Chapter 480: Konohamaru's Will of Fire
Because of his past experience of being forced by Iruka to clean up the entire village after a prank, Naruto easily handled the cleanup task in the open area.
What had he done back then?
Paint splashing, feces throwing.
That was far harder to clean than this.
This current job? Easy mode.
"That, um… I saw a lot of ninja cats. How about you learn Sage Mode too…"
"Get lost."
Before Naruto could even finish promoting… no, "spreading" Sage Mode, Tamaki kicked him straight out.
Even as Naruto was being chased away, shouting things like "this is the way to gain the power to protect", and "it's essential for protecting the ninja world and your family", Tamaki didn't respond at all.
In the end, Naruto had no choice but to leave the open area with Konohamaru and Kakashi, who had been watching the show.
The three of them didn't return to Konoha. Instead, they decided to find a nearby place with a good environment and start immediately.
After Naruto and the others left for a while, Cat Granny in the open area wrote a letter and handed it to a ninja cat.
"Little Tamaki, well done. We are not Konoha shinobi, and they do not see us as Konoha shinobi either. So there is no need for us to have any connection with them."
Cat Granny patted the small cat. "Go on, deliver this letter to little Sasuke."
"Meow."
The ninja cat responded and leapt away.
In objective terms, Cat Granny and Tamaki were not Konoha ninja. They simply lived near Konoha Village in the Land of Fire and did not even have the forehead protectors that even Genin possessed.
Ever since the Uchiha clan was destroyed, Cat Granny had completely become "neutral."
This was unavoidable. The Uchiha clan had been preparing for rebellion, and many of their intelligence sources and weapons had been obtained through Cat Granny.
If she wanted to avoid being purged, neutrality was the only option.
Even joining any side was impossible.
However, although she called it neutrality, Cat Granny still leaned toward the Uchiha clan in practice.
That was why, in the original timeline, when Sasuke became a rogue ninja and came to her, she still provided him with a great deal of support.
And now it was the same. Cat Granny had the ninja cat pass along intelligence about Naruto's attempt to promote Sage Mode.
Right now, Sasuke was not a rogue ninja and didn't carry nearly as much resentment or hatred, so after reading this information, he simply laughed it off.
As expected.
After receiving the message from the ninja cat, Sasuke immediately laughed.
"Dead-last, so you're trying to get the whole ninja world to help you develop jutsu? Not a bad idea. As expected, only this way do you have a chance to catch up to me."
While praising Naruto, he didn't forget to act a little superior.
But… Did Naruto really have such an intention?
Hard to say.
Outside Konoha Village.
By a riverbank, Naruto summoned a toad and began explaining Sage Mode to Kakashi and Konohamaru.
As a disciple of Minato Namikaze and the so-called "Konoha Technician", Kakashi actually understood the principles of Sage Mode. He simply couldn't use it.
But since Naruto had already started explaining, he didn't interrupt, especially since Konohamaru needed to learn.
And Konohamaru, despite his earlier mischief, was actually quite serious when it came to learning. His ability to absorb knowledge was also strong.
He carefully wrote down every word Naruto said.
"The first step in the shortcut of the great Uzumaki Naruto-sama's original Sage Mode is to learn Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Naruto stood on a rock and formed hand seals, creating two shadow clones.
"Wait, Naruto-nii, is that really the 'first step'? You haven't even explained how to enter Sage Mode yet. How are you already talking about shortcuts?"
Konohamaru couldn't help but interrupt him.
"Huh? Is that so?"
Naruto scratched his head. "I can't really explain it either. Let the toad from Mount Myoboku explain it to you guys."
With that, Naruto jumped down from the rock and placed the newly summoned toad on top of it.
Kakashi and Konohamaru both had dark lines on their faces.
But there was no choice, they could only listen as the toad began the lecture.
Surprisingly, the toad sounded far more human than Naruto.
It talked about absorbing natural energy, and balancing it with spiritual energy and one's own chakra to form a stable triangle.
If the process failed, natural energy would consume the user—for example, in Mount Myoboku's Sage Arts, failure would turn the practitioner into a toad stone statue.
It even mentioned Jiraiya's Sage Mode.
"Jiraiya's Sage Mode requires the assistance of the two Sage Toads, Shima and Fukasaku, to stabilize the ratio of senjutsu chakra inside the body and maintain balance.
Because Jiraiya's personality is unruly, and he writes novels, his emotions and thoughts are too chaotic to maintain a stable mental state, so he needs their help.
But that was the old Jiraiya.
The current Jiraiya has transcended.
He used Naruto's shortcut method and can now enter Sage Mode independently without the assistance of the two Sage Toads."
After finishing its explanation, the toad wisely hopped aside.
Naruto immediately jumped back onto the rock.
"See that, Kakashi-sensei, Konohamaru? That's the genius of my shortcut. Even Pervy-sage had to learn from me!"
"So, Naruto… you're using this method to calm your mind and clear your thoughts?"
Kakashi looked genuinely shaken.
As someone who had immersed himself in strange and obscure techniques for years, he had actually been completely outclassed by Naruto in this regard.
So had Jiraiya.
As expected, hard work is worthless in the face of talent.
"Yep. First, you learn Shadow Clone Jutsu. Then you use the feedback from the clones to quickly enter Sage Mode…"
As Naruto spoke, he formed hand seals again and recreated the earlier performance he had been doing back at the open area.
As the shadow clones disappeared, Naruto's previously smug expression faded. His face became calm and emotionless, like a sage with no desires at all.
At the same time, sage markings appeared around his eyes.
"Wow! That's amazing! I want to learn too!"
Konohamaru shouted with admiration.
"Uh…"
Kakashi opened his mouth, unsure whether he should stop this.
Even if Konohamaru was the Third Hokage's grandson and developed early, he was still just starting out, right?
Was it really okay to use this shortcut right from the beginning? Wouldn't it affect his future development?
Suddenly, Kakashi's mind flashed with the face of the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage was one of his mentors.
Although he was slightly less important than Jiraiya, who had given him the "Icha Icha Paradise" books, he was still someone who had guided his life.
Konohamaru was the Third Hokage's only grandson. He couldn't just ignore this.
"Konohamaru, actually…"
Kakashi patiently explained the side effects of the method.
He didn't make the decision for Konohamaru, but instead gave him the choice.
"Kakashi-sensei, are you looking down on my resolve? Future body? If I don't have power, I'll be killed easily by the Ōtsutsuki just like Grandpa and Uncle Asuma. If I'm dead, what use is a future body anyway?"
At that moment, Konohamaru's determination was as absolute as someone willing to sacrifice everything.
Even Kakashi couldn't help but glance at him differently.
So this is the Will of Fire.
(End of this chapter)