JOIN:- patreon.com/The_GreatRed
[20% Discount on MostHigh Membership]
AND GIVE POWERSTONES
100 powerstone = 1 bonus chapter
.
.
.
"Itachi, this is my son, Naruto. From this day forward, he'll be your apprentice."
Itachi nodded and turned toward Naruto with a faint smile. "So you're the one. I recognized your chakra signature the other night. You were one of the ANBU members tailing me, weren't you?"
Naruto blinked, then smirked. "So you noticed, huh? I figured you would. You're sharp. So… you're the sensor type too?"
Itachi gave a calm nod. "Something like that."
He looked back at Minato. "Alright then, Hokage-sama. I'll be taking him off your hands."
Minato gave a tired smile and gestured toward the door. "Please do. I've got a mountain of paperwork waiting."
Itachi nodded and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. In a flash, both vanished from the room. Minato sighed quietly, a faint sadness in his eyes. I wanted to train him myself when the time came… but he's growing so fast. I just don't have the time anymore. Shaking the thoughts away, he turned back to his paperwork.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the training grounds, Itachi and Naruto reappeared.
Itachi looked at Naruto thoughtfully. "Usually, when a jonin takes on a team, there's a test—often a bell test, or something involving teamwork and capturing the sensei. But since you're not a regular genin, and you're my personal apprentice, I'm skipping that."
He gave a faint smile. "Still, I want to evaluate your skills. So how about a sparring session? I want to see what you've got."
Naruto nodded with confidence. "Alright. But before we begin, why don't I introduce myself?"
He stood straight. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. I'm the eldest son of the Fourth Hokage. My hobbies include training, especially with Guy-sensei, and learning new ways to push my limits. I don't really have a lot of dislikes... though I suppose weakness could count. My goal for the future is to learn how to fully master my powers."
Itachi blinked at the slightly unusual wording but didn't comment. He's got ambition. At least he didn't pick up Guy's eccentric habits, Itachi thought. He's more like me than I expected.
Itachi gave a small nod. "I'm Itachi Uchiha, eldest son of Fugaku Uchiha, head of the Uchiha Clan, and Mikoto Uchiha. I have a younger brother. My likes include the village and my little brother. My hobbies are training and doing what I must to protect Konoha."
After a brief pause, Itachi stepped back. "Alright, Naruto. Show me your skills. Come at me with everything you've got."
Naruto gave a sharp nod. I won't use everything… but let's see how good he really is. Those eyes… they hold power, no doubt. But compared to mine... He narrowed his gaze and dropped into a stance.
Naruto took a stance. Itachi gave a small smile, curious to see just how fast Naruto truly was. He had seen the boy move during the small tournament, and had been warned—Naruto was incredibly fast. Because of that, Itachi activated his Sharingan in advance, hoping Naruto wouldn't use that technique too early. It looked physically taxing, and he was concerned about the toll it might take on Naruto's body.
Still, the Hokage had instructed Itachi to keep a close eye on Naruto—specifically, to observe and report if he used that unknown technique. He was also told to ask Naruto about it directly if it surfaced.
Naruto looked calmly toward Itachi. Suddenly, Itachi noticed Naruto gathering chakra to his feet—he's going to use a high-speed movement technique. In a split second, Naruto vanished, the ground behind him cracking from the sudden force. Itachi's eyes widened.
Reacting quickly, Itachi substituted with a nearby log, which was instantly shattered into splinters. He turned, fully activating his three-tomoe Sharingan, but to his surprise—Naruto wasn't there. He wasn't using that mysterious technique, yet he was still moving at blinding speed.
All Itachi could see were afterimages—blurs zipping past him at random angles. Even with the advanced perception of his Sharingan, Itachi struggled to track Naruto's movements. Naruto wasn't even using his ki at the moment. This was simply the result of intense, disciplined training. His body had grown accustomed to enduring 100 times normal gravity.
Naruto was running circles around Itachi, the Uchiha turning rapidly, trying to keep up. Pure instinct kicked in, and Itachi leapt to the side—just barely in time. But not fast enough.
Naruto's kick slammed into Itachi's shoulder with tremendous force. Itachi heard a painful pop as he was hurled to the ground, but he managed to roll and land on his feet. Without hesitation, he formed a one-handed hand seal and released a fireball to create distance between them.
Itachi had expected the kid to be fast—but not this fast. His Sharingan was unable to properly track Naruto's movements.
Once again, Naruto looked toward the fireball coming his way. Calmly, he pointed a single finger at it and flicked. To Itachi's utter shock, the flames extinguished instantly, snuffed out into nothingness.
