Chapter 32 – A Word

The Goblin Chief either sensed the killing intent or acted in desperation; it started to move.

"Sorry, it's late." Snap. 

The balls shook gently before exploding with power, turning into spears that pierced the Goblin Chief's wound. Even his eyes, ears, nose and mouth were not spared.

Kuwak! 

The spears attacking the wounds, most of them were stopped by the bulky muscles.

The rock spears pierced the eyes and passed through the small holes in the orbital bone of the skull and nose, reaching the brain membranes through small holes called foramen, and from mouth, the spear went all the way to the spine.

Goblin Chief Lvl 30 

HP – 0/45,000 

[You have defeated the Goblin Chief.]

*Ding 

Killed 99 out of 99 Goblins 

- Gained 65 Goblin Ear 

- Gained 30 bottles of Goblin Saliva 

Killed 33 out of 33 Hobgoblin 

- Gained 12 Hobgoblin Clubs 

- Gained 8 bottles of Hobgoblin blood

Killed 1 out of 1 Goblin Chief

- Gained 100,000 Exp 

- Gained 200,000 Ryo 

- Gained 1 Goblin Chief's Battle Axe

- Gained Skill book – Modified Earth Clone

[You have leveled up.]

[You have reached level 18.]

"Modified Earth clone?" A small smile appeared on Raito's face as he grabbed everyone and disappeared. 

Outside the Training Ground Zero, the supervisors, as well as the academy teachers, stood in front of the student, with Iruka at the forefront, a small smile playing on his lips. 

"Congratulations, everyone." Iruka clapped and the group behind him joined in. 

"I am proud to see you all standing before me."

The successful candidates cheered and began chatting amongst themselves.

"Alright, alright. Let me continue." Iruka clapped his, capturing the student's attention, "We will continue our classes from Sunday." 

"Aww," There was a collective groan form the student party.

"Also, I would like to remind you all for your upcoming final exams before you become shinobi of the village."

The chatter continued, and most students started discussing forming study groups.

Iruka stepped back and Eichiro walked forward. He snapped his finger, amplified by the chakra and ordered. "Make two lines. One for the girls and other for the boys, then enter the cabin to take your things." 

Kenichi gave Raito his things and said in a low voice, "If you can master three-seal Fūinjutsu, even if someone tries to search for them, they won't find any." 

After giving Raito a tip, Kenichi pushed Raito out and attended to others. 

Raito shrugged, then regrouped with everyone. 

Raito saw Ino lecturing Naruto to read the books properly, to not play pranks on the people, and Naruto was also laughing bitterly as he accepted with everything Ino said. 

At the Hokage tower,

Raito peeked inside the secretary door and looked left to right. To the left, there were several people going through the papers, and passing them to the others, then they started grouping the papers. One of the men even gritted his teeth, crumpled a sheet of papers and tossed it into an overflowing bin.

"Those guys are from T and I department, and Intelligence department." Mariko grabbed Raito's ear from behind and asked. "So, what is little mister doing here?"

"Mariko-nee." Raito cupped Mariko's hand then brought out a small figurine of her and gave it to her. "It's for you."

"Oh, wow." Mariko looked at the small figurine, then looked at Raito. "Thank you, Raito."

She placed the figurine on the table and opened the door to the Hokage office. "He's inside."

With a smile, Raito entered the room, calling out to the elderly figure before taking a seat.

"Raito-kun, you seem happy. Did something good happen?" Hiruzen inquired, patting his wet hair and asked with his kind smile. 

"Nothing, I'm just happy that the test is over. Now I am going to enjoy a few lazy days at home." Raito replied casually.

"Then I won't take much of your time and go straight to the point. I want you to tell me everything that happened from the time Mizuki and Tokiji arrived, to the point, Mizuki was captured." Hiruzen asked as one of the ANBU to note. 

"Well…." Raito dragged then looked at the bookshelf. "I don't remember much"

Hiruzen sat on his chair, but found that Raito was dawdling. He shook his head and waved his hand. "Tell me everything and I promise, you will be rewarded, not only for catching and defeating the village traitor, but also recovering secrets of the village." 

[Quest Created] 

Raito thought of accepting and focused back on Hiruzen. 

