Looking at the adoring gaze in the other person's eyes, Naruto felt like crying. "Being a rich and popular guy, just go die already..." he thought. "Enough with that, can you just continue teaching me ninjutsu?"
He quickly changed the subject.
Tōshirō released Naruto's hand and assumed a serious expression: "Where did we leave off?"
Naruto thought for a moment: "We were talking about chakra attributes."
Tōshirō nodded and formed a series of hand seals: "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."
As soon as the words were spoken, a powerful wind blew, pulling at the surrounding trees with a loud howling sound.
Naruto's eyes brightened.
"Do you want to learn this?" Tōshirō asked.
"Yes," Naruto responded eagerly.
"Alright, I'll teach you."
Tōshirō wasted no time and began teaching the essentials right away.
The day passed quickly, and as the sun began to set, the sky grew darker.
"Let's call it a day," Tōshirō said.
"Okay," Naruto agreed.
He wiped the sweat off his brow, feeling not too tired despite training all day. "You really know a lot, no wonder I can't beat you."
"Do you want to continue tomorrow?"
"Eh, is it alright?"
Tōshirō laughed, "No problem, I'm just passing time anyway."
Today, he had taught him a few basic Wind Release techniques. Later, he planned to gradually guide Naruto into understanding chakra's transformation and property changes. This way, he would have a chance to slowly introduce the training method for the Rasengan.
Naruto was happy to have made a good friend.
After saying goodbye, Tōshirō went straight back home.
That evening, during dinner, Tōshirō mentioned Naruto's situation: "Tsunade, today I heard that Naruto is the Nine-Tails fox. Do you know anything about this?"
Tsunade's eyes held a hint of amusement: "Oh? Not calling me mom anymore?"
Tōshirō looked a bit downcast.
Tsunade burst out laughing. "Alright, I won't tease you anymore."
Afterward, her expression grew serious, and she said solemnly: "How should I explain this... It's a bit complicated. This child, Naruto, is actually a Jinchūriki."
Tōshirō pretended to be surprised: "A Jinchūriki?"
Tsunade sighed deeply: "He's a pitiful child. His real identity is actually the son of the Fourth Hokage."
Upon hearing this news, Tsunade almost dropped her chopsticks in shock.
Tsunade glanced at her, and then calmly explained the circumstances surrounding the Fourth Hokage's story in detail.
Once she finished, Tōshirō finally seized the opportunity to speak: "I don't understand. Since Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage, why hide his identity and let him suffer such criticism and discrimination from a young age?"
"Maybe to protect him," Tsunade replied.
"Protect? The whole village knows, and his surname and yellow hair... anyone with a bit of sense would put two and two together."
Tsunade was silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "I'm sorry, I've been away from the village for too long, and I don't know all the hidden details."
"I wonder how the Fourth Hokage and his wife would feel knowing their son went through such a situation," Tōshirō said, his voice tinged with sarcasm.
Tsunade lowered her gaze, silent.
"Also, ignoring this matter for now, I've always been confused about the Uchiha clan's massacre. How could such a large family be wiped out by a 13-year-old kid?
"Even if I assume he's extraordinarily talented and became the top Uchiha at such a young age, fine, I'll accept that.
"But he wasn't facing just one person; he was facing the entire Uchiha clan. Even if my brain was squeezed by a door, I'd find it hard to believe he had the strength to do that.
"Or could it be that the Uchiha clan had fallen so far that one boy could wipe them out in one night? In this case, I really wonder what role the village's high-ranking officials played in all of this.
"And what was Uchiha Itachi's motive? Was he insane? That reason is far too simplistic. If that's the case, why leave his brother alive?
"Not worth killing? Please, he was already a madman—how could he still have such thoughts?"
"Everything about this is just... incomprehensible."
Perhaps because he had gotten too worked up, Tōshirō took several deep breaths after saying all of this.
Suddenly, a warm hand wrapped around his right hand on the table.
It was the younger Tsunade's hand.
She knew that Tōshirō had been in a bad mood lately because he found out about the Uchiha massacre.
Tōshirō understood what she was thinking and shook his head to reassure her. "Don't worry, I'm not that easily affected. We came to this world by chance, and maybe it's fate that we are here to change all of this."
The younger Tsunade, reminded of the future incident where Shōdai would be killed by an explosive tag, nodded. "We won't let that happen."
Seeing that neither of them was affected by future events, Tsunade felt slightly relieved and sighed.
Not wanting to talk about it further, Tōshirō shook his head, set the topic aside, and changed the subject.
"So, how's the progress on the treatment?"
"We have a breakthrough. I think within a month, we should be able to come up with a treatment plan," Tsunade replied.
Tōshirō praised her: "That's amazing. I don't think there's a medical ninja more skilled than you in this world."
Tsunade smiled. "When you guys decide to go to Loulan, remember to inform me."
From the side, Ino, who had been mostly silent, spoke up: "Tsunade-sama, are you going too?"
"Of course. If something happens to those two, then I'll be in trouble," Tsunade replied.
Ino nodded. "Then, I'll go with you too."
Tsunade thought for a moment and agreed. "Alright, it's better to have someone with you on the road."
...
A few days later, Jiraiya successfully became Hokage, and his face was carved into the rock wall in vivid detail.
Looking at Jiraiya greeting everyone, Tōshirō felt an indescribable sense of awkwardness.
After the Hokage inauguration ceremony, Naruto grabbed Tōshirō and they continued their training.
Tōshirō did not refuse and accompanied Naruto to the training grounds.
