Furthermore, Kawasaki had already begun decentralizing some of the clan head's responsibilities. He was no longer like Uchiha Fugaku, who had insisted on handling every single matter personally. The Uchiha clan was now on the right track; as long as the overall direction remained true, there would be no problems.
Back in Konoha, the Third Hokage, just as Kawasaki had hoped, was already paving the way for Orochimaru's return. When Orochimaru did come back, the Third would likely try everything he could to keep him in the village. When the time came, Kabuto, Shisui, Kisame, Kimimaro, and Haku would all return with him, as would the Uchiha clansmen who had been operating abroad. As for the few who remained in Otogakure, Kawasaki planned to have Orochimaru present them as his own subordinates for a sparring match against the Uchiha. After all, Orochimaru needed a few capable assistants to be worthy of his title as one of the Sannin. It was hard to say how many of his original followers were even left.
With a few days of respite before the representatives from the other villages arrived, Kawasaki spent most of his time with Naruto. The moment school let out, Naruto would run over for dinner. On days with no classes, he would stay at the Uchiha compound all day, engaging in sparring matches with Sasuke.
Kawasaki had even made a rule: Naruto had to fight with his full strength, or he wouldn't be allowed to eat there. This ensured Naruto never dared to slack off.
Unlike the dead-last he was in his previous life, this Naruto was in a phase of rapid growth. Sasuke had also started learning Chidori and other advanced training much earlier than before. However, in terms of training speed, Sasuke, who had yet to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan, was currently a step behind a Naruto unhindered by the Nine-Tails' influence. This led to Sasuke losing again and again, yet getting back up to fight again and again. In his mind, he could lose to anyone but Naruto.
Driven by this rivalry, Sasuke now trained relentlessly under Itachi's guidance, constantly pushing his own limits. The academy curriculum was no longer a challenge for either of them. Still, Kawasaki didn't let them graduate early, wanting them to experience a complete school life before it was over.
Itachi had been away for years and missed his younger brother dearly. He was happy for the chance to guide Sasuke, but he followed Kawasaki's theory: Sasuke was proud and arrogant, prone to complacency. Instead of spoiling him, it was better to challenge him daily. Seeing how effective Kawasaki's decisions had been, and for the sake of Sasuke's future safety, Itachi decided to follow his advice.
This spelled misery for Sasuke. The kind, doting brother he once knew had transformed into a "demonic" instructor who criticized him relentlessly.
"Sasuke! What kind of throw was that? An inaccurate shuriken is a wasted tool."
"Sasuke! Where are you aiming that Great Fireball? It neither traps me nor obstructs my vision. Do you have chakra to spare?"
"Your movements are too slow! What have you been learning in taijutsu!?"
"Father has spoiled you too much while I was away. Have you even been training properly?"
Sasuke was on the verge of breaking down, his eyes turning red. "Brother, I'm really doing my best."
Itachi felt a pang of pity but kept his expression cold. "At this rate, when will you ever beat Naruto? If you can't do it, we'll continue tomorrow."
Hearing this, Sasuke fiercely wiped his face. "I will beat Naruto! Brother, let's continue..."
Meanwhile, Naruto had already mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Rasengan. His body was just beginning its major growth spurt, so it was too early to teach him the Rasenshuriken. The incomplete version couldn't be thrown and was a double-edged sword that could severely injure him. Kawasaki had no intention of teaching it yet.
While Sasuke underwent Itachi's hellish training and improved by leaps and bounds, Kawasaki chose to spar with Naruto himself.
"Naruto, your combat sense is too weak right now," Kawasaki said one evening after dinner, leading him to the training grounds. "You will face many dangers in the future, so I will be your opponent. Remember, this is a real fight."
Naruto was full of energy. "Don't worry, Senior Kawasaki! I'll do my best!"
Kawasaki drew the blade from his waist, letting it hang by his right side. His expression sharpened, and he gestured with his left hand for Naruto to attack. The seriousness in his demeanor put immense pressure on Naruto.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With a series of puffs, a dozen Naruto shadow clones appeared. Kawasaki was already charging toward them.