"Mizuki, Tokiji, and that fake scroll," Raito muttered in a low voice then explained all the happenings to Hiruzen, some points exaggerated and some points downplayed. Of course, he exaggerated his actions, teamwork and Shikamaru's clever plans the downplayed when he was about to die or his teammates, who were thrown, knocked on the wall, and remained unconscious for a certain time.

Hiruzen listened everything. How much ever Raito tried to play with the words, he picked up what was necessary and what Raito was hiding. The ANBU noted several points and looked at one another.

"You used a healing jutsu?" Hiruzen asked in curiosity. 

"Yeah." Raito nodded. 

Hiruzen took out a scroll and pointed on a section before sighing. "Iruka told me that the Healing Jutsu you did was 'Amazing', describing it as 'I could see my cut wound closing even when it was so big'. I really didn't dare to believe that." 

"That's what healing jutsu does, right?" Raito replied simply. 

Hiruzen sighed as he looked to one of his ANBU then to Raito, "Raito, do you know how a wound is healed?"

"Yes…" Mostly from the books from the library, which has lots of pictures.

"Yes, that is." He wore is glasses and looked at the scroll once more. "Did you learn that from someone?"

Raito leaned back on the comfortable chair and looked slanted down. "Not really." 

"Hm…"

The gazes from everyone were giving him goose bumps. "I learned it from a book."

Everyone remained silent waiting for Raito to continue.

Raito sighed internally and began, "I didn't understand most of the things, but I remembered one, 'Healing depends on the healthy person, clean environment, and abundant time. The Healing techniques affects these three groups, and focus on one or all, whichever is the most suitable.'"

Hiruzen leaned back on his chair and said slowly. "Iruka was kept him in the hospital for about 24 hours to monitor him and fix some of his old problems. We found that while most of the surface wounds were gone, it even had a certain effect on the muscle, but the damage to bones remained. Your jutsu probably gave him a pain killer for that."

Hiruzen removed his glasses and let out a chuckle. He waved his hand signaling ANBU to leave then said. "Raito, jutsu are the wonder of the human mind, making impossible become possible."

"The healing jutsu you performed, how to say it? Maybe, I am overrating it too much but it may rank in the top ten in terms of basic healing jutsus in the village."

"Top ten? Isn't that a bit too much?" Raito looked a little bad. He looked around the room and then at Hiruzen. "Is there a ranking for Healing Jutsu? Which one is the strongest?" This time there was more excitement in his voice. 

"Hoho, maybe you've read in your classes, but my student, Tsunade, has earned quite a name in regarding healing arts." Hiruzen started touching his beard. "She was tough and determined, accumulation of knowledge, beauty and…"

Head hanging down, Raito sighed, "Of course I have, I have read it all but you are just too long-winded." 

Hiruzen just laughed it off. 

"She has one technique called 'Rebirth', which lets her recover in an instant." Hiruzen snapped his finger and made some hand gestures to show how amazing it was. "That's how powerful it was, any wound or fatal injuries, healed in an instant. That technique was a wonderful feast for the eyes." Hiruzen sighed. 

"For something like that to exist, healing in a blink of an eye. I can't believe it." In his excitement, Raito just wanted to say 'Give me'. 

"You will know it sooner or later, but the jutsu are wonders, created by humans." He rested his hand on the table and continued, "In this vast continent and beyond, people are using chakra in hundreds of different ways to accomplish the impossible."

"The only limitation is the user, himself." Hiruzen sighed then added with unbound curiosity, "How about a demonstration for this old man?" 

Raito paused for a moment then nodded, "Who should I perform on, then?" 

"Hmm, how about me?" Hiruzen folded his sleeves and took out a kunai. 

The ANBU were alarmed as they jumped out of their hiding spots. One of them quickly grabbed Hiruzen's hand but then retreated with hints of fear. 

Raito paused for a long time as he saw Hiruzen pointing the knife to his brachial. He turned his head and chair to the opposite and said. "Jii-chan, if you do that, I am not going to demonstrate the healing technique. I am going to let you bleed out and die" 

A purple haired ANBU jumped down, unsheathing her sword and asked, "Then how about me?" 

"NO." Raito directly gave a reply without even bothering to think. 

Like a perfect cliffhanger, knocking sounds came from the door, grabbing everyone's attention. Ibiki entered the room, His big body, tanned skin and scarred face giving everyone a faint sense of pressure. 

