In a clearing surrounded by trees, a giant-sized Wolf stood guarding a tree no smaller than him. In front of him, a small boy stood in a fighting stance, staring intently at the tree guardian. When the Wolf couldn't stand it, roared and rushed towards the child, he folded his hands in a seal and spoke loudly.
- Fire element: a great ball of fire!" and a ball of fire flew towards Fenrir. The wolf bounced away from the fire, but several shurikens flew towards him. And then the boy continued- Shadow Cloning shuriken!"- and their numbers increased several times over. The wolf was able to dodge most of them, but a few still reached him and he roared even louder. As he roared, the boy launched four shurikens upwards and they collided with each other in mid-air, and then, two of the shurikens darted straight towards the Wolf and pierced his eyes. Then the boy grabbed his kunai and rushed towards Fernir. He was fast and once he reached him, he began to inflict mutilation on his paws. The wolf fell down and the boy climbed on top of him and jumped and a light blue spinning ball began to form in his hand. He swung his arm up and falling right on top of Wolf's head brought the technique down. Wolf's head flew apart staining the nearby plants the colour of blood.
- How come in anime characters never get blood on their victims after they die? There's brains scattered everywhere! Heh, okay. Whatever!" I stepped away from the body of the decapitated Fenrir Wolf and started looking at the alert windows. Yeah, it's been a whole year since I came in here. And that's right! 365 days exactly! Honestly, I missed my family and the comforts of home unrealistically. It was also boring. So the time has flown by quickly for me. I'd say I feel like I've only been away for a month. Still, every day all I did was train and learn EVERYTHING I wanted to. It's like if you do a monotonous job, something like pulling grass. If you do it all day, it goes by quickly. That's what I did.
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
- Wow, that's four levels up at once! That's awesome! Okay, next up.
You killed the Boss of Fenrir's Dungeon.
Obtained Soul Crystal Level 30.
Gained the title: Beast Slayer.
Beast Killer: Beast-type entity attacks +5%.
- Finally! This is the first time I've been given a title! Heh, wait! What's this?
The required level has been reached!
Attention! The Player's Auction is now available to you.
- Now, wait a minute. What?! Auction? There's such a thing? Let's see what we have here, shall we? FUCK OFF!!!
I was honestly stunned. It was everything. Everything you could possibly want. From a scant scroll of Shadow Cloning techniques to a RINNESHARINGAN. But the cool thing was that it wasn't just stuff from this world. There was stuff from other universes too!!! Devil fruit, sacred relics, animagic swords, and so much more. There were abilities too, but they were all entry level. And then there was a very strange but terribly useful item. There were syringes with the function of introducing genes. All the genes of Naruto's world were there, except for Ootsutsuki. But it also had the genes of heroes from other worlds. There were genes from the world of My Hero Academia itself that I was very interested in. If you embed them, a random ability will appear. And there's a lot of stuff like that! There's even genes from the classic Ghoul. I don't know what kind of pervert would want it, although having that kind of ability...well, fuck it! Being a cannibal is a joy, and eating carrion is only for necrophiliacs. There's all sorts of information. Ha-ha, but it cost a lot. And the currency was these Soul Crystals. I bought the Uchiha gene, which used up all the crystals. I'll have to save up for the rest. At least I bought Sasuke's Uchiha gene. I want a Rinnesharingan too, and I can still get the Naruto gene. So I'm standing here with a red syringe in my hand, thinking...
- Is this even safe? No, the Auction says it's definitely safe, but it's hard to believe it so quickly. Orochimaru's experiments and especially his failed attempts come to mind. Hmm, and for that syringe, Orochimaru would give a lot...nah, fuck that kind of thinking. If he finds out what I am, he'll milk me for all I'm worth. And I'm not sure I can stand up to him now, zero chance. Heh heh, then, shall I use this for its intended purpose? All right, I've been there! - and before I can think about the safety of these actions again, I stick the syringe in my arm. I wasn't worried about sticking it in the wrong place. The syringe was made especially for idiots like me and could be stuck anywhere in the arm area, as it was written in the description of the item. After pouring in the contents and standing there for a while, I thought nothing had worked and...passed out. Yeah, why don't they write such details in the description?! Players take after the system or something?! And it was the Players who sold all those items at the auction! And they wrote descriptions for their items. It seems at the auction is not allowed to lie, the system is watching everything and for such a punishments specifically, but it seems to have become a habit of players. I, by the way, could also register there and start selling, but I have nothing to sell now. So, I've fallen into a slumber.
***
When I woke up, I jumped up from the bed... the bed?! Wait, this bed, these walls, am I in my room?! I got up and went into the living room and saw my parents.
- You finally woke up? How much training did you do if you slept for so long?" Minato asked. Long? How long? How did I even get here?
