Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

"I'm no worse than you Cloud Ninja."

Sasuke Uchiha immediately expressed his dissatisfaction, stating that he, Sasuke Uchiha, was the undisputed Rookie King of this year.

"Then I'll wait and see."

Tamura Hao's smile remained unchanged; the people Tsuchida had selected were naturally all top students who had graduated from the Ninja Elementary School.

Moreover, their ninja academy is growing bigger and bigger. This year alone, more than 300,000 people graduated from the ninja elementary school. The 30 people selected from these 300,000 people are truly one in a million.

Most importantly, they have the best education and resources, and those children are all very outstanding.

As for why there are so many students, one reason is that the Hidden Cloud Village has expanded continuously, and its population has exceeded ten million.

Secondly, the policy of encouraging more births and having more children has been implemented very well, with the number of newborns increasing every year.

This year alone, the number of newborns in Kumogakure has exceeded one million, of which more than 400,000 possess chakra bloodlines.

This doesn't even include the spirits in the psychic realm, whose numbers are even more staggering.

The tree-planting program provided more energy, greatly increasing the production of the Water of Life, which in turn naturally accelerated the gestation of the sprites.

Everything went quite smoothly.

Compared to them, Konoha is far inferior.

"Young lady, just let us know if you want to come to our Hidden Cloud Village. You are very talented, but Konoha is unable to develop your potential."

Tamura Hao looked at the worried girl. Among the twelve Konoha Genin, he admired Haruno Sakura the most.

These are truly hardworking and academically gifted individuals, whose future achievements will be second only to the two "superstars".

Even though Hinata is not as good as Sakura Haruno in this aspect, Hinata's popularity is mainly due to her gentle nature and her dedication to the protagonist, and she is even called the Crown Princess by netizens.

In terms of strength, Hinata has not developed herself well, and her strength is only at a mid-level. She doesn't even have the qualifications to participate in the final battle, and she even seems more like a decorative vase.

In comparison, Sakura Haruno is much more assertive and strong, and he likes girls with that kind of ability.

"what?"

Sakura Haruno was a little confused. Why was she being targeted?

"Don't even think about bewitching Sakura. We're not going to your Hidden Cloud Village."

Naruto Uzumaki resolutely refused, and even felt a sense of rejection and dislike towards the person in front of him.

However, Tamura Hiroshi also felt some aversion and dislike towards him.

"You certainly have the right to refuse. After all, you possess the most outstanding bloodline in the ninja world, the strongest tailed beast, the Nine-Tails, is sealed within you, you have powerful parents, and you are the grand-disciple of Jiraiya and the grand-disciple of the Third Hokage. You have no shortage of teachers or resources."

But have you considered Sakura's feelings? You seem to like her, but is your kind of liking about keeping her like a pet dog chained to your side?

Tamura Hao laughed and started to tease him. It was really tiring to be friends with someone who was a bit dim-witted like that. Their ideas were often too naive and seriously out of touch with reality.

"No, that's not what I meant."

Naruto quickly explained that he really didn't mean it that way.

Sakura Haruno remained silent. She had also realized that she was indeed inferior to her two teammates in terms of talent, and by a great margin. Continuing like this would only leave her further and further behind. This was something she had been worried about, and even feared, ever since graduating and forming a team.

"Hao Jun!"

Minato Namikaze was displeased, disliking this way of verbally belittling his son.

"Minato-kun, you've raised your child to this age, haven't you realized that Naruto's personality can't be taught in a normal way? He's more suited to growing through life experiences. To put it extremely, setbacks and pain are what help him grow."

Naruto's talent is no less than Sasuke's, but his performance is somewhat lacking, and that's precisely what he's missing.

Tamura Hao prefers Naruto in his youth and middle age, at least he's intelligent enough not to do anything thoughtless.

Minato Namikaze fell into deep thought, realizing there was some truth to what he said.

"Blows and pain?"

Naruto Uzumaki was a little confused; this didn't sound like a good thing at all.

"Sasuke, you just used Chidori very well, but Chidori was created by our Hidden Cloud Village. We have a more complete and profound training system there."

"You beat Naruto up today, the harder the better. After you're done, I'll give you some pointers on the deeper levels of Chidori training."

Tamura Hao looked at Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto's growth definitely needed stimulation, and Uchiha Sasuke was the most suitable person to do it.

We need to start making some plans regarding these two.

"good!"

Recalling someone's words, Sasuke Uchiha looked thoughtfully at Naruto Uzumaki, and then decisively attacked.

