In the corridors of the Hokage Building, ninja after ninja turned their heads, studying the small golden-haired figure with peculiar expressions. This certainly wasn't a place for children, but what was even more surprising—though their gazes still held distance and wariness, the usual disgust was noticeably absent.
Inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat puffing on his pipe while reviewing docunts. Ever since his wife's death, no one had been around to nag him about quitting smoking anymore.
His thoughts drifted to last night's ANBU surveillance report—the conversation between that child and the Uchiha heiress, those remarks about "talent" and "paths"...
Could those really be words from a three-year-old? That understanding of ninja aptitude, that emotional intelligence so far beyond his years...
Is it because of the long-term isolation that he was forced to mature so early?
Just then, the office door suddenly burst open, and a childish voice broke through his contemplation.
"Thanks, ninja big brother! The Third Old Man won't punish you—he's not that petty!"
"He visits my place all the ti anyway, so it's perfectly normal for to co looking for him, right?"
The young guard at the door turned red in the face. "What 'big brother'?! I just beca an adult! And show so respect to the Hokage!"
Naruto laughed cheerfully and nimbly slipped inside, casually closing the office door behind him. He turned around, his azure eyes eting those of the Third Hokage directly.
The Third slowly set down his pipe, complex emotions crossing his wrinkled features. "Naruto... coming to see so early—have you run into so kind of trouble?"
Naruto placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his small chest. "Of course I have sothing super important, Grandpa Third! I ca here with a crystal-clear objective this ti—give the basic jutsu scrolls! I want to train and beco a powerful ninja!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.
He certainly rembered Naruto making this request before, and back then he'd refused without hesitation. It wasn't that he was being stingy, but there was no suitable teacher available. Letting a three-year-old practice jutsu alone? What if he damaged his chakra pathways through improper training?
But this ti, he found himself hesitating. In recent ANBU reports, Naruto's words and behavior had beco increasingly unlike those of an ordinary child.
The Third's fingers drumd lightly against his desk. 'Rather than letting Naruto wander aimlessly around the village all day, or even sneak around near the Uchiha compound, perhaps it would be better to...'
Naruto looked at the Third with so surprise. 'The old man is actually seriously considering this?'
But soon, he noticed the Third's brow was still slightly furrowed, clearly still weighing the pros and cons. So Naruto imdiately switched topics.
"Oh right, Grandpa Third!" he said with feigned innocence. "I've been reading books lately, and I learned that this world has sothing called 'kekkei genkai,' right?"
The Third blinked, then broke into a benevolent smile. He cleared his throat and responded in the gentle tone he used when explaining ninja world basics to village children.
"That's correct, Naruto. Kekkei genkai are special abilities passed down through bloodlines, usually only inheritable by specific lineages."
What followed was the standard official response—
"Our Konoha is the most powerful ninja village in the world, with the most kekkei genkai families! Like the Hyūga clan's Byakugan, the Uchiha clan's Sharingan, and also..."
Naruto directly cut off the Third's lengthy explanation.
"So then... Grandpa Third, you said before that my parents were heroes of Konoha who sacrificed themselves in an important mission, right?"
The Third paused, then nodded. "Yes, both your parents were Konoha's pride."
"I see. So were they really powerful 'kekkei genkai' ninja?"
'What is this child getting at?'
The Third frowned. Namikaze Minato had been a civilian-born genius, while Uzumaki Kushina, though from the Uzumaki clan with their massive chakra reserves and incredible vitality, possessed what was rely a special constitution of the Uzumaki clan—not a kekkei genkai.
"Naruto, kekkei genkai are specific bloodline abilities. Though your parents were great ninja, they didn't have..."
"Wrong!" Naruto grinned widely, grabbing onto the Hokage's desk. "If it's passed down through blood, then what I've awakened can only be a kekkei genkai!"
"What?!"
The Third shot to his feet, his pipe clattering onto the desk. 'Uzumaki Naruto has awakened a kekkei genkai?! How is that possible?!'
