Naruto watched as Sasuke stood there, stunned.
With a slight smile, he said,
"What's the matter? Did you really think you could beat me just by mastering Fire Release?"
Sasuke's expression twitched.
What kind of nonsense is that!?
They were both still Academy students.
Just being able to use Fire Release ninjutsu was already a big deal.
If he hadn't been born into the Uchiha clan,
he wouldn't have had the chance to learn the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu in the first place!
But this guy—Naruto—
He just punched through his Fireball Jutsu like it was nothing!
That was the truly shocking part.
"Damn it…"
Sasuke clenched his teeth.
Even the strongest ninjutsu he'd learned so far couldn't land a scratch on this guy.
At this point, he didn't even know what kind of technique could possibly defeat him.
Naruto looked at Sasuke, who had gone quiet.
He knew it might seem a little unfair.
But thinking back on the fight just now…
Sasuke had shown clear progress—much more than last time.
It meant he'd been listening to what Naruto had told him before.
Realizing that, Naruto figured he could give him a bit more guidance.
After all, the fight was only just getting started,
and they had been under ANBU surveillance the moment they began exchanging blows.
That meant…
Giving Sasuke some pointers now wouldn't be a problem.
With that in mind, Naruto spoke again.
"Do you want to know why my fist could break through your Fire Release technique?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
Naruto replied calmly:
"Because your chakra control is too sloppy. You're wasting too much chakra when you cast ninjutsu."
"You don't have enough precision to use chakra efficiently."
Naruto deliberately pointed this out—he wanted to help Sasuke improve.
Sasuke fell silent, deep in thought.
Chakra control...? Could that really affect the power of a jutsu?
He wasn't entirely sure.
But this wasn't the first time Naruto had given him advice about getting stronger—
And so far, it had always been useful.
Sasuke made up his mind.
I'll trust him.
Still… I need to seriously figure out how to improve my chakra control.
Of course, Sasuke could have just asked Naruto directly, but doing that would've made him feel like he was admitting defeat.
"Tch."
"That's enough for today."
"Once I finish training…"
"I will defeat you!"
Sasuke huffed, turned around with prideful defiance, and stormed off.
Naruto watched him leave and couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
With both of them being closely monitored, this was as far as Naruto could go in helping Sasuke—at least for now.
After their sparring session, Naruto returned home.
He finished dinner, and then—without wasting a moment—dived right back into training.
During their fight, he had taken the opportunity to carefully memorize the hand seals for Sasuke's Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.
That's right.
While dodging fireballs, Naruto had sneakily copied the entire jutsu sequence into memory.
Since the old man—the Third Hokage—never gave him any scrolls of his parents' ninjutsu, he'd just find another way to learn.
Besides, Naruto had given Sasuke two valuable lessons now.
Charging him one Fireball Jutsu as tuition felt more than fair.
Naruto sat down, closed his eyes, and entered his inner mindscape—
The sealed space where the Nine-Tails was imprisoned.
There, he began recalling the hand seal sequence for Fireball Jutsu.
Thanks to his now extremely potent mental strength, Naruto's memory worked like a camera—everything captured in perfect detail.
With that—
Naruto formed the hand seals quickly: Tiger → Horse → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
And then—
A fireball shot out from his mouth…
But it was small.
Naruto didn't flinch. He expected that.
After all, his natural chakra affinity wasn't fire—it was wind.
Still, he could work on that.
He could train his chakra to adapt to the fire nature transformation.
So, Naruto began recalling the process he used when mastering the wind nature transformation before.
He focused on how he had split and sharpened his chakra with intense precision.
Now, using that same method—only this time with the essence of fire—he poured everything into mastering this new element.
He thought about how fire works: heat, combustion, expansion…
And suddenly, it all clicked.
🔥 [You have mastered the ultimate nature transformation of Fire Release!]
Your comprehension of fire is now as natural as breathing!
All Fire Style techniques have received a massive power boost!
Naruto's eyes snapped open.
He could feel it—his understanding of Fire Release had just reached a new peak.
He tried the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu again.
But this time…
What erupted from his mouth wasn't a small flame.
It was a blazing sphere the size of a small sun, growing rapidly until it towered four or five stories high!
The sheer pressure and heat distorted the air around it.
This was the true power of the ultimate fire nature transformation.
When fully mastered, even a simple Fire Style technique could become devastating.
Just like how, in the original history, Uchiha Madara's basic Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation needed dozens of Hidden Mist ninja working together with Water Release just to counter it!
Now, Naruto—
Not only had he mastered the ultimate fire nature transformation…
🔥 [Your chakra reserves rival those of a Tailed Beast!]
Fire Release Ninjutsu now possess overwhelming destructive potential!
Back in the sealed space, the Nine-Tails stirred.
Suddenly, the temperature spiked. Flames crackled violently.
The beast frowned.
This damn brat's at it again…
"Every single day… wrecking this place…"
If he weren't sealed behind these bars, the Nine-Tails would've flattened Naruto ten times over by now.
The life of a lazy, grumpy chakra monster had turned into a steaming sauna of misery.
Meanwhile, Naruto stood there, marveling at the enormous fireball, grinning like a kid at a fireworks show.
He didn't even spare the Nine-Tails a glance.
Instead, he pushed further.
With his deep understanding of chakra theory and the hand seals for Fireball Jutsu, he began to derive new techniques.
🔥 [You study the hand seals and structure of Fireball Jutsu...]
Epiphany! You begin to deduce multiple advanced Fire Release techniques!
In rapid succession, countless fire-style techniques flashed in Naruto's mind:
Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu
Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Claw Red
Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu
Fire Style: Flame Bomb
Fire Style: Great Flame Bomb
Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet
Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu
Fire Style: Headwork
Fire Style: Explosive Wind Dance
Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation
Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction
Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song Technique
So many fire-style techniques... it was dazzling.
Naruto randomly picked one:
Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song Technique!
"Let's try this one!"
He formed the hand seals quickly and shouted the name aloud.
A beat later—
BOOM!!!
Four colossal fire dragons erupted, twisting and roaring into the infinite darkness of the sealed space.
The flames lit up the entire dimension like a sunburst.
The intense heat raised the temperature yet again.
In his cage, the Nine-Tails was dumbfounded.
This kid… he's just casually busting out forbidden-level jutsu now?!
He stared as the fire dragons detonated in the distance, fire swallowing shadow.
And for the first time in a while…
The Nine-Tails wasn't angry.
He was concerned.
What were this brat's limits?
Naruto stood tall, letting the firelight wash over him.
He felt powerful. Fulfilled. Inspired.
"Not bad."
"With both wind and fire chakra mastered…"
"Next—earth, lightning, and water."
"When I've mastered all five elemental chakra natures…"
"…then I can begin working on the real deal."
He smiled to himself, eyes blazing with ambition.
With my chakra capacity rivaling a Tailed Beast…
Once I've mastered Five-Element Ninjutsu and Sage Mode…
I'll flood the battlefield with techniques like tossing beans!
No enemy—no matter who they were—
Would ever sleep soundly again.
...
TN:
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