The two instantly engaged in fierce combat, but Naruto was suppressed and at a disadvantage, which demonstrated the difference in strength between them.

"I vaguely sensed Wood Release power within Naruto. Did you transplant Hashirama's cells into him?"

Watching the two fighting, Tamura Hao asked a question.

"Um!"

Minato Namikaze's explanation is unexplained, and there's no way to explain it; we can only assume it's true.

"I have a portion of the First Hokage's chakra here, which should be able to help him awaken the power of Wood Release."

Tamura Hao handed over a green Wood Release chakra.

Why?

Minato Namikaze took it and sensed it, but he was quite puzzled.

"Unless absolutely necessary, our Hidden Cloud Village does not want to continue fighting with your Hidden Leaf Village. Both of them have great potential and represent the future of Hidden Leaf Village. I hope they can lead Hidden Leaf Village to a new future."

Of course, this is on the premise that Minato is willing to guide them out of the limitations of this village and into the world.

Minato, you were bound by Jiraiya, otherwise Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have been able to continue sitting in that position, suppressing Konoha and hindering its development.

You've lost all hope; you have to rely on the next generation. I hope we won't become enemies in the future. I was truly saddened by the devastating blow Minato suffered back then.

Tamura Hao sighed and began to make empty promises.

The real reason was to prevent Naruto from adopting the Rasengan system, and to "bend" him before he learned the Rasengan, or rather, before he mastered it.

In this way, the future Naruto will be a Wood Release Naruto, not a Rasengan Naruto.

Such a change will surely bring in a large sum of fate's power.

"Thanks!"

After a long silence, Minato Namikaze finally used his chakra to seal away the Wood Release chakra, hoping that Naruto could become even stronger.

Meanwhile, Sakura Haruno, standing nearby, broke out in a cold sweat. These topics were too taboo; she was worried that someone might kill her.

The battle over there ended quickly. Although Naruto was very unwilling, he was ultimately defeated by Sasuke Uchiha with Chidori, and his body was paralyzed and convulsing.

"Go back and rest for a bit. I'll go to the Uchiha clan's territory this afternoon to guide your training."

Tamura Hao was very satisfied with Uchiha Sasuke's performance; in the early stages, Sasuke was quite strong.

After receiving the promise, Sasuke Uchiha nodded to Minato Namikaze and left, leaving Naruto Uzumaki lying on the ground, looking unwilling and resentful.

"Little one, do you need some help?"

Tamura Hiroshi stepped forward, squatted down, and asked with a smile, his tone slightly teasing.

"I can get up by myself without your help."

Huffing and turning his face to the side, Naruto Uzumaki struggled to get up. Although he was badly injured, it was not even a minor injury for his physique.

"Come on, let's visit your home today and try your mother's cooking. I've never had your mother's cooking before."

Tamura Hiroshi ruffled the boy's soft black hair and gestured to Namikaze Minato.

It was agreed beforehand that lunch would be at Minato Namikaze's house, and Kushina and Vanilla would also be staying at Minato Namikaze's house for the next few days to keep Uzumaki Kyuhin company.

As for Minato Namikaze, he will be monitoring them from the Uchiha side.

Minato Namikaze didn't say anything, but he ruffled his son's soft black hair and took him back home.

I had already sent a shadow clone back to inform Jiu Pin, so when I got home I saw Jiu Pin busy in the kitchen.

"I'm back!"

Minato Namikaze and Naruto Uzumaki spoke at the same time.

"Dinner will be ready soon, you can have some fruit first."

Whirlpool Ninth Rank walked out of the kitchen wearing an apron.

"Ninth Rank, long time no see!"

Kushina Uzumaki immediately stepped forward and gave Kyuumei Uzumaki a hug; she had always thought of this clansman.

"Long time no see."

Whirlpool Ninth Rank was very happy about the arrival of these two clansmen.

Although they were enemies in the past, she didn't hate the clansmen there. Ultimately, the problems lay more with Konoha; there were too many issues on their side.

"What's that lecherous old man doing here?"

Tamura Hiroshi then looked at Jiraiya, who was also wearing an apron. What was this guy doing here?

"Didn't you come here to freeload too?"

Jiraiya, who came out carrying a fruit platter, said irritably.

"Kushina, Vanilla, why don't you come and stay with the Uchiha clan? I'm not comfortable with this old pervert here. He's always peeping at women taking baths. The first time I saw him, he was spying on the women's bathhouse."

