Naruto was casually exploring, hoping to find a suitable training location, when he unexpectedly stumbled upon a vast underground cave. Signs of past human habitation lingered, though it had long been abandoned. Not far from here, there was a small town, making resupply convenient—a perfect spot for Naruto to train.
"Is this what the treatment of the Chosen One looks like?" he mused, astonished by the fortuitous find.
In the sealed space within him, the Nine-Tails grinned, aware of Naruto's intentions. It found the coincidence amusing: just when he was feeling drowsy, a perfect opportunity had presented itself.
Naruto chuckled, saying, "What do prophecies have to do with me? I'm not the kind to act according to a prophecy. As far as I'm concerned, everything in this world revolves around me now. I, Uzumaki Naruto, am destined to be here!"
The Nine-Tails scoffed but didn't reply, its expression conveying a simple message: if it made Naruto happy, that was enough.
"Alright, Mr. Power Bank, make sure to keep my chakra topped up. I don't want to experience the sensation of fainting from overexertion. And stay alert."
With that, Naruto issued orders to the Nine-Tails before preparing for his upcoming training. He had already scouted the cave and surmised that a group of people had lived there years ago. Perhaps some calamity had struck, leading to many deaths and the remaining few abandoning the place. In short, as long as he didn't make too much noise or collapse the cave, he wouldn't be disturbed. To put it conservatively, it would take at least one Wind Release: Rasenshuriken to bring down the entire cave.
Next, Naruto began training in the Rasengan using his Shadow Clones. By the way, Shadow Clones originated from Minato Namikaze, and just like in the original story, Naruto didn't need extensive practice; he succeeded on his first try.
As for skills like tree climbing and water walking, without the interference of the Nine-Tails' chakra and aided by Minato's combat experience, there was no need for additional practice—those basic abilities came as naturally as instinct.
To Naruto's surprise, after deploying one hundred Shadow Clones, he had mastered the Rasengan in less than an hour, even managing to execute it with one hand.
"Tsk tsk, my talent would make the original feel ashamed," he thought, quite pleased with his performance.
The Nine-Tails laughed derisively, remarking, "What does talent have to do with this? You've stacked experience from your clones, adding up to a hundred hours. And with the Fourth's experience, if you couldn't achieve this level, you should be the one feeling ashamed."
Naruto wasn't inclined to argue with the Nine-Tails. After all, he had learned the one-handed Rasengan in just one hour—no one could surpass him.
He decided to postpone training for Wind Release and focus on perfecting the Flying Thunder God Technique next. With another one hundred Shadow Clones, he continuously practiced the technique of teleportation.
When it came to spatial abilities, he clearly lacked the innate talent of Minato Namikaze. Without absorbing the other's experience, he likely wouldn't have learned the Flying Thunder God Technique at all. Just like a friend who gets motion sickness, he found himself dizzy when first attempting the technique.
There were no shortcuts; he could only adapt and refine his skills, gradually shortening the casting time and cooldown. Fortunately, the Shadow Clones significantly reduced training time; the cave could accommodate a hundred clones before it started feeling cramped. Otherwise, Naruto wouldn't have hesitated to bring out a thousand.
He was, however, concerned about overexerting himself; fatigue would eventually catch up.
"Hm? What's going on?"
At that moment, one of the Shadow Clones brought a woman into the cave.
The clone explained, "This woman was sneaking around outside. We don't know her intentions."
"That's nonsense! This is my home; you are the ones who look suspicious! And why do you all look identical? Isn't that strange?" the woman protested, struggling against the clone's grasp.
Naruto assessed her; she appeared to be in her twenties, with wine-red hair and bluish-purple eyes, dressed in a simple floral dress. She was quite attractive and vaguely familiar—perhaps she had appeared in the original story, but he couldn't recall her being an important character.
"Who are you? What's your name?" he asked, not recalling her, so he decided to ask directly.
"Why should I tell you?" The woman retorted defiantly. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"
"It's fine if you don't want to say!" Naruto replied calmly. "You seem to have valuable information. Perhaps we can collaborate."
The woman paused, then let out a piercing scream.
"Quiet down, or I'll kill you!" A kunai pressed against her throat silenced her immediately.
"Y-you can't do this!" she stammered, her face a mix of anxiety and fear. She then hastily confessed, "I am Yukimi of the Iburi Clan. This place was once our home. Everyone else is gone; I was the only survivor and chose to leave."
"I just happened to be nearby today and decided to check it out, never expecting to run into you all."
"I mean no harm. I don't know what you plan to do, but if you need this place, you can have it. For me, it's just a place filled with sad memories."
"Don't worry, I didn't see anything today. If you let me go, I promise to leave and won't say a word."
Yukimi hurriedly spilled her heart out, her eyes wide with tension as she looked at Naruto.
"Yukimi Iburi…" Naruto mused, recalling the name. "Oh, the clan known for their smoke transformation ability, and the subjects of Orochimaru's experiments."
He remembered that when Orochimaru had defected from Konoha, he had been gravely injured. He had regained his strength by absorbing the blood of the Iburi Clan, which led to their downfall, leaving only Yukimi, the one they had fought to protect. Kakashi and Yamato were also present at that time. Back then, Yamato was still under Danzo's command, known by the codename "Tenzō." He later switched allegiance to the Third Hokage and became known as Tenzo. In reality, Tenzo was Yukimi's younger brother, who died during Orochimaru's experiments.
"One day, I will kill Orochimaru with my own hands!" Yukimi thought back to that time, her heart still heavy with resentment.
Perhaps Orochimaru had shown them some kindness; without him, the Iburi Clan would have perished much sooner. But even so, it didn't justify Orochimaru's reckless slaughter of the Iburi Clan.
To this, Naruto remained noncommittal, curious instead. "Can you still use your smoke transformation ability?"
This was a natural ability in the world of Naruto. Although it had been slightly replicated, it was still an incredibly powerful skill if used well.
"I… I can't use my chakra right now," Yukimi admitted, embarrassed. When Naruto had seized her, she had tried to activate her smoke transformation ability, but it seemed her chakra was suppressed.
The Shadow Clone holding her calmly replied, "To avoid complications, I sealed her chakra with the Nine-Tails' power the moment I captured her."
"Let her go; she can't escape," Naruto said, unfazed by the prospect of this seemingly harmless girl escaping from his grasp.
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Note: I will not continue publishing here for this book. Instead, please go to "Tured_Juw," where I will write more chapters.