Development Direction

A hidden location in Konoha Village.

This was a structure built deep underground; a dark, damp room from which screams echoed from time to time.

Root, the darkest corner of Konoha, was a powerful faction controlled by Shimura Danzo. Those who could join Root all possessed, to some degree, special abilities.

In the silent room, Danzo, his head wrapped in white bandages, wore a gloomy expression, the rage in his eyes appearing almost tangible.

"Hiruzen, one day I will prove that you are wrong," Danzo muttered to himself.

"Come here," he commanded in a low voice.

A man wearing a cat-faced mask appeared from the shadows. The man knelt on one knee and said respectfully, "Lord Danzo."

"Temporarily cancel the recruitment of Naraku Uzumaki. Continue to maintain surveillance on the jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki, and also Kushina Uzumaki..."

Danzo paused here, thinking of the matters regarding the Uchiha Clan that still needed to be handled. "Forget it. She is a waste now; withdraw those monitoring Kushina Uzumaki for the time being!"

"Yes," the man replied. Although he was puzzled, members of Root never required reasons to execute orders; whatever Danzo said was law. With a flash, he vanished from the spot.

Even for an Uzumaki, one cannot survive after having a jinchuriki extracted, Danzo thought to himself.

However, he was likely unaware that the Nine-Tails had been sealed in two separate parts.

The next day.

Naraku woke up early as usual. After an hour of morning exercise, he arrived in front of Kushina's hospital room.

At that moment, Shizune was performing daily care for Kushina. Although Kushina was currently in a coma, her body still needed to absorb nutrients, so she was fed a special nutritional solution every day to maintain basic bodily functions.

Naraku stayed for a while and was just about to leave when a familiar figure arrived.

With long black hair and a gentle smile on her lips, it was Uchiha Mikoto.

Behind her was a small figure with black hair; the deep lines on his face made him look far more mature than his peers.

Uchiha Itachi, a man who truly inherited the [Will of Fire].

In Itachi's arms, he held a baby only a few months old. Naraku didn't need to guess to know that it was Sasuke.

"Sister Mikoto," Naraku stood up and called out. Because of Kushina, he was quite familiar with Mikoto; Kushina and she were very close friends.

"Naraku," Mikoto wore a gentle smile, then turned her gaze toward Kushina in the room, her eyes filled with worry.

"Has she not woken up yet?"

In truth, she had wanted to visit Kushina for a long time, but because Sasuke had just been born and required care, coupled with some changes within the clan, she had delayed until now.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, Naraku turned his head sharply. An Anbu operative had arrived.

Seeing the newcomer, Uchiha Mikoto's expression changed instantly. After exchanging a brief greeting with Naraku, she left with Itachi and Sasuke.

After she departed, the Anbu operative's figure also vanished.

Has the targeting of the Uchiha already begun? Naraku thought to himself as he watched the retreating backs of Mikoto and Itachi.

In fact, because Jiraiya was present during this Nine-Tails incident, it hadn't caused much loss of life in Konoha; the greatest loss was simply the death of Minato.

However, due to the Fourth Hokage's sudden passing, the high-ranking officials of Konoha had developed many suspicions toward the Uchiha Clan, with the elders and advisors led by Danzo being the most prominent.

Politics was a very complex thing.

Uchiha Itachi, it seems I should get to know him better in the future.

Naraku was also very interested in this genius who was the same age as himself.

Naraku then left the area. As for Kushina's safety, he wasn't worried; the appearance of the Anbu just now proved that the Third Hokage likely already knew a thing or two.

After leaving the hospital, Naraku arrived at a forest within the village. It was time to train.

"Shadow Clone Technique," Naraku formed the hand seals.

Poof! Poof!

Two white puffs of smoke appeared on the field, and when they cleared, two figures identical to him stood there.

Under Naraku's direction, these two shadow clones went off to practice shuriken throwing and various ninjutsu.

As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, his chakra reserves were immense. Even the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique was within his reach, but doing so wouldn't be very effective; after all, he was only five years old, and excessive training would be detrimental to his growth.

Soon, the two clones began their training, while Naraku strolled toward the riverbank.

The clear river water reflected a small figure. Naraku closed his eyes.

"Sharingan."

The next moment, his sharp eyes snapped open, revealing a pair of crimson pupils, each containing a single black tomoe.

After activating the Sharingan, Naraku could clearly feel a significant change in his vision; everything within his line of sight was observed with much greater detail.

At the same time, Naraku felt the chakra in his body slowly depleting. Although the amount wasn't large, there was indeed a drain.

Closing his eyes, Naraku deactivated the Sharingan.

Naraku was very familiar with the Sharingan—one of the most powerful ocular techniques in the ninja world. Especially once it evolved into the Mangekyo Sharingan, his power would undergo a qualitative change.

Of course, Naraku also knew that while the Mangekyo Sharingan could grant the user immense power, it also carried a fatal flaw: the deterioration of one's eyesight.

This was what was known as the Kekkei Genkai disease.

In the original story, Itachi had completely ruined his own body due to the frequent use of the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Naraku had his own plans regarding this, but all of that was still a long way off; after all, he currently possessed only a one-tomoe Sharingan, and he was still a great distance away from the Mangekyo.

Bang!

A puff of white smoke appeared, and a scroll materialized in Naraku's hand. It was densely packed with various unknown jutsu formulas, all left for him by Kushina.

Beyond the various sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan, it also contained the training methods for the Adamantine Sealing Chains and the Kagura Mind Eye.

There was no need to mention the power of the Adamantine Sealing Chains; it was precisely by relying on this ninjutsu that Kushina had been able to suppress the Nine-Tails.

Then there was the Kagura Mind Eye, a sensory ninjutsu unique to the Uzumaki Clan. Its formidable sensory capabilities not only allowed the user to detect chakra fluctuations within a radius of ten miles, but could even be used to deduce the number of enemies and their direction of movement.

At the same time, when encountering danger, one could hide their own chakra to create an opportunity to escape.

Naraku would naturally not pass up these two powerful ninjutsu.

Sealing techniques, ninjutsu, and the Sharingan—Naraku had temporarily set these three directions for his development. As for taijutsu, he was still too young, so he would not consider training in that area for the time being, though some routine conditioning was still necessary.