Tamura Hao became more wary. Being friends with Jiraiya was fine if he was single, but if he had a girlfriend or wife, he would have to stay away.

"That's gathering material, you understand?"

Jiraiya was even more displeased and seriously corrected his own approach to research.

"It's alright. If Jiraiya-sensei dares to peek, I'll cut him down."

As he spoke, Uzumaki Kyuuni made a downward slashing motion with his hand, which made Jiraiya's eyelids twitch.

This made Minato Namikaze feel embarrassed, and Naruto Uzumaki muttered "perverted sage" and also felt a little ashamed.

Has the stigma of the lecherous sage already reached Kumogakure?

"You two chat in the living room for a while, the food will be ready soon."

Whirlpool Ninth Rank gestured for the others to sit in the living room first, while he returned to the kitchen.

"I'll help you!"

Kushina Uzumaki and Vanilla Uzumaki rolled up their sleeves and went over to help.

Minato Namikaze led Tamura Hiroshi to sit on the sofa in the living room, then whispered a few words to his teacher. Only after Jiraiya nodded did he take out the sealed First Hokage's chakra.

"Naruto, this is a gift from your Uncle Hao."

"What is this?"

Looking at the sealed green chakra, Naruto Uzumaki could tell that it was a type of chakra, but he didn't understand what kind of chakra it was.

Moreover, after coming into contact with this chakra, I had a strange feeling, which seemed to be a kind of longing.

His body was craving this chakra.

"That's the First Hokage's chakra. The First Hokage ended the chaotic Warring States period with Wood Release. This chakra can help you obtain the First Hokage's Wood Release power, which is one of the most powerful powers in the ninja world. At the same time, it can also absorb the Nine-Tails' chakra in your body, so that it will no longer interfere with your chakra control."

Tamura Hao began his explanation, focusing on the First Hokage.

"Can you let me defeat Sasuke?"

Naruto's eyes lit up. He knew about the big fox sealed inside his stomach. He had even been to see it with his father. It was a very disobedient fox.

It was the fox's chakra that affected his own chakra, preventing him from improving his control.

Sasuke, on the other hand, possesses the Sharingan, allowing him to control chakra effectively, which is the key difference in their strength.

"At the end of the Warring States period, the Uchiha clan also produced a super strong person named Uchiha Madara, who was on par with your First Hokage. However, Uchiha Madara was eventually defeated by the First Hokage using Wood Release."

Tamura Hao did not give a clear answer, but only mentioned the existence of Uchiha Madara.

"How do I use it? Swallow it?"

Naruto was excited. As long as he could defeat that arrogant Sasuke, Sakura would definitely give up on Sasuke and fall in love with him instead.

"It can also be swallowed."

Minato Namikaze nodded with a smile, then the smile froze.

Naruto Uzumaki swallowed the chakra ball whole, without even chewing it, and immediately choked, clutching his neck as veins and blood vessels bulged, clearly in great pain.

"Ugh!"

Jiraiya covered his face speechlessly; this kid always surprised him.

Minato Namikaze couldn't stand it any longer, so he raised his hand and patted his son's throat, releasing the outer shell of the jutsu that sealed the ball of chakra.

Without the restrictions of the sealing technique, the Wood Release chakra instantly merged into Naruto's body, stimulating the Wood Release power deep within his bloodline. Even Ashura's chakra was partially activated, and some saplings and branches immediately sprouted from his body.

Tamura Hiroshi plucked the sapling growing from the boy's forehead, examined it, and even chewed on a tender leaf.

"The little guy's Wood Release potential is very good, even better than Nawaki's. He might even surpass the First Hokage in the future."

"My chakra flow is much smoother now."

Once he recovered, Naruto immediately sensed the difference within himself. Not only did he have an extra amount of chakra, but the flow of his chakra also became much smoother.

"That's because the Nine-Tails' chakra in your body was absorbed by Wood Release. This is a characteristic of Wood Release, which can absorb any chakra, even suppressing the chakra of a tailed beast."

Tamura Hiroshi said with a smile.

"Why are you giving me this gift? Aren't you from Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village) enemies of us?"

Naruto was very puzzled. His father and mother had both said that the giant fox was the most powerful force in the ninja world. Now, this Wood Release technique could suppress the power of the giant fox, which was also the power of the First Hokage. This showed how precious it was.