Naruto's eyes shone with excitement: "Today, what Wind Release ninjutsu are you going to teach me?"
"Sorry, I've already taught you all the Wind Release techniques I know," Aokiji said with a苦笑. "I'm not particularly skilled in Wind Release, and my knowledge of it is limited. As for other techniques I'm good at, they may suit me but not necessarily you."
"Ah, is that it?" Naruto quickly recovered from his disappointment. Aokiji had already shared everything he knew, which was already a lot.
Tōshirō said, "Well, then let's move on to the second phase."
"Huh, there's a second phase?"
Tōshirō began explaining the changes in chakra nature and chakra transformation. To give Naruto a clearer understanding, he demonstrated the Ice Fang Palm.
"This move combines both chakra nature transformation and chakra shape transformation. When executed, the ice chakra forms extremely cold ice particles in the palm, which are then spread out with the palm strike."
Naruto was secretly amazed and couldn't help but compare this to his own Rasengan, wondering which was stronger.
He took out his Rasengan and asked Aokiji if it was also a ninjutsu that combined chakra nature and shape transformation.
Tōshirō glanced at it and pretended to be surprised: "Incredible."
"What's wrong?"
"This ninjutsu of yours is a shape transformation of chakra with no specific nature, and you're able to maintain it in this state. From the power I saw last time, I would estimate the difficulty of training this is at least A rank."
As Tōshirō explained to Naruto, he began to truly realize how powerful his Rasengan was.
Tōshirō continued, "If this technique were combined with chakra nature transformation, it could become an unimaginable ninjutsu. It might even reach S-rank."
"S-rank!?"
Naruto was shocked to his core.
S-rank ninjutsu? That was a legendary level of difficulty for ninjutsu.
The thought of possibly creating an S-rank technique himself made Naruto's words stumble, his voice trembling: "S-rank ninjutsu, Tōshirō, I want to learn this."
"I want to learn an S-rank ninjutsu too..." Tōshirō sighed. "Sorry, I can't help you develop a technique of that level."
Naruto sighed in understanding.
Tōshirō changed the subject: "But..."
Naruto, grasping at the lifeline, asked, "But what?"
"Although I haven't developed any S-rank ninjutsu, I can give you some advice to help you develop one. As for how far you can go, it depends on your own ability."
The thought of creating an S-rank technique filled Naruto with determination: "Then let's start!"
Tōshirō nodded. "Before we begin, I need to take some basic principles from your Rasengan to better integrate the chakra properties into the technique."
"No problem, ask me anything about the Rasengan," Naruto waved his hand. At this moment, he felt Tōshirō was a great person, not only teaching him ninjutsu for free but also helping him develop his own techniques.
Such a great person was hard to find. As for sharing the Rasengan's principles, Naruto thought of it as an essential part of the development process and didn't take it to heart.
Tōshirō smiled cunningly. Finally, he had set the trap.
Over the next period, Tōshirō helped Naruto develop the ninjutsu as best as they could, focusing on what could be done.
The key was that during this process, Tōshirō had gathered a lot of information about the Rasengan.
One important principle about the Rasengan was that it involved chakra rotating in two different directions simultaneously. Tōshirō had never noticed this before, but now, through Naruto, he understood it.
After all, he couldn't know every single detail.
Soon, a month passed by in the blink of an eye.
Naruto's development of the S-rank technique was still a long way off, but that was expected. At his current stage, just being able to start developing it was already a miracle.
Afterward, Tsunade and Shizune successfully healed Lee's injuries, and then, as expected, Sasuke defected.
Such a major event meant Konoha needed to form a team to go after him.
This wasn't Tōshirō's concern, so he didn't get involved.
As expected, everyone returned covered in injuries, and Sasuke still wasn't caught.
Tōshirō had always been puzzled by this. He thought, putting aside Sasuke himself, the Sharingan was a valuable resource for Konoha, so why send a few Genin to handle it?
Did they not fear those Genin dying along the way?
These people were going to be future key players for the village, and yet Konoha sent them on such a dangerous mission without a second thought.
While Tōshirō was pondering this, a blonde girl walked out of the hospital room.
Tōshirō casually asked, "How is it?"
Tsunade replied, "No major issues, I think."
She had been sent by Big Tsunade to practice medical ninjutsu.
"Go ahead."
Tsunade nodded.
The two went up to the hospital rooftop, where Tōshirō asked her about her confidence in treating Orochimaru and Jiraiya's injuries.
Tsunade said, "I wasn't very confident at first, but after treating her through the entire process, I'm feeling much more confident. After I consolidate some of this knowledge, I think it should be fine."
"I see. Looks like it's time to think about leaving," Tōshirō said, gazing up at the blue sky and drifting clouds. "I suddenly feel a bit reluctant to leave this place."
Tsunade looked a bit reluctant too, but this was an unavoidable situation. They still had their companions waiting for them back in the past.
The two discussed and set a departure date, then went to inform Big Tsunade in advance.
Big Tsunade looked reluctant: "So, it's finally time..."
Tsunade walked up and hugged her future self's waist. "I'll miss you."
Big Tsunade smiled and patted her, her eyes soft. Suddenly, she had an idea. "Before you officially leave, I'll give you a gift. I hope you like it."
Tsunade, lying on the mountain peak, looked up curiously, wondering what her future self would give her.
"My exclusive S-rank technique, Ninja Art Creation Rebirth — Strength of a Hundred Technique."
(End of Chapter)
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