The Flying Thunder God Technique is a space–time ninjutsu. If you fail to lock onto the coordinates precisely, you might end up teleporting straight into solid rock. That's not just embarrassing—it's fatal.
The Dead Demon Consuming Seal is a forbidden technique that sacrifices the user's soul to the Shinigami, dragging the enemy down to hell with them. A classic "if I'm dying, you're dying with me" move.
Of course, Namikaze Minato understood the dangers of these techniques. He had only been trying to joke with Naruto—but apparently, humor wasn't the Fourth Hokage's strongest skill.
Seeing Naruto ignore him completely, Minato gave a helpless, wry smile.
Naturally, he knew how to remove the seals on the Scroll of Seals. With his mastery of fūinjutsu, he could forcibly break it open in half an hour at most.
But he refused to help Naruto unlock it.
As a former Hokage, he understood the terrifying power of the forbidden techniques recorded inside—and the catastrophic consequences of using them recklessly. Naruto had no idea how serious things could get if he got his hands on them.
No matter how mature Naruto acted, no matter how powerful he had become, he was still just a child.
To become a true ninja, Naruto still had a long road ahead of him. When the time was right, Minato would personally teach him the techniques he had mastered.
Now was not that time.
Naruto could more or less guess what Minato was thinking, but he didn't care.
The forbidden techniques in the Scroll of Seals would certainly be useful—but only as support. With his current Kurama Mode, he was already strong enough to face enemies at the level of the Five Kage. The only real danger would be getting ganged up on by several Kage-level monsters at once.
Fortunately, in the shinobi world, there weren't many forces capable of assembling that kind of lineup.
The next morning, Naruto opened his eyes as a ray of sunlight slipped through the carriage window.
Stretching lazily, he lifted the curtain. What greeted him was an endless sea stretching into the horizon. The salty breeze brushed against his face, making him wrinkle his nose slightly—he clearly wasn't used to the seaside climate.
Soon, the convoy arrived at its final destination: a port city in the Land of Fire.
After getting off the carriage, Naruto declined the merchant leader's invitation and vanished into the crowd under the watchful eyes of the samurai guards and passengers.
A few hours later, after purchasing half a month's worth of daily necessities and sealing them into a storage scroll, Naruto headed toward the docks to check for ferries bound for the Land of Whirlpools.
In terms of speed, no ferry could compare to a ninja running at full power.
However, the island where the Land of Whirlpools was located lay hundreds of kilometers offshore. Simply running across the sea would be exhausting and unnecessarily risky.
Even if his stamina could handle it, his wallet could not.
After questioning the dock manager, Naruto learned that no merchant ships sailed directly to the Land of Whirlpools. They would rather take massive detours than approach the island.
The reason was simple.
Since the fall of the Uzumaki clan more than thirty years ago, the island had become a haven for criminals—pirates, rogue shinobi, and all kinds of lawless scum who robbed passing ships. Over time, merchants stopped going there entirely.
Now, aside from outlaws, only desperate fishermen dared venture near its waters.
After asking around, Naruto finally found a fishing boat willing to take passengers. After paying in advance, he boarded the rather shabby vessel without incident.
The boatman checked the weather, started the engine, and steered them toward the open sea.
With nothing but sky and water in every direction, boredom was inevitable. After some thought, Naruto casually asked the boatman about the situation in the Land of Whirlpools.
The boatman hesitated. But after feeling the weight of the payment in his pocket, he slowly began to speak.
"The Land of Whirlpools was destroyed more than thirty years ago. Now it's occupied by desperadoes. There are plenty of rogue ninjas among them."
"If you're not a ninja, kid, it's better not to go there. It's not a good place."
Naruto smiled faintly.
"If it's that dangerous, why risk taking this job? And judging by your tone, you seem very familiar with those waters."
The boatman sighed.
"You must be from some big family. You don't understand the hardships of ordinary folks like us."
Naruto glanced at him thoughtfully, then awakened Namikaze Minato within the sealed space. He never missed an opportunity to drag the Fourth Hokage into a debate.
After a pause, the boatman continued.
"It's because taxes from the major powers are too heavy. During the wars, we hid from ninjas. Now we hide from tax collectors and thugs. There's not much difference."
"If we weren't forced into a corner, who would want to fish near the Land of Whirlpools?"
He waved a hand dismissively.
"Anyway, it's still better than the old Ninja World Wars…"
As if recalling something unpleasant, he apologized and focused on steering through the wind and waves.
Minato had long grown accustomed to Naruto's habit of dragging him into conversations, but he still couldn't help frowning.
Partly because of the boatman's hardships.
Partly because he was supposed to be educating Naruto—yet somehow, every day, he ended up being lectured instead. It was a severe blow to his fatherly dignity.
After half a day at sea, a massive island finally came into view.
If nothing was wrong, this was the former Land of Whirlpools—the homeland of the Uzumaki clan.
It was larger than Naruto had imagined.
That was good. A bigger island meant more room for future plans.
When they were a few kilometers away from shore, Naruto stopped the boatman from going any closer.
The boatman looked startled.
"Kid, the sea's rough. Swimming several kilometers could take hours. If someone on shore spots you, it'll be dangerous."
Naruto considered this, then nodded seriously.
"You're right. In that case, take me directly to meet your boss."
The boatman's expression changed slightly.
"I don't understand what you mean. I'm the boss of this boat. If you don't want to land, we can head back."
Naruto smiled.
"I once read that there's little difference between an adventurer and a pirate. So it's normal for fishermen to play pirate on the side. Fishing is fishing. Kidnapping is just another type of catch."
As he spoke, Naruto stepped off the boat and onto the sea, standing calmly atop the waves.
Seeing this, the boatman gave up resisting and forced a bitter smile.
"So you're a ninja, huh? If you'd said so earlier, I wouldn't have charged you at all. No need to bully ordinary people like me."
"It's not about bullying," Naruto replied evenly. "I just want more information about the island. Especially about the rogue ninjas gathering there."
The boatman froze. His figure wavered in the sea breeze as he spoke in a low voice.
"There's only been a few years of peace… and the hidden villages are already testing each other again. Are you ready for the next war?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly and activated his chakra perception.
He had misjudged.
The boatman wasn't an ordinary civilian. He possessed chakra—though far less than even an Academy student. He hadn't mastered basic techniques like tree climbing or water walking.
Which meant…
After landing on the island, there might be a battle waiting unlike anything before.
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