He scanned the room, pausing a bit, when his eyes landed on Raito and said, "We have confirmation." 

"Ibiki-oni." Raito looked up and down and quickly registered with '[Observe]' to look through the file later.

Ibiki looked at the chair and his eyes twitching, replied in a small voice, "Little Devil". 

"CAT, take him into my chambers," Hiruzen ordered and CAT followed. 

"Nee-" 

*Glare 

"CAT-san, what do you think about my jutsu?" Raito asked with a big smile on his face, sitting on a chair.

"Life-saving," CAT spoke few words and kept silent. She stood dutifully in front of the door, watching over Raito.

Unable to bear the silence, Raito walked around the room to search for anything. When his eyes landed on the crystal ball, his hand moved forward and touched the crystal ball. 

[Would you like to use 'Telescope'?]

[YES | NO] 

He removed his hands then looked at CAT. It meant to ask whether it was okay for him to mess around.

[Would you like to use 'Telescope'?]

[YES | NO] 

"Only Hokage-sama can use that crystal ball. It was said that not even the Fourth was able to use it." CAT shook her head, recalling the days when this crystal ball was a topic of discussion among the ANBU, back when Hiruzen was younger. It was a playful challenge; whoever could use it would supposedly become the next Hokage. Though a jest, everyone yearned for such challenges.

"What if I can use this?" Raito asked, pointing at the crystal ball.

After a long pause, CAT replied, "Any jutsu of your choice." 

Raito waved his hand then asked, "Even S-rank and A-ranks?" 

After another, even longer pause, CAT shivered before answering, "Yes." 

"S-Rank Jutsu, be ready, here I come." Raito cheered then pressed 'YES' to activate it. 

Feeling the chakra leaving his body, the crystal ball shined brightly and the scenery change inside it. 

"It's the view from Hokage monument." Raito's eye widened as the crystal ball showed the view from the Hokage monument. 

[5 CP per second] 

Academy. The hot springs "So, that's how he peeks." Training area. The gates. 'Kotetsu Hagane' and 'Izumo Kamizuki'. 

Raito was even able to use his '[Observe]' skill with the crystal ball. 

"Stop, Raito." Hiruzen slammed open the door and shouted in his stern voice. 

Raito quickly cancel the connection, pulled his hand back, with eyes dilated, then jumped back. 

Hiruzen stood there with a stern face, determination in his eyes. He waved his hand, forcing a jet of chakra, and a thud echoed. 

"Activate the seal and clean the room. Label it as a Class A secret, memory." Hiruzen ordered and everyone started working. 

"Raito, we need to talk about things, but later." Closing his eye in contemplation, he added, "Use that jutsu to disappear and go home. I will meet you there. Stay inside and keep yourself busy, and Naruto too." 

He came near and held Raito by his cheek and asked, "Do you understand?"

Raito was stunned for the moment. 

Should he? How? When? Why? 

Hundreds of question appeared in Raito's mind, and he began blaming one or other for all his question.

Hiruzen pushed his chakra, forcing Raito to arouse out of stupor. After staring for a while, Raito muttered words and disappeared from the spot. 

"Kakashi, Tenzō. Can you tell how he did that?" Hiruzen asked. 

"I couldn't, Hokage-sama," Tenzō answered after a long time. 

"There was a shiver in his chakra but nothing else. There was no space fluctuation that I could see," Kakashi answered, but the magatama in his iris still moved as if searching frantically and causing him pain. 

Hiruzen sighed, "Make someone clean this mess and be with Raito unmasked. Take people with you, and keep him busy." Hiruzen ordered to whom it was concerned. 

"Hai." Before disappearing, she said in a soft voice, "You never raised you voice like that before." 

Hiruzen dragged his exhausted body, sat on the main seat, and lit a smoke to handle his coming nonsense.

"Sorry, old friends." 

Time passed and with a knock, Mariko entered the room. Her head slightly lowered, she announced, "Hokage-sama we have members of the elder council here, council-men Mitokado Homura, council-women Utatane Koharu and head of the civilian council, Shimura Danzō requesting-"

Sighing lightly, Hiruzen replied, "Let them in." 

