Naruto's lips slowly curled into a confident smile.
"Hehe… I haven't experienced training this intense in a long time."
His blue eyes shone with excitement rather than exhaustion.
"It almost feels like I've rediscovered that familiar passion again…"
Jiraiya stared at him with a complicated expression.
"I honestly thought you would complain after undergoing such brutal training."
He folded his arms and sighed.
"Do you understand how difficult the techniques I just taught you are?"
"One of them alone would normally take a ninja months—sometimes years—to master."
"And yet you're trying to learn three techniques at the same time."
Jiraiya shook his head.
"Training like this is practically cruel punishment."
"It borders on inhumane torture."
"And if you're careless…"
"It might even cost you your life."
Naruto's grin only widened.
"Isn't that amazing?!"
Jiraiya fell silent.
"…Naruto."
"Yes?"
"You're definitely a masochist."
Naruto scratched the back of his head.
Honestly… he had suspected that about himself for a long time.
But the truth was simpler.
He had already grown accustomed to life-or-death training.
For Naruto, pushing himself to the brink of exhaustion wasn't suffering anymore.
It felt more like returning to something familiar.
Like coming home.
"Ahhh… this feels great!"
Naruto stretched his arms with a satisfied sigh.
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.
"Since you're so excited…"
"Master all three techniques within ten days."
Naruto blinked.
"Ten days?"
Jiraiya nodded.
"That's already an extremely generous amount of time."
Even ten days was practically impossible.
Gamakichi and Gamadatsu, who were watching nearby, also nodded seriously.
"Three advanced techniques in ten days?"
"That brat sure is arrogant…"
But before Naruto could respond—
A mechanical voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
[Host Mission Triggered]
Naruto froze.
Then the voice continued.
[Master the Wind Release: Vacuum Sword, Summoning Technique, and Rasengan within three days.]
Naruto: "???"
His brain stopped working for a moment.
Three days?
Did he hear that correctly?
Three days?!
The system continued calmly.
[Completion Reward: Random System Reward.]
[Failure Penalty: Lightning Release Trial.]
Naruto's mouth twitched.
Lightning Release Trial?
That sounded terrifying.
"Three days…"
Naruto muttered quietly.
He had originally planned to challenge Jiraiya's ten-day deadline.
But now the system had reduced it to three days.
Three days!!!
He suddenly shouted loudly.
"Perverted Sage!"
"And you two little frogs!"
Jiraiya turned around.
"What is it?"
Naruto raised his fist dramatically.
"Listen carefully!"
"I, Uzumaki Naruto—"
"Will master all three techniques perfectly…"
"Within three days!"
Jiraiya's eyes widened.
"Three days?!"
"Have you completely lost your mind?"
Even Gamakichi and Gamadatsu looked shocked.
"This guy has gone crazy…"
Naruto wanted to cry.
If only they knew the truth behind his bold declaration.
He didn't want to do it.
He was forced to do it.
But outwardly he could only maintain his confident expression.
"Three days!"
"Whatever happens, I'll finish it!"
Jiraiya stared at him silently for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"It's good to have determination."
"But determination alone isn't enough."
"I've already taught you the methods."
"The rest depends entirely on you."
With that, he turned around and began walking away.
Naruto blinked.
"…Wait."
"Perverted Sage!"
"Are you leaving already?!"
Jiraiya didn't turn back.
"Stop whining."
"Sooner or later you must learn to train on your own."
"Confidence is something you build by overcoming challenges yourself."
Naruto understood that.
He truly did.
But sometimes…
It still felt better having someone nearby.
Even so, he forced himself to laugh loudly.
"Hahahaha!"
"Of course I know that!"
"Just wait and see!"
"I'll finish everything in three days!"
Jiraiya raised one hand casually and waved goodbye.
His figure slowly disappeared into the distance.
Naruto stood there alone.
"…Alright."
He clenched his fists.
"I'll train seriously now."
"I'll shock that perverted sage so badly he'll finally admit how amazing I am!"
With renewed determination, Naruto clapped his hands together.
"Let's start!"
Gamakichi and Gamadatsu exchanged glances.
Three days.
That was an impossible challenge.
Even Naruto himself could feel the pressure.
A long-forgotten sense of urgency returned to his heart.
He took a deep breath.
"First… Rasengan."
"The Perverted Sage said this technique was created by the Fourth Hokage…"
Naruto's expression became serious.
"Let's begin with that."
He recalled Jiraiya's instructions.
"Stage One…"
"Pop a water balloon."
Naruto held a water balloon in his palm.
Then he focused chakra into his hand.
