"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet."
Naruto quickly formed hand seals in front of his chest and continuously shot several Vacuum Bullets at a giant rock ten meters in front of him.
The moment the Ninjutsu was released, Naruto's body also moved towards the giant rock, and at the same time, a blue and white Chakra sphere rapidly rotated and condensed in his hand. As the Chakra sphere spun, the surrounding air suddenly began to flow, and a large amount of shattered rock and dead leaves were directly blown away, raising bursts of sand mist.
"Wind Release: Rasengan!"
This was a Rasengan that Naruto had infused with Wind Release Chakra. Although it couldn't be thrown directly like the Rasengan Shuriken, replacing the colorless Chakra with Wind Release Chakra greatly improved the Ninjutsu's cutting ability and destructive power.
The Vacuum Bullets instantly hit the marks Naruto had made on the giant rock, creating several human-head-sized craters in it.
The next moment the Vacuum Bullets hit, Naruto had already simultaneously rushed to the front of the giant rock, and the Wind Release Rasengan in his hand slammed into the middle of the giant rock.
"Boom!"
The Rasengan exploded instantly, with countless Wind Release Chakra gushing and splattering wildly in all directions. A spherical area with a two-meter diameter was enveloped by the Wind Release Chakra, even affecting Naruto himself, raising a thick gray mist that obscured the situation inside.
Until the gray mist dispersed, a two-meter diameter, empty spherical area remained, and the exploded Naruto directly disappeared with a "bang," turning into a puff of white smoke.
This was just a Shadow Clone.
"Bang!"
A sound of breaking ground suddenly rang out, and a golden-haired figure suddenly appeared from beneath the hemispherical pit, swinging a fist enhanced by layers of Chakra directly at the giant rock.
"Boom!"
Accompanied by a huge roar, the mountain-like giant rock directly spread spiderweb-like cracks centered on Naruto's fist, finally exploding with a crash and turning into scattered rubble.
After a year and a half of practice, his training here was about to end. Hiruzen Sarutobi had already told him that he had arranged for him to enter the Ninja Academy to study. Although he no longer needed to go to the Ninja Academy, it seemed Hiruzen Sarutobi still hoped he could further his study of the fire will at the Ninja Academy.
—
On the other side, inside the Hokage Building.
The Konoha F4, who had been observing Naruto's training through Hiruzen Sarutobi's Telescope Jutsu, all gasped.
All four felt the atmosphere in the Hokage Office had become a bit hot.
"The Jinchuriki now has roughly the strength of an elite Chunin."
Utatane Koharu, the only female among the F4, said with a solemn expression.
At this moment, Homura Mitokado, the old man with hedgehog hair and glasses next to her, asked in a deep voice, "Hiruzen, is there no risk of the Jinchuriki losing control if he trains so freely?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe and said confidently, "Don't worry, Homura, I regularly check Naruto's seal. I can only say Minato's seal is quite good; the Nine-Tailed has no sign of breaking free from the seal."
The Nine-Tailed, on the other hand, indicated that there was a show to watch from time to time, and it was quite comfortable lying down.
"If that's the case, then the Jinchuriki doesn't need to go to the Ninja Academy anymore." The "One-Eyed Danzo," who had been silent for a long time, spoke.
His gaze was burning, and a strange glint appeared in his cloudy single eye as he stared intently at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, who considered himself very familiar with Danzo's personality, felt a chill run down his spine from the other party's gaze.
"With the Jinchuriki's current strength, going to the Ninja Academy is a complete waste of time."
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. He knew what Danzo wanted to say without even thinking about it, but to make this four-person meeting seem fair, he still chose to respect Danzo's opinion.
"Then, Danzo, do you have any better ideas?"
Danzo's lips curved slightly, revealing a smirk of a successful scheme. Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart instinctively sank, and he wanted to stop him, but it was already too late.
"It seems Naruto has a great talent for Wind Release. He was able to grasp Chakra's nature transformation in one day, and in a few months, he not only mastered Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet but also incorporated Wind Release Chakra into the Rasengan. This is something even Minato Namikaze couldn't do back then."
Danzo Shimura paused here and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"What exactly do you want to say?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was a bit ugly. He couldn't quite grasp Danzo Shimura's goal. In the past, at this time, the other party should have asked him for the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki to be trained by Root. Today, he was praising Naruto for the first time, and even showed closeness to the Jinchuriki.
