The next day.
Jiraiya took Naruto out to train first thing in the morning.
He had two goals: avoid potential threats and find Tsunade.
Naruto already knew what was going to happen next.
After all, it wasn't long before the two of them found a hotel.
There were only ten minutes left on the Prize Pool upgrade countdown.
Naruto was ready to face Itachi Uchiha when he came looking for him.
A knock sounded at the door.
Naruto rose as if nothing were wrong.
He opened the door.
Just as expected.
Two social ninja—one Jonin and one rogue ninja—stood there!
They wore the clothes of some mysterious organization.
Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki!
The look in Itachi's eyes seemed to say, So you're the brat who bullied my little brother.
Naruto thought, This is bad.
Sasuke's big brother had brought a rogue ninja from another village to corner him!
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
Itachi stared at Naruto and said little else.
"Should we take him down? With the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, gone, he should be a pushover!"
Kisame's mouth curled into a grin.
"Rogue ninja sure are arrogant."
Naruto saw a pair of blood-red eyes.
And Kisame Hoshigaki, who looked like he wasn't even the same species as a normal human.
"When I was your age, I was already an Anbu squad captain."
Itachi had just raised one hand.
Kisame was already eager to see Itachi make his move.
When it came to the strongest genjutsu user, Kisame couldn't wait to witness every one of his attacks.
"Sasuke!"
Naruto had known Sasuke would show up.
Itachi's eyes seemed as still as a deep well, but he immediately looked toward the boy at the end of the hallway.
No more talking.
Let's fight!
First, he'd use Chidori to prove how much stronger he'd gotten!
Sasuke's hatred had been buried in his heart for far too many years!
Itachi didn't take the attack seriously at all.
But no matter what, only one person was allowed to deal with his little brother!
And that was him!
"Should I chop this brat into mincemeat? As long as we get the Nine-Tails, that's all that matters, right?"
Kisame lifted Samehada, his mouth full of sharp teeth as he turned toward Naruto.
A layer of chakra covered Naruto's body.
Samehada absorbed it the instant it swept past.
"It's no use, kid. Chakra is just food for my Samehada!"
Kisame swung Samehada, ready to chop Naruto's arm off in one blow.
"To deal with you, all I need is the most extreme Taijutsu."
"Back then, Might Duy used the Eight Inner Gates to rout the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
"My Naruto can use Taijutsu to beat you until you're crawling on the ground!"
Naruto called it Taijutsu.
In reality, two types of chakra covered his body in an instant.
Lightning Release chakra and Nine-Tails Chakra.
His speed shot to the absolute limit.
Painful Sky Leg!
His foot came crashing down.
The floor and walls shattered beneath Naruto's blow.
"Not bad!"
Only after smashing through the building did Kisame realize that Naruto had destroyed half of it.
That strength was terrifying!
"As long as I'm fast enough, your Samehada's nothing but a useless prop."
Naruto stood atop the rubble.
His fist was already aimed at Kisame's chest.
"Chakra Enhanced Strength!"
Boom!
The savage blow hit Kisame, who couldn't take it and crumpled on the spot.
He'd thought Naruto was just a kid who happened to be a Jinchuriki.
He never expected him to unleash such incredible speed and strength!
Kisame crashed into the wall.
Chunks of stone fell to the ground around him.
Just as he tried to get up, he saw Itachi strangling his little brother to death.
"Mr. Itachi, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is stronger than we expected."
Kisame, the so-called Tailless Tailed Beast, endured the pain.
He used a large amount of chakra to heal himself while pouring more into Samehada.
Samehada swelled rapidly until it resembled a small shark.
Kisame tore away its bandages with one hand.
Samehada bared its teeth, ravenous and ready to go!
"Adamantine Ruyi Staff!"
Naruto slapped the wall and used the Summoning Technique to call Enma.
"What a powerful presence! Naruto, you've run into a formidable foe!"
Enma sensed Samehada's power.
"What formidable foe? How could a tailless beast compare to my Nine-Tails!"
Golden light burst from Naruto's entire body.
Enma transformed into the Adamantine Ruyi Staff.
"Let's settle this! Hahaha!"
Kisame slashed at the Adamantine Ruyi Staff, but his blade was stopped completely.
With no chakra to eat, Samehada was already getting upset.
The two exchanged dozens of blows with their weapons in the blink of an eye.
Kisame had never before found himself at such a disadvantage while wielding a Ninja Blade.
Yet Samehada could sense Naruto's chakra and was drooling over it.
"Come on, fight! Why'd you stop? Can't keep up?"
Just as Naruto started taunting him,
a figure flashed past.
The rubble all around them turned into fleshy passages.
"Jiraiya!"
The moment Itachi turned and saw one of the Sannin, he knew it was time to make a cautious retreat.
But what he hadn't expected was Naruto's fight with Kisame.
"Where does he get all that chakra?"
Naruto had already surrounded Kisame with Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Every single clone was holding an Adamantine Ruyi Staff.
If they kept fighting, he might have to use his trump card. Kisame could even end up dead here.
"The Nine-Tails is not to be underestimated. Let's go."
Itachi and Kisame turned at the same time and wove their way through the Shadow Clones.
At last, they used Amaterasu to burn a path through.
"That wasn't even all my chakra."
Naruto hadn't gone all out yet.
"And that wasn't my strongest form!"
Kisame said irritably.
Next time, he'd definitely fight Naruto to the finish!
His first face-off with Sasuke's rogue-ninja big brother had gone pretty well.
Naruto was certain he'd become the strongest blond in the Ninja World!
"That strange black flame..."
Jiraiya used the Fire Sealing Method to seal away the flames of Amaterasu.
"Hahahaha!"
Naruto burst into laughter.
Might Guy charged over and kicked Naruto with a flying kick.
Naruto blocked it with his raised arm.
"Woohoo! I'm flying!"
Naruto sprang upright with a kip-up.
"That kid's saying strange things again."
Jiraiya turned and entrusted Sasuke to Guy.
"What an incredible physique! He didn't even go flying when my kick slipped. If I get the chance, I have to teach him Taijutsu!"
Guy flashed a cheerful, toothy grin and gave Naruto a thumbs-up for his Taijutsu talent and powerful physique.
"Where's Sasuke?"
When Naruto came to his senses, all he had in his hands was the one-piece training outfit Guy had given him.
"He went back to Konoha. We should go find Tsunade, too, and give you even more intense training."
Jiraiya wondered
what kind of training could make Naruto even stronger!
There was probably only one technique!
"Great."
Naruto was very pleased with the newly upgraded Epic Prize Pool.
[The Epic Prize Pool upgrade is complete. Host receives two consecutive draws] [The prizes are merely passable. A malicious Host like you is destined to sink endlessly into battle] [Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave] [Kekkei Genkai: Scorch Style: Extremely Steaming Murder]
At last, he had his first Kekkei Genkai as a Genin!
"By the way, Naruto."
As they walked along a forest path, Jiraiya casually said, "In this Chunin Ninja Exams, only you and Shikamaru were promoted to Chunin."
"What? I'm not a noble Genin anymore?"
Naruto felt a little sad again.
"Idiot, there's no such thing as high or low among ninja. And what kind of logic is that?"
Jiraiya thought it over and only then realized something was off.
"Your training from here on has only two goals: learn to control your chakra more precisely, and stay calm no matter what!"
"This will be a huge help with your training!"
Jiraiya handed Naruto a bottle of Toad Oil.
Naruto understood.
The Sage Mode training he'd been waiting for was about to begin!