After beating Shikamaru, Shikaku tossed him into Konoha Hospital and left behind a single sentence:
"Get treated, then crawl back to school yourself."
Then he walked off.
Shikamaru lay face-down on the bed, clutching his aching backside and letting out a long sigh.
"What a drag…"
"Shikamaru, Sasuke and I came to see you!"
Naruto walked into the ward with a wide grin, Sasuke following behind him.
"See what? I'm leaving in a minute anyway," Shikamaru replied helplessly.
"It's not like I've got a terminal illness just because my dad beat me up."
"Stop acting tough," Sasuke said coldly, setting a bag of medicine on the bedside table.
"You can't even sit up without pain."
Naruto plopped down in the chair beside him, laughing.
"Still, your dad hits hard. But it makes sense—everyone knows Big Brother Wen Lan holds grudges."
"Is that so?"
A chilly voice suddenly sounded behind Naruto.
Completely unaware, Naruto nodded confidently.
"Of course! Big Brother Wen Lan is great at everything—except he's petty.
Last year people kept calling me the Hokage's son. I didn't like it, so I beat them up. Then he found out and said I was abusing my status, and he beat me too.
Huh? Sasuke, Shikamaru—why are you looking at me like that…"
Only then did Naruto realize something was wrong.
That voice hadn't belonged to either of them.
His whole body stiffened. He slowly turned his head and saw Wen Lan standing behind him, smiling pleasantly.
"W-Wen Lan… ahhh—"
Three minutes later, Naruto lay face-down on the bed next to Shikamaru, clutching his own sore backside.
Wen Lan sat nearby with a gentle smile.
When it came to Naruto, he truly didn't know what to do sometimes.
In the original timeline, Naruto had been an orphan—yet despite everything, he never turned dark.
But now, with both parents alive, he had become something of a little tyrant.
Wen Lan finally understood why Boruto in the future could be so clueless—almost as if he believed the Hokage title had been bought with money.
It ran in the family.
Naruto wasn't as extreme as Boruto, who sometimes thought his father was useless.
But the words "son of the Hokage" were still like a thorn in Naruto's heart—just as they had once been for Asuma.
He wanted to become an outstanding ninja in his own right.
He wanted people to know Uzumaki Naruto is Uzumaki Naruto, not merely the Hokage's son.
That was exactly why he trained so hard.
And since Sasuke had grown up as Naruto's friend—and silent rival—the harder Naruto trained, the harder Sasuke pushed himself.
"Alright, it's noon," Wen Lan said, standing up.
"Sasuke, come home with me for lunch."
"Yes, sir."
Sasuke rose obediently and followed him.
Along the way, Sasuke remained unusually quiet.
Wen Lan noticed and asked,
"If you have something to say, just say it. If I can help, I will."
Sasuke finally stopped walking and looked up.
"Senpai… I feel like the gap between Naruto's training and mine is getting bigger. Especially that Rasengan.
Does our clan not have any powerful techniques that don't require hand seals?
On a battlefield where everything changes in an instant, techniques that require many seals feel too slow."
Wen Lan stopped as well.
After thinking for a moment, he understood.
In the original timeline, the Uchiha massacre had led Kakashi to become Sasuke's teacher—and he had taught him Chidori, a technique Sasuke would use all the way to the final battle, even into the next generation.
Wen Lan shook his head.
"No. We have many techniques, but they all require hand seals."
Sasuke lowered his head, disappointed.
"But…"
The moment Wen Lan said that, Sasuke looked up instantly, hope shining in his eyes.
"Hand seals exist to guide chakra smoothly through your body.
Once you become strong enough and understand your chakra nature, you'll only need a few seals—or even none—to use the techniques you want.
For example, the Water Dragon Technique originally required forty-four seals.
But the Second Hokage simplified it to just three.
I do know of a Lightning Release technique that uses three seals.
And once you master it, you can even perform it without seals."
"Really?! What is it?" Sasuke asked eagerly.
"It's Chidori, created by Hatake Kakashi. I can use it as well.
I'll speak with him. If he agrees, I can teach it to you."
In truth, Kakashi had already submitted the technique to the village, meaning Wen Lan technically had full authority to teach it.
But he believed it was proper to consult the creator first.
"Thank you, senpai!" Sasuke said, bowing deeply.
"No problem. Head home. I'll go find Kakashi."
Wen Lan flicked Sasuke lightly on the forehead and turned to leave.
Wen Lan soon arrived at the Hokage Tower.
At this time, Kakashi was still serving in the ANBU and had become one of the Hokage's personal guards.
In many ways, this was Minato's way of grooming him.
Wen Lan headed straight toward the ANBU headquarters.
It was located in the underground level of the Hokage building, with a concealed entrance and heavy security.
When he reached the lower level, two ANBU members were resting near the entrance.
Seeing someone approach, they immediately stood up, alert.
"Password!"
Wen Lan replied calmly:
"High ridges shake the earth; streams and mountains stand beautiful for a thousand years."
The two guards relaxed and responded:
"Facing the great sea, rivers flow for ten thousand years."
Hearing the familiar code phrase, Wen Lan couldn't help but smile slightly.
As he descended the stairs, the two ANBU members recognized him and immediately bowed.
"Assistant-sama!"
He nodded.
"Is Kakashi here?"
"Yes. He just returned. I'll call him right away."
One of them quickly disappeared down the corridor.
Wen Lan remained where he stood.
This was a rule he himself had established:
No one except the Hokage may enter ANBU territory freely—not even the Hokage's assistant.
Unless a person carried the Hokage's hat as authorization, they would be killed on sight.
After all, ANBU handled the village's most sensitive intelligence and missions. Any lapse in security could lead to catastrophe.
Moments later, Kakashi walked out.
Masked face. Straight posture. Cold, composed presence.
His silver hair glimmered faintly under the dim yellow lights.
"Assistant-sama," Kakashi said respectfully.
"Kakashi, I came today to ask about teaching your Chidori to Sasuke.
You're the creator of the technique, so I wanted your opinion."
Kakashi looked slightly surprised, then quickly responded:
"I've already handed that technique over to the village.
Assistant-sama may teach it to anyone freely."
"Good," Wen Lan replied.
"But since it's your technique, you'll also be considered half of Sasuke's teacher.
When the children graduate, I'll arrange for you to guide them as their jonin instructor."
In truth, this plan also served another purpose:
To give Kakashi the opportunity to properly train the next generation.
—------------------------------
Pat reon Advance Chapters: patreon.com/YonkoSlayer