"A gift? What is it?"
Inuzuka Tsume and Inuzuka Hana accepted the bags, both looking curious.
Meanwhile, Tsunade, Ino, and Sakura instantly changed expressions the moment they recognized the familiar packaging and bag.
They guessed exactly what was inside.
All three women snapped their gazes toward Naruto.
Naruto had originally been snickering to himself, thinking, 'That's what you get for loudly telling everyone I ate dog vomit.'
But suddenly, the trace amount of Kurama chakra still lingering in his system pinged an extremely thick wave of malice.
A violent chill ran down Naruto's spine.
The smile on his face froze as he met the three girls' murderous glares.
"You're not allowed to hit me! I'm doing this for the safety of the shinobi world! It's to fight the Big Wooden Barrel!"
"It's not Big Wooden Barrel, you idiot! It's Ōtsutsuki!" Tsunade sighed, rubbing her temples.
But she did not step forward to stop him.
There was no helping it.
Naruto was not wrong.
If his degenerate method could let people master Sage Mode easily, then it really could become the salvation of the entire shinobi world.
The problem was... Tsunade felt that if the shinobi world was saved through this specific method, then reality was basically half a step away from turning into the Limited Tsukuyomi world!
Tsunade was extremely thankful she specialized in taijutsu and possessed a separate method of channeling natural energy provided by Makoto.
She didn't need to accept Naruto's cursed shortcut.
As for Sakura and Ino, as her direct disciples, naturally they did not need it either.
Worst-case scenario, they could choose for themselves later. Use Naruto's method, or beg Makoto to hand them a magic rock too.
"Ah! No! What I said is true!"
"Stop hitting me! Ask Naruto if you don't believe me! I'm really doing this for the shinobi world!"
On the other side of the courtyard, Inuzuka Kiba presented the mysterious gifts to his mother and sister.
After the two women opened the bags in public, Kiba was already getting the absolute shit beaten out of him.
Kiba felt guilty and didn't dare to fight back, passively taking the beating.
They beat him so hard that the fused Sage Mode with Akamaru shattered completely.
"Hm?"
In an instant, two humans and four dogs locked straight onto Naruto, who had just narrowly escaped the fate of being beaten by Tsunade and her students.
"It's... it's true! You heard the prophecy Granny Shima brought just now too! It's real!"
Being stared down by that many furious eyes made Naruto shiver.
He almost accidentally flashed into Sage Mode again!
Inuzuka Tsume and Inuzuka Hana fell silent. They weighed the logic in their hearts.
The shinobi world was about to face terrifyingly powerful enemies from outer space.
Only with enough power could they protect their families and themselves. Compared to life and death, personal embarrassment really was insignificant.
If they did not master this power, it would mean handing their own lives and the lives of their loved ones over to someone else, praying that person could protect them.
That absolutely did not fit the Inuzuka clan's fiercely independent nature.
"We'll do it!" Inuzuka Tsume gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and made her final decision.
"Mom?" Inuzuka Kiba looked up with a bruised, swollen face, tears streaming down his cheeks. He survived the execution.
"Mom, Sis, as long as you believe me, I'll lead the Inuzuka clan to become the number one Sage clan! I'll make the Inuzuka clan great again—" Kiba seized the chance to declare his grand ambitions.
"No. This matter is not yours to decide." Tsume immediately cut Kiba off.
"Huh?" Kiba froze.
So did his mom agree or not?
Very quickly, Tsume laid out her explanation.
"Kiba, Naruto, you two are still too young. You've overlooked some massive logistical issues. Your idea is good, and spreading the Sage Mode shortcut is tactically correct. But you completely ignored human nature.
No matter what, you cannot deny that this technique is not suitable to discuss openly. It is fundamentally embarrassing. The reason both of you got beaten up is exactly that. If you think you can endure getting beaten half to death every single time you pitch it, then by all means, keep doing what you're doing.
Otherwise, listen to some advice from your elders."
"First, this method can be distributed, but only the specific mechanics should be spread. Everyone can silently understand the context. It absolutely cannot be paraded openly in public.
For example, Kiba, what you said just now about using this to lead the Inuzuka clan? Absolutely unacceptable. Naruto is spreading the Sage Mode shortcut so we can have enough strength to protect ourselves, our families, and our loved ones. It is not a tool to oppress others.
Using this degenerate shortcut to hoard power and grab an early advantage is something our clan would be ashamed of. Our clan raises many female dogs, but nobody has ever called us bitches.
This is why!
Kiba, the thought you just had was enough to drag the Inuzuka clan's reputation into a bottomless pit and turn us into someone like Kakashi!"
Kakashi: ?
"I'm sorry, Mom, Sis. I was wrong! I treated things too lightly."
After receiving his mother's harsh lesson, Kiba felt genuine regret and admitted his mistake.
Naruto stood to the side, listening with rapt attention and nodding along in agreement.
"So, Kiba, Naruto, you will write down your Sage Mode shortcut and document your experience using it. Make multiple copies. When you draft the manual, pay strict attention to the tone and order of the contents. Once you're done, give me a master copy. I will distribute it to the members of the Inuzuka clan."
Tsume proposed a method designed to minimize the social impact on the clan.
This way, the Inuzuka would not become known as the "Oh-Woof-Masturbating" clan, while still securing the power of senjutsu.
"Okay!" Naruto agreed with absolute, unearned confidence.
"Okay..." Kiba sounded much less sure.
These two idiots operated on the same wavelength, and both possessed a mysterious, unshakeable confidence in themselves.
But while Kiba believed in his own abilities, he seriously doubted whether Naruto could pull this off.
"Naruto, since you're preparing to draft the manual, I won't disturb your focus. I'll issue your mission parameters in advance." Tsunade rolled up her sleeves and raised her hand.
Shizune, standing dutifully nearby, handed over a brush and an empty scroll.
Tsunade wrote the mission objectives down.
One was an S-rank mission, and the other was an A-rank mission.
Naruto would take the S-rank mission: spreading the Sage Mode manual externally, delivering it to the various ninja villages, and recruiting downstream users.
Kiba would take the A-rank mission: targeting Konoha's clans that possessed summon beasts, spreading his specialized version of the manual inside the village.
"An S-rank mission?" The moment Naruto saw the "S" stamped on the scroll, he fired up with excitement!
However...
...
An entire day passed.
Naruto crouched inside Kiba's house, sprawled face-down on the tatami mats.
He chewed on the end of a brush, staring at the scroll in front of him. It remained completely blank.
Yes, Tsume's idea was brilliant.
Distributing the technique through writing was subtle, allowed Naruto to run away immediately after dropping it off, and avoided him getting punched in the face.
Written manuals also forced people to read the instructions to the end, instead of cutting him off halfway through to beat him up.
But she overlooked one massive problem.
As the "teacher," did Naruto actually possess the ability to teach?
When Naruto taught Kiba, all he did was explain the basic concept once and then physically force Kiba into Sage Mode.
As for technical theory? Nuance? Details? What the hell were those?
Just think back to the way Naruto taught Konohamaru the Rasengan.
'First you gather the chakra, then you go 'BAM', and then you go 'POW'!'
What the hell was Naruto supposed to write?