JOIN:- patreon.com/The_GreatRed
[20% Discount on MostHigh Membership]
AND GIVE POWERSTONES
100 powerstone = 1 bonus chapter
.
.
.
Naruto must have further solidified his beliefs after that—believing this entire situation was just one mess after another.
Jiraiya spoke up, frustrated, "So what if he has more chakra? Both Menma and Mito have the reserves of the Nine-Tails. Once they learn to access that power, they'll easily dwarf his chakra levels. And besides, he doesn't have the skills to match Menma and Mito."
Everyone looked at Jiraiya silently as he continued, "What? It was all a bluff. Nothing like that will ever happen. We've trained both Menma and Mito personally. Surely that kid hasn't actually gotten that strong... right?"
Tsunade sighed and glared at him. "Jiraiya, you old fool. You saw it with your own eyes—Naruto defeated Menma using only taijutsu. And Menma was using the Nine-Tails' chakra."
Jiraiya scoffed, "That's exactly what I'm saying. When Menma used that power, he wasn't himself. He must've lost focus and forgotten his training. Trust me—in terms of real skill, that kid has nothing on Menma or Mito."
They all fell quiet again. Minato already knew—his sensei's bias was legendary.
Jiraiya had shown favoritism even when he was the leader of Team Seven , dropping focus on two of his students once Minato began showing real talent. One of those teammates had eventually quit the shinobi profession altogether, becoming a chef at the famous ramen stand, Ichiraku. The other, tragically, had died on a mission—largely due to the lack of proper guidance and training from their sensei.
While Minato was forever grateful for the knowledge and mentorship Jiraiya had provided him, and even saw him as a father figure, he had never truly forgiven him for that blatant favoritism. It had created tension—unspoken animosity—between him and the rest of his team, especially the one who died.
Now, he could see the same thing happening all over again.
Once again, his sensei was showing favoritism—this time to Menma and Mito, the children who carried the power of the Nine-Tails—while neglecting the one who didn't have it. But Naruto had talent. Minato could see it. Clear as day.
This was getting out of hand.
Minato took a breath and said firmly, "Alright, Sensei. I'll talk with Naruto or at a later date."
Jiraiya merely huffed, "Fine."
With that, Minato dismissed himself and left.
Far away, Naruto was walking alone through the village. Most villagers recognized him and offered a small gesture of respect. Naruto simply nodded in return—there were certain privileges to being the son of the Hokage, after all. However, Naruto couldn't help but notice something unusual. Some people seemed to be hiding from him… and others were following him.
He glanced back briefly—then disappeared from the sight of his watchers in an instant.
Unbeknownst to him, or rather, knownst to him, those watchers were none other than ANBU Black Ops members that Minato had recently assigned to keep an eye on Naruto. The goal was to observe what kind of training Might Guy was providing that had strengthened Naruto so rapidly.
The ANBU operatives were stunned when Naruto vanished from their view. Then, suddenly:
"Hey," came a calm voice behind them. "Why are you following me? And who are you guys?"
Both ANBU operatives immediately spun around, hands moving toward their kunai pouches, only to freeze when they saw the speaker—Naruto Uzumaki, son of the Hokage—standing there, arms crossed, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
One of them muttered, "How… how did you get behind us, kid?"
Naruto didn't answer the question. Instead, he stepped forward. "I asked first. Who are you? I don't see any Konoha forehead protector on either of you, yet you're clearly shinobi. So I'll ask one more time—who are you?"
The ANBU agent wearing a cat mask finally responded.
"Relax, Naruto. We're shinobi of Konoha too. We're part of the elite force that serves the Hokage directly—the ANBU."
Naruto raised an eyebrow but kept his guard up. "ANBU, huh? Never heard of them."
The cat-masked agent chuckled lightly and tried to humor him. "You see, Naruto, the ANBU aren't really covered in the academy books. We're mostly known to chunin and above—though some genin hear about us too. But we're not exactly public knowledge."
