"Congratulations, Naruto, you've graduated!"
Umino Iruka removed his Forehead Protector and placed it on the forehead of the bewildered Uzumaki Naruto.
Naruto stood stunned for a moment, then touched the ninja headband and smiled with pure joy. The morning sunlight filtered through the leaves of the forest, casting a gentle ray that made the metal plate of the hitai-ate gleam.
At this moment, the strongest Genin of Konohagakure was born!
"Clap, clap, clap..."
Applause echoed through the woods.
Naruto and Iruka turned their heads toward the sound. Shihouin Naraku appeared as if from nowhere, walking slowly toward them while clapping, a smile on his face.
"Hmm..."
Several masked ANBU members landed silently behind Shihouin Naraku, following in his footsteps.
"Brother Naraku!"
At first, Naruto felt embarrassed, but when his fingers brushed against his new hitai-ate, he realized he had officially graduated and no longer needed to hide his abilities.
"Brother Naraku, I graduated! Hahahaha..."
Naruto placed his hands on his hips and laughed loudly, his expression smug beyond words.
"Naruto, show some respect around Naraku-sama," Iruka said, patting Naruto on the shoulder to curb his cockiness.
Seeing Naruto's smug expression, Shihouin Naraku couldn't help wanting to knock him down a peg, so he reminded him with a smile, "Naruto, have you forgotten something? Why is the village's Scroll of Seals here with you?"
The previously jubilant Naruto froze, suddenly realizing he might be in serious trouble.
"Just so you know, Hokage-sama can revoke your ninja status and take back your hitai-ate."
Shihouin Naraku's words struck like thunder, leaving Naruto with his mouth hanging open, completely dumbfounded.
After putting Naruto in his place, Shihouin Naraku signalled his subordinates to capture Mizuki, who was lying on the ground. He then had someone assist Iruka,who was preparing to send him to the hospital.
Though nervous about his newly acquired ninja status, Naruto anxiously approached with the Scroll of Seals, attempting to hand it to Shihouin Naraku.
"I don't want that thing. You keep it and come with me to see the Sandaime Hokage!"
"Hehehehehe... Jiji will definitely not take back my Forehead Protector."
Thinking of his past interactions with Sarutobi Hiruzen, Naruto realized that Shihouin Naraku was only trying to scare him.
"How are you feeling, Iruka? If it's serious, I'll take you to the hospital first," Shihouin Naraku asked, looking back at Iruka, who was being carried on his subordinate's back. Naruto also glanced at his sensei with concern.
Iruka simply shook his head. "I'm fine, Naraku-sama. It's just a minor injury, mainly to my back, so it's a bit difficult to move."
"Very well then. Yun, take Iruka to the hospital for treatment." Shihouin Naraku patted Naruto's head and said, "I'll take this troublemaker to see the Sandaime."
"Hai!"
"Eh? Brother Naraku, where did Mizuki-sensei go?" Naruto suddenly noticed that Mizuki, whom he had knocked down, was gone, and he called out worriedly.
"He's gone where he belongs. Come on, let's go."
Shihouin Naraku brought Naruto to the Hokage's office, handed over the task, and left immediately. Sarutobi Hiruzen would handle the rest.
But Naraku did not rest. Instead, he took advantage of this period to continue honing his strength.
After mastering the Sun Breathing technique, Shihouin Naraku's physical condition improved constantly. Although each increase was barely detectable, the cumulative improvement over several months had become quite substantial.
Shihouin Naraku even felt that his physical condition had reached a critical point and could break through at any moment.
...
In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed!
"Crack!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A massive rock suddenly collapsed, debris flying everywhere, and a group of trees in the forest fell in unison, revealing perfectly smooth cross-sections.
"Huff... Huff..."
Shihouin Naraku slowly steadied his rapid breathing and regained his composure.
Surveying the devastated Training Ground 27, Shihouin Naraku found a stump from a tree he had cut down and sat cross-legged. He held Kurikara with its saya tightly in his hands, resting it on his knees as he meditated.
After more than twenty days of intense training, Shihouin Naraku felt his strength had increased significantly.
He had completely absorbed the rewards from the two ten-draw streaks!
Simply put, he would definitely defeat who he was twenty days ago and would even do so in record time.
"System, open my attribute panel!"
[Name: Shihouin Naraku]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 26]
[Constitution: S]
[Spirit: S+]
[Soul: Kurikara]
[Chakra Control: S+]
[Chakra Amount: S+ (already exceeding 99% of the ninjas in the shinobi world!)]
[Chakra Nature: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Water, Earth, Yin, Yang]
"What is this? Why is there a soul attribute labelled as Kurikara, and why has the word 'Spirit' on the panel turned red?"
"And there's an added Chakra Control attribute?"
"Also, my Constitution upgraded from A to S, but the Chakra amount increased so dramatically?"
Shihouin Naraku originally just wanted to check if his physical fitness had broken through, but he discovered other changes in the attribute panel.
It wasn't surprising that his Constitution had been promoted from A-grade to S-grade.
Having Chakra Control listed was nothing unusual; it was normal.
But the panel actually displayed a soul attribute, specifically marked as Kurikara.
Even stranger was that the text and numbers on the attribute panel were originally black, but now the word "Spirit" had turned red.
"System, what's happening?"
"Am I developing mental problems?"
[Zanpakutō Kurikara is forged based on the Host's soul. The manifestation of Kurikara increases the Host's soul strength. It is unique in the shinobi world, so it is named after this sword!]
[The soul affects the mind. The increase in soul strength directly leads to a significant enhancement of the host's spirit and a greater increase in Chakra amount.]
[The change in spirit colour indicates this attribute has the possibility of a breakthrough.
After the breakthrough, the host will obtain the strongest spirit attribute in the shinobi world, thus gaining super strong resistance to genjutsu.
The shinobi world will no longer have illusions that can affect the host! You will also gain exceptional learning ability.
Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu can all be learned and mastered in a short time.
Additionally, it will enhance Observation Haki and other abilities, which the host needs to discover!]
"I see. I was wondering why my Chakra would increase so much if it was just my physical strength that improved."
Shihouin Naraku had a new question. He asked directly: "System, I can indeed feel the improvement in my Chakra, but it is not as much as I expected?"
[Ding! Does the Host accept the infusion of all Chakra?]
[System reminder: A sudden surge of Chakra will harm the Host's body, meridians, and other organs. Current remaining Chakra amount: 87%!]
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