And this person is from Kumogakure. The teachers at the school said that Kumogakure is their greatest enemy, and they should attack immediately if they see him in the future, without hesitation.

"That was in the past, and those were the grudges and grievances of our previous generation. You young people should have your own future, and even your own era."

"Don't listen to your father's or that perverted sage's ideas anymore. They're bound to Konoha their whole lives and can't see the rest of the ninja world. Especially that perverted sage, you'd better not listen to anything he says until Hiruzen Sarutobi dies."

Tamura Hao made no attempt to hide his deception of the naive and adorable boy, leaving Namikaze Minato looking helpless and Jiraiya utterly exasperated.

"I have a feeling you're trying to fool me."

Naruto looked at his father, then at the perverted sage, and finally his gaze fell on someone, feeling that this guy was fooling him.

"Not completely stupid!"

Tamura Hao chuckled and reached out again to ruffle the boy's soft hair.

"Everyone has their own perspective, which leads to each person having their own understanding of the world and only believing that it is beneficial to themselves."

Konoha itself has its own stance, and it's impossible for it to objectively record and evaluate certain things.

I can even guess that your ninja academy textbooks contain significant biases in their records of the three previous ninja world wars; you can interpret it as lying, not entirely truthful.

You have been living in a false world. Only by stepping out of this man-made false world can you see the true nature of the world, and only then will you be qualified to think about deeper issues.

Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya remained silent on this matter, unable to refute it.

"Fake?"

Naruto was stunned. How could it be fake?

"Naruto, go buy some alcohol and tell them my name."

Minato Namikaze didn't want to talk about such heavy topics with his child too early, so he made an excuse to send his son away.

"oh!"

Naruto Uzumaki, deep in thought, nodded, got up, and went out.

"What are your thoughts, Hidden Cloud Village?"

After Naruto Uzumaki left the house, Jiraiya's expression turned serious, and Minato Namikaze also stared intently at Tamura Hao.

Tamura Hao glanced at the kitchen, casually set up a soundproof barrier, and then his expression turned serious as he changed the subject to the Rinnegan.

"Do you remember Nagato's eyes during the Battle of Konoha?"

"The Rinnegan?"

Jiraiya's expression grew even more serious. He had a deep impression of Nagato Uzumaki, the very young man who had completely destroyed Konoha.

That move was terrifying!

"As you all know, our Hidden Cloud Village once received part of the Sage of Six Paths' legacy, including those Six Paths Ninja Tools. The Gold and Silver Brothers were descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, which is why they were able to devour the Nine-Tails' flesh and blood and obtain its power."

Afterwards, we obtained the bloodlines and heritage of families such as the Senju Hyuga Kaguya. Through extensive research and exploration, we discovered that the Sage of Six Paths was a real person, and those families were likely his descendants.

Legend has it that the Sage of Six Paths possessed the Rinnegan, an eye with terrifying power to control life and death and to create and destroy the world. We speculate that the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan may have evolved to its ultimate form as the Rinnegan.

I met Nagato Uzumaki when he was a child, but he didn't have those eyes back then. When we met again, he had those eyes.

However, given Nagato's pure Uzumaki clan bloodline, it was absolutely impossible for him to awaken the Rinnegan, so there must be something wrong with those eyes.

In that era, the only person who could possibly awaken the Rinnegan was the legendary Madara Uchiha. He evolved the Sharingan to its ultimate limit, and it was not impossible for him to further transform it into the Rinnegan.

Furthermore, during the massacre of Amegakure, someone saw a giant blue Susanoo appear, which matches the Susanoo of Madara Uchiha recorded in the annals.

Therefore, we speculate that Madara Uchiha is still alive and has transplanted his awakened Rinnegan into Nagato Uzumaki.

We don't know the specifics of the conspiracy, but it's certainly not a small matter.

Over the years, our Hidden Cloud Village has been secretly investigating, but without much success.

Furthermore, the race on the moon is also very dangerous. It is said that they possess the power to destroy the world. Although we do not know what kind of power it is, it is not unfounded.

Moreover, they seem very interested in the Tailed Beasts, which must be hiding a great secret that we don't know about.

Your Konoha currently possesses the most Tailed Beasts. If something really happens, it will inevitably start in your Konoha.

Lord Tsuchikage speculated that the next Shinobi World War might not just be a war between our ninja villages, and would be even more terrifying and brutal.

Tamura Hao was speaking very earnestly, and Namikaze Minato and Jiraiya listened very attentively, even showing signs of worry. (End of Chapter)