A man wearing bandages, covering most of his upper part and one eye, hiding his bandaged right arm in the clothes and walking with a walking stick entered the room. He was with two other elderly figure, one man with grayish black hair wearing glasses and one woman with grayish black hair made into a bun, held by a red hairpin. 

The mummy walked forward and stood in front of the table with two elderly figure behind him, and asked, "Hiruzen, you should know why we are here?"

Hiruzen had his hat on as he looked up with his hands clasped.

At the same time, Raito returned home with tunnel vision. He just had one question in his mind. 'Jii-chan was angry, was it the scroll? Crystal Orb? Or the secrets he had been keeping?'

Raito exited the dungeon and suddenly appeared, which frightened Naruto. 

"Hey, Raito, that scared me. What happened? You look pale." Naruto looked at Raito and found that he was acting weird. Naruto grabbed Raito's hand brought him to the sofa. 

Taking a huge breath, Raito calmed down and said, "Jii-chan told us not to go out, for now, he will be coming to talk with us." 

"Okay." Naruto looked weirdly at Raito then asked, "Did something happened?"

"No, everything is fine." Ratio gave Naruto a weak smile before leaving for the kitchen. He then began the endless journey of becoming 'The Food King'. 

** 

"So that's how it rains? How simple. Those teachers in the academy definitely do not know how to teach. You are definitely the best, Raito." Naruto harrumphed, jumping to give Raito a hug.

"Only if you read properly, you won't need teachers." Raito sighed, his on hand busy keep Naruto at bay, while the other stirred the pot. The soup emitted a delightful fragrance, filling the air with a refreshing smell.

Knock! Knock! 

Without even needing to open the door, the door was blasted open following Anko's shouting. Following her, Yūgao and Mari entered the house. 

"Congratulation, you two." 

Anko held alcohol bottles, big enough to go all night long. 

"It's just survival test, you know?" Raito looked at everyone, then at the bottles weirdly.

"It smells food here." Anko directly ignored Naruto, who was looking at the alcohol bottle, and walked forward, placing the alcohol bottles with care, on the table, then went to the kitchen top. 

"Here, have some cake." Mari placed the cake boxes on the table. 

Anko took a deep breath as she started opening the lids of pots and pans. 

"Jii-chan didn't come?" Raito asked, his emotions complicated. 

** 

"What do the three of you need?" Hiruzen asked, eyeing their faces. His gaze was menacing, and with the Hokage robes, the situation even grimmer.

"We just wanted to know what is happening in the village," Danzō answered, his eyes still closed. 

"We want in too, Hiruzen." 

"We were in the same team, have some trust." 

The two elderlys also chimed in. 

Hiruzen sighed and commanded, "Prepare" to the ANBU near him. 

"I, alone, will handle it. There is no need for you all to involve yourself. Go back to your residence and prepare for tomorrow's meeting, just like every day." Hiruzen turned around in his seat and added. 

Danzo stood up and shouted, "But why did you-" 

"Kill him?" Hiruzen's voice turned heavier.

Danzō didn't think Hiruzen would voice out this. 

"I wanted the three of you to know." Standing up, he stared at the three, his voice turning heavier, the killing intent flooding the room, "Those little 'pests' here, I have tolerated enough." 

"I just wanted to remind you. While you two are the part of the elder council, I have the hat, I have the seat, and I have the power to do things, in my way." 

"Those little birds you send here may not return to their nest at the end of the day." 

"… and Danzō, I want you to know that you are currently the head of the civilian council, and your job is to manage them, and nothing else. Tell them, tell each, and every single one of them. Any more of those little tricks, and I will have to deal them with sensei's method, the old way." Hiruzen gritted his teeth as the words escaped from his mouth. 

"Keep playing like you always do." Saying that, he passed the three. 

"Hiruzen!" Danzo struck the ground with his stick, making a loud, crisp sound. 

"What!?" Hiruzen replied calmly but the pressure forced Danzo to take a few steps backward. 

"You have gone-"

"Calm down, you two." The two elderlys tried to placate the two. 

"Hiruzen, we only came here to know, who was it that made you mobilize such a large force. We may be able to help." Homura said with his calm voice.

"My old friends, I still want us to be friends till the day I see light." 

Danzō gritted his teeth. Even after so much of sacrifice, using Shishui's eye and the life of his trained soldier. 'Shishui's eye is not that powerful, although this eye has powerful Genjutsu capabilities, what I wanted is still not this.'