"Let's go! Show Senior Kawasaki what we've got!" one clone yelled.
"Yeah!"
"Charge!"
But a serious Kawasaki was like a tiger pouncing on a flock of sheep. Naruto's shadow clones dispersed with the slightest touch. He dodged a kick, grabbed the clone's leg, and threw it. Poof! The clone vanished. With a diagonal slash of his blade, another clone that had leaped into the air dissolved into smoke. He reversed his grip for a backhanded stab, and yet another clone disappeared. With his eyes half-closed, he swung his blade casually, and clones seemed to magically run into its edge.
Amidst the constant popping sounds, Naruto's clones dwindled rapidly. Just as Kawasaki dispelled the one in front of him, the real Naruto appeared from behind, thrusting a Rasengan forward. Kawasaki sidestepped and swiped his blade across Naruto's arm.
Poof! It was another clone.
Kawasaki spun around, instantly parrying a kunai from the real Naruto. With a powerful shove, an immense force surged through Naruto's arm, sending the kunai flying out of his grasp.
Just then, Kawasaki caught sight of the newly built Uchiha Hospital out of the corner of his eye. Tsunade was standing there, arms crossed, watching them.
With a flick of his wrist, Kawasaki's blade sliced across Naruto's arm. A long, bloody gash instantly appeared.
"Agh!"
The sharp, stinging pain made Naruto cry out.
"You lose, Naruto," Kawasaki said softly.
Naruto clenched his fist, knowing his plan had been too simple. "Senior Kawasaki, once my arm heals, let's fight again."
Kawasaki frowned inwardly. Naruto wasn't taking the injury seriously enough. That wouldn't do. You had to make a fuss to get some attention.
Clearing his throat, Kawasaki said, "With your Sister Tsunade around, what's a small wound like this? She's right over there. Go have her take a look."
Naruto knew Tsunade was a master medical ninja, but he was used to being independent. A small cut was nothing; he would bandage it himself, and it would heal quickly. "It's fine, it'll heal in a bit."
Kawasaki's face darkened. "Why waste time waiting for it to heal naturally when you could recover faster and get back to training?"
Naruto scratched his head. "Is that okay, Senior Kawasaki?"
"Go on!" Kawasaki gave him a push. The wound on Naruto's arm had already stopped bleeding heavily. If he waited any longer, the Nine-Tails' influence would probably heal it completely.
Clutching his arm, Naruto ran towards Tsunade. "Sister Tsunade! Senior Kawasaki said you're an amazing medic and told me to come see you."
Tsunade had already seen the blood and her heart was pounding, a cold sweat breaking out on her skin. But hearing Naruto's voice, she forced herself to suppress her discomfort. "Here, let me see your arm."
Naruto obediently held out his arm. Tsunade closed her eyes slightly, trying not to focus on the wound. A green glow emanated from her palm as she placed it over Naruto's arm. Combined with Naruto's own Nine-Tails chakra, the wound began to heal at a visible rate.
A moment later, the gash was gone.
Naruto swung his arm. "It doesn't hurt at all! Thanks, Sister Tsunade!"
Tsunade was already afraid of blood, but Naruto's bright smile melted away all her negative feelings.
"Okay, I'm going back to train!" Naruto bounced on his feet, feeling refreshed, and sprinted back to the training ground.
Tsunade watched him go, a faint smile on her lips.
Back in the training area, Kawasaki saw an energetic Naruto return with his wound fully healed. Just as he'd expected, Naruto was the perfect tool.
He waved at him with a grin. "Come on, Naruto, let's continue..."
Meanwhile, on another training ground, Sasuke was knocked down by Itachi yet again. It was only today that he realized how formidable his brother's taijutsu was. The good news was that Itachi had finally activated his Sharingan. The bad news was that Sasuke still couldn't land a single hit. Though he had improved rapidly since awakening his two-tomoe Sharingan and could now use Chidori three times in a row, Itachi was teaching him a harsh lesson: with his current taijutsu, his Chidori would never hit an experienced opponent.
