Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 20 Undercurrents

Moonlight pierced through the clouds and fell into the dim Hokage's room. All the other ninjas had already set out and were assigned to areas where they would never run into Naruto and Sasuke. However, Kakashi, who had just removed his Anbu mask, did not join the search. He was observing the crystal ball on the table with the Third Hokage.

The two children had already opened the scroll and were looking at the ninjutsu that interested them. Kakashi was somewhat surprised that the Scroll of Seals could be opened, but he quickly guessed that this was a trap. The two children, who were used as bait, completed their mission brilliantly and gave an astonishing answer, taking down a Chunin with a single strike.

"Kakashi, what do you think of these two kids?" the Third Hokage asked.

"...They are excellent and know how to protect their comrades." Kakashi's answer naturally favored the children. In fact, he would always catch a glimpse of the teacher's children from afar whenever he returned to the village, and Sasuke, who was inseparable from Naruto, also left a deep impression on him. He knew that the higher-ups were very cautious about these two children with sensitive identities. Stealing the Scroll of Seals...could be considered an accomplice, or it could be considered that they were victims of deception.

The Third Hokage took a deep drag on his cigarette, the swirling smoke obscuring his face. After a long pause, he said, "Their strength is sufficient for graduation, but this is not wartime. I hope they can enjoy a few more years of easy living."

Kakashi didn't reply; he had a gut feeling that he was probably going to be resurrected again.

"Kakashi, I hope you can give them some guidance on their training. This kind of trial-and-error training won't work."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Not long after Kakashi disappeared, the sound of a wooden stick striking the ground grew louder as it approached. The door to the Hokage's office opened, and a person with a bandage over their right eye emerged from the shadows.

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the Uchiha orphan have stolen the Scroll of Seals, seriously threatening Konoha's safety. We can no longer use appeasement against them; we should bring them under control as soon as possible." Danzo never hid his intentions. He had planned to imprison the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki since the change of leadership, and even though the Third Hokage rejected the idea, it didn't extinguish his resolve. Unfortunately, the seal left by Minato was very strong, and so far he hadn't found any reason to imprison them. This time, two children he had coveted had committed a crime together; how could he not intervene?

"Their names are Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha." The Third Hokage's attitude was very firm; he never backed down on matters of principle. "Mizuki orchestrated this theft, instigating the children to do his bidding. Naruto and Sasuke redeemed themselves after seeing through the deception, joining forces to defeat him. Mizuki was imprisoned, and the children, being victims, will not be held responsible."

"Did you hear me clearly, Danzo?"

Danzo sneered inwardly. He could certainly hear Hiruzen's warning in his voice: "Hiruzen, one day you will understand that I am right."

After seeing his old friend off, the third generation finally breathed a sigh of relief. Both his rationality and his emotions convinced him that the children were innocent in this incident, but his intuition vaguely sensed something amiss. Well, if the children's parents had survived, they should have had the best resources; consider this compensation.

"You only memorized these few fire techniques?"

"Do you remember more than I do?!"

"...Maybe I really do have more than you, wanna have a competition?"

"Let's compete! Who's afraid of who!"

Back home, the two children immediately took out blank scrolls and began writing down their day's findings. They wrote noisily, and before they knew it, they had filled more than half of the scroll.

"Your handwriting is really ugly." Sasuke couldn't help but complain. After all these years, how has Naruto managed to stay stagnant in this area?

Naruto's response was an elbow strike: "Then don't look!"

Tonight's spoils were plentiful. Besides Fire Release techniques, Naruto also memorized several Water Release techniques, a Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and the first half of the Flying Thunder God Technique. Other techniques, even if memorized, wouldn't be very useful, such as the Reaper Death Seal, which guarantees death after use, and the Wood Release notes written by the First Hokage. Bloodline limits are quite mysterious; some people possess all five elements but can't fuse chakra, while others are born with the ability.

"Space-time ninjutsu? You're interested in this?" Sasuke took a liking to the Flying Thunder God Technique at a glance. After examining it closely, he realized that it was indeed tailor-made for Naruto. "Sensory ability and massive chakra? You have a good eye for things."

Naruto hadn't forgotten how well Sasuke had mastered Amenotejikara, and his desire to be Sasuke's teacher resurfaced. "Sasuke, this is an incredibly convenient space-time ninjutsu. Don't you want to learn it?"

Sasuke had a bad feeling about this, but the Flying Thunder God Technique was just too tempting. "Can I learn it?"

"Give it a try. Why give up without even trying?"

With new learning goals in mind, the two children revised their holiday plans, ready to continue their efforts starting tomorrow. However, upon arriving at their secret base early in the morning, they discovered it had been occupied.

A wildly styled, white-haired punk rocker lay by the lake, his face covered by an orange book.

"There are actually people here." Sasuke said in surprise, because this place was near the Uchiha clan's territory and had long been a no-man's land.

“…I remember his chakra.” Naruto recognized the newcomer at a glance, and said with a smile in a voice that could be heard from the other side, “He will appear in our vicinity intermittently, once or twice a month.”

The person lying down couldn't keep up the act any longer and flung open "Icha Icha Paradise" to glare at him. He had heard the ANBU's complaints and knew that Naruto had perfectly inherited his teacher and his wife's talents, but he didn't know that this sensory range was so large that he could be detected even from a distance.

Sasuke frowned, his eyes filled with vigilance. "Surveillance again?"

“No.” Naruto stroked his chin and analyzed haphazardly, “He doesn’t stay for long each time, it’s more like he’s checking on our status. I guess he’s someone we know. Just not someone we know from our generation.”

The seemingly outrageous statements were all true, and Kakashi realized he might have underestimated the children. Since Naruto possessed sensory abilities, the two kids were acutely aware of their being monitored, and might even know the real reason for his exclusion. However, Naruto hadn't reacted to Mizuki's words yesterday, and his anger stemmed from Mizuki speaking ill of Sasuke.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Kakashi Hatake." Having figured this out, Kakashi didn't intend to hide anything anymore. "The Third Hokage was worried about you training on your own, so he sent me to teach you."

Sasuke's eyes lit up slightly, but he remained wary. He glanced at Naruto, and only after seeing Naruto's smile did he continue to ask, "Can you really teach us?"

With a headband covering one eye and looking unkempt, and holding a book with a strange title, is he really reliable?

"Well, I'm a Jonin after all, so teaching you guys is more than enough." Kakashi held up a book and gestured with his chin towards the children. "Want to give it a try? Just touch me."

"You'll regret this."