"You've developed another one of your weird jutsu, haven't you?" Kakashi looked at Nara Kazuki with a face full of exasperation. Every time Kazuki came up with a bizarre new technique, he'd rope Kakashi into testing it. At first, Kakashi had been happy about it—friendly sparring helped both their growth, and strengthened their bond.
But—
When it came to Kazuki, that whole line of reasoning broke down completely.
Every time they sparred, Kakashi felt the urge to tie him to a chair and hit him with a thousand years of pain for revenge.
"It's not that weird," Kazuki said with a grin. He had chosen the first upgrade after all—randomized jutsu from the entire library. The upper limit was infinite. Sure, the lower limit was garbage, but the excitement was real. He didn't know what would come out, but rolling the dice always felt worth it.
"Alright, fine. But I'm getting Akimichi BBQ after this," Kakashi muttered. Kazuki, of course, had no objections. Testing this kind of thing had its risks, and offering some barbecue was a fair exchange.
Kakashi stood at a distance, on guard. He remembered the insane things Kazuki's previous jutsu had done. Like a Great Fireball Jutsu that caused auditory hallucinations. A Fire Dragon Jutsu that triggered vomiting and diarrhea. All sorts of cursed effects. What horror would it be this time?
And to make matters worse, Gai was squatting nearby, watching the whole thing. He'd planned to teach Kazuki the Eight Gates soon, but he'd been out on a mission. Now he was back—and ready to begin.
"Watch out, Kakashi!" Kazuki shouted.
Kakashi instinctively raised his guard.
Kazuki randomly formed a single hand seal. Instantly, he felt chakra pouring out of him like water through a burst dam. His pupils shrank.
That much chakra drain?! What kind of jutsu—
The next second, a massive, invisible force burst outward from Kazuki at the epicenter. Dirt, rocks, and trees were hurled away in a shockwave. Kakashi didn't even react in time before he was blown off his feet. The whole area was devastated.
Gai, caught in the blast, was sent flying. He had no way of resisting such overwhelming force.
When the dust settled, a crater about 100 meters wide had formed. Kazuki lay at its center, panting heavily. Half his chakra was gone.
But that jutsu…
"Shinra Tensei!" Kazuki exclaimed excitedly, rubbing his hands together. Of course he recognized it. Almighty Push—one of the signature techniques of the Rinnegan. When Pain used it, he'd practically become a legend. Especially that iconic moment…
"Feel pain. Understand pain. Accept pain. Only through pain can you truly learn what peace is."
And then boom—Chō Shinra Tensei. Leveled Konoha in a single push. Even killed Kakashi.
That repulsive force—it had to be Shinra Tensei. Kazuki hadn't expected to pull that out. It shocked even him.
This random jutsu ability really had absurd potential. If he could pull this, what might come next? Chibaku Tensei?
"...What the hell was that?" Kakashi emerged, disheveled but uninjured. He'd kept his distance and braced in time. Gai, too, was a mess—face covered in dirt like he'd been digging a tunnel.
"Cough, cough… Just something I developed. Bit unstable," Kazuki coughed. A shame he couldn't control the result. If he could, he'd be like a mini-Nagato. And once his chakra reserves increased? He could go full-on Shinra Tensei spam.
He glanced at his body enhancement proficiency—solid progress, but a long way from leveling again. Still, steady progress was fine. One workout at a time.
"Kazuki, let me teach you a taijutsu secret technique from our clan!" Gai flashed a huge grin and a thumbs-up, teeth shining. Kazuki's eyes lit up.
"Absolutely!" he said, rubbing his hands in anticipation. The Eight Inner Gates—a forbidden art that made taijutsu truly terrifying. Even the Fourth Raikage might struggle to withstand a Night Guy kick from someone who'd opened the Eighth Gate.
To Kazuki, the Eight Gates was the peak of physical jutsu. Yes, it came with massive drawbacks, and opening the final gate required insane physical training—but once mastered, it could shift entire battlefields.
Kakashi knew Gai's secrets, but had no objections. Though forbidden, Gai had the authority to pass it on. And Kazuki, now a jōnin, qualified to learn such arts.
Kazuki picked it up quickly. He wasn't surprised. The technique was all about raw physical conditioning—the stronger the body, the easier the learning curve.
"...My father said to train every single day to handle the strain," Gai wiped sweat from his brow, flashing his trademark passionate smile. Kazuki returned it with one of his own.
