All the trash in the river gathered under the push of the current, lining up as it jumped into the nets.
Kakashi felt this couldn't continue. This level of control consumed an enormous amount of Chakra.
Naruto definitely wouldn't be able to keep it up.
No matter how much Chakra he had.
Therefore, Kakashi kept a close eye on Naruto, ready to interrupt the jutsu at any moment.
Ten seconds passed. Kakashi was on guard.
Half a minute passed. Kakashi was surprised.
One minute passed. Kakashi was shocked.
Two minutes passed. Kakashi was starting to go numb.
Five minutes passed. One-quarter numb.
Ten minutes passed. Half numb.
Twenty minutes passed. Well, now he was completely numb.
Half an hour passed. Kakashi had completely lost the will to live.
Even after they had replaced more than a hundred large nets and packed away all the garbage, Naruto still showed no signs of strain. He even looked quite relaxed.
Kakashi entered the next stage: doubting his life.
Was this really the amount of Chakra a person could possess?
This wasn't as simple as controlling a small stream of water. He had been continuously controlling the water of the entire river.
There was enough water to fill the entire West Lake, with plenty left over.
Terrifying.
The entire process had flowed as smoothly as clouds and water. In terms of Water Release control, Kakashi felt that only the legendary Second Hokage could accomplish this.
Kakashi had thought he already held Naruto in high regard and considered him a super genius. He hadn't expected Naruto to be even more gifted than he had imagined.
Fire Release, Water Release.
He had only seen one Fire Release Naruto had created himself. Yet after witnessing this Water Release and this terrifying Chakra control, he suddenly felt Naruto's Fire Release was probably no less extraordinary.
Naruto simply hadn't shown it.
Reaching the pinnacle in even one nature transformation was enough to become a powerhouse. Yet Naruto was proficient in—no, had completely mastered—two of them.
Could there be others?
He didn't dare think about it.
Kakashi no longer dared to imagine it.
Should he submit an intelligence report to the Third Hokage?
Kakashi sank into thought.
In the end, the cheers of the team woke him.
"That's great, Naruto! We finished the mission early!"
"That means we can dismiss early. Naruto, you can't go back on your word."
"Don't worry, Sasuke. A promise is a promise. That's my Nindo!"
"Hm? Didn't you say fairness and justice were your Nindo last time?"
"Don't ask. They're all my Nindo."
Watching the three of them fool around, Kakashi was briefly dazed.
Those two kids probably thought Naruto had merely used some simple, casual Water Release jutsu. They couldn't see the deeper meaning behind it.
But Kakashi could see it all too clearly.
As the saying went, if you didn't cultivate Chakra control, seeing me would be like a frog in a well looking at the moon in the sky; if you did cultivate Chakra control, seeing me would be like an ant looking upon the blue heavens.
But Naruto felt that Kakashi's blue heavens were still far too shallow.
Kakashi thought Naruto was controlling water droplets. In truth, Naruto could precisely control water molecules.
The difference between the two spanned several orders of magnitude.
This time, he was operating in another atmosphere.
Team 7 returned to the Hokage Building to submit their mission.
Before dismissing them, Kakashi gave Naruto another deep look.
He had originally planned to test Naruto, but remembering how much Chakra Naruto had used that afternoon, he decided to put it off until tomorrow.
"Get some proper rest, Naruto," Kakashi solemnly instructed before they parted.
This sudden concern left Naruto somewhat confused.
Was it because of what happened this afternoon?
Did that little bit of Chakra really require rest?
With his recovery ability, even if he emptied his Chakra completely, it would be full again in twenty minutes.
Still, he couldn't exactly refuse. Resting was good; tomorrow, he could sleep in openly.
"Okay, Kakashi-sensei."
Four thirty in the afternoon.
Naruto's home.
The three sat down on the floor of Naruto's room, looking at one another.
"What do we do?" Sasuke asked.
"It's simple."
Naruto extended his hands toward them. "We hold hands. You two grab my hands and try to circulate and pour in your Chakra. Leave the rest to me."
Sasuke tried it half-doubtfully, while Sakura blushed furiously as she grabbed Sasuke's hand.
Naruto almost wanted to remind her: You don't actually need to hold Sasuke's hand.
