I Don't Need Attention

"Naruto, you killed him!!"

"Father, that's not right. You saw it too—he jumped off the cliff because he wanted to die. I merely helped him fulfill his final wish."

"But... you..."

Minato Namikaze felt a chill run through his heart inside the Sealed Space. He opened his mouth, yet had no idea what he could say.

Naruto, crouching on the ground, ignored his father. He extended two fingers to Shisui Uchiha's carotid artery and felt the other man's body temperature rapidly dropping. He realized that killing someone for the first time had not made him feel nauseated or uncomfortable at all.

Was I naturally cold-blooded, or was my mind simply too strong?

After a while, he confirmed that Shisui Uchiha had completely become a corpse. He slowly pulled the kunai from the body without spilling a single drop of blood, then took out a scroll to store the corpse.

"This person was from the Uchiha Clan? What do you need his corpse for?"

Minato Namikaze spoke again after hesitating for a long time.

"Mm. I'll take you to learn about him later. Although I didn't collect any data, the Mirrored World should have successfully copied his Puppet." Naruto looked indifferently at the scroll in his hand. "I believe Father will see many interesting scenes. As for what I need his corpse for, you'll find out in the future."

"The future?"

Minato Namikaze's expression darkened, and he said bitterly, "Naruto, I can remain for one more year at most."

"That should be enough time."

"What do you mean?"

Minato Namikaze felt somewhat heavy-hearted. Naruto surely had some plan for the coming year.

"You'll know when the time comes. Hmm. Did the Barrier Team notify the Anbu again? They're moving even faster in the middle of the night than they did during the day. Heh, even the Third Hokage has set out. It seems they're watching this place more and more closely."

Sensing a large number of people rushing toward the Forest of Death, Naruto carefully put away the scroll and looked up at the starry sky. Bright moonlight fell upon him, as if trying to pierce the Black Mask on his face.

"Now all that remains is to wait for the next full moon night."

Whoosh!

With that thought, Naruto instantly vanished into the night, and the forest once more fell into deathly silence.

Not long afterward, the Third Hokage arrived with dozens of Anbu. Three Anbu wearing animal masks stood motionless at a spot where Naruto had previously stood.

"Lord Hokage! Just like before, we can no longer sense any Chakra fluctuations!"

The Third Hokage's face immediately darkened upon hearing that.

Could it be Orochimaru again?

No, it probably wasn't him. It was that other person from that night!

He immediately recalled the mysterious person who had appeared when he led people into the Forest of Death to capture Orochimaru, and he instantly concluded that it could not have been Orochimaru.

Thinking back on it now, the person who had appeared in the Forest of Death in the Barrier Team's earlier report should also have been this individual. Every appearance of this mysterious person left the Sensory Unit helpless, and the way he vanished was simply far too bizarre.

"Could this be..."

The Third Hokage thought of a possibility, and his gaze became uncertain.

"Starting today, assign two teams to patrol the Forest of Death every day!"

"Yes!"

Though he gave the order with a grave expression, the Third Hokage felt that his arrangement would be useless. If his guess was correct and that mysterious person had mastered that kind of power, no number of people would matter.

Yet he desperately hoped his guess was wrong.

"Body Flicker Technique!"

"Great Spiraling Ring!"

Boom!

The instant the blinding light struck, Naruto once again saw Shisui Uchiha summon a green Susanoo holding a massive spiraling greatsword in one hand.

"Congratulations! You have obtained Shisui Uchiha's Genjutsu cultivation experience!"

Genjutsu cultivation experience again!

Naruto's eye twitched. After sitting in the classroom for an entire morning, that was the only reward he had received.

He stared at Shisui Uchiha's Data Puppet. What use was Genjutsu cultivation experience to him when he currently had no Yin Release Chakra?

Within the Mirrored World, Shisui Uchiha was currently the strongest Data Puppet. Every time Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique, Naruto could only seize an opportunity to end the battle with the mutually destructive Great Spiraling Ring. Otherwise, he would end up impaled by Shisui's katana.

Although he currently possessed quite a few Chakra natures, the number of ninjutsu he knew was pitifully small.

Because the data was incomplete, he could not use Flying Thunder God. The two simple Water Release techniques and the Great Fireball Jutsu could only serve as minor harassment, and they were not even as useful as the Shuriken Technique he had obtained from Itachi.

But Shisui Uchiha's Shuriken Technique was also incredibly powerful.

Such a powerful person actually chose to commit suicide. The Uchiha really were mentally ill to a fatal degree.

Susanoo can be set aside for now. The key is, how do I counter this Body Flicker Technique?

