Chapter 3 - Naruto Activates Hyōrinmaru, the Wheels of Fate Begin to Turn!
A Zanpakutō...
At the same time.
Inside a civilian house on the outskirts of Konoha Village—
After returning home, Uzumaki Naruto had already begun communicating with the soul of the Zanpakutō, following the method Jiang Chen had taught him.
He sat with his eyes closed, holding the Zanpakutō in both hands.
As he channeled chakra continuously into the blade—
His consciousness was suddenly pulled by a mysterious force into a world of ice and snow.
This feeling was strangely familiar to him.
It was just like when he used to accidentally wander into that cage holding the big fox while asleep.
"—Woom!!!"
No one knew how much time passed.
Suddenly, the Zanpakutō in Naruto's hands began to tremble violently.
A thunderous ringing sound erupted from the blade.
Along with that came a wave of bone-chilling cold.
In an instant, Naruto's room was covered in a layer of frost.
But just as quickly as it came, the frost vanished.
When Naruto opened his eyes again—
All traces of the phenomenon had disappeared.
"Hyōrinmaru?"
"I didn't expect that shopkeeper to be telling the truth. This sword actually has a soul!"
Naruto couldn't stop admiring the Zanpakutō named "Hyōrinmaru," and he was absolutely ecstatic inside.
During the process of awakening the sword's spirit, he had completely mastered its Shikai (initial release).
He also learned that the blade had an even more powerful Bankai form.
Naruto now believed that if he continued to develop the power of this Zanpakutō, becoming Hokage would no longer be just a dream.
"Right… Sasuke..."
Suddenly, Naruto's eyes lit up.
Now that he had mastered Hyōrinmaru's power, the first thing he thought of was to go show off in front of Sasuke.
Without delay, he slung Hyōrinmaru over his back and rushed out of the house eagerly.
...
At the same time Naruto awakened Hyōrinmaru—
Jiang Chen also received a string of system notifications:
> Ding~! Uzumaki Naruto has successfully released Hyōrinmaru. Congratulations to the Host for receiving 10x feedback!
Congratulations to the Host for mastering Hyōrinmaru's Shikai (10x power boost)!
Congratulations to the Host for unlocking Zanpakutō usage rights—Hyōrinmaru!
Jiang Chen's eyes sparkled.
As expected of the protagonist with the strongest plot armor—Uzumaki Naruto.
He had awakened the Zanpakutō's spirit so quickly.
And not just any sword—it was Hyōrinmaru, the strongest ice-type Zanpakutō!
Even though it was only Shikai, the 10x power boost made a qualitative leap in Jiang Chen's strength.
If his power level was previously equal to an average Kage—
Now, he had already surpassed that.
At the very least, fighting someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi, "The Strongest Hokage," would no longer be a problem.
...
Elsewhere—
On his way to show off to Sasuke, Naruto ran into Konohamaru and his gang.
When Konohamaru saw the cool-looking sword slung across Naruto's back, his eyes filled with admiration.
"Whoa~! Big Brother Naruto, you're training in swordsmanship now too?"
From the burning look in his eyes, it was clear—
No matter what Naruto did now, Konohamaru admired him endlessly.
"Ahem~ It's alright, I guess. I feel like I've already trained my ninjutsu and taijutsu enough—it's time to practice sword techniques."
Naruto thoroughly enjoyed Konohamaru's admiration, though on the surface, he stayed calm and collected.
This only made the trio admire him even more.
Just then—
Haruno Sakura, freshly "educated" by Kakashi, walked up.
She noticed the sword on Naruto's back and asked curiously:
"Naruto, when did you buy a katana?"
"What katana? This is a Zanpakutō, and it's amazing. It even has a name—Hyōrinmaru!"
"Zanpakutō? Hyōrinmaru? You idiot, don't tell me you got scammed by another ninja tool vendor?"
Sakura rolled her eyes.
Naruto was such an idiot, and yet Kakashi-sensei claimed he worked harder than her.
She really couldn't understand it.
Naruto was about to explain, but Konohamaru pulled him aside.
Konohamaru whispered sneakily:
"Big Brother Naruto, is that fierce woman... your girl?"
As he spoke, he even held up his pinky finger suggestively.
Naruto instantly got the hint.
He laughed awkwardly, blushing:
"Hahaha~ You little rascal, you've got sharp instincts for your age!"
"Idiot! I'm not his girl!"
Sakura couldn't take it anymore.
She stormed over and punched Naruto with such force that he flew into a wall, blood dripping from his mouth.
"Ahhhh~ You fat and ugly brute! Why'd you hit my Big Brother Naruto?!"
"What did you just say, brat?"
Sakura's killing intent surged—she was clearly beyond furious.
"W-What do you want? Help~!"
Sensing danger, Konohamaru turned and ran.
But he didn't get far before he crashed straight into Kankuro, who had been walking toward them.
Due to his small size, Konohamaru was sent flying and landed hard, grimacing in pain.
"Damn brat, that hurt!"
Kankuro grabbed Konohamaru by the collar, ready to teach him a lesson.
Sakura, always bold when picking on Naruto, was now frozen in fear.
"Let go of him, you bastard!"
Naruto tried to run over and save Konohamaru.
But Kankuro had already laid a chakra thread in Naruto's path.
Unaware, Naruto tripped and fell flat on his face.
Seeing Naruto's pathetic display, Kankuro mocked him:
"Looks like Konoha's Genin are pretty weak!"
—Smack!
At that moment—
A small rock flew through the air and struck Kankuro's hand hard.
With a pained grunt, he was forced to let go of Konohamaru.
Blood began dripping from the wound.
Everyone looked up—
A boy with a punkish hairstyle sat on a tree branch, playing with another stone in his hand.
It was none other than Uchiha Sasuke, who had come to show off after hearing the commotion.
"Damn brat, trying to steal my thunder again!"
Kankuro was furious.
Despite Temari's attempt to stop him, he pulled out his puppet "Crow" without hesitation.
Sasuke, ignoring him completely, crushed the stone in his hand and coldly said:
"Scram."
His aura screamed arrogance.
"Oh my god~ It's Sasuke! So cool!!!"
Sakura was totally dazzled by Sasuke's dramatic entrance.
Naruto, standing nearby, was extremely annoyed.
He had planned to show off in front of Sasuke—
But instead, Sasuke had stolen his spotlight.
"Big Brother Naruto, you were really lame just now~"
Konohamaru had walked over, still rubbing his butt.
From his tone, it was clear he was starting to lose faith in Naruto.
Naruto quickly defended himself:
"Idiot! I was just testing him. I wasn't being serious! If I had, that guy would've been knocked down in seconds!"
As he spoke, he reached for Hyōrinmaru on his back.
Konohamaru looked expectant again.
Was Big Brother Naruto finally going to get serious?
But the very next second—
Three black lines appeared on Konohamaru's face.
Because he realized—
Naruto's arms were too short.
He reached behind his back several times but couldn't grab the hilt of the sword.
"Oh my god~ What kind of big brother did I pledge myself to? So embarrassing."
...
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