She smiled behind the mask. "Don't worry—we're not here to harm you. We just wanted to make sure you got home safely."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. He could sense something… off. A lie, perhaps. But it wasn't worth the effort right now.
He shrugged and replied, "Well, try to keep up, then."
With a faint smirk, he vanished once again, leaving the ANBU operatives behind—stunned and wide-eyed.
The ANBU with the weasel mask narrowed his eyes behind it. His Sharingan activated, glowing a bright red as he scanned the surroundings.
The cat-masked agent turned to him. "Weasel… did you detect him?"
Weasel shook his head. "No. I don't know how, but… he's completely gone. I can't detect his chakra signature at all."
The cat-masked agent nodded grimly and turned toward the Hokage Tower. "Let's go report this to Lord Hokage."
Meanwhile, at the Hokage Tower, Minato and Kushina were having a quiet conversation.
"As you said, Minato… what about Menma and Mito?" Kushina asked. "You seemed a bit angry at both of them."
Minato sighed. "They're becoming difficult to manage."
Kushina nodded. "Well, it's understandable. It's logical for them to react that way after being defeated so decisively. And then to be told that the only reason they're even being trained is because they're weak…"
Minato added quietly, "I can't really blame Naruto for saying that. He must have come to that conclusion based on what he's seen—his sensory abilities and instincts are sharper than most jōnin."
Kushina sighed. "We have to do something about this. But please, don't be too hard on Menma and Mito."
Before Minato could respond, he felt the distinct chakra signal of an ANBU operative nearby. He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"All right, Kushina. I'll be back soon. I need to take care of something."
Kushina simply nodded. She had sensed the ANBU's approach as well and didn't question it.
Minato disappeared in a flash of yellow, teleporting to meet his ANBU directly.
Moments later, he appeared before the kneeling ANBU operatives.
Minato looked at them calmly. "What's the matter? Why are you here?"
The ANBU wearing the weasel mask—Itachi—spoke first. "Lord Hokage, we came to deliver a report."
Minato raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't this have waited until tomorrow? Why the urgency?"
Itachi shook his head. "No, Lord Hokage. It's a matter of great importance."
Minato nodded. "Go on, then."
"The last thing I remember assigning you," Minato said, "was to monitor Might Guy and Naruto. I wanted to know what kind of training Naruto was undergoing."
The weasel-masked ANBU nodded. "Yes, Lord Hokage. Might Guy occasionally trains Naruto. The sessions mostly involve push-ups, sit-ups, physical conditioning, and long-distance laps around Konoha. But from what we observed, Naruto doesn't participate in those group drills often. More frequently, he heads into the forest to train alone."
"So we didn't follow him too closely at first," he continued, "thinking it was just standard solo training. But... what we didn't realize until recently was that it was actually a shadow clone he left behind. That clone radiated so much chakra that we assumed it was the real Naruto. His chakra reserves are massive—even his clones feel like the real thing."
Minato raised an eyebrow at this new revelation.
The ANBU continued, "Naruto would always use that trick to slip away unnoticed and head into the forest, completely undetected. No one knew he was doing it."
Then the other ANBU spoke. "Lord Hokage, there's more. While we were returning to report, something happened. Something strange."
Minato looked at them seriously. "Go on."
The ANBU hesitated. "You're not going to believe it, Lord Hokage... but Naruto vanished. Right in front of our eyes."
Minato's expression darkened. "Are you sure? Itachi, this isn't some kind of joke, is it? Because if it is, I won't be amused."
Itachi shook his head firmly. "No, Lord Hokage. This is real. We witnessed it ourselves. Naruto simply... vanished from the area. And before you ask, no—it wasn't the Flying Thunder God technique. There was no flash, no seal signature—nothing. He just moved."
Itachi took a breath. "I activated my Sharingan. I barely caught a glimpse of him. The speed at which he moved... it was something else entirely."
Minato's eyes narrowed in thought. If someone with a fully matured Sharingan could only glimpse his movement... just how fast is Naruto really moving?
