Chapter 28: Versus Kakashi

The next day, at Training Ground 3.

Naruto was gloriously late. He had spent the entire previous night in the "Duel Arena." He had challenged Sasuke, starting from age twelve all the way up to age thirty-two. Although he had won every single match, the sheer intensity of such battles had been mentally draining, leaving Naruto feeling slightly dazed even now.

What was even more frustrating was that the Duel Arena lacked the recovery features of the training space. This trash game surely wanted to goad him into spending money on recovery items. What a rip-off! Fortunately, he had plenty of money, so he just bought them. However, "Old Man Xiong" and the "Old Man" would need to work harder in the future. He still had many more opponents he wished to challenge.

There was also good news: by challenging both major protagonists in the duel arena yesterday, Naruto had confirmed one thing—he was invincible!

But being invincible didn't mean he was going to ascend to the throne immediately. Setting aside how exhausting being an "emperor" would be, he was completely in the dark about everything outside of the Hidden Leaf Village. He knew the names of a few powerhouses in the Five Great Nations, but beyond that, he knew almost nothing. Social structures, economic systems, population demographics, geography... he was essentially clueless.

If he were to become "emperor" now, the vast ninja world would likely become even more chaotic than it was before the "Hidden Village Era." As for the details of management, it would probably be a case of "it falls apart as soon as you let go, and it dies as soon as you tighten your grip." Naruto was here to join this world, not to destroy it. Therefore, he had to take it slow.

At that moment, Naruto felt that his number of shadow clones was insufficient. He truly needed more of them to expand his influence and, incidentally, to begin understanding this ninja world. For the first twelve years, his vision had been limited to the Hidden Leaf Village; he had never even stepped outside. Since he had decided to start changing the world at sixteen, he needed to begin preparing now, actively engaging with the world and gathering intelligence.

Fortunately, he had already become a genin, which meant he would inevitably leave the village for missions, providing plenty of opportunities in the future. Additionally, the "Old Godfather" fast-food chain needed to be expanded across the globe, which also required a massive amount of manpower. Beyond that, Naruto had many other things he wanted to do, all requiring hands.

Luckily, Naruto had recently solved the problem of his clones being discovered. Now, each clone was a tangible, living person—even if they died, they left behind a corpse. However, there was an unexpected issue: Naruto’s clones were quite peculiar. Whether it was a mutation in the game or in his clones themselves, each one had its own thoughts.

The old man who founded "Old Godfather" was not an isolated case. The latest "two-and-a-half-year trainee," the miracle doctor Xiong Fengshan, was equally full of personality. Xiong Fengshan firmly believed he was a legendary physician from the foot of the Qinling Mountains, a master of traditional medicine with fifty years of experience, and some sort of imperial doctor. He was deeply attached to his "Xiong family secret recipes."

Fortunately, these clones only possessed diverse personalities; they had no other flaws and were all diligently carrying out the tasks he assigned. Still, with clones this unique and headstrong, he hoped they wouldn't implicate their master if they caused trouble in the future.

Returning to the present, Naruto looked up and saw that Sasuke and Sakura had already arrived. Both were staring at him; Sasuke looked rather indifferent, while Sakura appeared somewhat impatient.

"Sorry, I'm late," he apologized and joined the team.

"Is Kakashi-sensei not here yet?" Naruto asked, knowing full well the answer, shifting the target of their irritation.

"The King of Tardiness!" Naruto could hear the anger in Sakura’s tone; it seemed that was exactly what she was annoyed about. Yesterday, he was late because he was spying. Today, he was late because he had been at the Memorial Stone, though he didn't know who he was honoring. Forget it, why overthink it?

Collecting his thoughts, Naruto scrutinized Sasuke. He was very curious: why would this guy, who had it perfectly good in the Leaf, choose to defect? Was it for revenge? It was a bit strange. He would have to keep a close eye on him.

"Hmm? What is it?" Noticing Naruto's gaze, Sasuke asked, quite puzzled.

"Did you eat?" Naruto asked casually.

"I did. You didn't eat, did you?"

He was stumped by the question; it seemed he really hadn't.

"That's not important." Giving a vague answer, Naruto lay on the ground and closed his eyes to rest for a moment under Sasuke's suspicious gaze. In the original story, Sasuke would defect, but this Sasuke wouldn't. He would just stay in the squad and be his assistant. Once he, Naruto, "donned the yellow robe," he would appoint Sasuke as a general. By then, Shikamaru could be his cunning strategist, and Choji could be in charge of logistics. Wait, he had to make sure Choji didn't eat all the supplies.

