sighed heavily. One of the last members of the Uchiha clan, he agreed with Kisame at that moment; the man who had easily exposed them hadn't let them enjoy their meal.
"Our mission is supposed to proceed without unnecessary noise," Itachi reminded him of Pain's orders.
The swordsman from Kirigakure smirked. Kisame knew he could handle stealthy missions, but such methods weren't his style.
"Yeah, yeah," Kisame nodded.
Just then, the renegades sensed approaching sources of chakra.
"I wasn't finished talking," came a voice from above, causing Kisame and Itachi to momentarily lose their composure. "It's impolite to just leave like that."
Kisame's hands instantly formed the necessary seals, and Itachi's eyes immediately turned red.
"Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
A shark formed from water rushed toward the speaker, while Itachi locked eyes with him, attempting to cast him into a genjutsu.
SNAP
BOOM
The man snapped his fingers, and in the next second, Kisame's shark vanished in an explosion.
"Itachi?"
Kisame's question needed no elaboration, as their duo always acted in sync.
"I met his gaze," Itachi replied.
"Then why isn't he in a genjutsu?"
Even Itachi couldn't believe what he was witnessing. But reality was what it was.
"Because he has no chakra to affect."
Such a thing was impossible. Kisame and Itachi knew this perfectly well.
"Are you sure you don't have vision problems?" Kisame joked, but his hand had already grabbed Samehada.
"Certain," Itachi said as his hands formed seals for a fire-style technique.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A sizable fireball shot from Itachi's mouth at high speed.
They didn't expect this attack to delay me. Itachi's fireball served as cover for a more serious assault.
"You really want to test what I'm capable of?" the man's voice sounded in Itachi's head. "If I wanted to kill both of you, I would have done so a couple of seconds ago."
Itachi dismissed these words as mere deceit. For that reason, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. His Sharingan transformed, and soon three spiraling curves around the pupil burned in his eyes.
"Amaterasu."
Black flames capable of incinerating anything began to engulf the man's body.
—= Reed Richards =—
Bloody tears flowed from Itachi's eyes, a testament to the immense strain caused by the technique.
"In that case, I must prove the truth of my words, mustn't I?" I said telepathically into Itachi's mind.
"Good work, Itachi, I was just about to..." BAM!
Kisame's head exploded like a balloon filled with ketchup.
Now Itachi could see there was no trace of the black flames on me. Creating a visual illusion in an opponent's mind was an extremely simple task if you knew where to press.
"What the hell?!" flashed momentarily in the mind of one of the last Uchiha.
"Is that sufficient proof? Or do you need additional demonstrations?"
Itachi concluded that an opponent like me needed to be sealed using the Totsuka Blade. The red skeletal form of Susanoo began to manifest around him.
I possessed nearly the entire spectrum of data on how the Mangekyō Sharingan manifests in its user.
"Very well."
Using atomic control over my body, I created a tungsten bullet at the tip of my right index finger. Forming my hand into the shape of a gun, I took aim.
"Railgun."
Like lightning, the bullet shot from my finger, heading straight for the center of Susanoo. A technically perfect weapon collided with an ancient chakra technique. Itachi's Susanoo crackled; its skeletal form began to crumble under the powerful attack.
"Impossible..." Itachi whispered, his thoughts racing for an escape.
"As you can see, I'm not joking," I said as the bullet pierced Susanoo and halted a millimeter from Itachi's forehead. "If I wanted to, you'd be dead right now."
Itachi felt the bullet retract; his Susanoo vanished, leaving him weakened but alive.
"So what is it you want?" he asked, his voice filled with fatigue and distrust.
I smirked.
"To talk with you."
Itachi took a deep breath, trying to regain his strength and comprehend the situation. He understood that continuing the battle would yield nothing good, and perhaps negotiation was the best option.
"Fine," Itachi sighed heavily.
—= Kakashi Hatake =—
The Copy Ninja Kakashi wasn't a sensor in the full sense but wasn't blind either.
The first thing ninja are taught is to pay attention to details. Kakashi had noticed two men in cloaks with red clouds in Konoha—the ones Jiraiya-sama had warned him about.
The jonin quickly assembled competent allies and set off after them. Minutes later, from the location where the two Akatsuki members had been, sounds of battle were heard, which ceased as Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai arrived.
"Took you long enough," Reed stated, standing alongside a headless Akatsuki member and a very familiar dark-haired man with Sharingan.
"That's Hoshigaki Kisame?..." Kurenai whispered.
Now Kakashi recalled where he had seen that sword.
"Reed-san, what's going on here?" Kakashi asked, striving to keep his surprise under control, understanding that Reed Richards had effortlessly dealt with an S-rank rogue known as the Tailed Beast Without a Tail.
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