The balloon trembled slightly.
But nothing happened.
"…Huh?"
Naruto scratched his head.
"Why isn't it working?"
He tried again.
And again.
And again.
Hours passed.
Finally—
POP!
The water balloon burst.
Naruto grinned widely.
"Alright!"
"That's the first step!"
But he quickly realized something terrifying.
If mastering the first stage already took so much effort…
How long would the next stages take?
He swallowed nervously.
"Three days…"
"Please let me survive this."
Early Morning – Konoha Village
While Naruto was training far away—
Morning mist quietly covered the Hidden Leaf Village.
The entire world seemed wrapped in white fog.
After the destruction caused by Orochimaru's invasion, Konoha was still undergoing reconstruction.
Early risers were already busy repairing buildings.
The sound of hammering metal echoed through the fog.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
Despite the damage, the village was full of life.
Its resilience was unmistakable.
But suddenly—
Two figures slowly emerged from the mist at the village gate.
The guards narrowed their eyes.
"Hmm?"
They rubbed their eyes and looked carefully.
The newcomers wore long black cloaks.
Red clouds decorated the fabric.
Their faces were hidden beneath hoods.
But even with their appearance concealed…
The aura surrounding them felt terrifying.
Cold.
Dangerous.
The guards instinctively shivered.
"Who are you?"
One guard stepped forward.
But before he could finish speaking—
He saw a pair of eyes.
Blood-red eyes.
That was the last thing he remembered.
Moments later—
Several guards collapsed unconscious on the ground.
A deep voice spoke quietly.
"Those eyes are quite convenient."
The other man replied calmly.
"Don't cause unnecessary trouble."
"Our mission from the organization is simple."
"We only need to find that target."
The first man chuckled.
"Still…"
"Only someone like you could pass through Konoha's barrier system so easily."
"You were once part of this village, after all."
"Former ANBU captain…"
The other man remained silent.
He simply performed several hand seals and entered the barrier with practiced precision.
Soon the two figures stood atop Konoha's outer wall.
They looked down at the village below.
"Don't you feel nostalgic?"
"After all… this is your hometown."
The second man finally spoke.
"…Not at all."
The two figures disappeared into the mist.
"Looks like the village suffered serious damage."
"Yes."
"That disgusting man Orochimaru caused all of this."
"Even after leaving the organization, he's still troublesome."
"I heard he left because of you."
"…Mr. Itachi."
Uchiha Itachi did not answer.
Instead he said quietly,
"Let's begin searching."
"Kisame."
Kisame Hoshigaki grinned.
"Understood."
Meanwhile – Training Ground
Elsewhere in the village—
Kakashi Hatake remembered Jiraiya's warning.
He remained alert for possible enemy attacks.
At the same time, he increased Sasuke's training.
As the Jonin leader of Team 7, Kakashi couldn't focus on Sasuke alone.
That day—
Since Naruto had left the village to train with Jiraiya—
Team 7 did not accept any missions.
Instead they trained together.
Sasuke was there.
So was Hinata.
Both had already reached the rank of Chunin.
Technically they could lead their own teams.
But Konoha still needed rebuilding.
So they remained in the village.
Hinata hesitated before speaking.
"Kakashi-sensei…"
"Yes?"
"About Naruto-kun…"
Kakashi smiled gently.
"What's wrong?"
"Can't focus on training without him?"
Hinata blushed immediately.
"N-No!"
"I was just… curious."
Kakashi chuckled.
"Don't worry."
"He's with Lord Jiraiya."
"In Konoha, the safest person to travel with is probably Jiraiya."
"And Naruto isn't just training."
"He's also assisting with a mission."
Hinata nodded softly.
Kakashi clapped his hands.
"Alright."
"That's enough talking about him."
"Even though Naruto is gone…"
"Team 7 must keep improving."
He looked at Sasuke.
"We don't want Naruto to return stronger while the rest of you fall behind."
Sasuke's eyes sharpened.
During recent training with Kakashi, he had greatly improved his Sharingan.
He had also mastered Chidori.
His strength had grown dramatically.
But Naruto…
Naruto had defeated Gaara.
He had even helped seal the One-Tail.
The gap between them hadn't closed.
It had grown larger.
Sasuke felt a burning sense of urgency.
"…Let's begin."
Kakashi smiled.
"Good."
The three of them continued training throughout the entire morning.
Only when noon arrived did they finally stop.
They sat down to prepare lunch.
But none of them knew—
At that very moment—
Two extremely dangerous enemies had already entered the village.
And their target…
Was Naruto Uzumaki.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)