While Naruto was lost in his boring reverie, Kakashi finally arrived, fashionably late. Amidst Sakura’s complaints, Kakashi apologized sincerely.

"Sorry, I ran into a black cat on the way here and lost my way in life."

Sakura really didn't appreciate that excuse; she had heard it twice yesterday—would she still believe it? She grumbled dejectedly, "Sensei, you've already used that excuse. Can you use a new one?"

*Huh? Used it?* Kakashi glanced at the culprit and found Naruto nonchalantly picking his nose, acting as if he had nothing to do with it.

He awkwardly changed the subject. "Cough, cough. That's enough. Let's begin the combat drill." He pulled two bells from his pocket and said, "Your task is to snatch these two bells. If you fail to snatch them, you will..."

Without the threat of being sent back to the ninja academy, Kakashi found himself unsure of how to get them to use their full strength. "Anyway, you need to do your best to snatch them."

Hearing this, Naruto stopped picking his nose and narrowed his eyes. *Do your best? Are you sure?*

He blinked his innocent eyes. "Sensei, are you sure you won't get hurt?"

"No problem. Come at me with the resolve to kill me."

Naruto nodded, indicating he understood. He didn't intend to use his full strength; that would take all the fun out of it. Moreover, the ninja world was very insular, and any growth in strength would be traced back to its cause. Thus, Naruto planned to show his talent and strength bit by bit. Today was the first step.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted and made the first move. He threw six shuriken at once while charging at Kakashi with a kunai in hand. It was their first time working together; he wondered if Sasuke would understand his intent.

*This guy!* Sasuke couldn't understand why a genin would dare to charge straight at a jonin. But thinking back to Naruto’s gaze from yesterday, he decided to take a gamble. He threw three shuriken and charged toward Kakashi as well.

*Thud, thud, thud.* The shuriken flew fast, but the Kakashi they hit turned into a wooden log—a Substitution Jutsu.

*Over here!* Naruto spun around and thrust his blade.

*This!* Kakashi, who had been sneaking up from behind, was pierced the moment he appeared, as if he had walked right into it. *Pop!* The clone turned into smoke, its expression full of shock before it vanished.

*Not enough!* Naruto began performing hand seals on the spot, controlling his speed to avoid scaring anyone with his true pace. However, he hadn't performed hand seals in years and felt a bit rusty.

Kakashi, who had been hiding in a tree, watched silently. The sensation transmitted by the clone felt exceptionally real. Linking it to how he had been discovered yesterday, it seemed Naruto possessed some kind of sensory ability. Looking at this jutsu, though he knew thousands of them, he had never seen this sequence of hand seals. He didn't know what it was, but his vast experience told him it was some form of Fire Style.

Naruto, still mid-seal, suddenly turned and stared directly at the tree where Kakashi was hiding.

"Fire Style: Firefly Cannon!"

Over a dozen fluorescent light orbs, each the size of a ping-pong ball, shot toward him at speeds many times faster than a shuriken. Sensing the terrifying fire-attribute chakra contained within these light orbs, Kakashi thought to himself: *Oh, no!*

*BOOM!*

The violent explosion and intense heat were such that even from over a dozen meters away, Sakura felt as if she were about to be blown away. Sasuke also crouched down to stabilize himself, while Naruto stood firmly using his chakra, though the raging shockwaves still caused his clothes to flutter violently.

*Cough, cough.* A coughing sound followed, and Kakashi emerged from the smoke. His white hair was singed and still smoking, he looked a mess, and his clothes were full of holes. Naruto knew Kakashi had used Earth Style to escape disaster.

"Kakashi-sensei, I warned you yesterday that I'm a sensory-type ninja. Underestimating us comes with a price." Naruto smiled, his expression remarkably humble.

Hearing this, Kakashi nodded seriously. *A sensory-type ninja is truly troublesome. Besides, is this kid really just a fresh graduate from the ninja academy? The Third Hokage lied to me.*

However, this was, after all, Minato-sensei’s child. A genius? It was only to be expected. Seeing that yellow hair, Kakashi was reminded of that man who always brought warmth to others. Despite his sorry state, thinking of Minato-sensei brought him an unexpected sense of comfort.

"Next, I'm going to get serious!"