Who burned my butt!

Uzumaki Naruto spent a little time studying the three Ninjutsu, then turned his attention to the system's training cabinet.

[Fire Release Training: 300,000 Ryo]

"That's thirty times cheaper than buying these three Ninjutsu directly…"

Uzumaki Naruto immediately purchased six Fire Release Ninjutsu training sessions.

In his memories, Uzumaki Naruto became a Fire Release maniac, furiously unleashing flames on the training ground, igniting large sections and turning them into a sea of fire.

Memory transfer complete.

Under the cover of night, Uzumaki Naruto arrived near a rockery that looked very empty and quiet.

"Good, looks like no one's around."

"I can just use Fire Release inside the rockery's hollows, and the flames will be hidden. But… why isn't there a training ground in a place like this?"

Uzumaki Naruto was a little puzzled by the rockery's location but didn't dwell on it.

"Let's try it!"

In the depths of Uzumaki Naruto's azure eyes, two flames seemed to ignite. Scorch Release flames erupted from his hands, and Chakra gathered in his mouth.

A burning sensation surged into his oral cavity.

"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!!!"

"Scorch Release: Detonating Flame!!!"

"BOOM!!!"

The flames from his mouth and the flames from his hands merged, seemingly transforming into a fiery galaxy.

Burning ash, like scattered starlight, emitted high temperatures and thick smoke, instantly pouring into the rockery's hollow.

Though it was ash, it burned fiercely.

The entire rockery's hollow was enveloped by burning ash, glowing red inside, as if it had become a furnace.

"Phew!"

Uzumaki Naruto glanced at the scene inside the hollow, feeling a wave of heat wash over him.

"So hot!!!"

"As expected of a Fire Release used by Uchiha Madara, the power is truly different!!!"

"Again!"

With the previous experience, Uzumaki Naruto this time proactively merged Scorch Release and Fire Release.

"Scorch Release: Great Fire Annihilation!!!"

"BLAZE!!!"

A terrifying, raging sea of fire instantly burst forth from Naruto's mouth, like a roaring fiery dragon, charging into the rockery's hollow.

The massive rockery was scorched bright red, as if it could melt into lava at any moment.

Uzumaki Naruto was quite close and could even feel the heat radiating from the rockery, giving him a sense of facing a furnace directly.

"This Fire Release… it's too strong, isn't it!?"

A subtle curve played at the corner of Uzumaki Naruto's lips.

He had witnessed many Fire Release techniques in the anime, and among them, Uchiha Madara's Great Fire Annihilation was the most memorable.

While the range of the Fire Release he had just used wasn't as wide as Uchiha Madara's, its temperature was dozens of times stronger than Uchiha Madara's flames, if not more.

"As expected of Scorch Release, which can instantly evaporate all the water from a human body. Who would dare to face this kind of Fire Release head-on!?"

Uzumaki Naruto continued to practice the fusion techniques of Scorch Release and Fire Release.

He even began to actively practice other Fire Release techniques.

"Scorch Release: Ash Pile Burning!"

"Scorch Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

"Scorch Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Scorch Release: Flame Whirlwind!"

After a good while, Uzumaki Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead and glanced at the rockery, which was now almost melting.

"My Chakra's a bit low. I should go back. I'll come again tomorrow…"

Uzumaki Naruto turned to leave but suddenly felt something was amiss. He turned back, frowning as he looked at the glowing red rockery.

"Just now, the fire flowed under the rockery!?"

Uzumaki Naruto, who thankfully still remembered a bit about physics, knew that flames normally burned upwards.

But the flames beneath the rockery were surging downwards.

It was as if some invisible suction below was pulling the flames, drawing them all into the empty space beneath.

"Is it a karst cave?!"

"That's really unusual."

About ten minutes passed.

A man, charred black all over, stumbled out of the cave.

He glanced at the rockery, which looked like a furnace, then threw his head back and roared in grief and indignation, "Who the hell did this?!"

"Are you crazy?!"

"Using Fire Release on a rockery? Do you have nothing better to do?!"

"..."

Half an hour earlier.

At Root.

In a certain office.

Shimura Danzo had just returned from the Hokage's office. He sat in his chair, his face grim, angrily tapping the ground with his cane.

"Uzumaki Naruto!!!"

"Damn it!!!"

Shimura Danzo slammed his hand down on the desk, his face dark. "Sarutobi, that bastard, don't get too smug. One day, I'll take Uzumaki Naruto for myself."

A Root ninja standing by spoke indifferently, "Lord Danzo, do you need us to bring Uzumaki Naruto here?"

Shimura Danzo's expression flickered between indecision and gloom.

After a long while, Shimura Danzo's face gradually settled back into a grim expression. He sat back in his chair and sneered, "No need!"

"Sarutobi Hiruzen, that idiot, would never allow me to control the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

"To him, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is just a future threat, but I am his biggest threat right now."

The Root ninja didn't speak again.

Lord Danzo and Lord Hokage had been feuding for decades; this was not something a subordinate like him could intervene in.

Shimura Danzo looked at Uzumaki Naruto's photo and sneered, "This kid probably doesn't even know about the monster inside him, does he?!"

"When he learns the truth, will he still be as loyal as he is now?!"

"Send someone to keep an eye on him. I refuse to believe that Uzumaki Naruto, after suffering so much malice in the village, will maintain such an innocent personality... BOOM!!!"

The office door was directly blown off.

Hot, sparking dust, like a tsunami, swept through the hallway and into the office.

"Ahhh!!!"

Shimura Danzo screamed, clutching his burning rear.