"I understand." Danzō quickly exited the room. 

Homura and Koharu, walked forward standing in front of Hiruzen and said, "Hiruzen, our grandchildren, thank you." 

** 

A few hours later. 

"Hokage-sama, Kabuto has disappeared. The ANBU medical chief is also found dead. No other casualties." reported the ANBU. 

"Report to me about all the happenings," Hiruzen replied calmly, as if everything was as anticipated. 

** 

"Hey, just asking, but is Jii-chan not coming?" Raito looked at the clock and asked for the umpteenth time, making everyone feel nauseous. 

"Well… it's already seven now, but you have to understand that Hokage-sama has a lot of work." Mari replied, her expression one of resignation.

"He will be here. If the old man said he will be here then he will be here." Anko affirmed, biting into her meat.

"Yes, Anko. I keep my words." A voice alerted Anko from behind. 

"Eep." Anko jumped at the voice, resembling a frightened rabbit, and backed away. The meat on her hand flew in the air, caught skillfully by Hiruzen's Chakra Threads. 

"Hokage-sama." Mari and Yūgao bowed. 

"Jiji." Raito and Naruto cried out. 

"You two." Hiruzen's weak voice and weary look made him appear like an old, frail man, making Raito somewhat sad. 

"Yūgao, go to the 'room', they need you." Hiruzen waved, prompting Yūgao to act. 

Yūgao walked over and approached the two, and said with a gentle voice, "Behave," before leaving. 

"Anko, take Naruto inside. I want to talk to Raito for a moment," Hiruzen said, making Raito feel a little pressure.

Nodding, Anko and Naruto went inside a room. 

Hiruzen took a seat in front of Raito, and Mari took a seat at the side, emitting a stern aura. 

Hiruzen laughed and gestured at Mari, asking her to calm down. Glancing at Raito in front of him, Hiruzen sighed. 

Leaning back on the sofa, he looked at Mari and then at Raito. Letting out a small smile, he said, "Raito, you are stupid." 

"Eh?" Raito was a little shocked. "I'm not really-"

Hiruzen continued to smile and added, "Your behavior, your abilities, your new skills, and your desire. Everyone can feel the difference. The change in attitude and behavior, everyone can sense. Everyone has secrets, and we don't mind, but you have made far too many mistakes." 

"Do you think that the back of the house has magical hiding prowess? Even if you try to hide your abilities, people will still figure it out if you show off too much. You even involved the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, making a small chaos in the village. You disappeared and Kakashi who was watching with a telescope saw that and when you returned, he saw you again." 

"You need to be aware that there are Byakugan and sensors in the village that can watch you from a far distance. There are also Chūnin and Jōnin who have extraordinary eyesight. These people can be out of your range and, at the same time, spy on you. Science and technology have developed in the last couple of decades; camera, TVs, video recorder; there are ways to find your secret."

Letting the words sink in, Hiruzen took out a scroll, adorned with multiple storage seals. Channeling chakra into one of the seals, a book materialized before him. 

Picking up the book, Hiruzen leafed through a couple of pages. Waving his hand to call Raito, Hiruzen made him sit near himself. As Raito settled, Hiruzen patted his head and began, "From now on, before you use that jutsu, you will make sure to be prepared for everything. Mostly, I wish if you could do it inside the house." At the end of his advice, Hiruzen handed Raito a book.

"I mentioned earlier through CAT that I would be giving you jutsu A-rank or S-rank, but not just yet. You'll have to be patient for that," Hiruzen whispered to Raito's ear, his voice a soothing reassurance. 

Hiruzen smiled then hugged Raito, "You are smart but still inexperienced, but time will change that. I believe in you Raito, I believe, you would be a great man, and outlive me. Your name will be known through the whole of the Elemental Nations for the path you decide. Let the enemies fear when they hear your name, and let your families and friends be filled with joy, when they see you. You have a long journey, and you have just started. You may fall from time to time, but you must never give up." 

Raito trembled as Hiruzen spoke. He could not believe how stupid he could be. Raito blamed himself, vowing to consider his actions more carefully. Words kept pouring and the hand patting his head felt heavy. Listening to the words, Raito felt small again, when his mistakes were just mistakes. Tears came pouring out of his eyes, and his heart felt heavy. 

