19 Chapter 18 : 21st Place

"It's almost over, it's almost over."

"It's too late for that."

"How should I choose?"

"What is that Rasengan!?"

With just nine seconds left, Naruto was as restless as an ant on a hot pan.

He didn't understand Sarutobi's decapitation performance at all, and he hadn't even paid attention to it.

Knowing that he wasn't an orphan and that his father was still the Fourth Hokage, the one he had always admired the most, his heart was as sweet as honey. He had been chatting with Kushina and Namikaze Minato on the Gold List.

If it weren't for Uchiha Ran's reminder, he wouldn't have realized that the ten-minute selection time was almost up.

And he hadn't even thought about which one to choose.

[Uzumaki Kushina: Son, choose the first one. The physique is the foundation. Once your physique improves, you can better control the Nine-Tails, have more Chakra, and perform and learn ninjutsu more efficiently.]

[Namikaze Minato: Son, Rasengan is an A-level non-hand seal Ninjutsu I invented. It requires skill, making it challenging for regular people to learn. If you can master it directly and add some additional moves, it can become a powerful offensive technique.]

Kushina and Namikaze Minato were both anxious about their son's decision.

Realizing time was running out, the two didn't waste any time and gave their suggestions respectively.

Kushina's personality was fiery and straightforward, starting by advising Naruto to choose a physique, and her reasoning made sense.

The only thing she wondered was why Naruto's physique was that of the Senju clan!?

Namikaze Minato spoke at the same time, but compared to his wife, he was more level-headed, providing guidance while leaving the choice to Naruto.

If Naruto were as calm as Namikaze Minato, he could analyze the best option for himself even with just a few seconds left. However, Naruto was more inclined to fuss around. He was impulsive.

Upon hearing this, Naruto felt uncertain about what to choose.

He wanted to hear what his mother thought.

His father's ninjutsu was non-hand seal based, and he desired that greatly.

He was caught in a dilemma.

"Oh, time's running out!"

Seeing that there were only five seconds left, Naruto scratched his head in frustration.

[Jiraiya: Naruto, choose the physique. I'll teach you Rasengan!]

Jiraiya appeared at the crucial moment.

But the flustered Naruto didn't even notice Jiraiya's message in the chat.

In that moment, a soothing voice reached him.

"Choose to improve your physique!"

It was Uchiha Ran's voice.

Without any hesitation, Naruto shouted to the sky, "Option One, I choose Option One!"

Swish!

With two seconds still remaining, the timer vanished and a beam of light descended.

The light enveloped Naruto's body and dissipated after a second.

Naruto grew a few centimeters visibly taller.

After having been undernourished before, his transformed physique received a boost of nourishment, leading to his growth.

Inside the Seal of the Eight Trigrams, Yang Nine-Tails opened its eyes and bared its teeth in annoyance. "Damn it, it was only going to take a few months to loosen the seal, and now it'll take a few more years. Damn that Uchiha kid!"

"Phew~"

Naruto let out a sigh of relief, then grinned at Neji beside him. "I feel even stronger now, Neji. You're no match for me anymore."

"Congratulations!" Neji replied, his arms crossed.

He was no longer the caged bird. His mental awareness had grown.

Naruto had gained recognition, and becoming stronger held more significance for him.

But Naruto, the "crane tail," was, in fact, the son of the Fourth Hokage.

Fate was truly peculiar—maybe he was a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths.

If Uchiha Ran knew his thoughts, she would have kindly informed him that he wasn't a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths but rather a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths' younger brother.

Compared to the Rinnegan and its degenerated Sharingan, which the Ōtsutsuki clan obtained by consuming fruit, the Byakugan was the true bloodline limit of the Ōtsutsuki clan!

"Boom!"

At that moment, the golden bell rang again, capturing everyone's attention.

Instinctively, everyone glanced at the Gold List live broadcast screen.

Everything was fine; nothing had changed. The next person on the list was still in Konoha.

A swish, and a three-dimensional image appeared. A thirteen-year-old boy, dressed in black one-piece suits with white bandages wrapped around their right legs, long bangs, black hair, and black pupils—Uchiha Sasuke.

21st Place : Uchiha Sasuke (Second Stage Sharingan)

Option One: Three-Tomoe Sharingan

Option Two: Intermediate Uzumaki Physique

Sasuke was one place ahead of Naruto.

"As expected!" Uchiha Ran smiled.

Sasuke had activated the one tomoe sharingan on the night of the massacre, and a two tomoe when he fought Haku before the Chūnin exams. He had also been afflicted by Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, which had improved him somewhat.

During his battle with Naruto in the Valley of the End, he had activated the three tomoe sharingan, bringing him close to evolving further.

Naruto, on the other hand, had likely advanced his physique to an intermediate level during his training with Jiraiya, resulting in him possessing 100 units of Chakra (four units were used for normal activities, and 96 units were used to suppress the Nine-Tails).

It was reasonable for Sasuke to momentarily outshine Naruto.

"Awesome, Sasuke, you made the list!" Haruno Sakura leaned towards Sasuke to offer her congratulations.

"Hmm!" Sasuke nodded calmly.

Watching this, Naruto suddenly felt a pang of jealousy. "Sakura-chan, I was on the list too, and you didn't even congratulate me. Sasuke's only one spot ahead of me."

He had completely forgotten that he had never even considered being on the list before.

"How could you compare to Sasuke-kun?" Sakura teased playfully.

Typical of you, green-tea Sakura, always applying double standards!

Despite knowing that Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son, her attitude remained unchanged.

Perhaps this was another form of affection?

"Damn it!" Naruto grumbled in annoyance.

Yet Sasuke couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the two of them, his gaze having shifted from the list after the reward options were revealed.

"Option One, I choose Option One!"

Sasuke exclaimed without hesitation.

Uchiha Ran: ? ? ?

In the Pure Land, Uchiha Madara was momentarily stunned, doubting whether he had heard correctly.

Upon regaining his composure, he instinctively grew angry, almost activating Mangekyō again.

"You idiot, what a waste!"