Chapter 181: Passionate Naruto
A quiet room.
Ryosuke sat cross-legged, staring at the strange-looking fruit before him, a hint of distress in his expression.
Who should I give it to?
Familiar faces surfaced in his mind.
Devil Fruits were treasures from the One Piece world. Whether they still possessed the sa mystical power in this world was uncertain. But a treasure was still a treasure. Even if its effects were unknown—even if its very nature was a mystery—it wasn’t sothing to hand out lightly.
Whoever received this fruit...
First and foremost, they had to be soone absolutely loyal to him. Soone whose bond with him spanned at least five years.
Human nature was difficult to judge. Even Ryosuke, who prided himself on his intellect, didn’t trust himself to gauge soone’s character in a short period. So, only those he had known and observed for five years or more were even worth considering.
Imdiately, that criteria drastically narrowed the list.
Five years ago, Ryosuke had not yet revealed his overwhelming talent or strength. The number of people who supported him back then could be counted on two hands.
Among them, a few had already accepted his help.
During secret family experints, so of his loyal followers had acquired new abilities—gifts that allowed them to exceed their natural limits. But those powers ca with a price. They placed a burden on the body and required years of training to master fully.
Because of that... they were eliminated from consideration.
Only two remained: Souji and Hoshicai.
Both had been by Ryosuke’s side since he was four years old—back when he first began to show his potential. In the beginning, they had acted as his personal guards.
Later, after being promoted to Jonin, they beca Ryosuke’s right and left hands in managing the political affairs of the Land of Fire.
Souji represented the Hyuga clan in dealings with the Land of Fire’s nobility, building a vast supply network that fed resources into the clan.
Hoshicai, anwhile, had resolved nurous problems from the shadows. He concealed his identity and, with Ryosuke’s summons and a team of elite dical talents from the clan, conducted classified experints outside Konoha—using the resources Souji secured.
In both ability and loyalty, these two t Ryosuke’s standards.
Unfortunately...
"They’re just too busy."
Researching and testing the Devil Fruit’s power would require soone to keep it on their person at all tis. But Souji and Hoshicai were now too entangled in clan and national responsibilities. They couldn’t just drop everything and return to being Ryosuke’s shadow.
With that, the final two candidates were ruled out.
"Tch... Damn."
A rare frown crossed Ryosuke’s face. He scratched his head, visibly annoyed.
Do I really have to give it to Hinata?
She had recently applied for early graduation, so she spent most of her ti in the clan. Though burdened by her role as the future clan leader, her father was still in charge, so she had ti to train and study.
But still...
"Forget it. I’ll decide when I get back."
He stared at the swirling patterns etched on the fruit’s skin, then sighed.
There was no need to rush. He still had countless matters to attend to—family affairs, cross-dinsional communication, the Yorozuya...
And so, Ryosuke placed the fruit in a wooden box he found in the room, sealing it away for now.
Today, he had an appointnt—with an old friend.
---
The familiar back mountain.
Uzumaki Naruto sat atop Hokage Rock, eyes closed, waiting.
It was unclear how long he’d been there, but the morning sun was already high. He might’ve arrived before dawn.
Hearing approaching footsteps, Naruto opened his eyes and turned, grinning as he waved.
"Why are you only getting here now?"
"I haven’t been ho in a while. Took a while to pack." Ryosuke answered as he approached.
But before he could take another step, Naruto vanished.
Wow...
A flicker of interest danced in Ryosuke’s eyes, and a slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
He casually raised his arm.
In that instant, a fist wrapped in scarlet chakra shot toward him. The force behind it was so intense it seed to split the very air.
Bang—
A thunderous impact rang out.
Energy rippled around them, tearing through the atmosphere like a blade.
"So enthusiastic?"
Despite the violent chakra surrounding the punch, Ryosuke’s hand was unfazed. He blocked it cleanly, cutting through the tailed beast’s chakra shroud.
Dust surged, and animals in the forest fled in panic.
Before him, Naruto stood fully cloaked in the Nine-Tails’ chakra. His eyes glowed a deep red, filled with burning excitent.
Through his fist, Ryosuke could feel the wild, blazing fighting spirit.
"Impressive..."
Naruto’s voice trembled with awe.
Then, in the blink of an eye, he disappeared again.
When he reappeared, he looked nothing like an ordinary human. Crimson eyes, clawed hands, sharp fangs, and three tails swaying behind him made it clear—he was already in a partial tailed-beast state.
"Even with my teacher’s super punch and the Nine-Tails’ chakra, I couldn’t even budge you!"
His voice was hoarse and guttural. The Nine-Tails’ influence warped his emotions, but he remained far more composed than in the past.
Inside him, the great fox stirred—no longer lounging lazily in the corner of his mind.
"You want to fight that guy? Kid, even if I used my full power, I’m not sure I could suppress that freak."
Kurama’s tone was serious for once.
"Then give more power!"
Naruto didn’t seem frustrated by the gap between them. Instead, he grinned wide, his joy unrestrained.
Tailed beast chakra surged again. The outline of a fourth tail began to form.
It had been a long ti since he’d pushed himself this far—since the defense battle the year before, perhaps.
"So, you can already control four tails? Looks like you and the Nine-Tails are finally getting along."
Ryosuke still wore that gentle smile.
He didn’t co here just to spar, but...
In a flash, he was standing beside Naruto.
"But... you’re still not there yet."
The words echoed in Naruto’s ears.
Not good!
He tried to react, chakra surging to activate the Eight Gates and flood his acupoints with power.
But it was too late.
Crack—
The sound of skin tearing, muscle snapping, and bones breaking rang out simultaneously.