Kakashi, sitting nearby, sighed and shook his head. Great. Another hot-blooded idiot.
If Kakashi had seen SpongeBob, he'd probably relate to Squidward right now.
Kazuki, though, was thrilled. He noticed something unexpected: the Eight Gates training also accelerated his body enhancement progression. A happy bonus.
Now that he'd started on the Eight Gates path, the next step was daily, intense training. The stronger the body, the more power the Gates could unleash.
"Right..." Kazuki said during barbecue, as something crossed his mind. Kakashi looked at him curiously while Gai scarfed down meat like a starving beast.
"I... confiscated something weird during a mission," Kazuki pulled out a nearly forgotten piece of parchment and laid it on the table.
Kakashi and Gai leaned in. Gai glanced at it, lost interest, and went back to eating. Kakashi, however, was intrigued.
"The Philosopher's Stone that can change the world? Never heard of it... but it looks like a treasure map." Kakashi mused.
Kazuki nodded. He'd thought the same.
"A treasure map!?" Gai nearly flipped the table in excitement. A real treasure map! Not just something from storybooks!
"So… what do you think? Got time these days? If so, we could go check it out." Kazuki smiled.
Just as Kakashi was about to answer, a man's head popped into view.
"Treasure map?" Namikaze Minato looked very interested.
Kazuki nearly jumped out of his seat. "You walk without sound or something?!"
But this was actually perfect. As a jōnin, Kazuki wasn't allowed to leave the village for long without authorization. Fortunately, Minato was very curious about the map.
He immediately issued an official mission: Kazuki, Kakashi, and Gai would go investigate. Part of the treasure, if real, would be handed over to the village. Kazuki had no objections.
"I don't mind," he said calmly. He was genuinely curious—what kind of artifact could be hyped as having world-changing power?
Only something like the Rinnegan, maybe. But Kazuki didn't remember any Grail Stone being mentioned in the final Naruto movie.
Though he had the mission in hand, they couldn't leave just yet.
"Kazuki, come with me. The train is ready for trial operations. You've ridden one before in the Land of Snow, so tell us how it compares," Minato said.
Kakashi and Gai joined as well—they'd both done missions in the Land of Snow and had train experience.
They followed Minato to the outskirts of Konoha.
Kazuki recognized the place. It had always been heavily guarded. Now he understood why—this was where the train project was being developed.
Inside, they found the village elders. Hiruzen Sarutobi was there, along with Nara Shikaku.
"Whoa... they've improved it?" Kazuki was surprised. The locomotive looked different from the one in the Land of Snow.
"It was outdated. The R&D team made improvements to boost efficiency," Hiruzen said with a grandfatherly smile. He looked at Kazuki with growing warmth.
Hiruzen loved the young—not because they were young, but because he saw Konoha's future in them. One day, when he joined the First and Second in the Pure Land, he wanted to say he hadn't let the village rot.
"Looks solid," Kazuki nodded. Minato stepped forward and pulled the red cloth off the front of the train. A name was revealed.
The Konoha
Under it, a motto:
Where the leaves dance, so too will the fire endure.
Kazuki's eyes widened. Hiruzen's eyes were red-rimmed. Minato looked proud.
He didn't need to ask who wrote it.
For a man like Hiruzen, who gave his heart and soul to Konoha, this kind of tribute was well deserved.
"..." Shimura Danzo's face turned black with rage.
His previous plans had been ruined by rumors. And now this? Another PR stunt stealing the spotlight? That honor should've been his!
Kazuki took a seat in one of the cars. Kakashi and Gai joined him, faces flushed with excitement. This was no small moment.
Kazuki didn't burst anyone's bubble.
"Don't worry. This thing's just fancy steam." Kazuki said, glancing out the window.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"Science is just boiling water and throwing rocks," Kazuki laughed at himself. His past life's technology had ultimately revolved around those two principles. But even within that simplicity lay unimaginable advancements.
Pursuing more efficient ways to boil water and throw rocks—that was the human spirit. And this train...
It resembled a steam engine, though Kazuki didn't know how much the village had modified it.
"You're a funny kid," said a middle-aged man, poking his head in. He smiled at Kazuki, who politely nodded. Probably the train operator.
The whistle blew. The train roared to life, picking up speed. It rocked a little, but compared to the old model from the Land of Snow, it was much smoother.