Four Symbols Sealing Technique

For the next stretch of time, Naruto did not go to the Third Training Ground to train with Kakashi and Might Guy. Instead, he stayed home—or rather, he remained in the Sealing Space, learning the Four Symbols Sealing Technique from Minato Namikaze.

It took Naruto a full week to more or less master the Four Symbols Sealing Technique. Training in Sealing Techniques was by no means easy; it was even far more complicated than ordinary ninjutsu. It was an ability with incredibly miraculous effects, capable of compressing things into lower dimensions. Just like the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style on Naruto's stomach, which already contained a space of its own.

That was with Minato Namikaze teaching him. Because of Kushina Uzumaki, Minato Namikaze's skill in Sealing Techniques was also exceptionally high. After all, the Nine-Tails back then had not been nearly as docile as it was now. If it ever went berserk, Minato Namikaze was basically the only one who could seal it.

Naruto remembered that in the original story, Minato Namikaze had even been pierced straight through by the berserk Kushina Uzumaki, yet had still somehow managed to seal the Nine-Tails back inside her.

On top of that, Uzumaki Naruto possessed the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan and had an exceptionally high talent for Sealing Techniques to begin with. With both factors combined, his progress in Sealing Techniques advanced by leaps and bounds, which was why he had managed to more or less grasp the Four Symbols Sealing Technique in just a week.

As for why Naruto in the original story had not known any Sealing Techniques, the current Naruto did not know either. Most likely, Asura's Chakra had affected him too severely, leaving him only able to make Rasengan.

In his room, Naruto looked at the manga on the table and sensed the sealing mark on his body. He pressed his hand directly onto the manga. Rings of Four Symbols Sealing Technique patterns spread out from his palm, wrapping around the entire book. With a bang, the manga vanished from the table amid a puff of smoke, then appeared out of thin air inside Naruto's Sealing Space.

"It worked?!"

Minato Namikaze's eyes lit up with delight as he raised a hand and caught the manga falling from the air.

"Hmph. What an irritating technique."

The Nine-Tails watched from the side with an unfriendly look and let out an annoyed snort. After all, this was the technique that had sealed it away for decades.

"Haha, Kurama, now that Naruto has learned this Sealing Technique, we won't be quite so bored in the Sealing Space."

Minato Namikaze placed the manga in front of the Nine-Tails. He had also learned the Nine-Tails' name from Naruto. Though he bore a deep hatred toward it, they were now stuck together in the Sealing Space, perhaps for decades to come. On top of that, he needed to rely on its Chakra to sustain his life, so he could only try to get along with it for now.

And once Kushina came out in the future, there would be two people relying on the Nine-Tails' Chakra to stay alive. It was good to ease their relationship beforehand.

"Hmph, this old man has no need for such boring things." The Nine-Tails gave a somewhat tsundere snort.

"Kurama, you're still so tsundere."

Naruto's figure also appeared within the Sealing Space.

"Brat!" The Nine-Tails roared in embarrassed fury.

"Naruto, congratulations. I didn't expect you to learn the Four Symbols Sealing Technique so quickly." Minato Namikaze walked over with a sincere smile, his eyes filled with gratification. If Naruto could learn the Flying Thunder God just as quickly, he would be even more pleased.

For a father, few things were more joyful than seeing his child fully inherit the talents of both himself and his wife.

"That's also thanks to the Fourth Hokage's excellent teaching." Naruto politely offered his thanks.

Naruto's politeness did not surprise Minato Namikaze. Being able to get along like this was already quite good for him.

"The main reason is that you have great talent, Naruto. Should you start training in the Flying Thunder God now, or spend some more time familiarizing yourself with the Four Symbols Sealing Technique first?"

Naruto thought for a moment, then asked, "Training in the Flying Thunder God should be much harder than the Four Symbols Sealing Technique, right?"

Minato Namikaze nodded, his expression serious. "The Flying Thunder God is Space-Time Ninjutsu. Besides putting in tremendous effort, it also depends on whether the practitioner has talent in space-time techniques."

"Then I'll learn it later. Something major might happen in Konoha in the next few days." Naruto glanced at the Nine-Tails beside him, which was secretly eyeing the manga, and thought, After some time, Kushina Uzumaki can come out too. I still need to learn the Uzumaki Clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains from her.

"A major event? Is something major going to happen in Konoha again?" Minato Namikaze's expression turned somewhat complicated. Although he truly had little fondness for the current Konoha, he had once been its Hokage. Hearing this still left him with mixed feelings.

Naruto revealed an inscrutable smile. "Fourth Hokage, you'll soon see the hypocritical faces of the Konoha Higher-ups with your own eyes."

More than a month had already passed, yet Sarutobi Hiruzen still had not found the person who had infiltrated the village. He would probably begin suspecting Uchiha Shisui soon. After all, Uchiha Shisui was the only witness to the intruder, and everyone knew that in Konoha, the Uchiha were not trusted.

Once the Hyuga Clan shut down the Byakugan, he could begin arranging his plan. He would set a net around the Uchiha Clan Grounds. Sooner or later, he would find an opportunity. A pair of Mangekyo was worth it.

"Was I really wrong?"

Naruto looked at Minato Namikaze, who had begun questioning his life again, and said nothing more. He did not particularly feel anything toward Minato Namikaze—he neither hated him nor would he ever regard him as his father. It could not be helped. After all, he truly was not his father. Their current relationship was pretty good.

"Hm?" Naruto's expression shifted slightly as he was lost in thought, and he vanished directly from the Sealing Space.

Minato Namikaze, still wallowing in self-doubt, did not react at all. The Nine-Tails, secretly reading the manga, merely stole a glance before becoming a little more open about reading it.

Not long after Naruto's consciousness returned, a knock sounded outside his door.

Time returned to an hour earlier.

Inside the Third Training Ground, Might Guy trained alone in solitude.

Sprinting, handstands, push-ups, sit-ups, punches, kicks—after silently completing every exercise, Might Guy finally could not hold back any longer.

For some reason, Naruto and Kakashi had not come to the training ground for an entire week. He did not know where Naruto lived, nor could he find Kakashi. He had no idea what had happened to them. Had they gone on some secret mission, or were both of them sick at home with no one to look after them?

"No, I have to ask the Third Hokage and get to the bottom of this!"

The moment the thought occurred to him, Might Guy acted on it. He rose stiffly from the ground and ran toward the Hokage Building.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had also noticed Naruto's unusual behavior over the past few days. Although he could observe him through the Byakugan, all he could see was Naruto spacing out; he had no idea what was actually happening. So he told Might Guy where Naruto lived, as well as Kakashi's current location and mission, and had the two of them investigate the situation together.

Might Guy immediately ran off with excitement written all over his face. Beside Naruto's residence, he found Kakashi hiding in a tree, secretly reading an adult book.

"Why are you here?"

Kakashi stared expressionlessly at the thick-browed man who had suddenly appeared.

"Kakashi, my eternal rival, we haven't competed in a whole week."

Might Guy flashed his signature teeth. "Today, let us have a long-awaited contest!"

"The contest will be to see who can find out first why the young Naruto hasn't left his home!"