After the Third Hokage finished speaking, he glanced at Naruto in the crystal ball and said, "I'll talk to Naruto again. There's probably something he hasn't told us yet.
"For now, let's notify the other villages and have them protect their jinchuriki carefully. If what Naruto said is true, then someone is secretly collecting the Tailed Beasts. It's more likely they're a group, so if we find them, we must join forces and take them down."
Hiashi and Fugaku nodded in agreement. "That's the best solution." After that, the Third Hokage ended his surveillance of Naruto and the others.
Naruto asked Hinata, "Hinata, does your clan have any Ninjutsu that work in tandem with your White Eye?"
Hinata nodded. "Yes. Our Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist is used in conjunction with the White Eye. Since the White Eye can see a person's chakra network, we can use it to send chakra into their body and block the flow of their chakra. We can also damage their internal organs. The White Eye also grants insight and a 365-degree field of vision with no blind spots."
After hearing Hinata's explanation, Naruto said, "Then show me your Gentle Fist. I'll think about what direction you should develop in." Hinata had blind faith in Naruto, so she nodded and demonstrated her Gentle Fist right in front of him without holding back.
Naruto saw that Hinata's Gentle Fist was only effective at close range and immediately got an idea.
Once he had Hinata stop, he said, "Hinata, I can see that your Gentle Fist can only be used at close range. That leaves you with far fewer ways to attack. If you face someone with better Taijutsu, you'll only be able to defend yourself passively, let alone attack.
"With such strong insight and chakra control, you should learn a long-range skill instead of fighting up close. You need to make full use of the White Eye's advantages."
Hinata asked, puzzled, "Then what should I do?"
"Try condensing your chakra into a Senbon. If you can do that, then using the condensed chakra Senbon to strike pressure points would be more effective than fighting at close range. If you succeed, your strength will increase exponentially." Naruto thought of how Kaguya had used her hair to pin down Sasuke's summoning beast.
In fact, this was also the training method Naruto had come up with to complement his own White Eye: Gentle Fist at close range, chakra Senbon for long-range single-target attacks, and "Eight Trigrams Mountain Breaker" and "Rotation" for groups. But because of the Nine-Tails' influence, Naruto couldn't train in those techniques for now.
After hearing Naruto's advice, Hinata replied, "I'll do as you say, Naruto-kun." But condensing chakra into a Senbon was difficult enough on its own, let alone ensuring the chakra would dissipate after being fired. Even Naruto could only do that while in Sage Mode.
And so, Naruto and Sasuke practiced Tree Walking and Water Walking, while Hinata practiced condensing chakra. Notably, after hearing Naruto advise Hinata, Sasuke had asked him what direction he should develop in, too.
Naruto had only replied casually, "First, get your Tree Walking and Water Walking down with me. You can't even control your chakra properly, so there's no point talking about anything else."
Truthfully, Naruto didn't have much advice to offer about Sasuke's training. Previous generations had already developed the use of the Sharingan to its fullest. Sasuke just needed to gain more combat experience.
As for other ways to use the Sharingan, Sasuke had his clan to rely on. Hinata, on the other hand, could be guided because her clan had barely explored the White Eye's potential. (They really lacked imagination.)
Hinata continued practicing how to condense chakra into Senbon, while Naruto and Sasuke practiced Tree Walking and Water Walking. They kept at it until evening before heading home.
The three agreed to go to school together the next day and continue training afterward. Naruto also understood that Hinata and Sasuke probably couldn't train with him all the time, since they still had to practice their clans' Ninjutsu and Taijutsu at home.
Still, Hinata and Sasuke had promised to set aside some time to train with him every day. Naruto was already very happy. At least the two of them truly treated him as a friend.
After walking them home, Naruto murmured, "Am I really afraid of being alone? No, I should be used to it by now. But having friends really does feel good."
Before Naruto could finish reflecting, an irritating voice sounded in his mind. "Even if Sasuke considers you a brother right now, don't forget that in two years, Itachi Uchiha will wipe out the Uchiha Clan. Sasuke will be consumed by hatred then. Are you sure you can save him from it? Don't forget, you're not the original Naruto. You can't do what he did."
Hearing the Dark Persona's words, Naruto replied in his mind, "Heh, I may not be the original Naruto, but I hate being alone just as much as he did. Now that I've gotten a taste of friendship, do you really think I'd give it up?
"You're underestimating me. What I said to Sasuke and Hinata today was actually meant for the Third Hokage, Fugaku, and Hiashi. As long as they aren't fools, the Uchiha won't be wiped out.
"But there'll definitely be a purge of some kind. Anyway, you don't need to worry about what I'll do. Just take care of yourself." After replying, Naruto blocked the channel between their minds.
The Dark Persona could only look irritated when Naruto blocked the channel.
Then the Good Persona said to the Dark Persona, "I really don't know what to do with you. Can't you be a little more optimistic? You're always putting people down. They're going to hate you for it."