"Naruto, his Body Flicker Technique has a great deal to do with his Sharingan."

Ever since Minato Namikaze, acting as a spectator, had watched Shisui Uchiha's memories last night, his mood had remained low. Especially after seeing Danzo lead people to steal Shisui's eyes, he had found it hard to believe.

"Oh? Father, what did you notice?"

"It looked like an illusion or a Shadow Clone, but it wasn't a Shadow Clone, nor was it an illusion. It was more like a visible shadow that you couldn't attack. But whenever he wanted to attack you, the shadow could instantly become tangible."

Naruto was somewhat speechless upon hearing that. By that logic, if he could not react in time, would he just have to keep taking hits?

"Naruto, can you sense his shadows during battle?"

"I've tried. I can sense them, but just like Father said, I can't attack them. That's why every time, I'm forced to use Great Spiraling Ring and try to wipe out both his real body and all those shadows at once."

"In that case, I suggest you challenge Itachi Uchiha for now. After all, judging from Shisui's memories, he was often together with Itachi Uchiha."

Just as Minato Namikaze finished speaking, Naruto heard Kurama's voice.

"Naruto, your homeroom teacher is calling you out to practice shuriken. Also, six guys like those monitoring your house suddenly appeared outside the classroom. They're definitely targeting you!"

Naruto immediately left the Mirrored World with Minato Namikaze, and then sensed that there were indeed six more Anbu outside the classroom.

Why did they suddenly increase the number of Anbu watching me? Did I accidentally expose some trace?

As Naruto recalled his actions over this period, he rose and followed the others as they lined up and walked out of the classroom. They followed the group to the Training Ground. After thinking it over again and again, he determined that the problem was not with him.

Since it had nothing to do with him, there had to be another reason!

With that thought, Naruto immediately expanded his senses. He then discovered that the Chakra of many Anbu was unusually active throughout the village, completely adopting a state of high alert.

Moreover, the vast majority of them quickly gathered together and moved at high speed toward the Uchiha Clan Compound.

"I see. Shisui Uchiha has been dead for less than a day, yet Konoha is already this impatient. The six Anbu assigned here are to prevent the Uchiha from targeting the Nine-Tails inside my body."

After figuring it out, Naruto casually took several kunai Shikamaru handed him and flicked them toward the round target.

Whoosh!

All the kunai missed, not even touching the edge of the target.

"Haha! That idiot's luck is terrible. He didn't hit a single one!"

"Yeah! I was worried I'd be the worst dead last!"

Naruto ignored the ridicule on the Training Ground. Expressionless, he walked to the side and leaned against the wall to wait for school to end. This was the final class.

Shikamaru walked over right behind him with his hands behind his head, looking helpless. "Wasn't that a little too fake?"

Naruto responded calmly, "I don't want everyone paying attention to me. If I hit the first ring with perfect accuracy every time like you, that would be a bit too much."

Shikamaru's expression immediately fell. He spread his hands. "Sigh, same here. Look, Choji is just like you."

"Haha! Another dead last!"

"Sasuke-kun is still amazing! He hit every bullseye!"

"Wow! Sasuke-kun is so cool!"

"Of course! Sasuke-kun is a genius!"

"..."

When Shikamaru saw Choji strolling over while casually eating chips, utterly unconcerned, his expression nearly collapsed.

"This is so boring. What's so great about being a genius?"

Naruto's eyes flickered. "Of course it's great. Do you know what a genius's weakness is?"

Shikamaru's expression turned serious. "They need an audience. That's a genius's weakness!"

The Training Ground erupted into noise again. After the last person threw their kunai, Naruto swept his gaze over Iruka and saw him enter the classroom with a gloomy face, holding the grade book.

Ring-ring—

School was over. Naruto immediately headed home. Just as he passed a group of people, a small white puppy suddenly lunged at him through the air.

Naruto's eyes sharpened. One hand instantly clamped around the dog's throat. His movement was as fast as lightning, and the puppy rolled its eyes before immediately passing out.

This dog looked somewhat familiar.

"Uzumaki Naruto! If you dare hurt Akamaru, I'll fight you to the death!"

"Are you sure?"

Naruto looked coldly at Kiba Inuzuka, who was roaring at him, and silently waited for his response.

Shikamaru's expression changed. He stepped forward several paces and blocked the two of them.

"Naruto, don't be impulsive. Akamaru probably just wanted to play with you."

"Oh? I thought this dog had rabies."

Naruto curled his lips and tossed the dog toward Kiba Inuzuka.

"Catch him. Be more careful with your dog's life next time."