"Why did he not just tell me yesterday"
Grumbling in his head, Sasuke frowned again. He could not understand what Naruto was doing.
Dozens of Narutos plucked leaves from branches and slapped them to their palms, over and over, while one Naruto leaned against a far tree with eyes closed, doing nothing at all. Broken leaves carpeted the ground.
A chill pricked Sasuke's spine. This guy could make this many clones, and he was clearly training, yet Sasuke could not read a single drill.
Too weak. I am still too weak.
He pushed off the stone slab, flashed through hand signs, and unleashed Shadow Clone Technique.
Poof.
Seven Sasuke clones stood beside him.
"Damn it. Counting the one I sent to class, my limit is only eight"
The team split. Some drilled Fire Release and tightening their hand seals. Some went to the targets to grind shuriken work. Sasuke's real body set about mounting the crossbows.
Yesterday he had learned the hard way. A kunai clipped his helmet and he finally understood how terrifying the technique Naruto had showed him truly was. He woke sore and bruised from head to toe.
He still could not fathom how Naruto trained. That stung worst of all. He had awakened the Sharingan and still could not keep up. Worse, he had awakened it with Naruto's help.
"Fourth Hokage, what do you make of this Uchiha kid"
In the seal, Kurama rumbled the question, glancing at Naruto's spirit projection standing nearby.
"His talent is high," Minato said, watching through Naruto's eyes. "For his age, he might be the earliest Uchiha to open the Sharingan."
Kurama nodded, then shifted. "Are you really not going to tell Naruto about that matter"
Minato hesitated. "It may not matter. Somehow I feel he already knows."
Kurama's ears flicked. "He lives in that Mirror World. If he did not know, that would be the real surprise."
Minato stared at his son's projection. "Kurama, do you think Naruto truly does not resent me"
Kurama turned its head aside, closed its eyes, and lay down. A moment later its voice filled the chamber.
"That brat accepted you as his father long ago."
Minato started, then bowed with a small smile. "Thank you."
Mirror World. The training field.
Naruto clashed with the Third Hokage, who wielded a great staff. A ring of clones darted in, timing their strikes.
He had not used Flying Thunder God yet. Though he had planted marks on the Third already, he wanted this round fought with taijutsu and basic ninjutsu.
He had not expected the Mirror World Third to summon Enma with Summoning Technique.
Clang.
Blocking a sweeping strike with crossed kunai, Naruto kicked back, leapt high, and let chakra swell in his throat.
"Fire Style. Great Fireball Technique."
Four clones sprang out and finished their own signs in the same instant.
"Shadow Possession."
"Water Style. Syrup Capture Field."
"Earth Style. Earth Dragon Bullet."
Pinned by shadow and syrup, the puppet Third took the full brunt of fire and earth. Naruto landed, felt the tremor of motion under the ground, and flickered away.
A beat later, the Third burst up from where Naruto had just stood.
He took the measure of the circle of clones, spun his staff, then thrust it forward. Adamantine Staff stretched and thinned, long as a lance.
Armor plates shifted on his shoulders. The staff whirled clockwise in a roaring halo.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Clones exploded into smoke one after another. Moments later, only Naruto's true body clung to a wall with chakra soles.
"Playing monkey, are we"
Naruto flashed a sign and split off a fresh clone. The real body snapped his wrist.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."
A cloud of steel surged for the Third.
He planted the staff, whipped through signs, and slapped the ground. "Earth Style. Earth Flow Wall."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. Beside him, the new clone formed a small black chakra sphere. These last two days the Third had used Earth Style over and over. Naruto had tested all the puppets he could challenge. His hunch was sharp.
Flash.
The clone jumped with Flying Thunder God.
Boom.
The fight ended.
"Congratulations. You have obtained training experience for Earth Style. Headhunter Jutsu."
"Congratulations. You have obtained training experience for Lightning Style. Thunder Crash."
"Congratulations. You have obtained Earth nature chakra."
Naruto finally smiled. In the next breath he appeared in the seal, bumped Kurama's fist, and grinned.
"Kurama, we can break the Third's Five Elements Seal."
The fox jolted up and bumped back, eyes bright. "So the five natures are finally complete"
Naruto nodded and slipped out of the seal. He opened his eyes to find Sasuke still panting on the slab, now wearing armor.
Naruto eyed the clones training around him, then walked up. "Do you know how many bowls of rice your body eats in a day"
Sasuke heard the hidden meaning, lifted his visor, and squinted. "What are you talking about"
Naruto's smile turned knowing. "Nothing. Send one clone with me. I will teach it tree walking."
"Tree walking"
Naruto nodded and headed into the trees. Sasuke had little worldly experience. He had mistaken Flying Thunder God for genjutsu the first time he saw it. If not for Naruto, he would know only Great Fireball by now, a textbook cannon fodder.
But he had worked hard enough to split this many clones. Naruto would give him a hand.
Without further questions, Sasuke waved one clone to follow.
They stopped before a thick trunk. Naruto looked at the clone. "People say failure is the mother of success. Do you think that is true"
The clone thought a moment and nodded.
Naruto snorted softly. "For ordinary people, maybe."
The clone's brow rose. "What does that mean"
Naruto turned, stepped forward, and walked up the bark as if up a set of stairs, stopping midway up the trunk.
"You are a shinobi. You are an Uchiha. For a shinobi, when you find the right method, failure is not an option. And for one who bears the Sharingan, success does not need permission."
"It has no kinship with failure at all."
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