- Are you all right, honey? You shouldn't work so hard in training. You've been asleep for 24 hours. You hungry? Sit down to eat. Tonight's dinner is Yakisoba, just the way you like it." said Kushina, putting the food on her plate. After a few questions, it was clear that Gai had brought me home. He said he was looking for me to ask about Kakashi's whereabouts. After I entered the dungeon, he must have thought I had run away. It seems that when I leave the dungeon, I appear in the same place where I was in the dungeon, namely next to that huge tree. That's where Gaius found me unconscious. He didn't know what to do with me, so he went to ask Kakashi for advice. He recognised me and they brought me home. After that serum, I guess my body needed to rest and take on a new gene. After eating dinner, I went back to my room and stared at the mirror. Hmm, it's strange that my appearance hasn't changed. And it's not me because of the year of training, even though I trained there and got stronger accordingly, my body didn't change. Just like the outside world, I stopped my growth. But that's only externally. I have become stronger physically as well, but it doesn't show outwardly. By the way, I've learnt a lot in a year of training. I learnt all the academic techniques and the ones I was going to learn, such as Rassengan, Fireball, Shadow Cloning Shuriken, Wind Blades and Chidori. The hardest part was learning Chidori. But it was even harder to do Nagashi's Chidori. I also wanted to learn Rassensuriken, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it yet. I also went through Naruto's training to increase his affinity with wind. I cut leaves, infused my weapons with wind chakra like Asuma, and so on. It raised his stats a lot too. Thanks to the characteristic points, I increased Spirit, Perception, and Intelligence a lot, and after a year of training, I was able to level up all the other characteristics as well. He had also finished studying the history of the Shinobi World and its geography. At least what was known. I've also learnt the complete knowledge base of Fuinjutsu. I can now seal and unseal things. Of course, this knowledge is useless with my inventory, since I haven't learnt how to seal living things yet. But who knows, it certainly can't be useless! After all, there are a lot of "what ifs", so learning this was useful, and without such basics it will be hard to continue learning Fuin. I can also read Fuin seals and recognise them. It's like learning another language. That's kind of all that the base has given me. But with this knowledge, I can learn specialised Fuin-based techniques. Like barriers, seals, spatial techniques, and this interesting thing called Fuin programming. It seems you can use it to do something like program automatic actions. For example, the simplest thing is to make the door open for you when you come in. It's used in household things, in traps, in medicine, even in other Fuin specialities and who the fuck knows what else you can use it for. Now I truly admire my clan. To discover THESE OPPORTUNITIES!!! I will definitely find my clan's lost knowledge, and if it's not here, I'll find it in another world. My parents only know Seal Techniques and Spatial Techniques, and a little bit of Barrier Techniques. The others my mum just told me about and dreamed of learning them. But besides these specialisations, there are other specialisations that have been lost. Also in the dungeon finished with the study of his father's Shurikenjutsu and the use of Kunai. However, the Thunder God Technique will help me unlock it completely. But I will be able to master it only in the future, when I finish with Fuin and pump up the affinity with lightning. I think that's it. Right, what was that I was talking about, right! The external changes, or rather the lack thereof. I was expecting them to be after accepting the Uchiha gene. But there's no external change. But the affinity for fire and lightning has increased. So did perception with agility, speed and control. It's strange that intelligence didn't increase, although, Sasuke was a fool in a way, so okay. Hmm, now I have to allocate the characterisation points I got after Level 20. And I've poured it all into control. I really need it now to awaken the Sharingan. Yeah, I learnt how to do it from the Uchiha Sasuke gene seller. It seems it was public information that the players learnt from Sasuke's hit man. He fully researched his clan and found a way to evolve his eyes without dying or becoming mentally unstable. Namely to conduct chakro channels for those eyes. There were detailed instructions, so I have no problems with Sharingan, or rather with its awakening. By the way, doing it without having the gene is stupid. Because the eyes won't wake up. By the way, you can do the same with Byakugan, but again, you need the gene. For the remaining Soul Crystals, as it turned out not all spent, bought information about the simultaneous possession of Byakugan and Sharingan. There really were people like that, and I don't think anyone had ever tried it. And it turns out there's a special ritual for...EYE LISTENING!!!! Hmm, after this ritual, your eyes will be activated anytime you wish, and the eye pattern will be whatever you wish. Sharingan and Byakugan will work together as well as separately. The details of the ritual can be bought for just....Blah, now you need to accumulate Soul Crystals for the ritual as well. Okay, I'll buy the Hyuga gene as soon as I have enough, especially the Hanabi gene, because she could have awakened Tenseigan! And how cool it'll be when I have both.... But that's for later. And the worst thing about awakening is that it takes a long time. It takes a month to awaken one Tomoe. And with each subsequent one, the time grows longer. So, under normal circumstances, it would take 15 YEARS to awaken a Rinnesharingan!!! And that's assuming you have the Naruto gene, Ashura's rebirth. But I have dungeons!!! But the first time you go into a dungeon for a year, and the second time you go into a dungeon for 15 YEARS.... I guess if it's urgent, I'll do that, but right now I'll just be there for as long as I need. And you can start awakening the first Tomoe now. Though I wonder how long it would take to awaken Tenseigang, there's only one stage. Although, Rinnengan and Tenseigang are the same level. It'll probably take almost the same amount of time. Now go to sleep. I miss the comforts of home!
***
From the next day, I immediately started channeling chakra for Sharingan. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but it was long and took a lot of concentration. On top of that, I did daily training and Fuuin classes. And I... messed up. My parents were surprised at my progress and of course started asking when I had mastered it all. Dad was surprised when we were still training, but didn't rush to ask, but Mum was shocked that I had completed the entire Fuin base and hovered over me with a question:
- When did you learn all that?!!!!" my father came running at my mother's shouting....
- Darling, what's wrong? Why are you yelling at your son? Minato was puzzled. His wife didn't seem to be angry, but she was shouting very hard and hovering over Menma.
- Minato! He...he...he's finished the entire Fuinjutsu base! We only started studying a few months ago and he's already finished! Even I didn't learn that fast, and I was taught by Mito-sama herself. Hime of the clan! Even though she was taken to Konoha when she was a child, she learnt everything when Uzushio was at its peak! And now he claims to have completed the entire base. I realise our son is a big genius, but this is too fast. Until a few days ago, he could only read half the seals I gave him.
- All right, Kushina, calm down. You don't need to overexert yourself right now. Let's hear what Menma has to say first. I was surprised to see his strength increase dramatically myself. In today's sparring session, he was much stronger than the last one. Menma, don't you have anything to tell us? - Mwah! Not good, not good at all!!! What am I supposed to say!? I didn't do it on purpose. I've just been working out and now I've read all the stamps Mum gave me. I forgot I was supposed to act the same way I did before I went into the dungeon. I hadn't really thought about it, though. But not about that now. How do I get out of this?! Think! It's not for nothing that I've learnt intelligence! Think, think, think! OH, I'VE GOT IT!
- Erm, I'm just trying to surprise you. Actually, I've been training extra and learning Fuin from the vault scrolls. I can make a lot of clones. I've been making them every day and sending them off to study all this stuff. And today, I wanted to show my progress. I really didn't mean any harm, I thought you'd be happy if I was better at it. I hope it works! I'm a kid, so I might as well do it. Right, now the sad, guilty face. Tearjerker, I'm counting on you.!!!!.
