Monstrous Strength and the Eight Gates

Kazan had likely completed this achievement because the Uchiha and Hyuga were direct descendants of Hagoromo Otsutsuki and Hamura Otsutsuki, so they counted as a single achievement.

The achievement gave Kazan another 10% synchronization with the Garp template.

He felt as though his iron fists were now utterly indestructible!

The only disappointment was that even at 20% synchronization, Kazan still had not awakened Haki.

By rights, 20% of Garp's strength should be enough to start training Haki.

Even at 20%, Garp could have beaten Luffy during the Summit War without a problem.

After all, even in the anime, Garp had possessed Admiral-level strength at the age of seventy-six to seventy-eight.

So I definitely meet the requirements to train Haki now.

Once he made up his mind, Kazan decided to start training Haki the next day.

After finishing the house, Kurenai went with Kazan to the Forest of Death for another unusual dinner.

Though the Forest of Death was eerie at night and beasts roared from time to time, Kurenai Yuhi no longer felt afraid.

Watching Kazan take great mouthfuls of meat, Kurenai edged a little closer.

It would be nice if things could stay like this.

But the Shinobi World seemed unsettled lately. From her parents' recent conversations, she sensed a storm brewing.

"Are you full?"

"Mm, I'm full."

"Okay. I'll take you home."

"Okay!"

Kazan brushed the dust off his backside, picked up a pile of enormous deer antlers, and left the Forest of Death with Kurenai.

"Did it hurt a lot?"

During that day's hunt, Kazan's clothes had been torn by an impact. Finding them in the way, he had ripped them off, revealing scars of all sizes across his body. He had gotten them fighting beasts in the Forest of Death since childhood.

They looked rather striking, much like Luffy's scars. A large X crossed his chest.

But to Kurenai, they were shocking.

"Probably. I've forgotten what it felt like."

Kazan really had forgotten. At the time, he had been seeing red. All he knew was that his opponent was a lion.

"I'm home. See you tomorrow, Kazan."

"Mm."

Kazan left as soon as he had brought her home. Kurenai watched his back until he disappeared, then turned around to find her parents standing in the doorway, watching her with knowing smiles.

"Dad? Mom?"

"Is that the boy who beat the Uchiha and the Hyuga?"

"Mm. That's Kazan."

"He's a sturdy-looking boy. Not bad at all. Our Kurenai has a good eye! He'll be handsome when he grows up."

Kurenai's mother sized him up, already wishing she could have a chat with him.

Strength aside, he looked full of life.

Her husband had told her the boy was a ninja who trained in Taijutsu, which put her mind at ease.

"Mom, what are you talking about? I'm not talking to you!"

Kurenai Yuhi blushed, squeezed between her parents, ran into her room, and locked the door.

"Ah, to be young."

"Mm."

"So, tonight, shall we..."

"Ahem. I have a mission tomorrow. Let's talk about that when I get back."

Shinku Yuhi tried to dodge the subject by citing his mission, but he could not escape his wife's iron grip.

The next day.

The Hokage Building.

As usual, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at his office early to handle administrative work.

But today was different.

The usual quiet had given way to what sounded like a demolition crew at work. Heavy impacts kept ringing in his ears.

At first, Hiruzen Sarutobi remained calm, his eyes fixed on his work.

But as the pounding continued, a vein began to throb on his forehead. Finally, he could take no more.

"Is that brat Kazan still training?!"

"Yes, Lord Hokage... He's still punching the mountain behind the building..."

Cold sweat ran down the ANBU ninja's forehead.

It was Kazan. After gaining another 10% synchronization with the Garp template, punching trees no longer satisfied him. He had gone behind the Hokage Building and started hammering the mountain with his fists.

How strong was Kazan at 20% of Garp?

He had certainly reached jonin-level strength, though his fighting style was direct. He relied on his iron fists and lacked the unpredictable techniques of a ninja.

Two hours!

He had been at it for two hours. Wasn't he worried he would ruin his body?

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi had never seen such an outrageous way to train.

"Lord Hokage, should I stop him?"

"No. Let him keep training."

Despite his answer, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to go check on Kazan in a little while.

He was worried Kazan would destroy his body training like this.

He put down his pen and fell back on an old habit: spying with the Telescope Technique.

In the image, Kazan was pounding the mountainside with one full-force punch after another.

Every punch came at exactly the same pace and with exactly the same force.

Hiruzen could hardly imagine it. If Kazan kept growing stronger, might Konoha produce a supreme fighter like the Third Raikage?

Konoha did not have the Lightning Release Chakra Mode or the techniques that followed it. Those were Kumogakure's secret arts.

But Konoha was the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. They had other techniques that could serve the same purpose.

The Senju Clan's monstrous-strength fist technique and the forbidden Eight Gates!

Perhaps they really could raise a fighter who would rival the Third Raikage.

The Sannin were his students. Hiruzen Sarutobi had his own insights into nurturing talent.

There was no need to force someone to study ninjutsu. Teaching according to a student's strengths was how to bring out his potential.

"I should go see the boy."

Hiruzen Sarutobi set his work aside and decided to see whether he could offer Kazan some guidance.

He knew how to win people over.

In the original story, he had not stopped Naruto's identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki from becoming public. He had also concealed the fact that Naruto was the heroic Fourth Hokage's only child, leaving Naruto to endure scorn and ridicule from a young age.

At just a few years old, Naruto had already experienced much of the darkness the world had to offer.

And Hiruzen Sarutobi had become the only light in Naruto's life. No matter what mischief Naruto got up to, he had accepted it all like a kindly grandfather.

There were plenty of similar examples.

With Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi, he had invoked their duty to the village to make them work for him.

He had made Kakashi a jonin squad leader, helping him resolve the anguish he had carried for years.

Now he intended to play the "grandfather" again and become the person Kazan was closest to in Konoha.

But...

Before he could leave, a ninja from the intelligence division brought a scroll into his office.

"Third Hokage, intelligence from the front lines!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took it at once.

Konoha's intelligence messages all used special codes that required specialists to decipher. The report Hiruzen Sarutobi received had already been decoded, so he could read it immediately.