Uchiha Itachi deactivated his Sharingan a short distance away, then went over to Sasuke, who was still somewhat dazed.
"Sasuke, are you all right?"
"Brother..." Sasuke called out to his brother, then burst into tears.
Uchiha Itachi gently stroked Sasuke's head, but his eyes were fixed on the spot where Zeff had disappeared.
Despite the distance between them, Uchiha Itachi had recognized the person just now. It was Naruto Uzumaki, whom he had met before.
That was actually a shadow clone...
A single shadow clone managed to kill a wild boar. That boy is no ordinary child...
Uchiha Itachi had already joined the Anbu, so he knew a little about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
He knew that the Konoha High Command strongly opposed members of the Uchiha approaching the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so... he had never tried to learn more about Naruto Uzumaki.
It looks like Naruto Uzumaki is hiding quite a lot! Should I inform Lord Third?
However, after giving it a little thought, Uchiha Itachi abandoned the idea.
First, contact between the Uchiha and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was already taboo. Reporting anything about Naruto Uzumaki might cross that line and make the Third wary of him.
Second, there was no way the Third Hokage was unaware of Naruto Uzumaki's situation. Itachi knew that the Anbu were always protecting Naruto.
Third, and most importantly, there was the current situation between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan. The rift between them was growing wider. He and his friend Shisui had been searching for a solution, but so far, that rift had only worsened.
Having thought it all through, Itachi led the red-eyed Sasuke out of the forest.
Before leaving, Itachi glanced once more at the dead wild boar on the ground and sank into thought...
Elsewhere.
Naruto, who was teaching Rock Lee how to play a game, suddenly froze as a stream of memories entered his mind.
Those memories contained everything Zeff had just experienced.
At the same time, Zeff's voice rang out in Naruto's mind.
"Naruto... your body is far too fragile. I only used two moves before the clone fell apart!"
Naruto was left speechless by Zeff's words.
"Teacher Zeff, I'm not even six yet! I'm not even old enough to awaken a martial soul. How tough could my body possibly be?"
Although Zeff had no idea what a martial soul was, he knew that expecting the five-year-old Naruto to withstand his power was asking a bit too much.
"Oh... right... hurry to the forest and bring that wild boar back! It'll feed you and Rock Lee for several days!"
"Teacher Zeff, won't Uchiha Itachi take the boar away?"
"I don't know, but even if he does, you can hunt some rabbits or pheasants in the forest!"
"All right!"
Naruto agreed and prepared to head out to the forest with Rock Lee.
Before leaving, Naruto took out two cups of instant noodles and removed the noodle blocks inside.
Both of them were still hungry, and the dry noodle blocks would at least take the edge off.
And so, Naruto and Rock Lee ate their noodle blocks as they hurried toward the forest.
As soon as they reached the depths of the forest, Naruto spotted the wild boar's carcass lying on the ground.
Seeing that Itachi hadn't taken it away, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, another chorus of growls rose from Naruto's and Rock Lee's stomachs.
"I'm so hungry! Why don't we just roast this boar and eat it here?"
Rock Lee quickly nodded at Naruto's suggestion.
Both of them were starving.
However, neither child had any experience roasting meat, so they could only summon Zeff again.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Naruto created a shadow clone, and Zeff appeared.
Zeff carried the boar to the riverbank and began preparing the carcass, while Naruto and Rock Lee gathered dry firewood nearby.
Although they had no knives, Zeff simply picked up a relatively sharp branch and coated it with armament haki.
Reinforced with armament haki, the ordinary branch instantly became a sharp tool that could slice through the boar's hide with ease.
Just as Zeff finished cutting up the meat, Naruto and Rock Lee returned with armfuls of dry firewood.
The roasted wild boar tasted excellent.
Although they had no salt, Zeff had found honey, wild walnuts, wild fruit... and other ingredients in the forest.
Using those as seasonings gave the meat a distinctive flavor of its own.
Naruto and Rock Lee ate their fill, polishing off an entire third of the boar.
"Teacher Zeff, what are we training this afternoon?"
Lying on the ground, Rock Lee looked at Zeff expectantly as he asked.
Rock Lee's two favorite things were eating and training.
"Don't worry. I've already planned out your afternoon!"
Just as Zeff finished speaking, a frenzied wild boar charged toward the three of them.
It was the enormous boar that Itachi and Sasuke had failed to kill together earlier that day.
At the sight of such a huge boar, Naruto and Rock Lee jumped up, ready to run.
Zeff, however, smiled. "A teaching aid has come along at just the right time. I'll give you another practical lesson."
As he spoke, Zeff turned to Naruto. "Naruto, let me use your body!"
Naruto had no idea what Zeff intended to do, but he didn't ask. He simply opened his mind and let Zeff's consciousness enter his body.
At the same time, Naruto's own consciousness moved into his clone. He wanted to see what Teacher Zeff was going to do!
Zeff stood in the boar's path, then covered his entire body with armament haki.
"Naruto, Rock Lee, the moves I'm about to use are exactly what you'll be learning next! Watch closely!"
Just as Zeff finished speaking, the boar reached him.
But before it could slam into him, Zeff vanished from the spot.
When Zeff reappeared, he was ten meters behind the boar.
"This is the first of the Six Powers: Shave!"
Although it had missed Zeff, the boar charged on without slowing, now heading straight for Naruto and Rock Lee.
Behind it, Zeff used Shave again and appeared in front of the two boys in an instant.
"Next is the second of the Six Powers: Iron Body!"
Just as Zeff finished speaking, the boar's enormous tusks slammed into him.
A metallic clang rang out. Zeff was completely unharmed, though he was pushed back several meters, his feet plowing two furrows into the ground.
After stopping the boar, Zeff shoved hard with both arms, forcing it back. Then he slid beneath its belly.
His index finger stabbed repeatedly into the boar's belly, instantly leaving several bloody holes.
"This is Finger Pistol, one of the Six Powers!"
Before you continue