Before he could even process what had happened, Itachi was suddenly sent flying through the trees. He hit the ground hard, blinking in disbelief. This is not how I expected this test to go. His body ached all over. The kid was too fast.
Desperately, Itachi threw a volley of kunai, hoping to catch Naruto off guard or at least slow him down. But Naruto's speed was simply overwhelming. There wasn't even time to make proper eye contact—no opportunity to trap him in a genjutsu. Not even his advanced techniques could lock on to Naruto's presence.
He was forced to keep running, shoulder bleeding and likely fractured. Suddenly, he felt an intense heat behind him. His eyes widened as he turned.
A stream of purplish fire roared toward him, tearing through the air with terrifying speed. Itachi recognized it immediately—this had to be the Fire Stream Jutsu he had seen Naruto use during the graduation exams. Acting fast, he jumped out of the way.
But just as he landed, he felt the cold edge of a kunai pressed to his throat.
Itachi looked back slowly—Naruto was there, calm and composed, kunai in hand, eyes meeting his. Itachi instinctively activated his Sharingan fully, locking eyes with Naruto.
"So… you've captured me, huh?" he said quietly.
But he kept staring, trying to activate a genjutsu.
Naruto, however, simply smiled.
Itachi began to frown. Something was wrong. His genjutsu wasn't working. It felt like his chakra was hitting an invisible wall, completely unable to invade Naruto's system.
What is this...? Genjutsu required one's chakra to invade the opponent's chakra system, creating illusions or manipulating their senses. But his chakra couldn't even enter Naruto's. It was being repelled.
The reason was simple: ki.
Naruto's body was suffused with ki, a superior form of energy that acted as a barrier, preventing Itachi's chakra from infiltrating. The difference in nature between chakra and ki was too vast—Itachi's attempts were futile.
Naruto gave him a knowing smirk.
"Genjutsu's not going to work on me, Itachi-sensei."
Itachi smiled back—but then his body burst into a murder of crows. Naruto blinked. A crow clone—not genjutsu, he realized.
Looking around, Naruto called out with a light grin, "So, where are you hiding, Itachi-sensei?"
Hidden nearby, Itachi gave a small smirk. A playful urge stirred in him—maybe it was time to show off just a little.
He brought his hands together and began channeling not only his chakra, but a small portion of more dangerous, risky energy flowing within him. He slammed his fist into the ground.
Suddenly, the entire area shook violently as a massive crater burst open beneath him—a gigantic, gaping hole carved into the earth. Far away, Itachi, who was sitting on a tree branch, widened his eyes in shock. Trees began collapsing into the crater from all sides, pulled down by the force of the impact.
Quickly, Itachi jumped out of the way.
In the very next moment, he felt the cold edge of two fingers pointed directly at his forehead. A small, concentrated beam of knife-like energy hovered there. Itachi froze, eyes wide.
"Don't even think about it," Naruto said calmly, his fingers glowing faintly.
Itachi had instinctively reached for a kunai pouch, but Naruto's speed and precision had completely overwhelmed him.
"Well then, Itachi-sensei," Naruto added with a faint grin, "that should be all for now. I've shown my scales."
Itachi could only nod numbly.
Naruto turned slightly and asked, "So, for our mission tomorrow, what time should I come?"
Blinking back to focus, Itachi replied, "Um… after the lunch break. I'll meet you right here."
Naruto nodded, satisfied. "Alright. See you then, Itachi-sensei."
With that, he vanished.
Itachi looked back down at the ruined training ground. His eyes widened even more. The crater left behind was at least 180 meters wide—maybe more—and the entire section of the training area had been utterly destroyed. No question about it.
"I… I have to report this to Lord Hokage," he muttered.
He quickly shunshinned to the Hokage's office. His shoulder still throbbed from the blow he had taken earlier, but that barely registered in his mind. What truly disturbed him was the sheer destructive power Naruto had demonstrated with a single punch.
Inside the Hokage's office, Minato was working through his paperwork, with Hiruzen Sarutobi nearby helping him review some documents. Minato looked up immediately, concern flashing across his face as he noticed the state Itachi was in.
"Itachi? What happened? Did someone attack you? Is my son in danger?" Minato asked urgently.
Itachi raised a hand, calming him. "Please relax, Lord Hokage. It's nothing alarming—at least not in the way you might think."
Minato frowned. "Then what is it? You look exhausted, and your arm—"
"As I said," Itachi interrupted gently, "I can explain… but I think you need to see it with your own eyes. Something happened at the training ground—something you have to witness personally."
Minato and Hiruzen exchanged a quick look.
Minato nodded. "Alright. I've marked the training ground with my Flying Thunder God seal. Let's go."