Could it be someone impersonating him?
Unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi's anxiety, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado watched this scene with interest.
"Everyone should be very clear that in today's Konoha, my Wind Release Ninjutsu is the best. If Naruto can be personally taught by me, even without the Nine-Tailed, Konoha can quickly gain a fighting force not weaker than us four."
Danzo's old and hoarse voice grew louder and louder, finally standing up from his seat and looking down at Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying each word clearly.
"I want to take Uzumaki Naruto as my disciple."
Danzo Shimura looked down at Hiruzen Sarutobi's sullen face in the shadows, which gave him a feeling of finally winning against the other party for once.
As for taking the Jinchuriki as a disciple, it was merely a means for Danzo Shimura to gain control of the Jinchuriki, and this means was even inspired by that old man Hiruzen.
After all, Uzumaki Naruto possessed an extremely strong Wind Release talent, and he could guarantee that no one in all of Konoha could surpass him in Wind Release Ninjutsu. This gave him an excellent opportunity to take the Jinchuriki as his disciple.
Moreover, with the excuse of adding another Kage-level strength to the Village in a short time, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi was displeased, he couldn't directly refuse him, as this was a way to quickly strengthen the Village.
He glanced at Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado again. These two were merely indecisive individuals, nothing to worry about.
His opponent had always been only Hiruzen.
"Danzo, I told you long ago that Naruto would never be given to your Root." Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a puff of white smoke, his old face hidden in the shadows. Although his expression was unclear, his low voice suppressed raging anger.
"Hiruzen!" Danzo Shimura suddenly shouted out. His normally gloomy single eye now sparkled with light, and for a moment, all three were awestruck.
"I am a Konoha Hokage Advisor!"
'Is this guy also trying to step into the light now?'
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was obscure and hard to discern. He glanced at the other two Advisors, who were once again holding their teacups and pretending to be foolish.
He hadn't expected that there would be a day when he would be suppressed by this Danzo Shimura. But did Danzo think he could control him by relying on what he considered righteous? He was the Hokage!
"You can teach your Ninjutsu to Naruto, but you cannot become his teacher."
"Why?" Danzo immediately questioned, his tone urgent. He hadn't expected that even after he had said all that, Hiruzen still wouldn't budge.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at Danzo and said in a deep voice, "Because you are the Ninja World's Darkness, Konoha's Root, the Root Leader!"
"What do you mean?"
"Naruto needs a clean political background," Hiruzen Sarutobi scanned the three confused individuals, then continued, "Because I want Naruto to become the next Hokage."
He was telling Danzo Shimura to properly recognize his place.
However, after hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's answer, the other three's eyes widened in unison.
'How much longer do you intend to be Hokage?'
All three felt somewhat incredulous, especially Danzo, whose visible eye nearly popped out.
"Hiruzen, you actually want the Jinchuriki to be Hokage?"
"Why not? The current Mizukage of Hidden Mist is the Three-Tails Jinchuriki." Hiruzen Sarutobi said calmly, not taking the matter to heart.
"Konoha has never had a precedent of a Jinchuriki becoming Hokage!" Danzo Shimura said through gritted teeth, his gaze wanting to devour someone. Did Hiruzen Sarutobi prefer to give the Hokage position to the Jinchuriki rather than give him a chance?
"Now it does."
"You!"
"Hiruzen, I have no objection to the Jinchuriki becoming Hokage, but the Jinchuriki's reputation in the Village..."
"Yes, Hiruzen, after all, we don't yet know the Jinchuriki's attitude towards the Village, after all..."
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado also couldn't help but speak. After all, having the Jinchuriki as Hokage would probably be difficult for people in Konoha to accept.
This time, it was Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips that curved slightly as he solemnly said to the three, "I can guarantee that Naruto's fire will is incredibly pure. At the same time, I also firmly believe that he can gain the approval of everyone in the Village and then become the next Hokage."
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's resolute expression, Danzo Shimura could no longer voice his idea of taking Naruto as a disciple. He hadn't expected that the method he had spent so long devising would be so easily thwarted by this guy.
He hadn't expected that his identity as the Root Leader, which he had always relied on, would ultimately become his greatest hindrance. There was no longer an opportunity.
At least not in the short term.
If that's the case...
"If that's the case, then let's try the Jinchuriki again."