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Fugaku raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? And what kind of assignment would require you to leave the ANBU?"
Itachi nodded. "Well, I was given a choice. I could have remained in the ANBU, but this was a rare opportunity, and I wanted to take it to expand my experience even further."
Fugaku leaned forward slightly. "Be clear, Itachi."
Mikoto had just arrived at the table with the last of the dinner dishes as Itachi sighed, knowing his father might not be pleased. Still, he continued calmly.
"Lord Hokage has asked both me and Captain Kakashi to take on apprentices—graduates from the Academy. He trusted me enough to mentor one of them."
Fugaku narrowed his eyes slightly. "The son of the Hokage, huh? I didn't know the jinchūriki was already advanced enough for something like this."
Itachi shook his head. "Not him, Father. You remember the boy who won that small tournament? Naruto Uzumaki. He graduated from the Academy early."
Sasuke perked up. "I was going to tell you that too! He graduated on his very first day. It was actually really impressive, if you ask me. He might even be stronger than his idiot brother."
Itachi nodded in agreement.
Fugaku looked genuinely surprised. Until now, he had dismissed the boy's performance as a fluke—or perhaps some secret trick. Now, however, his expression shifted.
"Well then, Itachi," Fugaku said after a pause. "It seems you're a teacher now, huh? We'll discuss this more later."
He gave Itachi a pointed look, and Itachi responded with a simple nod. The conversation ended, and he turned his attention to Sasuke's continued ramblings.
—
Far away, in the depths of the forest, Naruto stood alone, training intensely. He was experimenting—trying to recreate, or perhaps invent, a new technique.
His hands were pressed together, energy gathering rapidly between them. He pointed toward the sky, grinning slightly.
"This is gonna be a good one," he muttered to himself.
The energy bubbled in his palms, glowing with raw power. He focused, pouring more chakra into the technique. When it was ready, Naruto thrust his hands upward.
A beam of energy shot
Toward the sky, he released all the energy he had gathered in his hands. A blast — a beam of energy — shot upward, piercing through the air with immense force. It required intense concentration, and while the beam continued to rise, Naruto noticed something critical: he couldn't fully channel all the power still residing within him.
For some reason, although he could release it in that blast form, it was clear he couldn't yet control or direct the entirety of it. He understood that if the beam were to strike something — or someone — the resulting energy impact would be catastrophic.
Then, he sensed several chakra signatures approaching. Clearly, someone had detected the skyward beam and was on their way to investigate. Naruto sighed.
"It seems I'll have to handle this quickly..."
He stomped his foot lightly on the ground, sending a small pulse through the area. The sealing array surrounding the training ground vanished instantly. Without wasting time, Naruto cloaked himself in energy, his body becoming a blur as he moved at such incredible speed that time itself seemed to slow.
His intense training — both with weighted clothing and within enhanced gravity fields — had paid off. Now, even with minimal energy usage, the world appeared drastically slower to him. And he noticed something else: his other energy, the one he'd started calling "Ki," had grown stronger. This meant it would still take time before he could use his true power, but he was on the path.
Far away, within the borders of the Stone Village, the current Tsuchikage stared grimly at a report just delivered by one of his spies.
The spy had returned — or rather, sent a coded message — bringing grave news the Tsuchikage did not want to hear. Iwa was still recovering from its defeat in the Third Ninja War, and this news could destabilize things further.
The Tsuchikage scowled as he read the file: Uzumaki Naruto, or more accurately, Namikaze Naruto. Just the name alone burned like acid.
His eyes fell on a photograph. The boy looked uncannily like his father — the Fourth Hokage. That resemblance filled the Tsuchikage with bitter hatred. But it wasn't just the resemblance that worried him.
"Are you sure this report is accurate?" he asked the spy coldly.
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage," the man replied. "The intel has been cross-verified. Our earlier assumptions about the Hokage's child were completely wrong. It appears Minato has been training his son in secret. Not only that, but the boy graduated at the top of the elite class after attending the Academy for just a single day."
The Tsuchikage's eyes narrowed.
"And there's more," the spy added. " According to the reports, he also performed jutsu without even using hand signs and seemed to have incredible control over his chakra — to the point where he could enhance his physical strength drastically.
One spy reported that Naruto had created a 300-meter-wide crater in the ground with a single punch during a sparring match with Itachi Uchiha."
The Tsuchikage nodded grimly. It was difficult to believe that an eight-year-old boy had done such a thing. But then again, a boy only twenty-two years old — Minato Namikaze — had once wiped out countless shinobi during the Third Shinobi World War. The Tsuchikage hated to admit it, but it was clear that Konoha's new generation was growing more powerful by the day.
First Itachi Uchiha, now the son of the Fourth Hokage? This was unacceptable.
With a scowl, the Tsuchikage turned to one of his shinobi and growled, "Bring me my advisors. Summon the council. It's time Iwa takes action. I will not sit idly by while another Yellow Flash rises. We will not allow history to repeat itself."
The shinobi bowed and quickly vanished.
The Tsuchikage cast one last glare at Naruto's photo. "Namikaze Naruto... your days are numbered."
He turned and walked away, his mind already calculating Konoha's next possible moves.
A short time skip…
Minato Namikaze stood inside his office, reviewing the details of a new mission. In front of him stood Itachi Uchiha and Naruto, both awaiting orders.
Even now, Minato found it hard to believe that Naruto had become a shinobi at such a young age. Deep down, he had always assumed that his other children — Menma and Mito — would be the ones to reach greatness first.
Back when they trained under Jiraiya-sensei, he constantly heard about how Menma and Mito were destined to change the world — the so-called "Children of Prophecy." Jiraiya believed they would unite the shinobi world and become legends. Minato himself had believed it too.
He had never really seen Naruto in the same light as Menma and Mito—always believing them to be the children of destiny, the prodigies. He was so proud when he taught both of them tree walking. But after speaking with Itachi, he was forced to reconsider.
It seemed that Naruto possessed an unmatched level of chakra control, which was confirmed when Itachi secretly sent one of his crows to observe Naruto in training. When Itachi tried teaching him tree walking, water walking, and even the advanced leaf-balancing technique, Naruto mastered all of them on his very first try, as if he had known how to do them all along.
Minato was relieved, at the very least, that his son didn't hold a grudge. He gave a soft nod as he looked at Naruto and spoke.
"Well, usually, according to protocol, genin teams are assigned D-rank missions. The main purpose of those is to help the team bond and build teamwork. However, since you're an apprentice under Itachi, who holds the rank of jonin, and not part of a standard genin team, your missions will be ranked C-class and above, provided you prove yourself further in the field."
Naruto gave a respectful nod, standing at full attention.
Itachi, as composed as ever in his standard blank cloak, also nodded in agreement.
Minato studied both of them for a moment. They really are alike, he thought. Calm, emotionless on the surface, yet powerful in their own right—true prodigies.
He finally spoke again. "Here is your first mission. It's not too difficult, but you should expect possible bandit activity in the area, so stay alert."
He handed them a scroll.
"You're to deliver this scroll to the border of Kusagakure, so be mindful. Itachi," he added with a meaningful look, "I'm trusting you to oversee this carefully."