Chapter 31: Sasuke Wants to Become a Tailed-Beast Host Too

The garbage from the entire river was pushed by the current, lining up neatly to leap into the mesh bags.

Kakashi felt that things could not continue like this; this level of control consumed a tremendous amount of chakra. Naruto surely couldn't keep it up. Even with his vast reserves, it was impossible. Therefore, he watched Naruto intently, ready to interrupt the jutsu at any moment.

Ten seconds passed; Kakashi remained vigilant.
Half a minute passed; Kakashi was surprised.
One minute passed; Kakashi was shocked.
Two minutes passed; Kakashi felt a bit numb.
Five minutes passed; he was one-quarter numb.
Ten minutes passed; he was half-numb.
Twenty minutes passed; that did it, he was completely numb.
Half an hour passed; Kakashi simply lost the will to care about anything.

By the time hundreds of large mesh bags had been swapped out and all the trash was collected, there was still no sign of any irregularity from Naruto. He even looked quite relaxed.

Kakashi entered the next stage: questioning reality. Is this the amount of chakra a human being can possess? This wasn't just a simple matter of manipulating a small stream; it was the continuous control of an entire river's flow. The volume of water could fill the West Lake and still have plenty left over. It was terrifying.

The entire process was as fluid as flowing clouds and water. Kakashi felt that only the legendary Second Hokage could have achieved such water-style manipulation. Kakashi had thought he already valued Naruto highly, considering him a super genius, but he hadn't expected him to be even more gifted than he imagined.

Fire style, water style. He had only seen one fire jutsu that Naruto created himself, but looking at this water style now—and this terrifying chakra control—he suddenly felt that Naruto's fire style was likely just as formidable. It was just that Naruto hadn't shown it yet.

To reach the pinnacle of one attribute would be enough to become a powerhouse, yet Naruto was proficient—no, completely mastered—in two. Could there be others? He dared not think. Kakashi didn't even dare to imagine it anymore.

Should he report this intelligence to the Third Hokage? Kakashi fell into deep contemplation. Finally, the cheers of the team woke him up.

"Great job, Naruto! We finished the mission ahead of schedule!"
"Now we can dismiss early. Naruto, you can't go back on your word."
"Don't worry, Sasuke. Keeping one's word—that is my ninja way!"
"Huh? Didn't you say 'fairness and justice' was your ninja way last time?"
"Don't ask. These are all my ninja ways."

Watching the three of them bickering, Kakashi felt a bit dazed for a moment. These two children probably thought Naruto had just used a simple, casual water-style technique and couldn't see the profound depth behind it. But Kakashi saw it clearly.

As the saying goes: If you do not cultivate chakra control, seeing me is like a frog in a well looking at the moon; if you do cultivate chakra control, seeing me is like a mayfly witnessing the vast blue sky.

However, Naruto felt that Kakashi's "blue sky" was still far too shallow.

***

Kakashi thought Naruto was controlling water droplets, but in reality, he could precisely control individual water molecules. There were many orders of magnitude between the two. In this round, he was playing on a completely different level.

Team Seven returned to the Hokage Building to submit their mission. Before dismissing, Kakashi took another deep look at Naruto. He had intended to test Naruto, but considering how much chakra he had used that afternoon, he decided to save it for tomorrow.

"Get some good rest, Naruto," Kakashi said solemnly before they parted ways.

This sudden show of concern left Naruto feeling confused. Could it be because of what happened that afternoon? Did he need rest after that little bit of chakra usage? With his recovery abilities, even if he drained his chakra completely, it would be fully restored in twenty minutes. But he couldn't refuse; a good rest sounded nice. It meant he could sleep in tomorrow with a clear conscience.

"Got it, Kakashi-sensei."

4:30 PM. Naruto's house.

The three sat on the floor of Naruto’s room, looking at each other.
"What are we supposed to do?" Sasuke asked.
"It's simple," Naruto said, extending his palms toward them. "Hold hands with each other, grab my hands, and try to channel your chakra into me. Leave the rest to me."

