Silence reigned in the Hokage's office.
Everyone was still processing the battle between Naruto and Guy.
After a long moment, Danzo finally spoke, his tone thick with avarice. "Naruto was born for Root. His talent should be guided by me. Hiruzen, give Naruto to me. I will personally instruct him, and I will not disappoint you."
The Third Hokage looked into Danzo's eyes, seeing the ambition and greed swirling within.
Come to think of it, Danzo hadn't seemed to take on any disciples until now.
It was unexpected that Naruto's potential had moved even Danzo.
From the current situation, Naruto's Kekkei Genkai indeed showed remarkable potential.
However…
It should be kept under his own control.
He shook his head. "Danzo, you know I cannot hand Naruto over to Root."
"Hiruzen, you are mistaken! In just a few short years, Naruto has progressed so rapidly. He already possesses strength approaching Chunin level. Coupled with his illusion-creating Kekkei Genkai, his future is limitless. Our eyes are our most relied-upon sense, yet his Kekkei Genkai can completely toy with them. He will become the nightmare of all shinobi!"
Danzo's expression was frenzied.
Although the outcome of Naruto and Guy's battle had been clear-cut, he had seen Naruto's potential within it.
The upper limit of that mysterious Kekkei Genkai was definitely not just this.
What's more…
"Naruto hasn't even fully utilized his Kekkei Genkai. He can still use ninjutsu activated by incantations!"
The Third Hokage felt a stir deep within him, an urge to blurt out a retort.
But he restrained himself.
He rose and looked out the window at Konoha.
Under the sunlight, Konoha was prosperous and peaceful.
"Do you see it, Danzo? This peaceful world is of our making. This is the Will of Fire. I also firmly believe that Naruto will walk the path I have planned for him. Trust me, Danzo. After all, I am the Hokage."
The battle was over.
"This is youth! Oh, Young man, it's too moving!"
Watching Guy weep tears of youthful passion, Naruto contentedly sheathed Kyoka Suigetsu.
Although he hadn't truly gone all out, he had at least used his Taijutsu without reservation.
But even so, he had been completely overwhelmed by Guy.
It seemed there was still a significant gap between his own strength and that of the truly strong.
"Guy-sensei, forgive my presumption, but are you a Jonin?" Naruto asked politely.
"Yes, I'm just a very ordinary Jonin." Guy looked up, flashing a mouthful of pearly white teeth. "Konoha is full of geniuses. Young man, you must train even harder! I look forward to sparring with you again in the future. I believe the flames of youth will burn even brighter then!"
"Guy-sensei is just an ordinary Jonin?" Naruto's eyes widened, his heart pounding with shock.
"Of course! Konoha is the cradle of geniuses. But I believe you, Naruto, will soon become a Jonin too! Yosh! For the sake of youth, I too must train harder! Today, I'll do ten more laps of frog leaps around Konoha!" Guy's fighting spirit ignited. He pumped his fist high, even inviting Naruto to join him. After being declined, Guy departed.
Watching Might Guy's retreating figure as he frog-leaped away, Naruto's eyes flickered continuously.
He had still underestimated Konoha's military strength.
But it didn't matter; everything was still proceeding according to his plan.
He believed that after the battle with Might Guy, Kyoka Suigetsu's abilities were now trusted by Konoha's higher-ups.
An illusion-based Kekkei Genkai.
What a wonderful Kekkei Genkai it was.
Naruto currently focused on the Reiatsu within his body.
Because Guy specialized in Taijutsu, his resistance to illusion-type techniques wasn't very high. Coupled with the fact that Naruto had only manipulated his vision, less than a fifth of his Reiatsu had been consumed.
If he wanted to achieve perfect control over all five senses, his current total Reiatsu was still insufficient.
This made Naruto profoundly aware of Aizen's power.
There is no invincible Zanpakuto, only an invincible Shinigami.
Rather than saying Kyoka Suigetsu was the strongest illusion-type Zanpakuto, it was more accurate to say Aizen had made Kyoka Suigetsu what it was.
He now had to dedicate more time to Reiatsu cultivation.
Naruto suddenly recalled something Aizen-sensei had once said: "Naruto, the Reishi in your world's atmosphere are too inactive. This greatly hinders your Reiatsu cultivation."
But where could he find a suitable place to cultivate Reiatsu?
The battle with Guy was an experience to savor; it was the first time Naruto had removed all his weights.
That exhilarating feeling was hard to forget.
A few days later, Naruto's trio met again at the training grounds to train together.
Naruto also found an opportunity to recount his battle with Guy.
Listening to the tale, the two younger boys were fired up, practically wanting to roll up their sleeves and rush in to help.
Subsequently, at their strong insistence, Naruto reluctantly sparred with them.
The outcome was self-evident.
Just basic Kido and Hakuda had them crying out in hardship.
Even with Sasuke activating his Sharingan, he couldn't withstand Naruto's attacks.
Naruto didn't even need to use Kyoka Suigetsu to defeat Sasuke and Rock Lee.
Only after Sasuke had completely lost his ability to fight and fainted did Rock Lee remove all his weights.
To be considerate of Sasuke's feelings, Rock Lee had also been hiding his true strength.
Under Naruto's influence, Rock Lee's mindset was no longer as carefree and careless as in the original story; on the contrary, he had become much more perceptive.
Sasuke, his clan annihilated, was emotionally low and sensitive. If even Lee revealed strength far surpassing his at this time, it would inevitably deal a blow to Sasuke's pride.
No one wanted to be the dead-last, especially Sasuke after his clan's massacre.
Rock Lee's true strength was a big surprise to Naruto, though compared to Guy, Lee was still much more inexperienced.
After an intense exchange of fists and feet, Naruto defeated Rock Lee, but his own arms were also numb.
"Lee, I see your effort. You've truly gotten much stronger," he praised without holding back.
A brilliant smile spread across Rock Lee's exhausted face, his eyes filled with pride.
"Naruto, I will keep getting stronger and become the partner you trust most," he murmured, looking up at the bright sun.
After saying this, Rock Lee felt a slight lack of confidence.
Naruto was surrounded by many geniuses: Sasuke, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, even the Hyuga clan's prodigy.
Compared to these geniuses, he inevitably seemed somewhat inferior.
Although his current strength could easily defeat these geniuses…
What about the future?
Taijutsu training was incredibly arduous, and progress was slow, with bottlenecks at every stage.
Rock Lee could already feel himself hitting a plateau.
If he didn't achieve a greater breakthrough, he would remain stagnant for a long time, and this wasn't a problem that simple training could solve.
And those geniuses would awaken their Kekkei Genkai in the future, or learn their clan's secret Ninjutsu. They would progress by leaps and bounds, quickly surpassing him.
"Naruto, I know my talent isn't great, but I will work even harder. I won't let you down," Rock Lee said, not dejectedly, but with extreme earnestness.
The autumn wind gently brushed past, rustling the green grass, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling on Rock Lee's youthful face.
Naruto suddenly chuckled, his tone firmer than ever before: "Lee, I believe in you." He extended a hand to Rock Lee, who was lying on the ground.
Tears welled up in Rock Lee's eyes, his heart trembling. Naruto's trust gave him an urge to cry.
He grasped Naruto's hand and stood up.
"Don't underestimate your talent in Taijutsu. I'll take you to meet someone. His Taijutsu might allow you to improve significantly," Naruto said gently, brushing the grass off Lee.
With Naruto's introduction, Rock Lee met Guy and began learning new Taijutsu under his guidance.
It was just that Rock Lee couldn't bring himself to compliment Guy's jumpsuit and always found excuses to decline Guy's requests for him to wear a similar one.
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