[A new title has been acquired.]

[Seedling] 

- Easier gaining and passing knowledge. (Bonus to abilities, 'Learn' 'Read' and 'Teach')

- 10% Increase in skill experience points. 

- Gain extra 1 stat point per level. (Total 7 per level)

[A Special title has been unlocked. Points gained. 250 points.] 

Releasing the boy, Hiruzen said, "Now, go to your room for a while with Mari. I have something to speak with Naruto."

"Like you said, somethings should not be kept hidden." 

Raito's eye shined, but he obediently walked with Mari to his room. Upon reaching the room, Mari sealed the room with her own version of sealing techniques. 

Jumping into the bed, he eyed Mari and remarked, "I already know about it, Mari-nee." 

Mari rolled her eyes and grabbed a chair, "Just stay in the room for ten minutes." 

"Shikamaru knows it too." Raito continued. "He is smart, his father is smart, but a lot of people are a fool." 

Sighing, she crossed her legs and said, "More than half of the village are fools." 

"But I want to ask Mari-nee, how can someone seal a tailed beast, like 'The Nine Tails' into a human, 'Naruto'?" 

Mari kept quiet, but as Raito persisted, she decided to explain it all, "The tailed beast is called 'bijū' or Chakra Monster. They existed long before the large villages formed, and the humans that the bijū are sealed into is called Jinchūriki, the power of human sacrifice. There are nine Chakra Monsters, going from one to nine tails, and there are nine Jinchūriki, each housing one bijū each. Just like Konoha has Naruto, the Jinchūriki for Kyūbi, there are others too." 

"Like Killer B of Hachibi?" Raito asked with interest. 

"How?" Mari frowned. 

"The merchants." Raito answered then asked. "What about others?" 

"We know about some due to their appearance in the third shinobi war, but others remain unknown. They haven't made many appearances in public." 

"Why are we not taught about that in class, Mari-nee?" Raito asked, seemingly confused. 

"Not everyone is understanding about this subject. Mostly, it's because the civilian council rejects it." 

"If you have any more question, ask away. I am feeling generous." 

Raito closed his eyes seemingly in a deep thoroughly. Opening his eyes, he asked with a heavy heart, "Just… why Naruto?" 

At the ground floor, Naruto had a letter and a picture of a pregnant red-haired. As he read, tears of joy streamed down his face, dispelling the doubts that had clouded him. 

He had parents – parents who loved him, cared for him; he was not abandoned. Hiruzen hugged the crying Naruto for a long, long time. Part of Hiruzen felt relieved; he had fulfilled one of his promises, the reason he was still alive. He had feared that he could not live to see the day he could give this letter to Naruto. 

** 

"Because he is an Uzumaki," Mari answered. 

"Because he is an Uzumaki? Are you really telling me everything?" Raito questioned, not feeling satisfied. 

"Why don't you think of this as a son or daughter inheriting a family business?" Mari tried changing the direction of thinking. 

"What do you mean?" Raito asked. 

"Before Naruto, the Jinchūriki to Kyūbi was none other than his mother, Namikaze Uzumaki Kushina." 

"And what about before that?" 

"The wife of the first Hokage, Senju Uzumaki Mito." 

"….Damn." Raito could only curse. Every Jinchūriki was related to Hokage somehow. 

After a long pause, Raito asked with a silly face, "So next Hokage is going to marry Naruto?" 

'I just made the joke about Hinata being the Hokage last week but…'

There was a long pause when Raito said that. A twitching smile hung on Mari's face before she laughed aloud. 

Wiping her tears, she cursed. Rubbing Raito's hair, she brought out a scroll, but when Raito saw that, he immediately tried snatching it.

Toying with Raito, she removed the red knot on the scroll before unrolling. "Let's see." 

Unrolling the scroll, there were lines and lines of characters seals drawn on the scroll with various circle and lines. From the simple storage seal to the more complex ones, she looked at the complex seals; characters, lines, and numbers, then sighed. Activating the chakra, the scroll rolled back and the knot was tied back. 

Raito quickly snatched the scroll back and gave a dissatisfied snort. 

Although it looked like Raito was angry, he wasn't. This scroll was one of the research decoys he had placed in the house. 

