"Hey, your dad wants you to be my student. You don't want that, do you?"
Inside Konohagakure's prison, Raijin looked at Naruto, who was locked up in a cell, and asked with a dull expression.
Earlier, one of Raijin's shadow clones had been sent to inform Uchiha Suisei to lock Naruto up here.
As for the charge...
Publicly using Ninjutsu to attack the Captain of the Hokage Guard.
According to Konohagakure's security laws, if they pursued it to the fullest extent, Naruto would never be released for the rest of his life.
Of course, Raijin never intended to actually keep Naruto locked up forever.
He just wanted to scare him a little.
Tsunade, who had come along, glanced sideways at Uchiha Raijin and pursed her lips, looking somewhat helpless.
But she didn't say anything. Even though she wanted to give Namikaze Minato some benefits as a reward for his years of hard work, if Naruto really refused, she wouldn't push it.
Madara crossed his arms and watched the scene with a grin.
To be honest, Madara had realized something—if you set aside pride and ego, Raijin was actually a pretty interesting person.
And honestly, it wasn't that hard to do. Raijin himself never acted prideful or overly concerned about saving face.
If he can do it, why can't I?
"Be your student?"
Naruto glanced at Raijin, then at Tsunade, who was watching with a helpless expression, and finally at the unfamiliar ninja who was smiling at the situation.
"Of course, I'd love to."
Naruto's smile wasn't entirely sincere as he stared at Raijin from behind the bars, speaking each word clearly.
His reason for agreeing wasn't about gaining political status in Konohagakure as Raijin's student.
He simply felt that Raijin probably didn't really want to take him as a student but had no choice but to ask.
And since this was something his father wanted, Naruto went along with it.
Even though Namikaze Minato wasn't the most responsible husband or father, he was still a capable man.
If he thought something was right, then maybe it was.
Besides... Naruto really wanted to learn the Ninjutsu Raijin had used to absorb his Rasengan.
"Huh?"
Raijin was stunned and looked at Naruto in surprise.
Wait, we literally fought each other, and you still want to be my student? Aren't you afraid I'll make things hard for you?
"Ah!"
When Naruto saw the dumbfounded look on Raijin's face, a satisfied smile appeared on his own.
"Alright then, just be prepared. Being my student is going to be tough."
Raijin chuckled and looked at Naruto.
"Ah~ My training is already tough!"
Naruto scoffed.
He wasn't just good at Rasengan and Shadow Clones—his skills in sealing techniques were pretty solid too.
"Alright, come on out. Just train at my place every afternoon from now on."
Raijin nodded and unlocked the cell.
"Sensei, can you teach me that technique you used to absorb my Rasengan?"
As soon as Naruto stepped out of the cell, he asked Raijin.
Even though it wasn't their agreed training time yet, Naruto clearly wasn't the type to follow rules.
"Sure."
Raijin nodded without hesitation.
Naruto didn't find anything odd about his quick response, but Tsunade and Madara were both surprised as they turned to look at Uchiha Raijin.
Was Raijin planning to take Toneri's Tenseigan?
Or was he planning to take his own Tenseigan and give it to Naruto?
Honestly, Madara was hoping it would be the latter.
Even though Madara knew that Raijin would never actually do it,
if Raijin really did take out his own Tenseigan and give it to Naruto,
Madara would make sure he learned the meaning of absolute domination inside the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
"Do I need to use any hand signs?"
Naruto immediately asked Raijin.
This time, having both of his parents, he clearly understood that some jutsu required hand signs,
while others could be performed without them.
"No hand signs needed."
Raijin shook his head.
"Is it like the Rasengan?"
Naruto blinked in surprise, looking at Raijin.
"Yeah, pretty much."
Raijin raised an eyebrow slightly.
"There are basically two ways to learn it."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"The first way—defeat Otsutsuki Toneri or me, take our eyes, and implant them into yourself. The second way—wipe out the entire Hyuga clan, then defeat Otsutsuki Toneri to obtain the method of fusing the Byakugan into the Tenseigan, and then implant it into yourself."
"Huh?"
Naruto froze, staring at Raijin in shock.
Tsunade sighed and rubbed her forehead.
This guy... he really dares to say anything.
"He's not wrong."
Madara nodded.
"If you want, I can help you."
He paused before adding,
"But don't listen to him. He can't do it either."
Raijin snorted.
"Wanna bet?"
Madara narrowed his eyes at Raijin.
"Did you make some big breakthrough recently?"
Raijin looked at Madara.
"No, I just want to prove whether I can or not."
Madara pressed his lips together.
"Then it's meaningless. Show me when you develop a new technique."
Raijin shrugged, not taking Madara's words to heart.
If Madara hadn't created a new jutsu, Raijin had no interest in fighting him.
There would be no value in it, no purpose—
It would just be fighting for the sake of fighting.
"So, what can you teach me?"
Naruto's voice interrupted.
Raijin turned to look at him.
"That depends on what you're able to learn."
The ninja world wasn't like the schools from his past life.
Especially for kids who had already graduated from the academy—
What they learned depended on their teacher's mood.
A Jonin squad leader was more of a commander than a teacher.
It wasn't about what the Jonin knew—
It was about whether they were willing to teach it.
"But I don't even know what you can do!"
Naruto protested.
"I know, that's why you need to find a way to figure it out."
Raijin chuckled.
Find out what he could do?
Naruto thought for a moment, then suddenly formed a Rasengan in his hand and charged straight at Raijin.