- Of course we're happy. But you don't have to work too hard. If you use too many clones, you'll get tired. Honey, is that why you passed out in the woods? Oh!!! That's right! That fits the legend perfectly. All right, we're grasping at straws here.
- Yes! I dispelled all 100 clones and I got very sick. - After the dungeon, my reserve has increased a lot and I can summon a hundred clones now. But if they practise all day, my brains will bleed out of my ears!
- Hmm, I see. All right, then. We'll forgive you this time. But don't use so many clones for training. It could do more harm than good. And don't hide things from us. We're your parents, and it's obvious we care about you. And your mum's in a position where she can't be nervous. Don't make her worry about you. That's your responsibility as a son, okay?
- GOT IT!
- All right, now tell us what else you've learnt in secret from us.
- All right. I took the scrolls my mum let me use and mastered them all.
- What?! The parents shouted with glee.
- Mum, don't be nervous, you can't.
- I don't have time for this right now. Minato! Do you realise he's already Genin-level?!
- Yeah, you haven't even entered the academy yet, and you can already compete with some Genin. Well, my son! I'm proud of you!
- Hey! That's not what I meant! Is this normal?
- Almost! I was pretty strong when I was a kid, too! And Fugaku says his son has mastered the Fireball technique.
- Oh! I can use it too!
- 0_0...- they don't seem to be surprised anymore.
- Yeah, if you say you know Rassengan too, I won't be surprised at all...Oh, you're wasting your time father, oh, you're wasting your time!
- Yes, I know, and I'm making a Rassengan in one hand.
- WHAT!!!-the two of them shouted in sync again. They didn't seem surprised by my fireball, because they hadn't seen me use it. The Rassengan in my hand impressed them more.
- Kushina, what kind of monster did you raise?
- Hey, that's actually a question for you! You created this Technique!!! And anyway, honey, did you just call our son a MONSTER?!!!! - and a terrible YAKI pressure from Kushina. M-yes, no spirit can save you from this, it feels as scary as before!!!!!
- D-darling, I-I didn't mean that!!!! It's..." Kushina's fist stopped Minato from continuing. Okay, I think that's the end of Fuuin's lesson for today, I'd better go practice chakra control in my room, though I'd better go far away!!!! And quickly run out of the house.
***
As I walked around the village, I wondered what Fenrir was guarding in that forest. I thought it was silly to guess when I could check it out for myself and ran towards the forest to the surprised looks of a group of kids waiting for me in the back alley. Did they think I was running away from them? Well, let them enjoy their vanity for a while. If they come again, I'll do the same as usual. When I got to the place where the giant tree was supposed to be, I found Guy there, calmly doing push-ups at its roots. Why do I keep bumping into him? But just as I thought about it, I noticed a glow coming from the back of the tree. W-Well, really?! In the daylight, I didn't see it right away, but it was definitely the same glow as the one on Hokage Mountain. So Fenrir was guarding the Key to the other Dungeon. But why doesn't Gai notice him? Maybe he can't see him because of the daylight either? No, that's crazy! He's too close to the tree to miss him. Hmm, what if...?
- Maito-san, hello.
- 789, 790! 791, 792...
- Maito-san!
- 793, 794, 795, 796...
- SHIT, GAI GODDAMN IT!!!
- А?! What?! A boy? О? You're the one! Yeah, he only seems to respond to the coach's tone of voice. Strange, his dad didn't seem to address him that way. Maybe someone else?
- Yeah, I wanted to thank you for your help the other day. Thank you so much for carrying me home then. And a bow to finish the thank you.
- Ooh! Don't mention it. "Why did he only say that when I'd already thanked him?" That's what I was thinking. Why were you unconscious? Were you attacked? Or did you fall out of that tree?" It's weird that he didn't bring up the fact that I lied to him about competing with Kakashi. He doesn't want to accuse me of lying? Or did he just forget? Well, I'm grateful for that either way.
- Oh, that. I just trained too long that day and passed out.
- Really? Wow! You have the power of youth in you!!! At your age, training until you pass out!!! Wait! How old are you?
- I'm 5 years old.
- 5 years old. You're really just a kid. Do you want to train with me? I see in you the fire that burns in the name of the POWER OF YOUNGNESS!!!! Just like me! Wow! That really creeped me out. I didn't expect him to ask me to train with him. Especially after he found out I was the Hokage's son. But about the offer. Hmm, it's a good opportunity. I could really use the Eight Gates Technique. I might even be able to use it without hurting myself. The tricks Gaius was doing in that form were impressive. I had a lot of respect for him back when I was watching the anime. Especially after his fight with Madara. And this man offers me to train with him. At first it seems like just training, but I'm sure he'll start training me if I ask him to. Still, he's very kind, if a bit of a prick. But who doesn't have a bit of a cockroach in their head? So it's worth it. It'll be good for me. And after training with my dad, I think I can handle his regime too. I'll be able to improve my physical attributes, which seem to have no limits. Which is why.
- I'm happy to agree! My father told me that you are a very promising and outstanding shinobi, and that you have a lot to learn.
- W-four?! He really said that about me?!
- Yeah, he also praised your Eight Gates Technique! He said it's a Kage-level technique and that not everyone can master it! And I'm not lying, my father often talked about promising shinobi and mentioned Gai many times.
- R-really?! The Fourth recognised me as a strong Shinobi?!!! Yes!!! I will try even harder to live up to his expectations!!!! Please tell him that!!!
- Okay, I will.
- Well then, let's start our training...um, what's your name?
- Menma, Menma Uzumaki.
- Okay Menma, let's start our training!
- Yes, Maito-sensei!
- M-maito-sensei, s-sensei, s-sensei, s-sensei...- Gai began to mumble frantically, with happiness in his eyes. Is he so happy that I called him Sensei? Well, a man doesn't need much to be happy. Well, while he's in a daze, we can check the Dungeon Key. It was indeed there. It was stuck in a tree trunk. This time, a surprisingly clean, yellow-coloured key.
- What are you doing here? A calm Guy came up to me.
