Peaceful Cultivation Time

"[Shadow Clone Technique]!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke, standing to the side, was already accustomed to it; having heard it every day for the past two days, his ears were practically calloused.

At first, he would mock the dead-last, then he offered to teach him, and eventually, he just gave up. This guy Naruto really was an idiot!

Hui, who had been observing from the side for a long time, frowned. Was the Nine-Tails really interfering with this?

Thinking of himself, perhaps the reason his father didn't tell him his mother was still alive was simply to keep him from worrying in vain.

His mother was merely in a deep sleep, not dead.

Hui looked at Naruto; would it be good to tell him the truth? Better not for now; besides causing a mountain of trouble for Naruto, it would also cause no small amount of trouble for his father.

Since that "Third Hokage" wouldn't tell him, telling him now would only be a bad thing. It would serve no purpose other than letting him know who his deceased parents were and adding to his sorrow.

Count on those ignorant villagers? Would they believe the "Demon Fox's" slander? They would only think he was insulting the village's hero. After all, there was no proof left behind.

Just then, an unexpected sound rang out.

"Damn it, one more time, [Shadow Clone Technique]... I did it! Sasuke, Sasuke, did you see that?" Naruto shouted excitedly at Sasuke.

"Shut up, I saw it." Sasuke curled his lip in disdain, though only he knew what he was really thinking.

"Hey, you don't believe me, do you? Damn it. Watch closely, [Shadow Clone Technique] x3..." Naruto said to Sasuke with dissatisfaction, then continued to weave hand seals without dispelling the clones.

Sasuke stood by, dumbfounded. For a moment, he was frozen in place.

"Still didn't see it clearly? [Shadow Clone Technique] x5." Naruto continued to weave seals.

"Idiot... you idiot, you'll run into trouble with so many shadow clones, stop it!"

Sasuke hurriedly tried to stop him. In that moment, Sasuke didn't even notice Naruto's abnormal chakra levels.

Hui was also amazed. Although Chuanhe had told him that Naruto was particularly suited for this technique, seeing it with his own eyes was still incredible.

He touched the ninja scroll in his pocket. This was what Chuanhe had given him, telling him to hand it to Naruto once he had mastered the Shadow Clone Technique.

Hui had read it himself; the scroll was the A-rank Flame Explosion Technique that Sasuke had mentioned to him the other day.

Through the experiences of the last two days, the clever Hui immediately understood his father's intentions.

The first was to let Hui play the "fool." By pretending to know nothing and kindly teaching the family's secret ninjutsu to Naruto.

It indirectly told the "Third Hokage" that the Uchiha family's trump cards were nothing more than this, so there was no need to probe further.

In reality, it was digging a massive pit for the Third Hokage. Surely, he would never imagine that the difficulty of this technique could be lowered to D-rank.

The second was for Naruto's sake. With a weapon in his hands, if that so-called "Third Hokage" continued to ignore the current situation...

If a Naruto so suited for this technique were to explode within the village one day...

Thinking of this, Hui felt a surge of motivation and took along a copy of the [Multi Shadow Clone Technique] he had transcribed.

This was a Chuanhe-brand ninja scroll he had taken from the study. His father had said that the scrolls in the study could be taught to anyone.

Looking at the two ninja scrolls in his hand, Hui wondered if Naruto's life would be any different if he truly mastered them.

The only headache now was how to help Naruto acquire the fire attribute.

Let's use this as his motivation to move forward; surely, with the talent of the Fourth Hokage's son, nothing would be impossible once he had a goal.

"Don't worry, Sasuke. It seems Naruto is very suited for this technique; it's rare even among jonin to be able to create so many clones," Hui stepped forward to explain to Sasuke.

"W-who cares about this idiot?"

"Congratulations, Naruto. This is the surprise I promised you yesterday." Hui handed over the two scrolls.

Naruto took them suspiciously, glanced at the descriptions of the ninjutsu, and gasped in awe.

Sasuke glanced sideways, then looked sharply at Hui.

Hui gave him a look, and Sasuke finally calmed down.

"Really? Is this technique really for me?" Naruto asked Hui excitedly.

"Of course, there won't be any problems. We're friends, aren't we?" Hui said with a smile.

Naruto thought of yesterday's attribute test and suddenly said with some frustration: "But my attribute is wind; I can't learn this technique."

"Who said that? Look at this."

