It was Naruto's era. Hongshi had been born two months before Naruto, into an ordinary family that farmed for a living and had no talent for molding chakra.
Then the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha, and his parents died in the disaster. He grew up in an orphanage.
But Hongshi had possessed full, clear awareness since birth. His body had yet to develop completely, however, so he could not mold chakra normally and instead turned his attention to practicing senjutsu.
Thus, by the age of three, he could enter senjutsu mode instantly. Seeking a better training environment, he left the orphanage at three and returned to his old home. He trained even more obsessively in the few ninjutsu he had acquired through trades, doing everything he could to improve his strength.
But prolonged exposure to vast amounts of senjutsu energy had made Hongshi's bodily functions exceptionally powerful. At thirteen, his muscles were like iron, and he possessed immense strength. Of course, he had also gone bald ╮(•́ω•̀)╭. As for his looks, he resembled Superalloy Darkshine (I need to explain here: his dark skin wasn't natural. Excessive senjutsu chakra absorption had stained him black, like the Sound Four's second-stage Cursed Seal forms).
Hongshi had played with the Konoha 12 since childhood, and they were good friends. But his closest friends had to be our girls Hinata and Ino. Don't ask why-even in hard times, you can't let the children suffer (͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧.
But because of Hongshi's innate aura of a powerhouse (his bald head, the shiny kind), not just Hinata and Ino, but every female rejected him.
Outside the Ninja Academy
Today was the day they became genin and received their forehead protectors. Naruto had failed again. Enduring loneliness and cold looks as always, he sat on a swing, watching the bustling crowd. Who knew what he was thinking?
"That kid failed again, didn't he? I think this is his third time."
"It would be a disaster if he became a ninja."
"Enough, stop talking. If he hears you..."
Thud, thud, thud.
Dull thuds sounded behind Naruto. It was Hongshi.
Hongshi was powerfully built, his whole body like an iron tower, each step leaving a footprint. Worse still, he didn't have a single hair on his head, and it shone so brightly it was unsettling (Superalloy).
Seeing that it was Hongshi, Naruto said, "(͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧ Haha, you failed, huh!"
Hongshi said, "(͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧ Haha, you failed too, huh!"
Naruto →_→_ Hongshi
Naruto said, "Why are we so happy?"
Hongshi said, "I saw how fucking happy you were, so I got happy too."
Naruto said, "╮(•́ω•̀)╭ Come on, let's get something to eat."
Hongshi said, "(͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧ Don't ask. If you ask, the answer is Ichiraku Ramen."
Neither of them had managed to produce a clone. Of course, Hongshi had done that deliberately, for the sake of what would happen tonight.
With that, the two left the school gates with their arms around each other's shoulders.
"They're that happy even after failing?"
"They don't look very bright."
"They were perfectly fine. How did they go crazy?"
"Hongshi, Naruto, wait a moment."
As the two headed toward Ichiraku Ramen, someone called out to them. It was Mizuki.
Naruto turned around and asked in confusion, "Mizuki-sensei, did you need something from us?"
During the exam, Mizuki had pleaded on Naruto's behalf, so Naruto had a fairly good impression of him.
To avoid affecting the plot that followed as much as possible, Hongshi stood to one side.
Mizuki looked at Naruto with concern written all over his face. "Naruto, you're upset about failing, aren't you?"
Naruto thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes!"
Mizuki led them to a bench nearby and sat down with them. "Actually, you can't blame Iruka-sensei either. He takes things very seriously... He became an orphan at a young age and only made it this far through his own efforts..."
Naruto turned his head aside. "But why does he always pick on me?"
Hongshi said, "(͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧ Because you suck."
Naruto said, "What's the point of saying that? At least I made one clone. You didn't make any."
Hongshi said, "Hahaha, my dream is different from yours."
Mizuki asked, "Oh? Hongshi, what is your dream?"
Hongshi narrowed his eyes. "I don't want to be Hokage or anything. I just hope to keep the Shinobi World peaceful through nuclear means."
Mizuki nodded. "Hmm, world peace. A fine dream. Do you want to become a politician? You'll still have to get stronger."
Naruto nodded in agreement. "Exactly, exactly! No matter what, I have to get stronger, so I really want to graduate!"
Mizuki gave Naruto a solemn look. "Naruto, Hongshi, there's no other choice. I'll tell you a secret."
"Huh?"
Nightfall
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's room.