- You don't see anything here? He pointed to the key.
- Hmm, no. I can't see anything. What's in there?" and he came over and touched the spot I was pointing at and I was stunned. His hand went through the key! Hmm, does that mean only the Player can see and touch the Dungeon Key? Although it's quite likely. Back then on the mountain, I was also surprised that no one came to see the strange glow, after all, it's very suspicious. So there's no point in worrying about someone taking the key before I find it.
- It's nothing. It's just my imagination. Where do we start with the training?
- Ah, yes. For starters...we started our physical training using the Youth Strength method!!!! It was unbelievably hard!!! I used to think that Dad was working out too much? Well, I was wrong. Compared to Guy's workouts, he was just doing morning exercises!!! Thankfully Guy realised that his pace was too hard for a FIFTY year old and he started to remember how much exercise he did when he was my age. Even though the number had gone down a lot, I had to do three times as much as I used to do in my regular workouts with my dad. Towards the end of the training, I asked him if he could teach me the Gate Technique.
- Maito-sensei, can you teach me the Eight Gates Technique?
- What? The Eight Gates Technique? Well, I haven't quite mastered it myself. Right now, I can only open six without hurting myself too much.
- I see. Can I open a gate?
- I think it's too early for you to open the Gate. Maybe I'll teach you sometime when you're older?
- OK, you promised!!! I went home afterwards. I didn't take out the key for a simple reason. I need to check the Key's validity time. Last time, I thought it only started counting down when I touched it. The timing was just too perfect. So if that's really the case. The Key's validity time will not be a limitation for me. All the following days I sent the clones to continue all my normal training, while I myself spent the first half of the day doing chakro-channels and the second half training with Guy. My theory was confirmed, the key didn't disappear the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that.
***
POV Minato Namikaze
My name is Minato Namikaze. I have been an orphan since I was a child and never knew my parents. Growing up as a clanless kid, but I was a genius. I graduated from the academy with honours and after being a Genin on a secret mission from the Hokage to rescue Jinchuriki Nine-Tails I met a beautiful girl, Kushina Uzumaki. I remember being in the same class with her at the academy. But back then she was too aggressive towards all the guys so I didn't stand a chance, but after rescuing her, she started treating me more warmly. Subsequently, we started dating and I married her. I had a great teacher who started teaching me after I became a chunin. Jiraiya, a hermit from Mount Mioboku and a disciple of the Third Hokage. The Third Hokage told him about me and he offered me an apprenticeship. He was an unusual man, but very cheerful and cheerful. He taught me a lot of things and even gave me his contract draft. Toads surprisingly turned out to be very strong creatures and I learnt a lot from them too. Jiraiya-sensei often told me that I was a child of prophecy. A blue-eyed young man who would save the world or cause its destruction. But I didn't think I was special. Afterwards, I skipped the Tokubetsu-Jonin rank and became a Jonin straight away. And then Kushina told me about us having a child. I was very happy, but I was very worried. We were 18 at the time and it was our first child. To top it all off, Kushina was a Jinchuriki and Tails could affect our child. But it all worked out and at 19, I became the father of a wonderful child. Kushina and I were worried that it would be difficult for us to take care of the baby. But surprisingly, the baby didn't bother us at all. Kushina told me that normal babies cry a lot and need to be taken care of all the time. But Menma, as we named the baby, was very quiet. He never cried for no reason. If he cried, it meant that he was either hungry or had gone to the toilet. Sometimes there were times when he cried because we left him lying down in a very uncomfortable position. Barring that, he was a cheerful beautiful baby. Kushina always said it was because she was the best mother. I of course backed her up on that, because I was spending less time with him myself, but there was something off about him. Just in case, I asked Inoichi to see if he was all right. There was a possibility that the nine-tailed had affected the kid's mind, but I didn't want to believe it. After the first attempt, Inoichi said he couldn't look into his mind. I was surprised, but even after several repeated attempts he failed to do so. The Yamanaka clan was considered the best at this and he among them was also considered the best, so it was surprising that he couldn't get past the child's defences. Then he offered to investigate it and insisted that such a large defence couldn't be done by a Nine-tail, that there was something more to it. I immediately refused and decided to abandon the idea. The main thing I learnt. The Nine-Tails had no effect on the child. What's more, he has a strong defence against the mind. With Inoichi out of the way, I decided to leave it alone. The child has an awareness of the world, but there's nothing wrong with that, right? I think Menma resented me after those procedures, because he didn't want to come into my arms for a month. Time passed and he grew up. But he grew too fast. And then the war started. Because of the war we had to leave Menma in other people's arms for a long time and Kushina and I worried about it a lot. But he seemed to understand that and every time we left he would see us off with a smile and when we came home we could see his joy. He seemed like a ray of light in this pitch black War. When we apologised for not spending much time with him, he said he understood everything and one day even asked us to start training him! I was honestly too surprised when my two year old son, came up to me and asked me to train him. Of course I was adamantly against it, and so was Kushina. She initially, when I didn't say anything back, thought I wanted to start training him and yelled at me hard. I assured her that it wasn't even on her mind and she calmed down. But Menma persisted. It was the first time I had ever seen my son argue with us and I was very puzzled. After six months, I did agree to train him, but only subjected him to physical training. Even Kushina didn't argue with me, seeing how excited Menma was that we were going to train. As expected he found it very difficult and gave up at first, but I didn't want my son to give up so quickly and didn't let him. After a while he stopped and without persuasion he continued to train. His progress was great. At three years old, when his peers are just beginning to understand themselves, he could already climb trees dramatically and was reading a lot. Kushina and I couldn't be more pleased with his progress. And then he took up cold weapons and began to control his chakra!!!! I don't know how, but he could already feel it and could even add it to different parts of his body to strengthen his blows. I didn't mind teaching him how to use shuriken and kunai and even started teaching him my style, but I kept getting hit by Kushina for teaching him too early. But she realised he was a genius herself and started teaching him chakra control and Fuinjutsu. After he mastered shadow cloning he