One Year Later, an Ominous Night

Over the past year, Naruto attended school as usual and treated everyone with kindness every day.

Before long, he had earned the recognition of every classmate.

Aside from Sasuke and Rock Lee, he had very good relationships with Hinata, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Shino Aburame, and the others.

His Reiatsu and Chakra training had also progressed smoothly.

Naruto's Zanjutsu improved at an astonishing pace.

Even his Kido had advanced considerably; he could now chant Kido spells up to #50.

But even so, he was dissatisfied with the speed of his own growth.

After witnessing Itachi's oppressive presence a year ago, he had raised his standards for himself even further.

At the training ground.

Naruto extended his right palm toward a huge boulder.

"O ruler! Mask of flesh and blood, myriad things, fluttering wings—ye who bears the name of Man! Scorching heat and strife, across the seas they surge southward, marching ever onward!"

"Hadō #31, Crimson Fireball."

As he chanted, a crimson glow gathered in Naruto's right palm before blasting forth.

Bang. The red light sank into the rock, and the boulder—taller than an adult—exploded into pieces as though struck by a devastating blow.

Naruto then raised his right finger, aiming at the fragments dancing through the sky, his gaze calm and undisturbed.

"Hadō #4, White Lightning."

A serpent-like streak of white light erupted from his finger, darting continuously between the airborne fragments.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Under the impact of White Lightning, the fragments in the air were instantly reduced to dust and drifted slowly down.

"The control precision of White Lightning still isn't good enough." Naruto frowned and shook his head.

The fragments in the sky were densely packed, yet White Lightning had only struck most of them.

Naruto wiped away his sweat. The Reiatsu within him remained abundant, and he continued his arduous training.

Within Naruto, Aizen watched everything, already numb to Naruto's talent.

He was merely a seven-year-old boy, yet he could use Kido so skillfully, even combining different Kido spells.

Even his control precision over Kido had surpassed that of most novice Bleach.

Was this humanity's potential?

How astonishing.

Seeing this, Aizen was reassured.

He understood that Naruto would keep improving and would sooner or later grow into what he expected.

He could also proceed with his plans without worry.

Aizen closed his eyes and slowly faded from the Sealing Space.

Naruto had not concealed his Kido.

Konoha's higher-ups had noticed it as well and regarded it as Naruto's Kekkei Genkai.

A wondrous sword that could transform, along with ninjutsu-like attacks that required no hand seals—Konoha's higher-ups were filled with anticipation for Naruto's Kekkei Genkai.

If all went well, Konoha might gain another clan possessing a Kekkei Genkai in the future.

After finishing his training, Naruto called out to Rock Lee and Sasuke, who were still training nearby. "Lee, Sasuke, are you done? Let's eat."

"One thousand and five, one thousand and six, one thousand and seven. I'll be done soon." Rock Lee was still doing sit-ups, his face flushed red.

"Fire Style: Housenka no Jutsu." Sasuke stood at the edge of the lake. After a series of complex hand seals, he spat out a succession of fireballs resembling hosenka fruit. They crashed into the lake, kicking up vast clouds of steam and sending the fish beneath the surface into a frantic scramble.

Several fish floated to the surface belly-up, unconscious.

Sasuke took the opportunity to scoop them up. He waved at Naruto, his face full of excitement. "We've got fish to eat."

Ever since young master Sasuke had experienced the pleasures of grilled fish and self-sufficiency, it was as though an entirely new world had opened up to him.

A survival skill essential to Naruto had become nothing more than entertainment in the young master's eyes.

After training, the three walked through Konoha's streets after enjoying grilled fish.

Oddly enough, the streets were more crowded than usual, and ninja could often be seen passing by.

"Lately, it feels like more ninja have been returning to the village. Even there seem to be quite a few more members of our clan," Sasuke muttered to himself.

Naruto's brows furrowed tightly. His gaze swept past the passing ninja, while the Reiatsu within him mapped out the ninja watching the area.

Strangely, there were at least twice as many surveillance ninja as usual.

Naruto's instincts told him—

They were not merely watching him.

It couldn't possibly be Rock Lee.

Then that only left...

Naruto looked at Sasuke.

They were monitoring Sasuke Uchiha?

What was their purpose?

With those doubts in mind, Naruto remained preoccupied throughout the journey.

The Uchiha Clan's relationship with the village was tense, and it was true they were unwelcome, but it had not reached the point where they needed to be monitored.

I hope it's just my imagination, Naruto thought.

"Naruto, what are you thinking about?" Sasuke asked, patting Naruto on the shoulder and interrupting his thoughts.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about what to have for dinner," Naruto replied with a gentle smile.

"After training, we should replenish our nutrients. Let's go get barbecue," Rock Lee suggested, raising his hand.

"Agreed."

The trio leisurely made their way toward Konoha's barbecue restaurant.

Inside the Sealing Space.

Minato and the Nine-Tails had begun chatting, a rare occurrence.

Over the past year, they had constantly adjusted to one another, but they had at least found a delicate balance in how they got along.

"Naruto's talent is truly exceptional." Having just experienced Naruto's entire day, Minato felt deeply gratified.

"This Reiatsu is truly incredible. I can feel that my body has stabilized now." Feeling the fullness within his body, Minato said, "It seems spiritual bodies like mine can cultivate Reiatsu and gain power no weaker than a ninja's. I wonder how Naruto obtained such power. It's truly amazing."

Yet the Fourth still carried a trace of concern in his heart.

If Reiatsu came from Naruto's Kekkei Genkai, then once it was exposed, Naruto would surely draw attention from many parties.

Especially Danzo.

He was Konoha's greatest evil.

"That brat's Kekkei Genkai is indeed impressive. Hmph, but that Reiatsu is far inferior to this old man's Chakra," the Nine-Tails snorted disdainfully.

Even now, he had not chosen to cultivate Reiatsu.

After all, his relationship with Naruto was nowhere near that good.

"That brat's strength is growing quite quickly, but he has a few too many methods of attack."

Although Naruto was only seven, his strength had already reached the level of a Chunin.

Whether it was Hakuda, Zanjutsu, Kido, or even ninjutsu, he was steadily improving.

It could be said that Naruto was now an all-around hexagonal warrior.

People often said that trying to master too much would leave one mediocre at everything, and that it was best to focus on only a few fields.

Both the Third and the Fourth had fields they particularly excelled in.

Take Minato, for example. He excelled at hand-sign-less ninjutsu and the Flying Thunder God, but the Chakra within his body was not abundant enough for him to even use Sage Jutsu.

Or take the renowned powerhouse of the Ninja World, the Third Raikage. His Nintaijutsu, combined with Lightning Release armor, allowed him to engage in close combat with Tailed Beasts. Yet in terms of ninjutsu, he was inferior to the Third and Fourth.

The powerhouses of every generation generally possessed one exceptionally outstanding skill, but from the current perspective, Naruto had yet to display any particular ability that stood above the rest.

Of course, this rule did not apply to Aizen.

Aizen himself possessed terrifying Reiatsu, allowing him to bring Kyoka Suigetsu's ability to its fullest extent.

Rather than saying Kyoka Suigetsu was the strongest illusion-type Zanpakuto, it was more accurate to say that Aizen had made Kyoka Suigetsu what it was.

But even without Kyoka Suigetsu, Aizen's other abilities could still instantly overwhelm Captain-class opponents.

Instant Kido without incantations, top-tier Hakuda and Zanjutsu.

No matter the field, he stood at the very peak.

Even without Kyoka Suigetsu, he could still overturn the Soul Society.

That was Naruto's goal as well.

To become truly all-powerful and crush everyone.