"Move out at once! This time we head straight for the western sector of the Forest of Death!"
"Damn it, what is the barrier unit doing? Can't they fix it once and for all? In less than half a day we've had dozens of abnormal chakra alerts across the entire forest!"
"Couldn't they be mistaken? We just came back from the northern perimeter. Other than animal carcasses, there wasn't a single sign of life. The southern squad just swept through as well!"
"Yeah, and with this thick fog and pouring rain, the readings must be wrong..."
Amid the drenched woods, three ANBU with swords on their backs and masks on their faces cursed as they checked their maps. Moments later they darted off into the storm.
"Naruto, the barrier unit has probably sensed you again. Those ANBU are already on their way."
Minato's voice echoed in the seal.
"It's fine. I'll just change direction later. I've nearly perfected how to channel chakra into weapons. But tell me, Father, didn't you say Konoha's barrier only monitors the village itself twenty-four hours a day? When did the Forest of Death get included?"
Under a giant tree, in the hollow of tangled roots, Naruto's voice whispered. At the entrance lay the bloody corpses of two wolves, long dead.
Inside the hollow, Naruto leaned against the wall, his face hidden beneath a mask, his hair dyed black. In his hand gleamed a dagger, faint blue chakra flickering on its blade like a living flame. His eyes never wavered.
A deep growl shattered his focus.
"Kill two of you and the rest come for revenge? How loyal," he muttered as he stepped out into the rain.
Mist smothered the forest. The downpour cut through branches and leaves, drenching the earth until it was nothing but pits of mud.
Then came the sound of movement. A dozen pairs of glowing green eyes appeared through the fog. Wolves. Dozens of them. Their hatred was clear. Like a trained unit, they closed around him in a ring, eyes sharp, fangs bared.
"So, a whole pack. Perfect for a test."
Naruto smirked, forming seals with his hands.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With a puff of smoke, more than fifty Narutos stood ready, each mirroring his grin.
The wolves recoiled, hackles raised. They could sense danger. Some lowered themselves, ready to retreat.
"Go."
At his command, the clones charged.
"One, two, three… eleven clones gone, fifty-two wolves down. All marked."
The real Naruto stood untouched, counting calmly as the fight raged. With the last wolf dead, he dispelled the clones. The dagger in his hand flared, the blue chakra stretching into a short blade half a meter long.
In a blink he vanished.
The wolves that remained blinked in confusion. Then, in an instant, black light flashed. Blood sprayed. Their cries were cut short, bodies torn apart.
Naruto landed silently on a tree branch, staring at the broken remains below. His brow furrowed as he shifted his consciousness into the seal.
"Father, about the shadow clones. Why can they only use Flying Thunder God once? Do you have any solution?"
Minato shook his head. "I do not. Even when I trained the jutsu myself, I found the same limit. By theory, clones should wield every ability of the original, yet with Hiraishin it fails. They can teleport once, but never again."
He sighed. "Even Second Hokage, who created both the Shadow Clone and Flying Thunder God, could not solve it. He dreamed of combining them to achieve ultimate mastery, but even he failed."
Naruto exhaled, slightly disappointed. "So that road is closed." His mind flickered to the anime he remembered. In it, his clones had wielded Sage Mode. Even Madara's wooden doubles could summon Susanoo. But Hiraishin remained stubborn.
He had spent nearly two months inside the Forest of Death. Ever since the Hokage's departure, Moonlight Hayate had been following only a clone.
With his father's guidance, Naruto had already mastered Flying Thunder God within the first month.
And more. In the Mirror World he had gained countless jutsu and, at last, new chakra natures.
Now he held more than yang release. Wind, fire, and water coursed within him as well. The water release he had taken from the data puppet of Izumo Kamizuki.
The second month had been for digesting everything, polishing each technique until it became his own. His research into chakra nature transformation had borne fruit. He could now infuse weapons with chakra and shape it at will.
At that moment, three chakra signatures appeared at the edge of his senses.
"Faster than before. Time to return. The clone at home will soon arrive."
He vanished.
Naruto reappeared in his bedroom on the second floor of his house.
"Naruto, when will you leave Konoha?" Minato suddenly asked.
Naruto, sensing his clone and Hayate closing in outside, retreated into the seal.
"Why do you think I must leave, Father?"
"I don't know. I just feel it. You now wield Flying Thunder God. No one can hold you anymore."
Naruto's gaze burned with certainty. "Then hear me. I will not leave Konoha. Not for a long time."
Minato's eyes widened. "Why?"
Kurama stirred, sensing Naruto's gaze settle on him.
"There are many reasons," Naruto said. He stepped to the Nine Tails. "First, I must wait for Jiraiya to return. Only from him can I receive the seal's key and break it."
Minato's eyes narrowed. "And the others?"
Naruto smiled faintly. "Because Konoha is the perfect disguise. Not perfectly safe, but far less trouble than the alternative. If I left, I would be branded a rogue, a Jinchūriki on the run. Every eye in the ninja world would turn toward me. They might never catch me, but the constant pursuit would waste my time."
His eyes glimmered with hidden fire.
"And my Mirror World still needs more data. Konoha has much that I desire. Too much to leave behind."
He lifted his chin, his voice cold and unyielding.
"I have many reasons to stay in Konoha. And until the day I decide otherwise, I will not leave."
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