started using them for additional training. An unconventional way of using them, but effective, at least for him. He showed more of my wife's clan genes and had quite a bit of chakra. Ordinary Shinobi couldn't use his method of training, because summoning so many clones was useless for them, because they quickly deplete their reserve, and their clones disappear after a few minutes. Menma, on the other hand, summoned as many as 20 clones, and after dispelling them, he would calmly adopt their experience. He had also mastered the reincarnation technique. To be honest, he could already be considered a weak Genin. His Taijutsu after our training is at the level of an average Genin, and his control could be even better. His only obstacle is his age. But when he grows up, I'm sure he'll be much stronger than me. When I was given the Genin team, I was inexperienced. Even though I was strong and I was even nicknamed "Yellow Lightning" for my speed, but even so I couldn't keep up with them. Obito died in the battle. What's the use of me being able to kill 1000 Shinobi if I couldn't save my only student. After the war, I was given the Hokage hat, but I wasn't happy about it. Because of my attitude, Third had never been able to completely get away with it and was trying to help me. I was grateful to him. Kushina had been supportive of me as well. And from Menma, though he was silent, I could feel the man's support and understanding too. I should have kept my eyes on the remaining students instead of being sad then. But I realised that too late. Rin had died as well. After that, I wanted to help my only remaining student, but he was already beaten down by the war and the loss of his loved ones. Kakashi also died in the shower and became an ANBU, silently obeying orders. After all this, the only joy in my life was my family. And afterwards, Kushina pleased me with the news of another child. I was overjoyed and so was Menma. Because of the pregnancy, Kushina stopped going on missions again and helped Menma with her Fuin studies. But one day Gai, a friend of Kakashi's who was helping him not to sink into the abyss of despair, brought home my unconscious son. Kushina was terrified at that moment. She thought Menma had died. I was surprised at that, but remembered that she couldn't use her chakra because of her pregnancy. Her own chakra had long since mixed with the fox's chakra and it was dangerous. I calmed her down by telling her that he was just unconscious, but she didn't relent. I then carried us to the hospital, where it was confirmed that Menma was just sleeping and had simple fatigue. But the iryonin was a bit puzzled, though he tried to hide it. When we put him to bed Kushina was still worried. Menma had slept for a full twenty-four hours, during which Kushina couldn't sit in one place. But after Menma woke up and behaved as usual, she calmed down. The next day, my son puzzled me with a sudden increase in strength. I was surprised as he was much faster and stronger than usual. I decided to ignore it as there was nothing wrong with it. But in the evening, Menma surprised us much more. First, he surprised Kushina by finishing mastering the full Fuinjutsu base. Menma really did it quickly, as even me, when I first started learning Fuin, it took me a whole year. Even though I was a Chunin and much older than him at that point. But Menma finished it in a few months which surprised Kushina. Then came the new discoveries. My son learnt all the academic techniques and even mastered a few A rank techniques. I was proud of him because he far exceeded expectations. I would also have something to tell Fugaku when he mentioned the rapid growth of his son, Itachi Uchiha. They're only five years old, but I think they're already on the level of a strong Genin, or even a weak Chunin. The new generation is growing up fast, and even though I sound like an old man, I don't have to worry about them now. Now my son is training with the young green beast of Konoha and improving his Taijutsu.
========== Chapter 4 ==========
A young boy with hair the colour of the sun sat at a table in the living room. He was holding a book in his hand and reading it carefully. The book was called "Tales of the Fearless Ninja." He was reading it so intently that he didn't seem to notice anything around him. An old man with white spiky hair slowly crept up behind him. The boy did not take his eyes off the book and did not notice the man approaching him. The white-haired old man put his hand behind him and slapped him hard on the back.
- Ooh! So you've started reading my story? It's true that the chapter with the girls didn't turn out so well, but..." Jiraiya said, scratching the back of his head with his hand. It was the hermit from Mount Miyoboku and Minato Namikaze's teacher.
- Jiraiya sat down in front of Minato and listened to the flattering comments he received from his student. It's like an autobiography. What I liked the most was that the protagonist of the book doesn't give up until the end. Just like you, Sensei," the young man said with admiration in his eyes.
- Wow, you think so?" the old man asked rhetorically, embarrassed.
- I have an idea!" Minato interrupted.
- Huh?" Jiraiya was surprised and began to listen to his student carefully.
- I want my children to become shinobi like your hero. So I've decided to name my next son after him. What do you say? - The old man was taken aback at such words. He stared at the man sitting across from him in surprise and began to speak.
- Y-you're serious?! I made it up by accident while eating ramen....
- Naruto?" a beautiful, blonde-haired girl came out of the kitchen. "It's a beautiful name," she smiled and nodded, slowly approaching her husband.
- Kushina?" Jiraiya mumbled, still surprised, and then continued with a smile, "Oh, well! So I'm going to be his godfather? What do you want?
- You're my teacher, and you're a role model for any Ninja. There's no shinobi in the world like you. I'm sure you'll be the best godfather for my son." The old man was very surprised and chuckled with a smile.
- Well, so be it. By the way, Minato, tell me about your firstborn. You said he was a genius!" he asked Minato.
- Yes, he's certainly a genius after all he's done in his five years," Minato said proudly.
- What has he done? Did he learn how to use chakra?
- No, he started using chakra a year ago, and now he can use techniques," Kushina said in the same proud tone.
- What?! What techniques can he use now? What did you teach him?" Jiraiya began to question the young Jiraiya in shock.
- He's already mastered all the academic techniques and learnt several B and A rank techniques. What's more, this guy did it without my help. He secretly stole the scrolls with these techniques from the vault and mastered them to surprise us. He could even learn my Rassengan just by using what I wrote on the scroll." Minato poured out a lot of shocking information on the old man. Jiraiya was shocked and couldn't say a word.
- He had learnt all the basic Fuinjutsu in a few months, and now he was going to move on to specialised Fuin-based Barrier Techniques," Kushina added with a sigh, surprising Jiraiya even more.
- What kind of Monster are you...? - Jiraiya was prevented from finishing by Kushina's fist. And soon the old man with bruises on both eyes continued: "How does he master everything so quickly? And isn't he too obsessed only with Techniques? A shinobi should be good at everything. What about his Taijutsu? He also has to learn Shurikenjutsu first.