"You shouldn't keep such precious things randomly in the house," Mari said as she took out a slightly bigger scroll and placed it on the floor. Inside the scroll, there were numerous storage seals present with unique characters in it. 

"I saw that your katana was broken, what did you do with it? Hit a rock? Go ahead and see if you like any." Mari shook her head and passed chakra to the scroll, releasing the weapons. 

The weapons hovered in the air, each one of different shape and size. 

Looking at them, Raito wanted to become a thief. 

[War Hammer] (Uncommon) 

ATK – 500 

Durability – 2000 

[Throwing Star](Uncommon) 

ATK – 30 

Durability – 300 

[Katar](Uncommon) 

ATK – 45 

Durability – 1900 

[Ninjatō](Uncommon) 

ATK – 140 

Durability – 2800 

[Katana](Uncommon) 

ATK – 180 

Durability – 3000 

[Spear](Uncommon) 

ATK – 120 

Durability – 2500 

And there were many more. Mari sat on the ground with her scroll unrolled. Weapons stood on the scroll seal with their handles on the top, letting the observer freely try them.

"Mari-nee, you are… a walking armory." Raito said, inspecting each weapon on the scroll, studying their attributes, and letting out a silly laugh.

"Choose." Mari hissed. 

"Um… then I choose all." Raito spread his hand, indicating all weapons. 

"Only one. Make your pick." Mari glared. 

"How about this scroll-" He could only stop as the glare intensified.

"Hai." Since every weapon was uncommon, Raito sighed and chose a substitute for his katana. 

"In Konoha, we have a lot of specific techniques for Ninjatō, but if you want techniques relating to katana then they are more in 'Land of Iron'," Mari advised as Raito grabbed the katana. 

[Sword Mastery] 

[Subset – Katana mastery Lvl 15] 

Sword with a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard. 

(Lvl 25 – Skill Locked)

"Mari-nee, when we say sword, is it katana or Ninjatō?" Raito asked a super mega level important question.

Raito smiled and shook his head, then grabbed the katana pulling it towards himself. 

[Katana](Uncommon) 

ATK – 180 

Durability – 3000 

Special - (+5 DEX) 

Made by – Ayoma Mari 

Owner – Yoshizawa Raito 

Katana made by Ayoma Mari, a newly ranked blacksmith. A sharp edge with a heavy back, with a long handle two-handed attacking, is possible to deliver damage with greater force. 

(Blueprint) 

(Uses)

(Flaws)

Raito swung the katana with a gentle movement but for Mari, her heart was in pain. She had started smithing as her new hobby, and these were the best weapons she could make right now. To part with her weapon, made her feel some sense of loss. 

Raito felt happy with the katana he had selected, then seeing Mari's face, Raito brought out a bowl from his inventory. A meaty smell came from the bowl, noodles as a base and covered by shredded meaty gravy with chopped scallions on the top. Handing the bowl, he gave her chopsticks and a bottle of purified water. 

Smelling the meaty flavor, Mari let out a snort, then quickly dived in. She chewed, slurped, and swallowed, and in minutes, the bowl was empty. Breathing out, she opened the cap of the bottle and took a sip. With a gulp, she was astonished; her chakra network felt re-energized, and she felt a trace amount of chakra recovering. Closing the cap, she looked at Raito with heaps of question. 

Raito smiled and started explaining about the water. Of course, it was his turn to shift the blame… let's just say credit, to Hinata. 

The skills were quite an amazing thing for him, whether it a jutsu from the books or the ones he gained after multiple uses. After learning the skills, basics about the skills will be in his brain, which is mostly about the activation of the technique itself. Other than the activation, there was a book about it, the theoretical aspect. Maybe even the creator of jutsu had not thought much about it that the book had recorded. 

As the skill leveled up, he gained new effect to the skill, there would be another knowledge endowment, explaining how the effect came to be. 

Night fell, and everyone left the house, leaving Naruto, Raito, and Anko alone in the house. 

Raito opened the door and walked in Naruto's room, which was still lit. 

Naruto was sitting on his bed with a picture frame in his hand, trying to open it but failing to do so. 

Raito walked forward, snatched the picture frame, turning it around, and opened it before giving it back to Naruto. 

In his regular orange clothes, which was now a little dirty, Naruto cleaned the frame with the photo of the red-haired women with extreme care. After cleaning the table, Naruto placed the photo frame in the middle of the table, with his other photos.