The fastest way to find out what someone could do—
Was to test them in battle.
Is this what Asura's reincarnation is like?
Raijin turned around, a bit doubtful, and looked at Naruto charging toward him.
With a flick of his Rinnegan, a powerful repelling force exploded outward.
Naruto was sent flying like he had been hit by a cannonball. He crashed into the wall and then slid to the ground.
Struggling to get up, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"If you try that again, I'll kill you."
Raijin glanced at Naruto, grabbed Tsunade's hand, and disappeared in an instant.
He had no patience to babysit a kid and wait for him to grow stronger.
The future of the ninja world didn't need some so-called reincarnation of Asura to save it.
Whether it was Madara or himself, their strength alone was enough to handle anything—even if the Sage of Six Paths were to come back to life.
Besides, Naruto was clearly in the wrong here. Even if Raijin were truly bullying him, so what?
Namikaze Minato?
There were plenty of people in the village capable of handling paperwork—Minato wasn't the only one.
Strictly speaking, Raijin had no connection to Naruto at all.
Yet Naruto kept attacking him again and again.
Even if Raijin were to kill him right now, Minato wouldn't have a single word to say about it.
At the root of it all, this was a failure in how they raised their child.
And if Minato and Kushina chose to defect from the village because of this?
Then eliminating them before they could flee wouldn't be difficult at all.
---
"You really don't hold back, do you?"
In the Uchiha district, Madara spoke to Raijin.
"If he sees me as an enemy, I have no problem treating him like one. Whether it was on the Hokage Rock or in the village's prison, his actions could be considered a betrayal of the village."
Raijin's voice was calm. No matter the reason, a ninja should never attack someone from their own village.
"Even if I'm the reason his father is so busy, so what?"
Raijin looked up at Madara.
"Minato could have just resigned. It's not like I forced him to do paperwork for me. Finding a new assistant isn't hard. I think Uchiha Shisui would be a good fit."
"If it's just about passing messages quickly with space-time ninjutsu, that masked guy would do just fine, wouldn't he?"
"Hmm, you're right," Madara said, nodding. He didn't argue.
There was no point.
It didn't matter whose son that kid was, how much talent he had, or how determined he was.
None of that meant anything.
People only cared about one thing—how you treated them.
That's how they decided whether you were a friend or an enemy.
And sometimes, friends could turn into enemies just as quickly.
Raijin had been in the village for a long time, completing missions that no one else could.
He had earned a certain level of authority.
There were times when just a single word from Raijin could bring both the Senju and Uchiha clans down on someone.
And sometimes, he didn't even need to say anything at all—just showing dislike was enough for the entire village to turn against that person.
Neither Naruto, Kushina, nor even Minato could stand against that kind of pressure.
Right now, the village had no need for some so-called genius who acted out and thought differently from everyone else.
No matter how talented a ninja was, they couldn't reach Raijin and Madara's level in a short time.
And at the end of the day, some kinds of power weren't things you could master just by being gifted.
Raijin had no reason to make any concessions for Naruto.
His admiration for Naruto in his past life had completely faded after the kid attacked him twice.
And even if he were to make some kind of concession, it should be after Naruto gave him some kind of emotional value in return.
Not like this—where Naruto just lashed out at him after a few words.
Naruto slowly picked himself up from the ground and looked at the empty hallway outside his cell.
He gritted his teeth hard.
In all twelve years of his life, he had never suffered humiliation like this.
No matter who it was—no matter how great their name was as a ninja—no one had ever treated him like this before.
That guy...
Naruto walked silently toward home.
Defeat him! I have to defeat him!
"Who did this to you?"
At home, when Kushina saw Naruto covered in blood, her eyebrows furrowed almost instantly.
What?
Is my "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero" name useless now? Or is Sage Mode with Tailed Beast transformation not strong enough?
"A guy named Uchiha Raijin..."
Naruto gritted his teeth as he spoke.
Right after saying that, Naruto wanted to tell Kushina not to take revenge for him.
But to his surprise, Kushina frowned and asked,
"Why did Raijin attack you?"
Kushina looked at Naruto with confusion.
Raijin is such a reasonable person—there's no way he would attack a kid for no reason...
"Dad wants me to be his student."
Naruto explained everything to Kushina without hiding anything.
"That's a good thing."
Kushina was briefly stunned before responding to Naruto.
"A good thing?"
Naruto was also stunned and looked at Kushina in surprise.
Then, he told her everything that happened afterward.
"Why did you attack your teacher?"
After going through Naruto's story in her head, Kushina sat on a chair and asked him.
"Isn't that the fastest way to find out what he can do?"
Naruto spread his hands and asked in return.
"Yeah, it is the fastest way—but that also means getting beaten up is what you deserved."
Kushina nodded.
At that moment, she suddenly realized that she had been spoiling Naruto too much all these years.
To the point that he didn't even have the basic respect for his teacher.
"NARUTO! What did you do? Did you attack Raijin?"
Just then, Minato's voice rang out, and both Naruto and Kushina turned to look at Namikaze Minato, who had just finished work.
The usual bright and cheerful smile on Minato's face was completely gone.
Minato was in no mood to be happy.
What did he do to you that made you attack him?!
"Yeah... Ah!"
Before Naruto could finish speaking, a sharp pain hit his face, and his head was knocked to the side.
Instinctively, Kushina stood up, staring at Minato in disbelief.
(End of Chapter)
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