He shook his head slightly. "All right. I'll talk to him tomorrow."
Both ANBU nodded.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Minato nodded to himself. Yes... tomorrow. I'll need to speak with him.
[Timeskip – Next Day]
Naruto sat in class at the Academy, barely paying attention to the monotone lecture being delivered by Iruka-sensei. He leaned back slightly, arms folded, listening with half-interest as Iruka addressed the class.
"All right, class," Iruka announced, "we'll end here for today due to some administrative matters. I'll also be preparing a graduation test for the senior classes later, so I'll be busy."
He looked around the room and added, "Though it's mostly formality, if any of you believe you're ready for early graduation, you're free to submit an application. We'll conduct a small-scale test to assess your skills."
He chuckled lightly, clearly not expecting any responses. "Of course, most of you are still kids. This might help you understand how tough the actual graduation exams are."
Most of the students shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Even the usually arrogant Uchiha remained silent, not daring to volunteer.
Then, to everyone's surprise, Naruto stood up.
"I'd like to submit my application for early graduation," he said calmly.
Iruka blinked, clearly surprised and stunned.
He remembered exactly who this boy was—the son of the Hokage. The entire class turned to look at Naruto in surprise. Even Menma and Mito were staring at him, the same old feeling of tension rising in the back of their minds.
Menma made a move to raise his hand as well, but Mito quickly grabbed his wrist and shook her head. Manma scowled but said nothing. Their parents had strictly told them not to rush things like early graduation—they still had a lot to learn.
Both of them couldn't help but wonder why Naruto was doing this. After all, it had only been one day since the Academy started, and that day had mostly been spent on introductions and the mini tournament. Surely he doesn't think he's ready to graduate already... right?
Iruka looked at Naruto again and sighed. "Very well, Naruto. But to apply for early graduation, you'll need a signature on this form—from your guardian or, in your case, from the Hokage himself."
Naruto took the form without a word, nodded, and quickly left the room.
Iruka shook his head slightly. There's no way he's ready to graduate. The Hokage will probably handle this and turn him down gently. Saves me the trouble of saying no to the Hokage's own son... win-win.
He turned back to the rest of the class and continued with his lesson.
Meanwhile…
Minato, Jiraiya, and Hiruzen Sarutobi were in the Hokage's office, discussing intelligence reports about the current state of the spy network and ANBU operations.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Minato's secretary stepped in. "Lord Hokage, your son Naruto is here to see you."
At the mention of Naruto's name, Jiraiya narrowed his eyes slightly. Minato looked a bit surprised as well. Naruto didn't seek him out often; he had always been a distant and quiet child.
Still, Minato gave a small nod. "Alright. Send him in."
The secretary nodded and left. Hiruzen seemed pleased, looking forward to seeing the boy again. He had seen Naruto's performance during the tournament and was genuinely impressed. The way Naruto moved, evaded, and fought had reminded him—just for a moment—of Tsunade.
But surely Tsunade hadn't taught Naruto her super-strength technique, right? Last he remembered, she was training Manma and Mito. And even then, they had far too much chakra to properly control it to that degree.
A few moments later, Naruto entered the office, holding the application form in his hand. Minato glanced up and gave a slight smile.
"Well, Naruto. What brings you here? Shouldn't you be in the Academy right now?"
Naruto glanced around the room, then gave a small respectful bow toward the Third Hokage.
"Lord Third," he said politely.
Hiruzen smiled in a grandfatherly way. "Naruto... you've grown quite a bit. Last time I saw you, you were just a four-year-old."
Naruto smiled slightly. "Yeah, I remember. And I also heard you have a grandson now."
Hiruzen chuckled warmly. "Yes, Konohamaru. Quite a handful, that one. You should visit him sometime."
Naruto nodded politely but then turned his attention back to Minato. He noticed his godfather, Jiraiya, was giving him a curious look—but he chose to ignore it.