Chapter 26: Left Hand, Right Hand—One Rasengan Each. The ANBU Are Shocked
"How many other ANBU ninjas are willing to follow and pledge loyalty to me like you?"
Naruto asked the question he cared about most right now.
The group exchanged glances.
They looked at each other.
None of them knew the exact number.
They hadn't done a proper count.
Ever since the Fourth Hokage fell,
they—the old guard—had felt quite helpless.
"Sorry, Young Master—we truly don't know."
"But please give us a few days to investigate."
"Lord Fourth treated everyone very well. Compared to Lord Third, we believe many more would prefer to follow the orphan of the Fourth Hokage—the hero's son of Konoha!"
Having seen enough of Konoha's dark underbelly,
they had grown disillusioned with many things.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's methods of solving problems weren't pretty.
Of course they worked,
but… if someone with Minato Namikaze's ability and strength had mediated instead,
perhaps Konoha wouldn't have lost the Uchiha clan.
The Uchihas could have continued living in harmony with the village.
Simply put:
in their hearts, Minato Namikaze stood on a very high pedestal.
He symbolized light!
His son, Uzumaki Naruto,
could fully inherit his father's will!
He could bring a bright new future to all of Konoha.
"Alright. Once you've investigated and tallied the numbers, report back to me. Don't let Grandpa Third know about this."
Naruto nodded.
"Yes, Young Master!"
The group replied in unison.
"Oh—and from now on, you don't need to guard me from the shadows anymore. Go home to your families."
Naruto suddenly remembered the main issue.
Having people constantly watching over you
felt weird.
It was uncomfortable.
Like even going to the bathroom, you had to worry someone might burst in.
Ridiculous!
"Okay…"
"Absolutely not! Young Master, you're still young—you need our protection!"
"That's right! Young Master, this was only the first assassination attempt. There will be second, third, fourth batches… more and more! Please reconsider!"
"Young Master, we beg you."
Their faces were filled with genuine worry.
It didn't seem fake.
It came straight from the heart.
Sigh…
Looked like he had to show off a little.
Naruto formed a Rasengan in his left hand.
And another in his right.
(⊙o⊙)…
Yes—two at once.
Two swirling blue mini-typhoons rotated in his palms.
The terrifying power contained within them was unmistakable.
The ANBU members were dumbfounded.
Holy crap—what kind of monster operation is this?!
Releasing Rasengan without hand seals?
Apparently not needed.
They had seen Minato Namikaze use Rasengan before.
He never formed seals either.
But as the creator of the technique,
Minato could only maintain one Rasengan at a time.
And his son, Uzumaki Naruto?
He could casually produce two simultaneously!
Surpassing the master—absolute freak!
Even though they couldn't use Rasengan themselves, they understood its principles deeply.
Controlling even one violently unstable Rasengan required an enormous amount of chakra!
At Naruto's current age of thirteen, most people would be mentally willing but physically incapable.
Simultaneously using two?
The demands on the user were extreme!
The Rasengans vanished from his hands once more.
"I have the ability to protect myself. If you don't trust me, you can continue guarding from the shadows. But… from now on, don't call me Young Master anymore!"
Who wants to be stared at all the time?!
It's annoying as hell.
Trying to do anything fun with electric light bulbs watching—and not just one.
What the hell kind of mood is that?
The group looked troubled.
They were protecting Naruto for what?
Because he lacked self-protection ability.
Easy target for assassination by other ninjas, right?
Now that Naruto had shown his strength right in front of them,
they suddenly felt like extras.
"Yes, Young Master!"
"We'll take our leave now."
"Please take care! If anything happens, use this to summon us."
The captain handed over a small communication device.
After that,
they didn't linger.
They left immediately.
Only after Naruto sensed their auras completely disappear
did he return to his room.
"My cheap old man really had some solid connections. Taking control of Konoha isn't impossible."
He casually tossed the communicator on the table.
Naruto thought to himself.
The idea only flashed through his mind for a moment
before he threw it out completely.
Becoming village leader at this age?
He'd have to be insane.
Forget everything else—the daily paperwork alone would be endless.
He couldn't just be a hands-off figurehead.
Dealing with this and that—too annoying!
Besides, at his age, shouldn't he be enjoying his youth?
Dating, getting girlfriends.
There were still tons of beautiful girls in and outside the village waiting for him.
Spending all day doing old-man stuff?
Too annoying.
As long as Hiruzen Sarutobi was still alive, he could dump everything on him—no problem.
Even if the old man died one day or got killed by Orochimaru,
there was still Tsunade to come back and take the Hokage seat, right?
Thinking of best girl Tsunade…
cough cough…
Back to the main topic.
At Naruto's current age of thirteen, his mind was willing but his body wasn't quite there yet.
"I never expected Lord Fourth's influence to be so great—that so many ANBU are willing to follow Master."
The Nine-Tails suddenly spoke up.
"Shut up and go back inside. I want to sleep."
Naruto scolded with a laugh.
A mere tailed beast had learned how to flatter people now?
That wasn't good.
"Yes!"
The Nine-Tails—who had only come out for a breath of fresh air—sounded deeply aggrieved.
Its form vanished, returning to Naruto's inner world.
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