The Forest of Death again.
Shikamaru watched Hikari leave with Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata, and felt an inexplicable sense of loss.
"Ino, do you think... we've been left behind?"
Ino nodded, a flicker of sadness passing through her eyes as she looked up at the golden-red sun in the sky.
"The way you say it... makes it sound like Hikari-senpai used to guide our training every single day."
Shikamaru thought about it carefully. Although Hikari-senpai would check their training progress and give them pointers when needed, saying he supervised them daily like a proper teacher...
That was definitely dreaming.
If one day Hikari actually did that, Shikamaru would seriously suspect the man had gone insane.
"Actually, I'm more surprised Hikari-senpai even came by today," Shikamaru muttered.
Ino blinked in confusion. "Why? What's strange about that?"
Shikamaru explained, "According to shinobi regulations, you're entitled to rest time after completing a long-distance mission. Forget one day—knowing Hikari-senpai, I'd be surprised if he didn't take at least three."
Ino thought it over and realized he was right.
Usually, after returning from a distant mission, shinobi would spend time with family.
After all, being a shinobi was a high-risk profession. You earned high pay, and shouldered equally high danger.
You never knew which day might be your last.
"Alright, let's get back to training."
Before leaving, Hikari had thoroughly answered questions about their training, and now Shikamaru felt motivated again!
---
Hikari brought Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata to a jagged stone forest and stopped.
"Now I'll tell you three your training tasks."
"Sasuke, yours is to take that stone slab, place it on top of that rock pillar, sit cross-legged on it, and when you can sit there steadily, we'll move to the next step."
For Sasuke, what he needed wasn't just taijutsu and ninjutsu improvement. Most importantly, he needed to see into his own heart.
Sasuke's talent was exceptional. As Indra's reincarnation, he would inevitably awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
And Hikari intended to accelerate that process.
Since the Uchiha clan's mindset was fundamentally flawed, Hikari would temper Sasuke's spirit and make him confront his true inner thoughts.
This preparation—similar to training for Sage Mode—was Hikari's design.
Without a word, Sasuke picked up the slab and walked toward the stone pillar.
"Naruto, your biggest cheat is the Shadow Clone Technique. But even with that ninjutsu, you need to control your usage properly. You're still young—remember to protect your body. If you burn yourself out early, you'll suffer a lot once you grow older."
As he said this, Hikari's gaze passed briefly over Hinata, making her look puzzled.
As a pure, innocent girl, she had no idea what he meant.
"The Rasengan is a ninjutsu without hand seals. Right now you can only form it by using clones to help you. But in real combat, timing shifts constantly. For example, if I were your enemy, I could simply strike the moment you summon a clone and disperse it instantly. Then you'd lose access to that ninjutsu. What would you fight with then?"
Most of Naruto's abilities relied on making "chakra balls".
Without the Rasengan, his taijutsu was inferior to Hinata's, his ninjutsu behind Sasuke's, and his weapons throwing wasn't on Tenten's level. What would he use to fight?
"Hikari-senpai, it's not that I don't want to— it's the Nine-Tails chakra. It keeps interfering with my movements. Under that influence, forming the Rasengan alone is really hard!" Naruto confessed.
He had even asked Jiraiya about it.
Jiraiya had checked him carefully and realized that Naruto's body had become strong due to the Nine-Tails, but that very sealing also made chakra control extremely difficult.
A Rasengan required delicate chakra regulation. But the Nine-Tails always disrupted Naruto at the worst moment, making his attempts fail.
"It's fine. I believe the Nine-Tails is a good fox. From now on, he definitely won't come out to cause trouble," Hikari said, smiling as he glanced at Naruto's stomach.
He didn't attempt to strengthen the seal. It was a seal the Fourth Hokage had created with his own life—tampering with it might damage the original structure.
---
Nine-Tails' Sealing Space
As the strongest of the tailed beasts, the Nine-Tails could not tolerate what Hikari had just said.
Even with a seal, he would absolutely make sure Kamizuki Hikari understood his power.
The Nine-Tails' pride was not to be taken lightly.
Just as he bared his fangs, ready to interfere with Naruto's training again, his vision blurred—and suddenly Hikari appeared outside the cage as if out of thin air.
"Nine-Tails, how about we make a deal?"
It was Hikari's first time here. Looking at the massive fox within the cage, he smiled politely.
As a civilized person, courtesy before force was only proper.
"So you're that Kamizuki Hikari?"
The Nine-Tails stared at him in shock. He sensed no Uchiha-like malice or darkness from Hikari, only a vast, unfathomable presence, like an ocean.
"How did you get in here?" the Nine-Tails asked curiously.
Hikari waved his hand. "Not important. Here's what matters: outside, the Akatsuki wants to gather all the tailed beasts and revive the Ten-Tails. I'm sure you know what that means."
*Boom!*
The Ten-Tails!
At that name, the Nine-Tails' fur stood on end.
He rose from his lazy posture, all four limbs braced, nine tails lashing. He truly looked like the great demon king.
"Where did you hear that?" the Nine-Tails demanded.
The nine tailed beasts had all been split from the Ten-Tails' chakra. If the Ten-Tails were revived, the Nine-Tails would inevitably be absorbed. As the one with nearly half of the Ten-Tails' chakra, he was the key to any revival attempt.
"Two days ago I fought the leader of Akatsuki out at sea. He had the Rinnegan and summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to absorb all the chakra I separated from the Three-Tails. I've asked Orochimaru to delay their progress, but he can't stall them for long. Naruto has potential I recognize—I want to train him well so he has the strength to protect himself before the war arrives."
The Nine-Tails blinked, then grinned.
"The revival of the Ten-Tails doesn't change much for me. It's just switching from one prison to another. If you want my help, then move me somewhere else. Otherwise..."
He chuckled darkly.
Hikari smiled silently. This fox really thought he didn't know anything.
"In that case, enjoy your stay here."
As he spoke, his eyes began to change.
They turned blood-red—one tomoe, two tomoe, three tomoe—then spun into a Mangekyō Sharingan, then stabilized into an Eternal Mangekyō.
"You..." The Nine-Tails was stunned.
There was no Uchiha darkness in him, and his surname wasn't Uchiha—how could he have a Mangekyō Sharingan?
"Rest quietly. You're tired. Don't disturb Naruto's training anymore."
For the first time, Hikari revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan.
A powerful genjutsu washed over the Nine-Tails. Its eyes turned into three-tomoe Sharingan, and it collapsed into deep sleep.
"You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Just be a good battery from now on."
Without the Nine-Tails' consciousness resisting, and with the seal in place, future interference in Naruto's training would be minimal.
With those words, Hikari's figure flickered and vanished from the sealing space.