Hui skillfully wove hand seals and released the Water Ball Technique.

"I didn't have the water attribute before either, but wasn't I able to train it out?"

"Am... Amazing. Hui, teach me quickly."

Sasuke stood by without a word, his heart filled with complex emotions. Does Naruto have mine too?

And should he tell his brother about the issue of leaking family secrets?

Although he hadn't looked closely, he still knew that one of the two scrolls was the Flame Explosion Technique.

Hui was leaking family secrets!

Sasuke hadn't even considered the issue of difficulty levels.

He subconsciously assumed it was the one he had seen, as that was the only one he had been exposed to.

But Hui signaled for him to stay quiet, wanting to hear what kind of reasonable excuse Hui could possibly come up with.

"Sasuke, this is for you. These were all given by your seniors. Rest assured, this doesn't count as leaking secrets."

Hui deliberately avoided the words "parents" to prevent causing Naruto any unnecessary psychological burden.

Sasuke took the small medicine bottle with a hint of joy, then looked at Hui with some confusion. At the same time, he set his anxious heart at ease.

"Ah, as for this, Sasuke, use it under the supervision of Senior Shisui when you go back. It seems Senior Shisui has used this before."

This medicine, according to his father, could increase one's chakra reserves, but the process was apparently quite painful.

He hoped Sasuke wouldn't come to beat him up after using it. Thinking of this, Hui shivered.

This wasn't something Hui had thought of on his own; it was requested by Chuanhe.

If Sasuke wanted to have even a sliver of ability to shake his fate before that time came, his chakra volume was undoubtedly his greatest shortcoming.

Although fate had already been altered beyond recognition, being prepared was always better than raging in helplessness.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment before nodding.

During this period, both Sasuke and Naruto had mastered the Shadow Clone Technique, and they had basically mastered walking on water, climbing walls, and climbing trees.

For the past few nights, Sasuke had been pondering how he would definitely blast a bigger crater this weekend to prove himself.

But as their studies deepened, the lives of their classmates had become increasingly difficult these past few days.

One after another, they were dragged away by their elders for special training, entering a cycle of intense competition in ninjutsu learning.

Shikamaru was the only one among them who knew the full picture. Although he was usually lazy and laid-back, he was the IQ representative of the entire class.

The moment he learned that Naruto had even mastered the Shadow Clone Technique, he knew that his good days at school were over.

He even issued a soul-searching question: "Everyone is only six years old, why is everyone so competitive?"

Night, Hokage Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the two scrolls transcribed by the Anbu, lost in deep thought.

After taking a deep puff from his pipe, he issued an order to the empty shadows.

"Go, 'invite' Elder Danzo to see me."

The ninja in the shadows acknowledged the order and departed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the ninjutsu scroll and made his judgment: A-rank. As someone who claimed the title of Professor of Ninjutsu, he at least had that much discernment.

"So it was you, Chuanhe. Was all of this planned by you, then?"

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was pondering carefully, Danzo pushed the door open and entered.

"Hiruzen! Just as well, I have already confirmed that Chuanhe has defected from the village. Give me the warrant. I will lead a team to take him down." Danzo began speaking incessantly the moment he walked in.

Danzo had already made two sets of plans; whether it succeeded or not, Chuanhe had to die! As for that trash Shin failing, so be it; he had plenty of expendable resources.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep puff from his pipe and exhaled slowly. Then, he said in a deep voice.

"Danzo, cease your operations. Do not involve yourself in Chuanhe's affairs any further. For this period, keep a low profile and do not come out for the time being."

"Hiruzen! You... you will regret this."

Before he could say more than a few words, Danzo slammed the door and left. The poor door endured a weight it was never meant to bear at its age.

Danzo, you fool, attempting an assassination in the Uchiha compound? I told you to probe, not to assassinate. At the very least, you should have tried kidnapping first... Sigh, forget it.

What would the other clans think if they found out? Old friend, how could you be so muddled?

He could only investigate in secret for now.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took another deep puff from his pipe and exhaled.

"Sun, go investigate Chuanhe and see where he actually comes from."

"Yes." A ninja wearing a monkey-faced mask acknowledged the order and left.

This was a ninja from his own Sarutobi Clan, one he trusted deeply.

Gazing at the somewhat gloomy night, Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered to himself, "I hope this isn't the worst-case scenario."