"She is my mom." Naruto voice cracked in the deep of night. "Uzumaki Kushina." 

"Mm." Raito simply replied before walking back. 

Naruto with his head down and a weak voice said it to Raito. "I have a… a big fox inside me." 

"The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox." Raito smiled and continued, "But still, you are the ramen-loving Naruto. I know what sealing techniques are. Do not compare me with those stupid people." Raito closed the door and activated the seal.

'That nine tailed demon, I hope I can get rid of it one day. Two seals that I want to destroy, huh.'

Raito walked down the stairs where Anko was standing in anticipation. Happily walking forward, she grabbed Raito and turned him around. Facing him, she spoke, "Take me there." 

Tilting his head, saying he was confused, Raito asked, "Where?" 

"To where you disappear," Anko spoke with a bit of sternness in her voice. 

"Jii-chan asked you?" Raito asked with a strange tone. 

Anko didn't know what to say, but decided to go with the truth. "Yeah, he did, but I want to know too. Before, he told us not to ask, so we didn't, but now… " 

The notification did not arrive, and he did not find any hint of a lie in Anko, but what could he see with his low level to detect the lie? So, kicking it out of his mind, Raito smiled happily and said, "Okay". 

She was wearing a dark blue top and pants with lots of seals, which were also skintight. Hiding them, she was wearing a dark overcoat. 

Extending his hands, Raito grabbed Anko's hand and activated the skill. Another second later, Raito and Anko appeared in a deep forest with towering trees and blue skies with two moons. 

Ignoring her, Raito walked and reached for a branch, and started playing with Midori happily. Anko also did her work, scouting the area, finding monsters and killing them. 

After some time had passed, Raito felt bored. Therefore, he searched for Anko. Perching on a branch, he sighed as he observed the scene unfolding below. 

Anko danced as she made cuts after cuts. The group of hobgoblin walked forward to attack, only to be sent flying each time. They would get two or three cuts every time, but they showed no fear, based on their instincts, they attacked the women. Acting on desire and instinct, the continued to fight. 

Watching Anko's relentless assault, Raito felt a twinge of anger. Recalling their earlier expedition to the nest, he had to exert himself to eliminate all those hobgoblins.

"Anko-nee, come back. I wanna go and sleep." Raito called out. 

Anko stopped and with a Dragon Fire Jutsu burned them all to a crisp. 

Raito gave up at that moment. Huffing, he turned around, ignoring Anko all the way. Taking out a bowl of noodles, he ate it. 

"Oi, what happened?" Anko questioned the sullen Raito. 

** 

Days quickly passed by, Naruto and Raito enjoyed the days by training, eating and reading. Raito completely forgot certain someone as his days were filled with joys. Gradually, his stats increased significantly, and he considered himself as strongest among the current batch of students after comparing status with everyone. 

In this period, what Raito focused more was his chakra pool and mastering Fūinjutsu. 

** 

At the Hokage tower. 

CAT knelt in front of the Hokage desk as she reported, "Raito may have some surprise in the coming academy exams. He spoke of a new type of Fūinjutsu." 

"That kid." Hiruzen, who was reading the papers, slamming the paper and the hat on the table, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "He doesn't learn."

"No worries." Letting out a breath, Hiruzen looked up, then back to CAT. "Just make sure Iruka is accompanied by an ANBU. No matter what it is, I would like to see what he's got." 

Opening the drawer, Hiruzen grabbed a purple patterned scroll with a red string. An itch began to grow on his heart as he looked at the scroll. He passed the scroll to CAT with a frown.

"I did promise but… I have a feeling that I would not be able to give him personally." Hiruzen added with a weak smile. "After a couple of years or more later, when he has grown."

"Hokage-sama." CAT jerked her head and looked at Hiruzen. Several ANBU members came out of their hiding, kneeling in front of Hiruzen.

Hiruzen looked at everyone and shook his head. "Don't worry. It's just an old man's mumbling."

Hiruzen walked to the bookshelf to his side and looked at all the books that were never opened after once. Stroking the books, Hiruzen said, "He never showed me his healing skill, check how good it is." 

"Only if my students were capable." Hiruzen walked towards the window and looked at the peaceful village. "What are you three doing?"

**