I'm not that Naruto Uzumaki

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed. The incident where a member of the Hyuga clan beat someone to death hadn't caused much of a stir in the village.

Now, with the start of a new year, Naruto had turned five.

Of course, it wasn't just his age that had increased. Under his father's personal guidance within the seal space, his strength had progressed rapidly over the past two months.

At the very least, he could now be considered at the level of a Genin according to Konoha's classification. However, his taijutsu was another matter.

Since he was constantly being watched, he could only practice ninjutsu in the seal space and then challenge puppets in the mirrored world to hone himself.

While virtual battles felt alright, he had never actually fought in the real world, so he wasn't entirely sure of his current strength.

Over these two months, Naruto had been steadily building his foundation. Ever since he switched to a new chakra refinement method, his chakra reserves had been growing at an astonishing rate. The first jutsu he learned was the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Lately, he had also been studying a technique passed down from the Uzumaki clan—using his own chakra to sense his surroundings.

Thanks to his increasing chakra reserves, he now had extra time each night to challenge the mirrored world. Several times, he had even managed to defeat Kamizuki Izumo just by exhausting him with Shadow Clones.

He wanted to make use of his time during the day as well, but that was impossible.

The ANBU that had been temporarily removed only left him alone for a single day before returning.

Today, Naruto had just returned home after purchasing two kunai from the Ninja Tool Store. The shopkeeper had even thrown in a cheap ninja tool pouch as a freebie. But just as he arrived home, Kurama immediately warned him that Moonlight Hayate had been tailing him the entire way—and was now standing right behind him.

Naruto couldn't help but feel exasperated. Clearly, he needed to master his sensing ability as soon as possible.

If even someone as easy to detect as Moonlight Hayate required Kurama's warning, then what would he do if he encountered an opponent like the Second Tsuchikage, who possessed the terrifying, undetectable Muon Sensing Concealment?

The kunai were meant for use in the mirrored world, where any tools or equipment he carried would be projected.

For the past two months, he had continuously challenged Kamizuki Izumo, but the rewards he gained from it had left him somewhat dissatisfied.

He had accumulated a huge pile of rewards, including all of Kamizuki Izumo's jutsu and training experiences as a Genin and Chunin.

But aside from the training experiences, the ninjutsu themselves were completely useless to him—he simply couldn't learn them, including the Great Fireball Jutsu.

After testing with five chakra paper slips, he confirmed that his current chakra nature was Wind Release.

Thinking of the fact that Moonlight Hayate was still behind him, Naruto placed the kunai into his pouch, walked to his desk, spread out a piece of paper, and picked up a pen to write.

"Lying under the plum tree, I smell its flowers."

"Lying on the branch, sorrow bends me low."

After writing the two lines, he left them on the desk without bothering to explain and went downstairs to prepare lunch.

Behind him, Moonlight Hayate stepped forward and silently recited the words several times before flipping out of the window and leaving…

Hokage's Office – Rooftop

"What do these two lines mean?"

The Third Hokage furrowed his brows as he looked at Moonlight Hayate's surveillance report. The report began with the two lines Naruto had just written.

He recognized every word, yet he couldn't make sense of them together.

"Ahem! Hokage-sama, I don't understand them either. The target wrote them down immediately after returning home from the Ninja Tool Store with two kunai."

Hearing his superior's question, Moonlight Hayate, despite his usual coughs, managed to suppress one as he responded. He wasn't sure how he had managed to keep quiet while tailing Naruto.

The Third Hokage's expression grew serious. "Kunai? Has someone in the village started bullying Naruto?"

"No!" Moonlight Hayate, his eyes shadowed by dark circles, shook his head firmly. "The target's routine remains unchanged—he leaves home at the same time every day and returns shortly after. Also, he now uses the Transformation Jutsu whenever he goes out. He hasn't had any conflicts with villagers."

The Third Hokage frowned. If no one had been bullying Naruto, then why had he suddenly bought combat tools?

This was not a good sign.

Moonlight Hayate's response did not put him at ease.

Naruto had already started refining chakra, which technically made him a ninja. If a civilian provoked him…

He needed to know what Naruto was thinking.

Everything related to Naruto had to be under his control.

"Summon Shikaku."

"Hai!"

Nightfall – Inside the Sealed Space

Under Namikaze Minato's watchful gaze, Naruto stretched out one hand, quickly gathering visible chakra in his palm. Under his control, the chakra flowed in different directions while continuously compressing, forming a rapidly spinning, high-density chakra sphere.

Naruto had successfully formed a Rasengan.

Having gained experience, he extended his other hand and, in the blink of an eye, held a second Rasengan.

After dinner, while Naruto was practicing his sensory ability, his father had excitedly told him he would teach him a jutsu that required no hand seals.

Naruto immediately guessed it was the Rasengan.

But after nearly three hours, he still hadn't fully grasped it.

He wasn't in a hurry—he knew the original story.

His father had taken three years to develop the Rasengan. Even that old toad sage, Jiraiya, had taken three days to learn it.

He wasn't like the Uchiha clan or Kakashi, who could copy techniques with the Sharingan. Taking longer to learn it was only natural.

So, Naruto decided that tomorrow, he would go buy some balloons to train with, just like in the story.

At that moment, Kurama, who had been watching, couldn't take it anymore. One glance was all it took for the beast to recognize that the Rasengan was derived from their Bijūdama.

Kurama first mocked Minato for his "narrow-minded thinking" and then had Naruto touch fists with him. Instantly, Naruto received the full knowledge of how tailed beasts successfully formed their Bijūdama.

Kurama then gave Minato a knowing look, topped off with a chakra boost, before lying down to nap.

Naruto, knowing the story, understood that Kurama's chakra could link minds together, but he couldn't openly acknowledge it. Now that Kurama had demonstrated it firsthand, Minato immediately caught on.

This made Naruto wonder—had his father, sealed within the Shinigami's stomach along with the other half of Kurama, already befriended that part of the beast?

Meanwhile, the portion of Minato sealed within the space was stunned by the revelation that Kurama's chakra could do such a thing.

Snapping out of his daze, Minato quickly touched fists with Naruto and transferred all his knowledge and experience with the Rasengan in one go.

With that, it didn't take Naruto long to master the Rasengan.

And unlike in the original story, he didn't need Shadow Clones—he could form it one-handed.

Standing in front of the iron gate, holding a Rasengan in each hand, Naruto suddenly pressed them against the seal.

Buzz—buzz!

A faint tremor passed through, and the Rasengan vanished without a trace. The iron gate remained completely intact.

Minato's eyes widened. "Naruto, what are you—"

"I was just testing if the Rasengan could break the seal."

"Don't bother," Kurama scoffed. "I've already tried countless times with my Bijūdama."

At that moment, Kurama suddenly spoke up.

"The Third Hokage is downstairs."

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