Naruto crept around Hiruzen Sarutobi's room, searching for something. "Damn it, Hongshi's way too big. Sneaking in is still up to me!"
Indeed, Hongshi's build was unsuited to infiltration, so he was only fit to keep watch.
"(≖_≖) What are you doing sneaking around my room in the middle of the night!"
Just then, Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice sounded behind Naruto.
Naruto said, "Σ(ŎдŎ )ﾉﾉ How did you get in? Wasn't Hongshi keeping watch!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi said calmly, "Do you mean the child sleeping outside my door?"
Naruto shouted, "Hongshi!"
"Zzzzzzz."
"∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll) How can you sleep at a time like this!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi asked calmly, "What are you looking for?"
A sharp gleam flashed in Naruto's eyes. "No choice. This is the only way." He formed hand seals.
Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "What, you want to fight me? Let's see how much you've improved."
"Sexy Jutsu!"
"Pfft! ﾞ━=͟͟͞͞(Ŏ◊Ŏ‧̣̥̇)"
The Third spat blood and collapsed.
Seemingly hearing the commotion inside, Hongshi pushed open the door and entered, drool still unwiped from his mouth. "Naruto-kun, what happened! Oh, yeah!"
Naruto had yet to release his Sexy Jutsu, and Hongshi stared, transfixed. "You idiot, it's me! Hurry up and find the Scroll of Seals!" With that, Naruto released the Sexy Jutsu.
Hongshi wiped away his nosebleed and began searching with him.
But Hongshi's target wasn't just the Scroll of Seals.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi held the title of "Professor of Ninjutsu." He could use ninjutsu of all five attributes-earth, water, fire, wind, and lightning. As long as a ninjutsu existed in Konoha, he could use it.
But one person couldn't possess all five chakra attributes at once, so there had to be some special method for using ninjutsu of different attributes without increasing or reducing chakra expenditure.
Because the Nuclear Release he currently knew was simply too powerful and wasn't suitable for every situation (indiscriminate attacks, and using Chibaku Tensei to catch a wild boar seemed a little inappropriate)...
Naruto rummaged frantically, tossing unwanted scrolls behind him. "Not this one, not this one."
"The Konoha Fire Style Collection? That'll work."
"The Konoha Water Release Collection? That'll work."
"The Konoha Wind Release Collection? That'll work."
"The Complete Collection of Konoha Ninjutsu? (╯'-')╯︵┻━┻ What was the point of those earlier books even existing???"
Hongshi took a kunai from inside his clothes. A technique formula was inscribed on it. He planted it in the floor as countless white tentacles extended from his body and picked up the scrolls. "Flying Thunder God!"
More than a dozen scrolls vanished along with Hongshi. A second later, his body flickered again, returning to the same spot, but the scrolls were gone.
As it turned out, Hongshi had already made preparations in a cave outside the village.
An identical kunai stood planted in the center of the cave. After arriving with the scrolls, Hongshi swiftly formed hand seals. "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Dozens of shadow clones instantly appeared in the spacious cave. "Nuclear Release: Nuclear-Powered Lightning Armor!"
Boom! The clones holding the scrolls were enveloped in white light, and extremely powerful vibrations rippled through the air. The scrolls in their hands rapidly unfurled, and they began copying them.
The Lord God said, "I gave you such fucking powerful ninjutsu, and you use it to read books???"
Nuclear-Powered Lightning Armor was the product of Lightning Armor adapting to Nuclear Release chakra. Besides increasing defense, it could also enhance thinking and reaction speeds more effectively.
Don't ask. If you ask, the answer is studying.
Meanwhile, Hongshi's original body traveled back and forth like this, moving every last ninjutsu scroll into the cave.
Yet Naruto, wholly focused on finding the Scroll of Seals, failed to notice anything unusual behind him.
Finally, Hongshi spotted a relatively small scroll. "Five Releases Chakra Conversion Theory! This is what I wanted."
The Lord God said, "(≖_≖) Does that book really exist?"
"Found it!!!" Naruto held a huge scroll aloft. A large character meaning "forbidden" was written on it, making it obvious at a glance that it was the Scroll of Seals. "Let's go!"
Hongshi pulled the kunai out of the floor and nodded to Naruto. "Okay!"
With that, the two left Hiruzen Sarutobi's room.
Naruto actually failed to notice that not a single scroll remained on the floor.