Fortunately, Kawasaki had already given Sasuke the Sword of Kusanagi.
Seeing Sasuke lying on the ground, unable to get up, Itachi gave him a rare reprieve from criticism. "That's enough for today. I have a grasp of your taijutsu level. If you want to be worthy of that sword, you need to focus on strengthening your fundamentals. Come on, let's go see how Senior Kawasaki is training Naruto."
The training grounds were arranged in a circle around the central Uchiha Hospital. Sasuke had been deliberately avoiding Naruto's training area, but now, despite his exhaustion, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet.
He and Itachi rounded a corner of the field just in time to see Naruto charge at Kawasaki with a Rasengan. In a flash, Kawasaki appeared behind Naruto and swung his blade.
With a sickening rip, the back of Naruto's shirt was torn open, and blood immediately gushed from a massive wound.
"Ugh..." Naruto cried out and collapsed.
Sasuke stared, dumbfounded. Itachi's brows furrowed. That was the real Naruto, not a clone. Senior Kawasaki was actually playing for real! He was that ruthless?
Itachi glanced at Sasuke, who was covered in bruises, and felt that perhaps he had been too lenient after all. Sasuke looked at his own aches and pains and suddenly felt they were nothing.
"Hey, how's your training going?" Kawasaki called out with a smile as he helped Naruto to his feet. The movement pulled at the wound, making Naruto groan in pain.
"Senior Kawasaki, it hurts, it hurts..."
"What are you crying about? When Itachi was your age, he was already cutting down countless enemies on the battlefield. If you don't get hurt now, how will you ever build resilience?"
Kawasaki had controlled his strength perfectly. The wound looked horrific and bled profusely, but it was only skin-deep. With proper care and Naruto's recovery rate, a couple of hearty meals would fix him right up.
"You two carry on. I'm taking Naruto to get treated," Kawasaki said to Sasuke and Itachi before dragging Naruto towards the hospital.
As they passed, Sasuke faintly heard Kawasaki say, "That one time, Itachi was surrounded by seven powerful enemies. He took them all on with just his superior taijutsu. Annihilated every one of them. He took eight sword wounds and didn't even grunt while lying in a pool of his own blood. And you're crying about this little scratch..."
Sasuke looked at Itachi with eyes full of admiration. "Brother, why didn't you ever tell me about that?"
Itachi almost lost his composure. What was Kawasaki talking about? When had he ever fought seven people at once!?
"Ahem," Itachi coughed lightly. "The battlefield is far more brutal than you can imagine. Your training right now is just child's play."
Sasuke's expression hardened with resolve. "Brother, can we train like Senior Kawasaki tomorrow?"
Itachi's eyes flickered for a moment before he gave a quiet grunt of assent.
Kawasaki had just dragged Naruto into the hospital. In that short walk, the back of Naruto's shirt had been soaked red with blood. The boy who had been full of life just moments ago was now limp and weak.
"Tsunade, quick! Naruto's seriously hurt!" Kawasaki yelled as he entered.
"What happened to Naruto?" Tsunade shot to her feet when she saw the blood covering his back.
"Treat him first. We can talk later."
Tsunade took Naruto, laid him on a bed, and began to remove his shirt. A long gash ran from his shoulder blade all the way down to his waist. The skin was split wide open, revealing raw, red flesh beneath as blood continued to well up.
Her scalp went numb. Her heart hammered against her ribs, and her entire body froze. She felt as if she were trapped in a vast nightmare, her mind racing with a torrent of chaotic thoughts.
Kawasaki watched her from the side, his eyes narrowed. He gently nudged Naruto's shoulder.
"Owww!..." Naruto cried out instinctively.
The sharp cry jolted Tsunade from her trance. Her heart pounded in her ears, her breathing ragged.
