Chapter 39: Hiruzen: Shisui, You...
Konoha Year 55, inside Konoha's Forest of Death.
Chirp chirp, twee~ twee twee~
Five or six birds circled in the air, then chirped as they landed on little Naruto's shoulders, seemingly completely oblivious to the human beneath them.
Little Naruto sat cross-legged on a stone platform, eyes closed.
His entire aura was calm and tranquil, as if merged with nature itself.
Less than a hundred meters away, on a tree, sat a man wearing a dog-face mask, revealing long silver hair.
His head was lowered, engrossed in a small booklet in his hands.
Make-Out Paradise: Autographed Edition. It was his 18th birthday gift from that person.
Just then, a black shadow arrived from the distance using Body Flicker, also disappearing into the dense tree canopy.
"Senior Inu."
The newcomer wore a cat-face mask, dressed in a black high-collared short-sleeved shirt and long pants, with brown armor on his right shoulder, and carried a short sword (kodachi) on his back.
Most noticeable was the 'fan' embroidered on the back of his clothes.
It was the clan emblem of the Uchiha clan.
The cat-masked ANBU glanced at the booklet in the silver-haired ANBU's hands, his figure pausing involuntarily.
This... could this be Lord Jiraiya's work? It seems to be an 18+ restricted book...
"Mm."
The silver-haired ANBU responded in a low voice, then casually put the booklet back into his pouch.
He stood up, about to leave.
"Huh?"
Looking at little Naruto sitting motionless on the stone platform, the cat-masked ANBU asked quizzically: "Senior, why is Uzumaki Naruto just sitting there?"
"Pay it no mind. Uzumaki Naruto comes here every day to sit quietly."
The silver-haired ANBU finished speaking, then paused again. After hesitating a moment, he still advised: "You're just covering for Hawk for one day. Don't do anything unnecessary."
The cat-masked figure fell silent upon hearing this, his tone somewhat bitter: "...I understand, Senior."
Ever since the Nine-Tails Rampage, the Uchiha clan had been pushed into the eye of the storm.
Not only was their clan compound 'voluntarily' moved to the outskirts of Konoha, but the ANBU's duties also overlapped and conflicted with the Guard Squad's, leading to widespread resentment within the Uchiha clan towards the Konoha leadership.
Under this oppressive atmosphere, the Uchiha Guard Squad actually had several incidents of violent enforcement, leading to further rejection by the Konoha villagers.
It could be said they had completely lost popular support.
"But even in this situation, rebellious voices have emerged among those radicals, and clan meetings have become more and more frequent recently..."
The nerves of the Uchiha clan were stretched taut, threatening to snap at any moment.
Thinking of this, the cat-masked ANBU sighed inwardly again, reaching up to touch his eye socket, his mood somewhat complex.
Time slowly flowed by. The sun set, and the sky darkened.
By now, little Naruto's shoulders were covered with birds.
Being near Naruto made them instinctively feel safe and comfortable.
"Hooo~"
When the moon rose, little Naruto let out a long breath before slowly opening his eyes.
A trace of blankness flashed through his eyes, then quickly regained clarity.
"Those who wish to make their intentions sincere first extend their knowledge; extending knowledge lies in investigating things. When things are investigated, knowledge is extended; when knowledge is extended, intentions are sincere."
Menma's voice echoed again in his mind: "What are the Eight Steps mentioned in the Book of Rites - Great Learning?"
"Investigate things, extend knowledge, make intentions sincere, rectify the mind, cultivate the self, regulate the family, govern the state, bring peace to the world."
Little Naruto answered his question very properly, word by word.
Cultivating the self refers to training one's skills, while rectifying the mind means cultivating one's mental state, removing various anxious emotions, and maintaining spiritual tranquility.
"Only cultivating the self without rectifying the mind makes one merely a puppet of power."
Menma spoke: "What I have you do may seem useless now, but it will greatly benefit your future training."
Whether accepting Kurama's power or undergoing Sage Mode training, both require Naruto to possess firm willpower and a calm disposition.
Moreover, Ashura's chakra would also be gradually absorbed by him through this continuous tempering of his mind.
"Self-awareness is the mother of progress; self-abasement is the source of decline. Therefore, self-awareness is indispensable, while self-abasement must be avoided."
Menma himself would also meditate and train daily.
Not just to set an example for Naruto, but more importantly, to suppress the negative emotions within his own heart.
As Naruto's opposite from the Tsukuyomi world, even after escaping the limits of that world, his negative emotions rose constantly.
Like chives, cut one stalk, another grows back.
"Need to get my hands on a few Sharingan soon, otherwise these negative emotions are somewhat wasted."
Thinking this, Menma shifted his attention to an unremarkable tree in the distance.
The strongest genjutsu [Kotoamatsukami], Uchiha Shisui...
Although it sounds powerful, he really wasn't interested in that kind of genjutsu eye.
Better to get a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan myself, then find a way to develop my own Mangekyō techniques.
Meanwhile, the cat-masked ANBU hiding in the tree, Uchiha Shisui, also noticed Naruto's movements.
"Huh? Why does it feel like..."
Shisui frowned deeply, scratching his head in confusion.
His sharp intuition told him something about Uzumaki Naruto seemed to have changed.
But he couldn't quite put his finger on what was different.
"Little Naruto, whether in terms of disposition or talent, is in no way inferior to his father."
An aged voice suddenly sounded from below the tree, interrupting Shisui's thoughts.
He looked down in surprise.
He saw an old man wearing Hokage robes and the Hokage hat, his face covered in wrinkles, appear beneath the tree at some unknown time.
"Lord Third! What brings you here?"
"Shh."
Before Shisui could say more, Sarutobi Hiruzen placed a finger to his lips, then pointed towards Naruto over there.
Shisui's attention was drawn over.
He saw little Naruto standing by the stream, hands expertly forming seals, gathering chakra in his throat.
He didn't call out the technique's name, but the next second,
A considerably powerful whirlwind erupted from his mouth, kicking up ripples across the river surface.
The residual light wind brushed through the forest, even making Shisui feel a stinging sensation.
"Impressive."
Shisui's eyes flickered, praising with some amazement: "At such a young age, before even enrolling in the Academy, he can already perform the C-rank Wind Style: Great Breakthrough?"
"Hehe, back then, just extracting chakra gave me quite a bit of trouble, yet Naruto managed it in just a few short days."
Sarutobi chuckled and nodded: "Naruto's talent isn't poor, and he works hard enough. His future strength certainly won't be less than Minato's."
"Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato?"
Unsure what thought occurred, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shisui simultaneously fell silent.
If the Fourth hadn't died, would everything be different?
Perhaps...
"Shisui."
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled, asking gently: "You've been in ANBU for some time now, right? Do you have any thoughts?"
(End of Chapter)
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