- He learnt them when he was four years old. He's still mastering and perfecting them. He knows my style of using Kunai well. He uses clones for training. He has the Uzumaki gene well expressed in him, so he can easily create a huge number of clones. He sends them out to train and gets all the experience from them. So you could say he trains a hundred times faster.
- K-clones?! Who does that?! How did he even think of that, or did you tell him?
- No, I was surprised. Honestly, he's already reached the level of a strong Genin, maybe even a weak Chunin. It's not like the real battlefield in training, so even I haven't seen his maximum.
- Minato! Don't even think about sending him to the battlefield!!! He's too young!!! You want him dead!!!" shouted Kushina angrily.
- Honey, I didn't mean to do that. I only said that to explain that we don't know his maximum yet.
- Hmm, a Shinobi like that is born once every hundred years. I know of only two people whose genius was at that level. Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. These men have left a great mark on history and their power is truly unimaginable. I'm curious to see what your son can become in the future. I look forward to his success, and where is he, by the way?
- He's training in the forest with the Young Green Beast of Konoha who specialises in Taijutsu, Maito Gai.
- Hmm, he's practising Taijutsu with him? I wonder when he's coming?
- He usually comes back in the evening just before dinner, so he should be here soon.
- I see. The Academy is coming up, right? Since he's already reached the Genin level, what will you do with him, Minato?
- I think he should still go to the Academy. But Shinobi like him usually graduate early. He says he only wants to study for a year and then graduate.
- Why a year? If he wants to learn the basics, six months should be enough, shouldn't it?
- He's already learnt. With the help of the clones, he's been studying them for the past six months, and not just the basics. It seems he's been scouring the entire library for academic knowledge. After he told me this, I honestly didn't know why he wanted to go to the academy and he didn't give a coherent answer. He only told me to make it so that he could study at the academy for a year and then take the Genin rank exam. Menma had only interacted with Fugaku's son since he was born, and he stopped talking to him when he started training. So my only guess as to why he's doing this is that he wants to make friends, or just socialise with his peers. Although he wasn't interested in that when he was a kid. I talked to Hiruzen about it and he said he would make sure he was allowed to take the exam after one year of training.
- No matter how much of a genius he is, it's still a joy to socialise with his peers, I guess. Anyway, you said you wanted to ask me a question about his future growth. What did you want to know?
- Oh, yeah, about that. Menma said he wanted to learn the Hermit Mode. I wanted to know if that was possible at his age.
- Hermit Mode? You remember the risks of learning it, right?
- Yes, but I don't think Fukasaka-sama will let him turn into a Toad.
- That's right, he'll literally drain him of all his natural energy if he fails. Hmm, I guess that could be a possibility, but he'd better do it later when he's at least ten years old. Plus he still has a contract to sign with the toads.....
- Oh, yeah, about that. He said he doesn't want to sign a draft contract with the toads.
- Э?! Why is that? He doesn't like toads? He's just like you. Explain to him that a draft animal is about strength, not good looks!
- That's not the point. I tried to tell him that too, but he said he wanted to do a free draft.
- What?! You know how dangerous that is, Minato! He could be thrown in with dangerous summoned animals and never get out! They could kill him or even eat him.
- I know, but he said he'd do it when he was strong enough.
- Still, it's a pretty risky business.
- Once he decides to do something, there's no changing his mind. I've already tried, it's all in vain. All I can do is make it as safe a journey as possible for him.
- Heh, I think it'll be hard to get Fukasaka-sama to make an exception for the boy. By the way, I wanted to ask you something too.
- Hmm? What is it?
- What colour are his eyes?
- Dark blue, I was really surprised to see that. Kushina and I have light coloured ones, but his are a burning dark blue. It's like the depths of the ocean. Just as bottomless. Why? Do you suspect the child of the prophecy in him too?
- After your stories, I thought it was him, but the Toad Sage clearly said he had light blue eyes the colour of the sky. It's probably not him.
- Who knows, maybe our next child will be the child from the prophecy," Minato said, touching his wife's belly.
- Anything is possible...
***
A teenage boy stood in the clearing next to the rock. His hair was black and shaped like an upside-down pot. He was wearing a tight green jumpsuit and the same colour waistcoat. On his belt was a red tread with the symbol of the Hidden in the Leaf village. Maito Gai, a young green beast of Konoha, was a Chunin specialising exclusively in Taijutsu. He was extremely focused and stood against the rock with his eyes closed. After a second, he let out a loud shout with a sigh....
- The First Gate! The Gate of Beginning!!! Open!!!
- Second Gate! The Gate of Healing!!! Open!!!-a green aura began to move away from him, and his muscles began to grow and his veins swelled. Then he got into a stance and punched through the rock with one punch.
- Oooh, cool, Maito-sensei, that was incredible!!!" the guy with red hair shouted at him in admiration. Gai returned to his original state and walked over to the guy.
- Yes, these are the first and second gates. The first Gate helps you to use 100 per cent of your strength, whereas under normal circumstances you only use 20 per cent. The second gate boosts your strength and stamina, and re-energises your body so that you can fight as if the battle has just begun. I think you'll only be able to use the first gate for now. They can be used by strong Shinobi of the level of a strong Jonin, such as Hatake Kakashi. But you'll need a strong body to awaken them. You can also learn the second gate to use it in extreme cases, but it's still harmful to your body, so you should use it in situations where you have no other choice. Do you understand me?
- Yes, Maito-sensei!!