No! Absolutely not!
A fierce determination flared in Tsunade's eyes. They snapped wide open, and the stiffness left her body. One hand pressed down on the bloody wound, steadying the torn flesh, while the other began to glow with medical chakra.
Seeing Tsunade begin the surgical procedure, Kawasaki felt a sense of relief and abandoned the thought of having Naruto bite him to snap her out of it. As Naruto's cries subsided, the massive wound began to shrink rapidly. A few minutes later, Tsunade looked up, breathing heavily. It wasn't the treatment that had exhausted her.
She couldn't believe it. She had performed a surgical procedure on her own.
Tsunade looked at her hands. They were covered in blood, yet they were as steady as rock, without a single tremor. The fear was gone.
She checked on Naruto and was surprised to find he had already fallen asleep. Gazing at his peaceful face, the image of her brother, Nawaki, slowly superimposed itself over him.
Tsunade suddenly collapsed to the floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She had saved him. She had saved her brother, the brother she held in her heart.
Kawasaki watched Tsunade on the floor and quietly began to slip out. Her panic had been caused by excessive worry. If she had been calm, she would have realized the wound wasn't deep. It looked terrifying, but it was never life-threatening. And this was Naruto, the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox. He had lost some blood, sure, but Kawasaki would make it up to him later.
Suddenly, Tsunade's mind cleared. Wait a minute. Naruto was training with Kawasaki. That meant Kawasaki must have done this!
"Kawasaki!" Tsunade roared. She slammed a fist into the wall, blasting a hole straight through it, and charged out like a human tank.
Terrified, Kawasaki broke into a run. "Hey, Lady Tsunade, Naruto's injured today, let's just let him rest here for the night! I'll go inform the Anbu!"
Naruto stirred, woken by Tsunade's furious shout. "Sister Tsunade, what's wrong?"
Tsunade shot Kawasaki a murderous glare before yelling after him, "Kawasaki, you better not come back!" She turned back to Naruto, and seeing his pale face, her anger surged anew. Forcing it down, she asked gently, "Naruto, how do you feel? Does it still hurt?"
Naruto shook his head. "I'm not in pain anymore, Sister. I'm just a little dizzy and sleepy."
"If you're sleepy, then sleep," Tsunade said softly. "You can stay here tonight."
"Really? Can I really stay here?" Naruto asked drowsily.
"Yes, you can. Sleep now... sleep..." Tsunade soothed. Naruto's head tilted to the side, and he fell into a deep slumber.
The Uchiha Hospital had rooms prepared for Tsunade and Shizune. Tsunade glanced at the gaping hole in the wall, noting the draft. She lifted the entire hospital bed, with Naruto still on it, and carried it toward her personal quarters.
On the way, she ran into Shizune, who had come to investigate the commotion. "Lady Tsunade, what happened?"
Tsunade, holding the bed with one hand, put a finger to her lips, signaling Shizune to be quiet. She moved Naruto's bed into her room, tucked him in, and then came back out.
Shizune was waiting for her. "I got played by Kawasaki," Tsunade said, her voice thick with frustration.
Shizune opened her mouth to ask but didn't dare. Having been with Tsunade for years, she knew what Shizune wanted to ask.
"Kawasaki deliberately injured Naruto so I would have to treat him," Tsunade sighed, holding up her hand, which was still stained with Naruto's blood. She stared at it, but this time, there was no trace of fear.
Shizune's heart skipped a beat. "Lady Tsunade, your phobia... is it cured?"
Tsunade snorted. "It's all thanks to Kawasaki. His 'medical skills' are truly 'superb'."
The realization dawned on Shizune. She couldn't help but be impressed by Kawasaki's audacity, and even more so by his cunning plan. It was just a pity that Naruto had to be the sacrifice.
"Where did Lord Kawasaki go?"
Tsunade scoffed. "He's the head of the Uchiha clan now. He has to come back eventually, doesn't he?"