"Give me one of each—the useful ones," Naruto said after a moment's thought.
They might not all come in handy, but they'd be useful for his ninjutsu research.
"Let me think." Kakashi began considering which jutsu to teach Naruto.
Naruto, meanwhile, looked around listlessly. He wasn't interested in ordinary ninjutsu.
Why did the Ninja World rely on ninjutsu to kill? Because the things ninjutsu created needed chakra to sustain them. Without it, they vanished. There were exceptions: those who mastered Chakra Nature Transformation could manipulate matter itself and change the landscape. That wouldn't disappear when their chakra ran out, but only elite Jonin could do it.
[Earth Style: Earth Wall]
[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough]
[Fire Style: Great Fireball]
[Lightning Style: Lightning Body Flicker]
[Water Style: Water Formation Wall]
Kakashi chose these jutsu to teach Naruto. Watching Naruto fumble through the Hand Seals, Kakashi couldn't bear to look.
Naruto was speechless. He was curious about ninjutsu, but his plans didn't include practicing it. What real ninja bothered with Hand Seals? If you didn't believe him, just ask Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju.
Even though Naruto's Shadow Clone normally required three seals, he could do it with one once he was practiced. Now he didn't even need Hand Seals, but he still habitually used one whenever he performed the jutsu. He couldn't let anyone find out.
"Maybe you should practice your Hand Seals first, Naruto." Kakashi had known Naruto's fundamentals were poor, but he hadn't expected them to be this bad. Hand Seals were basic Ninja Academy material, and the students were given time to practice them.
Don't underestimate practicing Hand Seals. Among ordinary ninja, they could determine who was stronger. In a fight, if I can form my seals one second faster than my opponent, they're dead.
Why was Itachi Uchiha so strong? Battle smarts were one reason, but his speed with Hand Seals was another. While you were still forming yours, he could unleash a jutsu in a second.
"Hmph. As long as I'm fast enough." Naruto, embarrassed and annoyed, hurried away. He'd never practiced Hand Seals before. He'd gone a little too fast just now and nearly cramped his fingers.
Kakashi was speechless.
He also felt a little regretful. He should have gotten to know Naruto sooner. The Fourth Hokage's son liked Taijutsu? His teacher might not have been a ninjutsu prodigy, but he certainly wasn't skilled at Taijutsu. At the thought of Naruto growing up to love Taijutsu and turning into a Mike Guy, Kakashi shuddered.
Once Naruto was out of Kakashi's sight, he started using Shadow Clones—not to practice Hand Seals, but to continue training his Chakra Nature Transformation.
So far, Naruto had mastered only Fire Style Rasengan. He could use Wind Release, but he still couldn't do what he had in the original story when fighting Pain.
Still, Naruto's chakra reserves had now reached Hashirama's level. In the original story, Hashirama had said that half of the Nine-Tails, combined with Naruto's chakra, would make them about equal. That made it easy to imagine that Hashirama had more chakra than anyone else in the Ninja World.
But that wasn't Naruto's limit, nor was it the limit of the Six Thief Immortals.
The three of them spent their time here training. At night, Naruto opened his eyes and vanished from his room.
Naruto appeared in the forest.
"I hope they're still in the Land of Waves." Naruto slowly began forming Hand Seals.
[Mind's Eye of the Kagura] This time, he needed to use more chakra to sense his surroundings. It was rare for Naruto to bother forming the seals.
In an instant, his awareness spread across the entire Land of Waves. As an island nation, it wasn't small. It was clear Naruto had made up his mind this time.
"A chakra signature. Found them." Suddenly, Naruto sensed two unfamiliar chakra signatures. There weren't many people with Jonin-level strength.
He shot up into the air and looked in one direction.
He pulled out a Kunai.
[Flying Thunder God Technique] Naruto threw the Kunai toward the direction he'd sensed, then formed Hand Seals.
He really liked this jutsu. Unfortunately, whether it was because he lacked the talent or not, he still couldn't use it like the Fourth Hokage. Having to form Hand Seals went without saying. Though he only needed one, using it in battle would probably just get him killed.
But it was convenient for traveling long distances like this.
His body vanished. Reappearing, he caught the Kunai and threw it again.
In a small wooden cabin in the forest, Zabuza and Haku were resting when a Kunai suddenly dropped from the sky. Naruto appeared in an instant.
Because he had no chakra signature, the two inside hadn't noticed him, but a ninja's danger sense warned Zabuza that something was wrong.
"Haku, stay here. Don't move. I'll go check." Zabuza picked up his Kubikiribōchō and cautiously headed outside. He didn't know what danger awaited him, but he trusted his instincts. The moment he opened the door, he saw Naruto Uzumaki standing outside.
"Long time no see, Mr. Zabuza." Naruto grinned at him.
Zabuza's face changed dramatically. Acting on instinct, he swung Kubikiribōchō at Naruto's throat. Naruto didn't even flinch. He raised his right hand and caught the blade barehanded. Zabuza was just about to say something when he saw Naruto's eyes turn red with narrow, vertical pupils.
A tremendous sense of danger engulfed him. In that instant, Zabuza found himself in a red world, where a gigantic Nine-Tails Fox glared viciously at him.
The Nine-Tails' imposing pressure pinned him down. Naruto didn't need to hide his strength from outsiders.
Zabuza went rigid, cold sweat pouring down his face. He couldn't move.
"What do you want?" Zabuza asked, looking at Naruto in terror.
He wasn't stupid. As a Jonin, he'd naturally heard of a Perfect Jinchuriki. The Fourth Mizukage was one, after all, so he understood what Naruto's display meant.
"Relax. I'm not here to kill you. I came to find him." Naruto didn't waste any more time. He pointed past Zabuza at Haku.
Zabuza's expression shifted, but when Naruto said he wasn't there to kill them, he relaxed considerably.
"I'm willing to do anything for Lord Zabuza." Haku hurried out. He'd felt the oppressive force too.
Only when Haku reached the doorway did Naruto get a good look at him. Haku had a fair, delicate face, a gentle voice, long hair, and a style of dress more like a woman's. For a moment, Naruto couldn't tell whether Haku was male or female. He'd wondered about it while watching the anime, but by now he wasn't interested.
"Don't act like I'm going to kill you. Come here." Naruto didn't waste words. He put a hand on Haku's shoulder. Haku was just about to speak when he felt his chakra being absorbed.
"Dark Release," he blurted out.
Zabuza's expression changed at once.
Naruto immediately understood. He'd seen the original story, so he knew that among the Five Great Nations, Kirigakure had the most Kekkei Genkai. Dark Release was one of them; it could absorb an opponent's chakra and ninjutsu. It had appeared in the movie, and Hiruko had coveted that Kekkei Genkai. It belonged to the Land of Water.