Killer B didn't even dare imagine that Shinju had already finished his training.
He asked, "Shinju, did you give up on your training this fast?"
Shinju spread his hands with a careless expression.
"Nope. I think this counts as a success, right? ┐(´-｀)┌"
Killer B: (´°Δ°`)
Naruto, standing nearby, asked anxiously,
"You didn't fight him? Wait—did you win? (๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!"
That did sound like Shinju's style, though. After all, he'd never really lost before…
But winning against yourself? That was ridiculous!
Shinju waved his hand. "Fight what? He already said he's another me. Why bother fighting when I can just accept it? ┐(´-｀)┌"
"Gulp~" Killer B swallowed hard.
Training under the Falls of Truth was meant to make the trainee accept their true, darker self.
It sounded simple, but even a single hint of rejection or resentment in one's heart would make success impossible.
Just realizing the purpose of the Waterfall was already difficult—let alone reaching complete acceptance.
Even optimistic, easygoing Killer B had taken half an hour when he'd gone through it himself.
But Shinju? From sitting down to completing the training, it took him less than a minute—barely the time to say two sentences!
That was terrifying!
Shinju, still looking slightly amused, said, "But I gotta admit, talking to myself felt pretty great. I didn't even have to speak—he already knew what I was thinking ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )… Too bad I can't chat with him anymore."
Listening to Shinju's reflection, Naruto suddenly had a flash of realization.
Slap!
He smacked his forehead, eyes lighting up. "I get it now!"
...
Under the Falls of Truth, Naruto began his training again, sitting cross-legged.
The red-eyed Naruto once more emerged from behind the curtain of water.
He said, "Do we have to fight again? I told you, I am you. Our fight can't have a winner."
Naruto smiled. "Yeah, I already figured that out."
"Since you're the real me, then you should know what I'm thinking right now."
"It's true—I was jealous of Shinju. I resented the people in the village. But that's part of who I am."
"And now things are different. I have comrades. The people in the village admire me, they trust me..."
"Sure, it still stings a bit that Shinju got picked as Hokage, but honestly, I'm happy for him too!"
"Besides, come on—being sixteen or seventeen and feeling a little jealous is totally normal, right? (´つヮ⊂︎)"
"Shinju once said something that stuck with me—'A true man judges by actions, not by heart.'"
Naruto stood up slowly, step by step walking toward the red-eyed version of himself.
He opened his arms and pulled him into a hug.
"You've been carrying my darkness and negativity all this time. Must've been rough, huh? (๑╹ヮ╹๑)ﾉ"
The red-eyed Naruto froze, lips pressed together, speechless.
Gradually, his body grew transparent, turning into particles of light that drifted away beneath the waterfall.
...
In the real world, Naruto, sitting on the stone, opened his eyes and grinned.
Seeing Naruto like that, Shinju immediately knew.
"Looks like that knucklehead's finished his training too."
Killer B: ∑（〟〇О〇）
What was going on with these Konoha guys?!
Since when was Naruto this sharp?
Could it be he was like Shinju back when he hadn't shown his full talent—just pretending to be clueless while secretly a genius?!
But soon Killer B noticed that even after finishing the training, Naruto was still the same hot-blooded fool as ever.
"Guess I was overthinking it," Killer B muttered to himself.
Then, not wanting these two to get too smug, he said deliberately,
"Don't get cocky, you two! The Falls of Truth training has only just begun."
"Back in the day, I was way faster than you both! (・'ヘ´・;)"
At that, one of the Kumogakure shinobi nearby whispered,
"Killer B-sama, if I recall correctly, you took about half an hour to complete your training. Shinju-san finished in under a minute, and even Uzumaki Naruto only needed about twenty minutes—they were both faster than you, sir..."
Killer B: "Don't! You! Say! Another! Word!! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ)"
After roaring that out, Killer B stormed toward the waterfall—then walked straight through the curtain of water!
Clearly, there was something hidden behind it!
Inside Shinju's sealing space, the Four-Tails, Son Gokū, suddenly perked up.
"I know this place! վ--0027ᴗ--0027 ի"
The Six-Tails immediately shot him down. "Know it? That dump you lived in doesn't even come close to this one."
The Three-Tails nodded. "There's a strange chakra fluctuation behind that waterfall. It's unusual."
The Six-Tails added, "By the way, why do you think Shinju came here to train in the first place? He's already strong enough. He doesn't even need this."
"And if he wants power, couldn't we just lend it to him?"
The Four-Tails snorted. "You said it yourself—lend."
The Six-Tails hissed, "Shh! Quiet!"
...
Under the waterfall, Shinju and Naruto followed Killer B inside.
Behind them, Might Guy looked at Shinju's group disappearing ahead, then at the Kumogakure shinobi standing guard. After some thought, he decided to go in too.
But before entering, he couldn't resist sitting on the rock beneath the Falls of Truth!
After all, a man's gotta have some curiosity! (◔◡◔)
He sat cross-legged. One second... two seconds...
Half a minute later, Guy opened his eyes, full of confusion.
"There's nothing happening. What kind of training is this? Weird! (￢‸￢) ?"
Muttering to himself, he stood and followed after Shinju and the others.
...
Inside the cave behind the waterfall—
Naruto's eyes widened in awe. "There's such a huge place behind here! Who built this? It's amazing! (--0027▿--0027)"
Killer B shrugged. "No idea."
Shinju was also looking around the massive ruins. Now he finally understood why Kumogakure treated this place as a sacred site.
Then he raised his head, eyes landing on the huge rock mural ahead. The rough lines formed the shapes of several bizarre-looking beasts.
"Are these supposed to be tailed beasts?" Shinju asked. "The drawings are... kinda abstract."
Killer B clearly had no clue either. "How should I know? Maybe they're something even scarier. ┐(´-｀)┌"
Naruto pointed to one mural. "This one looks just like you when you turn into an octopus, B-san! (′▽`)╯"
Killer B sputtered. "No way! The Eight-Tails doesn't look that sloppy! (′д｀σ)σ"
Shinju glanced around again, frowning slightly.
'"Why are there so many tall statues along the road—and why don't any of them have heads?"
"Judging from the breaks at the necks, they weren't built that way... Could someone have removed them?"
Killer B sighed. "You sure ask a lot of questions… Just keep up. Up ahead is where you'll gain the power of the Tailed Beasts!"
With that, he quickened his pace, leading Shinju and Naruto through a stone archway—and stopped before a massive beast-head relief carved into the wall!
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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