- Now, the First Gate is located in the left hemisphere of the brain, and the Second Gate is located in the right hemisphere of the brain... Gai is a really good teacher. He had his occasional slips and was completely absorbed in the POWER of Youth, but he explained things well and was an example of diligence and hard work. Perhaps he was one of those characters who is hard to find bad things to do. He's a good person. We trained for a few weeks and I was able to get used to our pace of training some. My stamina, strength, speed, agility, and spirit are slowly adding up. I also trained my control by walking on vertical surfaces and in the water. Guy, seeing my training, explained everything in detail and with him I quickly mastered it. Oddly enough, I got to go to the shinobi academy starting in September. It seems that I was wrong, and they start going to the academy not from the age of six, but from the age of five. Maybe it's because by the time Naruto started going there, the start time for kids would have been moved up a year? It's possible. I remember that Naruto's son went to the academy when he was about 10-12 years old. My father told me that I had essentially already finished the academy course, but that he thought I should still attend. I didn't mind, it's still an important stage in the life of every Shinobi of this world. And I wanted to be in the same class as Itachi. After all, we're the same age. I remembered that Itachi had graduated a year after I started, so I asked my father to arrange it so that I could take the Genin exams after a year of study. He tried to find out the reason for this decision, but I just denied it. I couldn't tell him that I wanted to attend classes with Itachi. That would be weird to me. Speaking of Itachi. I used to play with him a lot when I was a kid, recently, because my parents used to leave me at his house, but then when I was able to look after myself and stay home alone, they stopped, and that was the end of my time with him. From then on I was just immersed in training and didn't socialise with my peers. I could, of course, start playing with Itachi again and even train with him, but there's a point. Itachi's childhood is a very important period in his life. Especially that time. The anime showed this. The way he, in a Shinobi battle, trying to help an enemy wounded first killed him when he tried to do the same to him. Next, he wondered about the meaning of life and began to communicate with Shisui. All in all, he's developing as a person now and I don't really want to get in his way. Still, even though he's done some pretty strange things, which I supposedly have an answer for, but I'll have to check, I like him a lot as a character, as do most fans. I want him to become the character I knew, and I don't want to stop him from doing that. I will still try to be friends with him at the academy though. Then he'll realise something and it'll be hard to change him. There's still a month left until school starts. Until then, I have nothing much to do except to develop my Sharingan and study the opening of the Gate. I should have my first Tomoe in a week. I can't wait for that moment. I remember the Sharingan had three main properties: accelerated vision, copying techniques, and Genjutsu through eye contact. I think with the first Tomoe, these techniques won't be very strong, but with each subsequent one, the power will increase. I'm wondering, what kind of Mangyoku pattern will I have? What about the Eternal Mangyoku? After all, I won't be transplanting someone else's eyes, just developing my own. In the original, Itachi's eye pattern was added to Sasuke's. And I should probably have mine enlarged or another random pattern manifest? Interesting, I can't wait! What's even more interesting is what ability will appear. Was it Obito's travelling to another world, Itachi and Sasuke's Amaterasu, or was it the base ability of all Mangyoku? It could be. Itachi had Tsukuyomi in addition to him, after all! What did Sasuke have then? Flame control? I guess so. I think he learnt it in the battle with Eight-Tails. Then what was Madara's ability? I only remember Limbo's ability, but it was from Rinnengan. Interesting, interesting and more interesting!
After training with Gai, I went to Hokage Mountain. I really like sitting here. Now I completely understand Naruto, who spent all his free time here. It's quiet, the wind blows, and the sunset is beautiful. Heh heh, only two more months to go. I can't get it out of my head. They're going to die. It's an important moment in the canon, so it's stupid to change it. But I'll still lose my parents, my only unborn brother will go to an orphanage, and I'll live in a dormitory. Hiruzen is an arsehole! When he's revived in the war, I'll use him to test whether immortals can feel pain, and if so, I'll kill Orochimaru and torture him for the rest of eternity. And if not, I'll get a way to revive him from the ground and torture him like that! Heh heh, but that's the same plans for the future. In the meantime, let's wait for the end of the beautiful sunset and go home. I was greeted with the same cosiness. But there was one problem. One white-haired, old misunderstanding was apparently a guest. Jiraiya was at home! I have rather contradictory feelings. On the one hand, he's my father and younger brother's teacher, albeit a future one. But on the other, I don't know about Minato, but he didn't give Naruto much. He treated training almost like Kakashi. He said do this and then go to the brothel. But unlike Kakashi he damn sure was considered Naruto's godfather!!!! When I watched the anime, I liked him because in the anime the Mangaka could just make mistakes. That's very much okay, but when I realised it was in reality.... I didn't like the character. The worst part was that Naruto had to beg him for training and techniques. When I think back to their first meeting, I'd shudder with anger. Since he was the godfather, he could take care of Naruto. Of course, I realise he's a very badass Ninja and was on missions as a spy. But that never stopped him from taking Naruto in. I remember it was said somewhere that he was quite wealthy, as he was doing A and S rank missions and writing books, which were popular, by the way. I remember when I was a baby in nappies, even Minato used to read his perverted books. So he could buy a flat or a house for the two of them. And he could afford to stay with his godson for a few years, especially since failing to fulfil his missions didn't deprive him of his finances. And when Naruto could somehow be alone, he could go on missions again and train him when he returned. But no, he either considered his bachelor life without a burden over his soul more important, or he just balked at the guy. And then he decided to show up. He even taught Naruto the techniques, of course, but at least he taught him something, and took him with him to train for two or three years, I don't remember exactly. The fact that Naruto literally asked for everyone's love, and this one responded with the simplest of signs. It's too shallow of an expression of love. And he just made fun of him a lot. I agree, he did something for Naruto. But it wasn't enough for the Godfather. And it was enough for Naruto to see him as a father figure, because when everyone treats you like an enemy of the people and someone else treats you like a bit of a close friend, it's going to seem like a lot more than a normal attitude. Simply put, he took advantage of Naruto's lack of affection. Oh, and the training only worked because of Naruto's Genius. Yeah, he's a genius! How quickly he mastered Rassengan, it took me months. And how he was able to use the fox's chakra and summon Gamabunta. I was honestly surprised at Jiraiya's lack of care at the time. We need him to learn, throw him in the abyss and let him get out of it. If he can do it, cool, if not, we'll remember the guy. If Minato saw that, he'd kill that teacher on the spot! Even if Hiruzen saw this, he'd kill the Gad!!! Naruto is a jinchuriki. He's Konoha's most valuable tool, and Jiraiya didn't give a shit about that either. Naruto is also considered a genius for his Rassensuriken technique. Even Minato couldn't do it. Though that's probably because Minato uses pure chakra for the same Spatial Techniques rather than elemental chakra. But Naruto is really cool. To create such a devastating Technique. And then he learnt the Hermit Mode with the Toadstool fighting style in a month and used it to its fullest against Paine. I think it was the same with controlling Fox's chakra and improving Rassengan's size while travelling with Jiraiya. That's about it. Except he started using clones better and improved Taijutsu. That's it! In over two fucking years!!! Jiraiya didn't even think to tell him about the Elemental Techniques, or he didn't care. He knew enough about them. So you could say that he used Naruto's genius and lack of love to not worry too much about explaining the techniques and taking care of him. Naruto was just glad he wasn't being rejected. Ha-ah, and now this individual is sitting in my house staring at me. Well, what about me? I'm fine! I've figured out what I'm going to do with him.
