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JST Chapter 360: One Brat, One Beast… One Sensei
🕑 Added 2025-06-30 00:30:04 +0000 UTC“But… I don’t know what I really want,” Naruto mumbled, crouching down. “Kazuki-nii, you’re right. I really don’t care what strangers think of me anymore… but what am I supposed to do now?”
“Should I seek justice for my father and mother?”
Kazuki gave no direct answer—he simply shook his head. Then, all of a sudden, he barked sharply: “Naruto. Tell me—what is the thing you desire most right now!”
Startled by Kazuki’s sudden tone, Naruto’s thoughts were jolted back to life. Images flashed through his mind—every single one of them connected to Kazuki.
This day—the day that had changed his entire life—had started with Kazuki’s overwhelming power.
Naruto didn’t understand just how incredible it was that Kazuki, by himself, had mastered all known chakra natures and transformations, even the intricacies of every kekkei genkai in the shinobi world…
But he remembered the stunned expression on his father’s face—the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato—when he witnessed it. That disbelief alone said it all: not even a Hokage could achieve such a thing.
“I want to be as strong as you, Kazuki-nii!” Naruto took a deep breath and spoke with all his heart.
“Good.”
Kazuki nodded, satisfied. “Then I’ll teach you how to become strong.”
“Naruto, remember this—whether it’s me or anyone else, your life should never be swayed by outside forces. What you pursue must be something your own heart truly desires—not what others wish for you to become.”
“Even my advice, my perspective—you must listen with discernment. Don’t believe anything blindly until you’ve thought it through for yourself.”
Naruto gave a small, uncertain nod.
But deep inside his young mind, a faint hint of resistance was already beginning to stir…
Does Kazuki-nii think I don’t trust him?
How could I not!
If it weren’t for Kazuki’s appearance, he’d still be drowning in fear and doubt—wondering if he really was the reincarnation of the Nine-Tails. Let alone meeting his father and mother… or learning the dark truth about the village.
And back then, he’d even foolishly dreamed of becoming some self-sacrificing Hokage!
Maybe others could afford to doubt.
But Kazuki-nii was someone he had to believe in!
"Naruto, the first step in your training is chakra formation. I’ll help correct the flaws in your basic shinobi fundamentals."
Kazuki waved his hand, and the Nine-Tails walked over with heavy, measured steps, eventually crouching beside him. Its long, narrow fox eyes locked onto Naruto, observing him silently.
The sight of that massive, terrifying beast made Naruto’s heart skip a beat.
Part of it was fear of the Nine-Tails… but even more than that, it was his deep insecurity about his own ability to train.
He couldn’t even extract chakra properly!
What if Kazuki found out how hopelessly bad he was—would he still have the patience to teach him? Naruto believed that Kazuki, as his friend, wouldn’t just walk away over something like that… but it would still be so humiliating.
He didn’t want to see disappointment in Kazuki’s eyes.
Naruto racked his brain, trying to recall everything his Academy teacher had said about chakra extraction—stuff he’d usually slept through. He pushed himself to do it properly this time…
And then—chakra surged out in waves!
“Well done, Naruto!”
Kazuki didn’t hold back, praising him loudly. “You’re a genius—without a doubt!”
Naruto froze.
Feeling that smooth rush of chakra for the first time ever, he broke into a wide, goofy grin—completely unaware of how silly he looked.
“Naruto, your mother was a kunoichi of the Uzumaki Clan, a master of advanced sealing techniques and chakra control. As her son, you carry that pure bloodline—and you’ve inherited her talents.”
Kazuki casually ran a hand through the soft fur of the Nine-Tails beside him. “The reason you struggled with chakra extraction before… is because there’s a giant fox living inside you. Sometimes it likes to stir up a little trouble.”
“But now that I’m here, that mischievous fox won’t be interfering anymore.”
Naruto leapt up and stood right in front of the Nine-Tails.