On second thought, he decided to let it go.
"Sit tight. We're off!"
With Naruto's voice, darkness fell before their eyes.
When they appeared again, the scene had changed.
Beneath their feet was solid ground. Wild grass grew thickly, and the fragrance of flowers filled the air. In the distance lay rolling hills and forests, with a boundless lake beyond them.
This was an entirely different world!
Sasuke couldn't quite understand where they were.
"This is?"
"This is a portion of an Immortal Land connected to the Sealing Space," Naruto said as he appeared beside them.
Sasuke was even more confused. "Sealing Space? What's sealed?"
"Have you heard people call me the Nine-Tails Fox ever since you were little?"
Sakura finally reacted. "I think I've heard something like that."
Just as Naruto was about to explain, he suddenly recalled his conversation with Kurama the previous night.
He had wanted Kurama to meet his teammates, but Kurama had said it wanted to observe them first.
It was actually kind of "shy."
Still, he had borrowed the name "Sealing Space."
At the time, Naruto had given it a "threat."
Kurama, you don't want other people to find out that a powerful Nine-Tails like you was locked up in a place like that, do you?
Kurama had immediately agreed.
The Nine-Tails cared about its pride too, okay?
Thinking of the Nine-Tails' tsundere attitude, Naruto smiled briefly and explained, "You could also consider this the Nine-Tails' Sealing Space, because the Nine-Tails is sealed here."
"The Nine-Tails?" ×2
Hearing that name, both of them were startled.
The things they had been taught since childhood—how it had caused countless deaths and injuries in Konoha, how the Fourth Hokage had sacrificed himself because of it—filled them with unprecedented shock and fear.
Even Sasuke couldn't remain calm. His little face had gone pale with fright.
"Don't worry. You can't see the Nine-Tails."
Sakura kept looking around and asked as if seeking confirmation, "We really can't see the Nine-Tails?"
"Don't worry. You definitely can't."
Hearing that, Sasuke looked at the relaxed Naruto and gradually calmed down as well. Looking around at this place with beautiful mountains, clear waters, and fresh air, he asked, "How big is this place?"
Naruto was reminded of something.
He had once explored it with the Nine-Tails. Its so-called 100 × 100 map units were kilometers.
After finishing the exploration, Naruto had been ten, no, 114,514 times confused.
Who exactly was such a huge Training Space meant for?
Ultraman?
Later, after becoming stronger, he understood. Oh, it was for him.
Even this much space wasn't enough for him to wreak havoc freely by himself.
It was only ten thousand square kilometers, roughly the size of 1.58 Magic Cities or five Peng Cities.
Naruto decisively paid up and exchanged it for a larger one.
"Approximately a 1,000 × 1,000 kilometer square," he Responded.
"What? A thousand kilometers?"
Sakura was utterly stunned, and Sasuke was no less shocked.
This place was actually that big?
Then Sasuke remembered why they had come in the first place. He set aside his curiosity and got straight to the point.
"Naruto, how did you become stronger?"
Naruto didn't answer directly. "Try using a jutsu on the lake yourself."
Still puzzled, Sasuke walked to the lake and rapidly formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"
Before releasing it, he had still been somewhat doubtful. Yet in the space of a breath, the Chakra he had spent was directly replenished.
For who knew how many times that day, Sasuke was shocked again.
There was a place this good?
Didn't that mean he could practice jutsu endlessly?
"You felt it, right?"
Naruto said, "And that's not all. This is an immortal land. Immortals live here, and they'll arrive soon. You can ask the sages to teach you jutsu."
There were even sages who would personally teach them jutsu?
Sasuke would never have believed such childish nonsense before. Now, he believed it.
Was this how Naruto had become so strong?
He was so jealous. Sasuke was insanely jealous.
With such a blessed land and dedicated immortal teachers, Sasuke wanted to become a Jinchuriki too.
Why couldn't Sasuke be a Jinchuriki?!
Thanks to wseldenring for the monthly ticket, Super Kawaii Zhou-chan for four monthly tickets, and reader 20180205181739350 for six monthly tickets. Thanks to Tree-Climbing Fish for the donation. Thank you for your support.
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