- Menma, this is Jiraiya, he's--
- Hey, kid! I am the Hermit of Miyoboku Mountain, the Wise and Immortal Spirit, I am the Sage of Toad Mountain. One of the Three Great Sanin. Jiraiya!!!" he said loudly as he stood up in his trademark stance. Hmm, he really is about two metres tall. Well, it doesn't matter now.
- Hello- and a quick bow. Then I walked over to my mother and asked her quietly, but so he could hear me. "Mom, what's this homeless drunken pervert doing in our house?" Mom stared at him, and Jiraiya roared.
- I'm not a homeless drunken pervert! I'm the Sage of Mount Miyoboku!!!
- Prove it! Do you have a house?
- No, I'm a hermit!
- But you denied being homeless, didn't you?
- Because I'm a hermit!
- And that cancels out the fact that you're homeless?
- YES!!!-I looked at him with a sceptical face, and he couldn't even find something to say.
- Menma, ah. what makes you think he's a drunken pervert? Wait, what?! Did he just agree that he's homeless? And I'm not the only one who noticed it, Jiraiya also looked at Minato with a dazed look. Well, that's the opposite of what I'm comfortable with.
- I just saw him peeping at women at the springs through the holes once, and after he was beaten there, he went drinking. And once I saw him with two women of ill behaviour in front of a brothel.
- Darling?! What were you doing in front of a brothel?! - and she's looking at me, her face is just puzzled. How does that work?!
- Oh! Maito and I were running around the village with Maito-sensei in our arms and spotted him. - Kushina calmed down after saying that. But now the YAKI was directed at Jiraiya. Minato just sighed doomedly. He'd heard about his Sensei's bad habits. And Jiraiya began to shake from Kushina's directed pressure.
- E-that, K-Kushina, it wasn't like that.
- What was it then?!
- You know, it's pretty late, and I had to go visit Third, so I'll probably go...and he...GONE!!! How did he do that? Did he teach Minato the Thunder God Technique?! No, that's crazy!!! Although...
- Kushina's hair was up again, like Nine-Tails' tails. I'm going to go to my room, I think I'll skip dinner tonight. Minato seems to agree with me....
***
One week later.
In the evening, at sunset, there was a boy sitting on Hokage Mountain. He was sitting on the Fourth's head and meditating quietly. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady and monotonous. At the same instant that the Sun was almost completely hidden, the boy opened his eyes. Dark blue eyes, as deep as the ocean floor, seemed to glow and mesmerise with their beauty. And in a moment, when the sun was completely hidden on the horizon, his pupils became red and from them a stream of scarlet coloured both his eyes. Then the pupil became black and from it, as if from a stone that had fallen into the sea, a single black ring spread out. It rotated, and then a small black blob emerged from the pupil, clinging to the ring and rotating with it as it took on the shape of Tomoe Sharingan. His eyes stopped spinning and the boy closed his eyes again. When he opened them, his eyes were dark blue again....
- Now it's totally safe to say that I awakened the Sharingan from the view of the sunset! Ha-ah, but that was a little painful. Okay, now I'll let my eyes rest for a couple of days, and then I can use my new eyes!" I got up and walked home. Yes, I finally woke them up. My Dojutsu! I wish I'd seen my eyes turn into Sharingan. And it definitely wasn't something like, poof, and they became Sharingan, no, I could clearly feel the eyes slowly changing colour. Heh, I'll see it in two days, I'll try them out and the new techniques I can use. Now home.
***
After two days, the eyes had settled in and stopped hurting. I called my clone to watch the process and activated my eyes. Yeah, it's a sight to behold forever. And in total darkness, it looks really cool. Now, let's test the effectiveness of these eyes. I see in the dark as in a dimly, but still lit room. I think I can only see properly with three Tomoe's. Hmm, the clarity of my vision has also increased. It's like watching a video at medium quality all the time and then switching to high quality. I can just see everything clearer. There's also a slight, but slowing down. In the distance, I can see a bird flapping its wings. And in the near distance, I see an ant dragging rice, and where did he get it from in the forest?! Okay, that's not really important. Now let's try something. He threw 20 shurikens in different directions. I did the same trick Itachi did in the canon. Hmm, only hit half the targets. Well, Itachi had three Tomoe at the time, so that's to be expected. What about Genjutsu? No one to test it on, so I found a squirrel and used it on it. The effect was amazing, I made her see wolves everywhere, even in the tree and in her hollow tree. She kept running in different directions the whole time. I watched this for a few minutes and then decided not to torture the animal for nothing. And after that, I got the technique: Genjutsu Level 1. All the properties seem to be working. Now I just need to start using them confidently. Next, I started sparring with clones. Just like in the anime, the speed of information processing was very fast, but my body couldn't keep up. But I was definitely getting stronger. Next, I started training speed and agility. By the way, when I activate my eyes, I get a buff in the characteristics. Perception, intelligence and control are increased. But that's about it. What else is notable is the Sharingan and Uchiha in the features. The following days were spent mastering the Sharingan and the rest of the usual training. And then came the day of entering the academy....
***
The whole story is already available at:
patreon.com/posts/126338071