Stuttering Hand Seals

"Give me one of each, the practical ones." Naruto thought for a moment and spoke directly.

Although he might not necessarily use them, they were very practical for his own research into ninjutsu.

"Let me think." Kakashi began to ponder what ninjutsu he should teach Naruto.

Naruto, feeling bored, looked around; he couldn't muster any interest in such ordinary ninjutsu.

The reason the Ninja World only used ninjutsu to kill was that the things created by ninjutsu required chakra to maintain; without chakra, they would dissipate. There were exceptions, such as those who had cultivated chakra nature transformation to utilize the material itself—essentially changing the terrain—so that even if the chakra vanished, the effects would remain. However, only elite jonin could achieve this.

[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 few ninjutsu to teach Naruto. Watching Naruto's clumsy hand seals, Kakashi found it unbearable to look at.

Naruto was speechless. Although he was curious about ninjutsu, his plans did not include practicing them. Which real ninja used hand seals? If you don't believe it, go ask Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju.

Even though Naruto's Shadow Clone originally required three seals, after becoming proficient, he could solve it with one, and now he didn't even need seals at all. Yet, every time he used it, he was in the habit of using one seal; he couldn't let people know.

"Naruto, maybe you should practice your hand seals first." Although he knew Naruto's foundation was poor, Kakashi hadn't expected it to be this bad. Hand seals were the foundation of the Ninja Academy, and the school would always find time for them to practice.

Don't underestimate practicing hand seals. Among ordinary ninjas, hand seals represented strength. In battle, if my seals are even one second faster than the opponent's, that is the opponent's death.

Why was Itachi Uchiha so strong? Battle IQ was one aspect, but seal speed was another. While you were still forming seals, the opponent could release a ninjutsu in a second.

"Hmph, as long as the speed is fast enough." Naruto, feeling a mix of shame and anger, quickly ran off. He had never practiced hand seals before; just now, when he tried to be fast, his fingers almost cramped.

Kakashi was speechless.

At the same time, he felt a bit of regret. If he had known, he should have gotten in touch with Naruto sooner. It was a pity that the teacher's child liked taijutsu. Although his teacher, the Fourth Hokage, couldn't be considered a ninjutsu genius, his taijutsu was definitely not considered proficient. Thinking about Naruto liking taijutsu in the future and turning into someone like Guy, Kakashi shuddered.

After Naruto left Kakashi's line of sight, he began to use Shadow Clones—not to practice hand seals, but to continue cultivating chakra nature transformation.

The only thing Naruto was proficient in now was the Fire Style Rasengan. He could perform Wind Release, but he couldn't yet achieve the level Naruto displayed in his battle against Pain in the original story.

However, Naruto's current chakra volume had already reached the level of Hashirama. In the original story, Hashirama had said that half of the Nine-Tails plus Naruto's chakra was about equal to his own. One could imagine that Hashirama was definitely the person with the most chakra in the Ninja World.

But this was not Naruto's limit, nor was it the limit of the Six Thief Immortals.

The time the three of them spent here was for cultivation. At night, Naruto opened his eyes and disappeared from the room.

Naruto appeared in the forest.

"I hope they are still in the Land of Waves." Naruto began to form hand seals, his speed very slow.

[Mind's Eye of the Kagura] This time, he had to increase his chakra output to sense; it was rare for Naruto to use hand seals.

In an instant, his perception spread across the entire Land of Waves. As an island nation, its area wasn't small, which showed that Naruto had made up his mind this time.

"Chakra fluctuation... found it." Suddenly, Naruto sensed two unfamiliar chakras. Without needing to think, there weren't many people with jonin-level strength.

His body shot into the sky, looking in one direction.

He pulled out a kunai.

[Flying Thunder God Technique] He threw the kunai toward the direction he had sensed and Naruto formed the seals.

Naruto liked this ninjutsu very much, but unfortunately, he didn't know if it was because his talent wasn't enough; even now, he couldn't reach the level of the Fourth Hokage. Not to mention that it required hand seals—though only one was needed—if he wanted to use it in actual combat, he feared he would just be handing his head over.

However, it was very convenient for long-distance travel like this.

His body disappeared, reappeared, caught the kunai, and threw it again.

In a small wooden hut in the forest, Zabuza and Haku were resting. It was at this moment that a kunai descended from the sky, and Naruto's figure appeared instantly.

Because there was no chakra fluctuation, the two people in the house didn't notice him, but a ninja's danger sense warned Zabuza that there was a threat.

"Haku, stay here and don't move. I'll go out and take a look." Zabuza picked up his Kubikiribōchō and walked outside cautiously. Although he didn't know what the danger was, he trusted his intuition. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Naruto Uzumaki standing outside.

"Long time no see, Mr. Zabuza." Naruto grinned at Zabuza.

Zabuza's expression changed drastically. Instinctively, he swung the Kubikiribōchō toward Naruto's throat. Naruto's expression remained unchanged; he raised his right hand and caught the blade of the Kubikiribōchō with his bare hand. Just as Zabuza was about to say something, he saw Naruto's eyes instantly turn into red vertical pupils.

A massive sense of danger enveloped his entire body. At this moment, Zabuza arrived in a red world, where a giant Nine-Tailed Fox was glaring fiercely at him.

With the Nine-Tails' oppressive aura, Naruto didn't need to hide his strength from outsiders.

Zabuza's whole body went stiff, cold sweat dripped down, and he couldn't move.

"What do you want to do?" Zabuza looked at Naruto Uzumaki in terror.

He wasn't a fool. As a jonin, he had naturally heard of the term "perfect jinchuriki." In fact, the Fourth Mizukage was a perfect jinchuriki, so he naturally understood what Naruto Uzumaki represented.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to kill you. I'm here for him." Naruto stopped wasting words and pointed his finger at Haku, who was behind Zabuza.

Zabuza's expression shifted, but upon hearing that Naruto wasn't there to kill them, he felt much more at ease.

"I am willing to do anything for Lord Zabuza." Haku hurriedly walked out; he had also felt the oppressive aura from just a moment ago.

Walking to the door, Naruto finally sized the other person up: a fair and clean face, a gentle voice, long hair, and dressed in a style similar to a woman's. For a moment, even Naruto couldn't tell if the person was a man or a woman. Although he had suspected it while watching the anime, the current Naruto was no longer interested.

"Don't make it sound like I'm going to kill you. Come here." Naruto didn't waste words; he placed a hand on the other's shoulder. Just as Haku was about to say something, he felt his chakra being absorbed away.

"Dark Release." He said it unconsciously.

Zabuza's expression changed again.

Naruto immediately realized. Having read the original story, he naturally knew that among the Five Great Nations, Kirigakure had the most Kekkei Genkai, and Dark Release was among them. It could absorb an opponent's chakra and ninjutsu. It had appeared in the theatrical version and was a Kekkei Genkai coveted by Hiruko, originating from the Land of Water.