'Calm down... perhaps this child has simply mistaken ordinary jutsu for kekkei genkai...'
However, the next second, his thoughts were completely shattered by the scene before him.
"Look!" Naruto spread his arms wide, a triumphant smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I could suddenly use this! Pretty amazing, right?"
WHOOSH—!
Several brilliant golden chains suddenly extended from behind Naruto's back, dancing through the air like living serpents, their chakra fluctuations making the air itself tremble slightly.
This is—Kongō Fūsa?!
The Third instantly recognized the technique, his mind flashing to the image of the First Hokage's wife—Uzumaki Mito. Back then, it was precisely with this sealing technique unique to the Uzumaki clan that she had been able to suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra and beco the first Jinchūriki.
'Three years old... a child who's only three years old has awakened the Adamantine Sealing Chains?!'
As a Hokage who had lived through two Great Ninja Wars, he'd encountered countless prodigies, but soone like Naruto—this was simply unheard of.
The Third's gaze moved from the chains to Naruto's youthful face. Golden hair, azure eyes—though he hadn't inherited the Uzumaki clan's signature red hair, at this mont, those dancing chains undoubtedly proclaid that Minato's son carried Uzumaki blood far thicker than anyone had imagined.
No, not just thick. This was... monstrous-level talent.
He didn't delve into why Naruto, with only half Uzumaki blood, could master Kongō Fūsa at such a tender age. Bloodlines and talent had never been simple mathematics.
Just like the children of the First Hokage and Mito-sama. The finest blood of both the Senju and Uzumaki clans combined—a father who was the God of Shinobi, a mother who stood at the pinnacle of sealing arts—yet their children had ultimately been nothing more than... ordinary ninja.
Fate's gifts never followed logic. Sotis, when two powerful bloodlines rged, they would return to diocrity, while other tis, seemingly ordinary combinations could give birth to monsters that defied all reason.
---
"Finally! I got them!"
Naruto returned to his small apartnt, eagerly spreading the jutsu scrolls he'd obtained from the Third across his table. He excitedly rubbed his hands together, his fingertips lightly brushing over the text that recorded the secrets of various techniques.
'Didn't expect the old man to be so generous.'
He'd originally only wanted the most basic Academy Three—Clone, Transformation, and Substitution techniques—but the Third had actually included a bunch of other jutsu scrolls as well.
Naruto casually opened the topmost scroll, which clearly read "Fūton: Daitoppa" in large characters.
"Wind Release, Water Release, Lightning Release..." he murmured quietly, "Water Bullet, Earth Walk... Kage Bunshin no Jutsu... Whoa, quite the variety."
What surprised him most was finding a thick volu titled "Sealing Arts: Secret Traditions" tucked among the scroll pile. Naruto picked it up and flipped through it randomly—it was densely packed with basic sealing theory and practice thods, almost like...
'The sealing arts version of 'Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Practice Tests'...'
It seed the Third really valued the sealing talent he'd displayed. However, for soone who had already mastered the Flying Thunder God technique, did he really need to learn such basic sealing arts?
The answer was obviously yes.
Naruto had realized sothing—it was like playing piano. Even if you could already perform high-difficulty pieces like "Moonlight Sonata" perfectly, you still needed to practice if you wanted to learn simpler songs properly.
"Right!" Naruto suddenly stood up. "Let's start with the most basic Academy Three techniques..."
As he unrolled the first scroll, Naruto couldn't help but smile. Even with all his system-granted abilities, there was sothing deeply satisfying about learning these techniques properly, step by step. After all, a true ninja needed more than just raw power—they needed perfect fundantals to build upon.
'Besides,' he thought as he began reading about proper hand seal formation, 'if I'm going to be the strongest ninja this world has ever seen, I might as well do it right.'
The afternoon sun stread through his apartnt window as Naruto began his journey toward mastering the basics, unaware that across the village, a certain Third Hokage was still sitting in stunned contemplation, trying to process what he'd witnessed from the son of the Fourth Hokage.
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