Shhh—
Naruto, cloaked in the scarlet chakra of the Tailed Beast, flew out like a cannonball, his body smashing through one thick tree after another.
"Next... what surprise are you going to give ?"
Slowly retracting the whip kick still crackling with light-blue arcs, Ryosuke waited for Naruto’s next move with a hint of anticipation.
He hadn’t held back just now.
Even the Asura Path puppet, reinforced with physical enhancents, had its arm severed by that kick.
Yet Naruto had managed to block it.
Ryosuke’s clear white eyes pierced through the settling dust and shattered trees. He saw Naruto entering a rapid self-healing state. Both external and internal injuries were nding at an astonishing rate.
It wasn’t just the thick, chakra-rich tailed beast coat that had absorbed so of the impact. Naruto’s nerve reactions were impressively fast. The mont Ryosuke launched his kick, Naruto had already anticipated the point of impact and used dical ninjutsu in advance.
Yin Healing Wound Destruction...
An A-rank dical technique requiring the user to predict where they’ll be hit, channel chakra to that location, and heal the wound upon impact.
Ryosuke knew this technique well. When creating his own Yin Seal, he had incorporated its principles. But unlike Naruto, Ryosuke didn’t need to focus his chakra manually. As long as his chakra wasn’t depleted, it would automatically flow to his wounds and begin healing.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Bang!
A deep, steady voice echoed from the dust cloud. One by one, figures burst through the debris, leaping like frogs into the sky.
Ryosuke counted them at a glance—nearly a hundred.
So... he’s finally embracing the crude but effective human wave tactic?
There was a trace of nostalgia in his gaze.
In the original tiline, Naruto had been more cautious and analytical. He’d always frowned on reckless strategies that wasted chakra.
Instead of dividing his chakra among clones, he had believed in concentrating it in his main body for greater impact.
But now, it seed he’d changed a lot over the past year.
As the clones surged forward like a pack of feral beasts, Ryosuke remained unfazed.
"Boiling Release."
Casually forming a seal, he allowed two distinct chakra types to rge and flow through his ridians.
A thick mist, like frosty steam, poured from his mouth—not from a clone, but directly from him. It was a precise fusion of multiple chakra attributes, combined in perfect harmony.
In that mont, Ryosuke felt sothing shift within his blood—a complete rule etched into his genetic makeup.
Through his deep mastery of elental chakra, he had successfully rged their properties to form a new Kekkei Genkai, a bloodline limit that now lived in his very genes.
At the back hill of Konoha,
The mist rolled in like a crashing tide.
Dust and trees evaporated on contact, vanishing as if turned to ash.
On the opposite side,
Over a hundred scarlet beasts charged headlong into the deadly fog like moths to a fla.
Plop. Plop. Plop...
Dull, wet thuds echoed through the battlefield, like pebbles dropped into water.
Each clone carried only a fragnt of chakra. As they hit the acidic mist, their tailed beast cloaks clashed with the boiling energy.
One by one, they flickered and vanished, unable to withstand the intense chakra corrosion.
Over a dozen were gone in seconds.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto still wasn’t backing down.
Amidst the swirling mist, the real body surged forward.
Clones began shedding their red cloaks, exposing their forms.
They brandished tailed beast-infused Rasengans, plunging into the acidic fog without hesitation.
Bang. Bang bang bang.
The sound of clones being shredded rang out again and again.
Even so, so made it through.
But Ryosuke effortlessly dispatched them.
The gap in strength was undeniable. Naruto no longer posed any real threat.
Their levels were simply too far apart.
Ryosuke hadn’t even planned to fight Naruto. The boy’s current strength was still far too immature.
"Hey, kid. Give up already."
Within Naruto, the Nine-Tailed Fox let out a lazy sigh.
He seed to understand sothing now.
But Naruto didn’t listen.
"I didn’t gain anything!"
His shadow clones’ experiences fed back into his mind—battle data, tactics, observations.
Yet there was nothing useful to analyze.
Ryosuke outclassed him in every aspect: speed, strength, reflexes, chakra control, and jutsu proficiency.
"But... it’s not over yet!"
At the edge of the battlefield, Naruto sat cross-legged.
His eyes snapped open.
Strange ink-like patterns had appeared across his face.
The Tailed Beast chakra had completely receded.
In its place was a different energy—vast and natural.
Sage Mode?
After crushing Naruto’s final clone, Ryosuke turned his gaze toward the real one.
From a distance, Naruto began walking slowly through the dense mist.
He was cloaked in a strange aura—not chakra, but sothing more elusive.
And that energy repelled the boiling fog.
Not a trace of acid touched him.
With just one look, Ryosuke’s Byakugan took in every change, both inside and out.
Impressive.
Looks like it’s ti to add natural energy and Sage Mode to my training regin.
Eyes gleaming with curiosity, Ryosuke moved as well.
He wanted to feel the difference between Sage energy and ordinary chakra firsthand.
In a single breath,
Two figures surged through the acidic mist.
They cut through it like blades, drawing closer by the second.
A clash was inevitable—until suddenly, a figure in an animal mask appeared between them.
Ryosuke halted imdiately.
Naruto took a few more steps, then froze.
"The Fifth Hokage has ordered that you cease fighting imdiately. If you want to continue, take it outside the village—unless you plan to pay for all the back mountain damage first."
Want to know what happens next? You don’t have to wait....40 Chapters ahead are already live on Patreon 👉 /FanficLord03
And don’t forget: every 500 power stones = 4 bonus Chapters for everyone!
sdiscord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9
Reviews
All reviews (0)