I Have Many Reasons to Stay in Konoha

"Set out immediately! We need to rush to the western side of the Forest of Death right away!"

"Damn it, what exactly is wrong with the Barrier Team? Can't they settle this in one go? In less than half a day, they've reported abnormal Chakra activity dozens of times, and the locations are spread across nearly the entire Forest of Death!"

"Could they have made a mistake? We just came back from the north. Other than animal carcasses, there wasn't even a ghost there. The team in the south only just headed over too!"

"Yeah, and not only is the fog this thick, it's raining heavily too."

In a dense forest, three Anbu wearing masks and carrying ninja swords stood on tree trunks. After complaining over a map for a few moments, they immediately dashed off in one direction.

"Naruto, the Barrier Team has probably detected your location again. Those Anbu have definitely set out for you again as well."

Minato Namikaze's voice sounded within the Sealed Space.

"It's fine. I'll switch directions again later. I'm already completely confident in how to infuse Chakra into ninja tools. By the way, didn't Father say that Konoha's Barrier Team monitored the village twenty-four hours a day? Why has the Forest of Death outside the village now been included in the sensory barrier?"

Naruto's voice came from beneath a towering tree. Its tangled roots had formed a tree hollow, and two wolf corpses that had been dead for some time lay outside its entrance, blood pooling across the ground.

Naruto stood inside the hollow, wearing a mask, and his hair was unexpectedly black.

Leaning against the inner wall of the hollow, he stared intently at a dagger in his hand. Faint pale-blue Chakra flickered unsteadily over its surface.

He was pondering matters related to Chakra attributes.

"Awoo—"

Several low wolf howls interrupted Naruto's concentration.

"I casually killed two blind idiots, and I didn't expect you to hold such a grudge."

As Naruto spoke, he stepped out of the tree hollow and looked up at the weather.

The forest was shrouded in dense fog. Heavy rain fell in sheets from above, impossible to block even for the thickest, most leafy trees. It seeped through layer after layer, washing the emerald leaves until they gleamed brightly.

Beneath the shade, the uneven ground had long been soaked by rainwater, forming mud pits of all sizes.

His gaze shifted, and rustling soon came from ahead. Then Naruto saw pairs of green eyes glaring at him with hatred. Ferocious wolves, as though commanded by someone, quickly formed a wide encirclement around Naruto and the tree.

"Heh, looks like I've drawn a wolf pack. Perfect for some practice and experimentation."

After looking around, Naruto found that more than fifty wolves had surrounded him. He smiled faintly and formed Hand Seals.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Poof!

Naruto clones equal in number to the wolf pack quickly appeared on the scene.

The wolf pack surrounding Naruto instantly erupted into commotion. They could not understand why so many enemies had suddenly appeared, but they reacted quickly. While growling warnings, they hunched down and pawed at the ground as they slowly retreated.

They had caught the scent of danger. It looked like they were planning a tactical withdrawal.

Naruto smiled faintly and gave the Shadow Clones an order.

"Go."

The group of Shadow Clones immediately charged into the wolf pack.

"One, two, three... Mm, eleven Shadow Clones lost. Fifty-two wolves in total, but all the marks have been placed."

Naruto's original body stood where he was, silently counting under his breath. Once he confirmed that every wolf in the pack had been marked by the Shadow Clones, he formed Hand Seals and dismissed them all.

At the same time, the pale-blue Chakra coating the dagger in his hand condensed at a visible rate, rapidly forming a half-meter-long short sword.

His eyes flashed, and Naruto vanished from where he stood without warning.

In the distance, having lost their opponents, the wolves' green eyes flickered with almost human contemplation. Just as they were about to make a move, a streak of Black Radiance flashed past.

"Whimper—whimper—"

Blood sprayed everywhere. Pain tore through their bodies, and they only had time to let out weak cries before they knew nothing more.

Whoosh!

Naruto landed on the trunk of a large tree. The ground below was littered with countless severed limbs.

He frowned, and his consciousness entered the Sealed Space directly.