The Dark Persona glanced at the Good Persona with disgust. "Get lost, you sanctimonious creep. You're even more disgusting and sleazy than I am." With that, he vanished.
The Good Persona was speechless. At last, he muttered to himself, "How did he know I was sleazy? Is it that obvious on my face?" Then he vanished, too.
Early the next morning, Sasuke knocked on Naruto's door and asked him to go to school together. Naruto was surprised, but happy. This guy actually came to get me on his own. Unbelievable.
But Naruto didn't tease him, since Sasuke was very tsundere. If Naruto teased him, Sasuke might get embarrassed and angry. He might even stop coming to get him, so Naruto resisted the urge.
He just said, "Sasuke, wait here. I'm going to grab a face mask." Naruto picked up a mask and put it on, then left for school with Sasuke. At the bottom of the stairs, they ran into Hinata, who had come to get Naruto so they could go to school together. The three of them headed to the Ninja Academy.
It was the first day of school. Their homeroom teacher, Iruka-sensei, arrived in the classroom early. This was his first time teaching, so he was a little nervous.
As soon as Sasuke walked in, he became the center of attention for all the girls in the class. When Naruto saw them looking at Sasuke, he immediately took Hinata's hand and hurried to the side, finding a quiet corner where they sat down together.
"Hello, Sasuke-kun. My name is Ino Yamanaka. I'm happy we're classmates."
"Hello, Sasuke-kun. My name is Sakura Haruno. I'm happy we're classmates."
Naruto had only just led Hinata away when two girls—one blonde with long hair and the other pink-haired—approached Sasuke and introduced themselves.
Seeing them go up to him, the other girls in the class didn't want to fall behind, and soon gathered around Sasuke to introduce themselves too. Sasuke's face darkened, but his good upbringing kept him from losing his temper. He was just miserable.
Naruto glanced over at Sasuke. "Good thing I had the foresight to get out of there. Hehe. By the way, Hinata, you didn't get bumped by that crowd, did you?"
"N-no, I'm fine, Naruto-kun," Hinata replied, her face red. Her eyes unconsciously glanced at the hand Naruto was still holding, and her heart felt sweet.
"What a pain," a world-weary voice said from the desk beside Naruto's.
Naruto looked to his left and saw a kid in a short-sleeved shirt with his hair tied in a ponytail, looking utterly listless. Beside him was a chubby boy who was eating chips nonstop. Naruto recognized them as Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara, two of the Konoha 12.
Just then, two more people arrived at the classroom door. One had a little dog perched on his head. The other wore a huge trench coat that completely covered him, along with a pair of sunglasses. "Those two must be Shino Aburame and Kiba.
"Along with the two girls circling Sasuke, Sakura Haruno with pink hair and Ino Yamanaka with blonde hair, that makes nine of this generation's Konoha 12. I'm only missing Neji, Tenten, and Lee, who are a year ahead of me."
As Naruto's thoughts wandered, Sasuke came over with a dark look on his face and sat beside him. "Hehe, Sasuke, you sure are popular. I'm so jealous. Look at all those girls flocking around you!" Naruto laughed gleefully.
Sasuke's face darkened further. "Believe it or not, I'll pull off your mask and show the girls in class what you look like. I bet you'd get the same reaction I do." Sasuke had been wondering why Naruto had put on a mask again. It turned out he'd planned this all along.
Naruto knew Sasuke was only saying that in anger, so he played along and pretended to be afraid. "No! I already have Hinata. I only need Hinata. You can have all the others—you're used to it anyway." Naruto raised their joined hands with Hinata.
Naruto's action made Hinata blush deeply. She was very shy, but her heart also felt sweet. Seeing Naruto's smug expression, Sasuke said nothing more. He decided it was best to ignore him.
Naruto didn't get upset when Sasuke ignored him. He turned to chat with Hinata instead. The girls who had been about to follow him were called back to their seats by Iruka.
"Since it's the first day of school, let's start with some simple introductions so we can all get to know each other. When I call your name, please come up to the front." Iruka-sensei clapped his hands as he spoke.
The whole class quieted down and listened attentively to the teacher. Everyone except Naruto, of course. He was still chattering away to Hinata, until soon the only sound in the classroom was Naruto's voice.
"Hinata, do you think Uncle Hiashi would beat me to death if I told him you were my girlfriend? Hmm, Hinata, why aren't you answering? Hmm, why is it so quiet?" Naruto looked up and saw the whole class staring at him.
It was awkward, but Naruto's skin was already thicker than a city wall. He smiled and said, "Carry on. Don't mind me." Then, as if nothing had happened, he quietly looked at his homeroom teacher, Iruka.
It was as if he were saying, "Go on, teacher. Just pretend I'm not here."
Iruka was furious. He decided to teach this disobedient student that when a teacher got angry, there would be serious consequences.
Before you continue