“Huh?! Big Fox, why were you messing with me before!”
He had been scared of the Nine-Tails just moments ago. But seeing how obedient it was next to Kazuki, all that fear vanished—replaced by the courage to actually confront the giant beast.
The Nine-Tails had originally planned to stay silent. But faced with Naruto’s loud, finger-pointing bravado, it couldn’t help itself. It snorted sharply—two streams of white breath blasting from its nostrils.
“You brat… You’ve sealed me inside your body. And you expect me to help you train?”
After speaking, the Nine-Tails cautiously felt Kazuki’s hand rubbing at the nape of its neck, where its fate seemed to rest.
Good. The pressure hadn’t changed.
That meant, even though Kazuki was intent on teaching this little brat, he wasn’t spoiling him without limits…
This adorable fox still had some status!
At the very least, exchanging a few barbed words with Naruto wasn’t going to earn it a punch from Kazuki.
“Eh?”
Naruto blinked in a daze, suddenly realizing the flaw in his logic—what the big fox just said… actually made sense.
“Alright,” Kazuki cleared his throat lightly, “since the two of you are now one, you’ll have to advance together.”
“Naruto, although you have talent, your chakra formation is still lacking in some areas. The way you coordinate your mental and physical strength is not yet balanced or synchronized. That affects the quality and extraction rate of your chakra.”
“Look into my eyes—feel how it should move through you.”
Naruto met Kazuki’s gaze. Within those crimson eyes was an invisible force, almost magical. He felt like his soul had been drawn out of his body—watching from the outside as Kazuki guided his movements with perfect precision to extract chakra.
And throughout the process, Naruto could feel the subtle feedback of his body’s responses.
Kazuki was using the Sharingan teaching method on Naruto for the first time.
After the lesson, Naruto, for the first time, tasted the deep sense of fulfillment that came from successful training. He kept practicing chakra control again and again, fully immersed in the joy of improvement.
This was the benefit of having a powerful mentor.
There were no wrong paths to stumble down. As long as he put in the effort, there would always be a reward.
Naruto trained with full focus, replaying Kazuki’s technique in his mind with painstaking care. Tiny beads of sweat glistened at the tip of his nose—but he didn’t even notice.
The chakra he extracted was becoming more and more refined—purer and higher in quality.
Nearby, the Nine-Tails lay with its tails drooping, watching the scene in silence. Something stirred in its heart.
Once, long ago, an old man had also tried to teach it knowledge. But back then, the Nine-Tails had refused to listen.
Instead, the One-Tail and the Eight-Tails had absorbed some of that wisdom and learned a few sealing techniques.
Sometimes, the Nine-Tails wondered—
If it had listened… if it had trained and learned back then… would things have been different when it faced Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama?
Would it still have been so powerless in defeat?
“What is it? Thinking of learning too, Nine-Tails?”
Kazuki smiled softly, catching the flicker of emotion in the fox’s eyes. “Your use of chakra is far too one-dimensional. You haven’t come close to unleashing the power you truly possess.”
“If you’re willing, I can teach you. Even if you attacked me the first time we met… well, the fact we’ve ended up together here—it must be fate.”
Kazuki’s eyes sparkled with amusement as he looked at the Nine-Tails. “So? Call me sensei, and I’ll treat you the same way I treat Naruto.”
The Nine-Tails’ long, pointed ears twitched.
It didn’t think someone like Kazuki would lie to it.
Which meant… he was serious about teaching it?
At that moment, Naruto—having heard everything—looked over with an annoyed pout at the Nine-Tails’ hesitant expression and shouted, “Kazuki-nii! Don’t teach that stupid fox—just teach me!”
“Sensei! Please teach me your ways of training!” the Nine-Tails snapped back with a fierce glare at Naruto, then immediately turned and addressed Kazuki with utter reverence.
Unlike this snot-nosed brat Naruto…
The dignified and mature Nine-Tails wasn’t about to let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip through its claws!