"Father, have you thought of any solution to the issue of Shadow Clones only being able to use Flying Thunder God once?"

Minato Namikaze shook his head when he heard Naruto's question. "I don't know either. I discovered this issue while training in the Flying Thunder God when I was alive."

"Logically speaking, Shadow Clones should be able to use every ninjutsu their original body can use. I researched this for a long time as well. After the original body placed Flying Thunder God marks, its Shadow Clones could indeed sense them and teleport over at first, but no matter what, the Shadow Clones could not perform a second Flying Thunder God teleportation."

"Even the Second Hokage, who developed the Flying Thunder God Technique, could not figure out this problem."

"Also, the Shadow Clone Jutsu was developed by the Second Hokage. At first, he wanted to combine Shadow Clones with the Flying Thunder God Technique and push it to its fullest potential, but unfortunately, he failed in the end."

Naruto nodded regretfully. It seemed there was no way to solve the issue of Shadow Clones only being able to perform a one-time Flying Thunder God teleportation.

Thinking of the anime, Naruto's Shadow Clones in the Original Work could clearly gather Sage Mode, and Madara Uchiha could even use Wood Clones to summon Susanoo.

Why was it that Shadow Clones could not overcome this barrier when it came to the Flying Thunder God?

He had stayed in the Forest of Death for nearly two months. Since the afternoon the Third Hokage had left the village, the one Gekko Hayate had been monitoring was merely one of his clones.

With his father's full guidance, he had successfully mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique during the first month.

Of course, that was not the only good news. During this time, aside from receiving rewards in the Mirrored World in the form of many different ninjutsu, he had finally acquired Chakra of other attributes once more.

Other than Yang Release, Naruto now possessed Wind, Fire, and Water Chakra. He had obtained the Water Chakra from Kotetsu Hagane's Data Puppet.

During the remaining month, he thoroughly absorbed the ninjutsu and cultivation experience obtained from the Puppet data into his own strength, while also studying Chakra nature transformation.

He could now successfully infuse Chakra into ninja tools and shape it into form.

Just as Naruto thought this, three Chakra signatures appeared at the edge of his sensing range.

"This time, they came much faster than before. It's about time to head back. My Shadow Clone should be arriving home soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto, standing on the tree trunk, vanished directly.

Whoosh!

When he reappeared, Naruto was already in the second-floor bedroom of his home.

"Naruto, when do you plan to leave Konoha?"

Minato Namikaze suddenly asked this question.

Sensing that his clone and Gekko Hayate were on their way back to the small building, Naruto entered the Sealed Space once again.

"Father, why do you think I'll definitely leave Konoha?"

Minato Namikaze's expression darkened. "I don't know. I just suddenly have that feeling. You've now mastered the Flying Thunder God. In truth, no one can control you anymore."

"Father, I can tell you that I won't leave Konoha for a very long time to come." Naruto looked at Minato Namikaze with blazing eyes as he responded.

Minato Namikaze was stunned. "Why?"

Kurama, lying nearby, lifted an eyelid. It sensed Naruto's gaze fall upon it.

"There are many reasons." Naruto walked to Kurama's mouth. "The first reason I must stay is that I need to wait for Jiraiya to return to Konoha."

"Only by taking back the sealing key from him can I open the seal."

Looking at Kurama's enormous body, Minato Namikaze's expression turned solemn. "Then what are the other reasons?"

Naruto turned and smiled slightly at him. "Father, Konoha is the best cover for my current identity. It may not be absolutely safe, but staying in Konoha is definitely the most worry-free option."

"If I leave Konoha, not only will I be classified as a rogue ninja, but I'm also a Jinchuriki. I'd be far too conspicuous. Once the others in the Shinobi World hear that Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has run away, the entire Shinobi World will come looking for trouble with me. They may not be able to catch me, but there will definitely be plenty of trouble."

"Besides, my Mirrored World still needs to keep collecting data."

"There are also many things in Konoha that I want to obtain."

"I have far too many reasons why I must remain in Konoha. This is something you cannot understand, so unless I have no other choice, I will not leave Konoha."