Chapter 13: Sea King Barbecue, Growth Surge, and Academy Showdown
Naraku took out the pre-cut Sea King meat and began processing it using the Ingredient Processing Technique he'd mastered earlier.
As expected from a green-grade skill, the Sea King turned out unbelievably delicious under this special method. More than that, eating it seemed to accelerate his growth. Naraku could feel his height shooting up rapidly, his entire body growing stronger and more robust by the moment. Soon, people would probably look at him and say, "You sure this kid's only eight?"
Since he was still in his natural growth phase anyway, he decided to let the others try it too—make sure it wasn't just his imagination. Besides, he had far too much: nearly 770 tons of meat. Even at 80–150 g per day for a normal person, it'd take him over 14,000 years to finish it alone. Even eating like a madman, he'd never finish it in this lifetime—and more Sea Kings would likely appear in the future. Better to share with the promising people he had his eye on. If Hiruzen ever caught wind and wanted some, Naraku could trade the meat for valuable resources. He just had to sell it with Oscar-worthy acting—like it was caviar-level delicacy!
The three clinked their AD Calcium Milk bottles and chugged them down. Kushina, already a little "milk-drunk," grinned at Naraku. "Uchiha Naraku! In barbecue, I, Uzumaki Kushina, declare you the strongest!"
Far away, young Sarutobi Hiruzen (the instructor) wiped away a tear. The Third Hokage had given him two missions:
Help Naraku form bonds with the village.
Help Kushina form bonds with the village.
Mission accomplished… but was this really the intended way? And damn, that barbecue smelled amazing—he wanted some too!
...
By afternoon, Naraku realized there was a practical combat class.
Ise Ryoku vs. Yoshida Koichi!
At young Hiruzen's command, the two civilian-born students formed the Seal of Opposition and began.
Naraku watched with interest.
Ise opened with a volley of shuriken. Yoshida countered with his own. The weapons clashed mid-air and fell. Both closed in for taijutsu.
Yoshida used Body Replacement to trick Ise, landing a solid punch and following with a barrage of suppressive attacks. Yoshida won decisively.
Naraku thought to himself: Academy civilian students are so underwhelming. But then again, graduation only required passing the Three Body Techniques. Even in the genin stage, most civilians mastered one or two C-rank jutsu at best, plus decent Three Body proficiency. Real fights still came down to close-quarters brawling.
That was the tragedy of civilian ninjas. Look at canon Sakura—Chūnin Exams, fighting Ino, and their main tactic was just punching each other. Ino at least had Mind Body Switch. Sakura had… nothing. And she was supposed to be the theoretical genius of the class.
Next: Namikaze Minato vs. Hanamoto Ko!
Both civilians, but Minato clearly outclassed him in shuriken accuracy, reaction speed, and timing. Minato won quickly and cleanly.
Even Naraku could see Minato was raw jade—immense potential. But jade still needed polishing. Without Jiraiya as a teacher, an average jōnin might have been Minato's ceiling.
After all, look at the Uchiha—tons of battle merit, yet how many ever learned the Forbidden Scroll techniques? Forget Sage Mode—that was a pipe dream for ordinary ninjas.
Finally: Uchiha Naraku vs. Uchiha Kei!
Kei stood there with a smug smirk, immediately taunting: "Naraku, today one of us gets taught a real lesson! I'll show you how strong I am!" His voice dripped with provocation and confidence.
Naraku sighed inwardly. He genuinely didn't understand why this brat hated him so much.
Frowning, he asked: "What did I ever do to you? Why are you always targeting me?"
Kei puffed up, glaring: "Because you don't act like a real Uchiha! And you're always hanging around Uchiha Mikoto!"
Naraku replied calmly: "If the 'real Uchiha' ideal is idiots like you, then yeah, I guess I'm not. And Mikoto isn't some object. I'm going to marry her."
Whether before or after memory awakening, Naraku had always carried a certain arrogance deep down. He felt zero pride in the "noble Uchiha clan" the way most did—which made him seem off to brats like Kei.
Back to the fight. The moment Naraku finished speaking, Kei lost it.
He charged with fists flying, yelling: "You dare look down on the Uchiha?!"
Naraku met him head-on in a pure taijutsu slugfest.
Their skill levels were roughly equal, but Kei had completely lost composure. Naraku spotted an opening and landed a clean punch, sending Kei flying.
Kei scrambled up and immediately formed seals: "Boar → Rat → Monkey → Hare → Dragon → Tiger!"
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Young Hiruzen saw Kei losing control and moved to stop the match— —but noticed Naraku forming seals at the same time.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Two massive fireballs collided. Thanks to Naraku's much larger chakra pool, even with equal control, his fireball was slightly bigger. It overpowered Kei's and continued forward.
Kei barely dodged, but before he could recover, Naraku's Shadow Clone (created during the clash) ambushed him with a flurry of blows. Kei went down in seconds.
Naraku looked at the defeated brat and said coolly: "If you're really proud to be an Uchiha, then learn some humility—and get stronger."
Finishing the lecture, Naraku felt a rush. Was this the thrill of winning a fight and preaching afterward? If there weren't so many people around, he'd probably be drilling his temple with a finger going "Saaaaaai~koooo!"
Winner: Uchiha Naraku!
As young Hiruzen announced the result, the crowd erupted in chatter.
"He was already handsome, but now he's even hotter!" "Fighting for the girl he loves and winning—insanely cool!" "Too bad he already likes someone…" "They're not married yet! There's still a chance!"
After one girl said that, the rest turned dangerous glares toward Naraku.
Naraku ignored the fangirls completely. Excellent boys always get attention—what else was new?
Kushina marched over without any pretense: "I didn't expect you to be that strong, kid! Be my subordinate from now on!"
Naraku shot back with a smirk: "Heh. You're hilarious."
At the same time, Naraku felt a faint, almost imperceptible gaze watching him. He wasn't certain, but it was probably that damn Hiruzen peeking from somewhere. Thankfully, that creepy surveillance feeling never appeared inside the Uchiha compound!
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