Sasuke tried, half-doubting, while Sakura blushed and grabbed Sasuke's hand. Naruto almost felt like reminding her: *Actually, you don't have to hold Sasuke's hand.* He decided against it.

"Sit tight, here we go!"

Following Naruto’s voice, the world went black for the two of them. When it reappeared, the scenery had changed. Beneath their feet was solid earth, with lush grass and the scent of flowers filling the air; in the distance were rolling hills and forests, and behind them was a lake with no visible end. This was an entirely different world!

Sasuke didn't understand where they were. "Where is this?"
"This is a certain immortal realm connected to the sealing space," Naruto said, appearing from the side to explain.
Sasuke was even more confused. "Sealing space? Sealed with what?"
"Have you heard since you were young that I am the Demon Fox?"
Sakura finally reacted. "It seems there was a rumor like that."

At this moment, Naruto, wanting to explain, suddenly thought of his chat with Kurama last night. He had wanted the Nine-Tails to meet his teammates, but Kurama had actually said it wanted to observe them first. It was surprisingly 'shy.' However, the title of 'sealing space' had been borrowed. Naruto had 'threatened' it at the time: *'Kurama, you wouldn't want others to know that a powerful Nine-Tails like you is being kept in a place like that, would you?'* Kurama had agreed immediately. After all, the Nine-Tails had a reputation to uphold.

Remembering Kurama's tsundere nature, Naruto smiled for a moment and explained, "This can also be considered the Nine-Tails' sealing space, because the Nine-Tails is sealed here."

"The Nine-Tails?" they both exclaimed.

Hearing the name, they were both startled. The concepts they had been indoctrinated with since childhood—the creature that caused countless deaths in Konoha, the one for whom the Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself—filled them with unprecedented terror and fear. Even Sasuke was unsettled, his face turning pale.

"Don't worry, you can't see the Nine-Tails."
Sakura kept looking around, asking as if to confirm, "Can we really not see the Nine-Tails?"
"Trust me, you absolutely cannot."

Hearing this, Sasuke looked at the relaxed Naruto and began to calm down. He looked at the mountains, the water, and the fresh air, and asked, "How big is this place?"

Naruto recalled his explorations with Kurama. The so-called 100x100 map unit was in kilometers. After exploring that map, Naruto had been filled with confusion. Who was this training space for? Ultraman? After he grew stronger, he understood: *Oh, it's for me.* Even a space this size wasn't enough for him to cut loose. Ten thousand square kilometers was only about the size of one and a half Shanghais or five Shenzhens. Naruto had decisively 'topped up' and exchanged for a larger one.

"About a 1000 by 1000 kilometer square," he replied.
"What? 1000 kilometers?" Sakura was deeply shocked, and Sasuke was no less stunned. This place was actually this huge?

Then, Sasuke remembered the purpose of coming here and put aside his curiosity to get to the point. "Naruto, how did you get so strong?"
Naruto didn't answer directly. "Try casting a jutsu at the lake yourself."

Confused, Sasuke walked to the lake and quickly formed the hand signs. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" He had been doubtful before releasing it, but then, in the space of a single breath, the chakra he had spent was immediately replenished.

Sasuke was shocked for the umpteenth time that day. Such a wonderful place existed? Did that mean infinite practice for jutsu?

"You feel it, don't you?" Naruto said. "And that's not all. This is a land of immortals where gods exist. They will arrive soon, and you can ask the immortals for guidance on jutsu."

An immortal personally teaching jutsu? Sasuke wouldn't have believed such a child's tale before, but now he believed it. Was this how Naruto became so strong? He was envious—Sasuke was deeply envious. With such a blessed land and a dedicated immortal teacher, he wanted to be a Jinchuriki too. Why couldn't he, Sasuke, be a Jinchuriki!