Chapter-34

"It's impossible."

"Your face is impossible. No one can be that ugly." Naruto sneered, plunging the entire foundry into a dense silence. Some prisoners couldn't help but look worriedly at the newcomer.

"You little trash!"

"Sir, the commander is calling you." The soldier was inches away from impaling the brat's head with his spear but halted when an elderly slave approached him.

"…" Gritting his teeth, the soldier glared at the grinning brat, then turned and left.

"Don't provoke them." Naruto recognized the old man; it was the same one he had helped a few days ago. "There's a difference between being brave and being stupid."

"I don't think I can tell." With a shrug, Naruto dropped the shovel, which was strange to the old man. He had seen it on the ground, but now it was in the boy's hand. Little did he know that the shinobi was considering using the shovel as a weapon if the guard tried to attack him.

"If you continue like this, you'll only end up harming yourself, and not just yourself... but all of us." The last sentence wiped the smile from Naruto's face. "Many like you have come here, thinking they'll never be subdued. Their selfish acts of rebellion only lead to punishments for us all."

"..."

"Don't be foolish. Just keep your head down and your mouth shut." With a sigh, the old man turned away, pushing a wheelbarrow full of coal.

"Hey, grandpa…" The traveler halted as several soldiers encircled the brat who stood there, that same smile still plastered on his face. "If being smart means bowing down and letting others spit on you...! Then you're looking at the biggest idiot in the world!"

"Shut up!" One of the guards delivered a hard blow to the preteen's legs, forcing him to fall to his knees. The clinking sound of shackles echoed as soldiers placed them on his hands and feet. "You'll see what happens to loose mouths like you!"

...

"No matter how difficult something is... you can always break through in the end." Hanzuke remained impassive, eyeing the new troublemaker. He now stood in the middle of the concentration camp, surrounded by slaves and soldiers who were mere spectators.

"..." Naruto said nothing, merely holding a log in his arms. The punishment was simple: to stand with that heavy object over his head, immobile for hours. It caused muscles to cramp, and if the immobility continued, muscles would become overexerted, at least for most.

"Isn't it a bit much to keep that mustache on? I can't help but think you took a paintbrush and glued it to your face."

"You never learn, do you?" In an instant, a fiery fist struck the preteen's chest, but to everyone's surprise, there was no scream.

"Did that hurt?"

"..." A sinister smile crept onto the commander's face.

Everyone present heard the sound of each blow, each lash that cut into the boy's flesh as he stood resolute, holding the heavy log above his head. The flames that enveloped the whip only intensified the severity of the wounds. Several minutes later, all fell into silence.

"Take this trash to the dungeon, without food or water for a week." Two soldiers swiftly grasped Naruto by each arm and attempted to move him. However, he remained steadfast. "What are you waiting for?" Furious, the commander watched as the boy clung to the log, impervious to the soldiers' efforts to dislodge him.

"The old man... the old man told me about the earthbenders." Naruto smiled and planted his feet firmly on the ground, making it impossible for them to move him. More and more soldiers gathered, attempting to dislodge him. "He said they are people who never back down, that once they stand their ground, they can't be moved... like a mountain, vast and unyielding."

"..." Most of the earthbender slaves averted their eyes.

"..." Miho, still holding her younger sister's hand, stared at the newcomer who remained unshaken. "How...?"

"Is this all you'll do? Just be slaves to these sons of bitches." Gripping the wood in his hands, Naruto glared at the commander who angrily grabbed his whip that was engulfed in fire, "I thought you guys had courage! "

"Enough!" Hanzuke didn't want to hear more, launching the blow with his whip he hoped to hit the brat in the neck and tear off his head.

The whip was caught in midair.

….

Another day, another strange situation.

"Ouch," Naruto removed the last fragment of wood that had lodged in his hair. Those women knew how to turn a simple wooden bucket into a deadly weapon, and he had barely managed to escape the mob of furious women.

"So much inspiration!" A throbbing vein appeared on Naruto's forehead as he listened to Ero-sennin enthusiastically jotting down notes in his notebook. That's right, he had somehow become involved in the investigation of his supposed sensei who was spying on the women's hot springs. "My next masterpiece will be out very soon!" The wise old sage, despite his injuries from the objects the women had thrown at him, was undeterred in his literary pursuits.

"It's not like anyone was eagerly awaiting it."

"Silence, disrespectful child!" Jiraiya growled, feeling insulted by the boy's comment. He had millions of followers of his book all over the world, or at least he believed he had Kakashi and others who appreciated his work somewhere out there.

"Ero-sennin, instead of wasting time, why don't you train me better? Aren't you supposed to be my teacher?" Naruto questioned. Since their return to the village after bringing Oba-chan back, he had felt stagnant. While he had learned the Rasengan, he could only use it with the help of his clones or his other hand. He knew he had a long way to go to defeat opponents like Rock Lee, Gaara, or Neji. The latter had defeated him, but it was only with the help of the fox, not on his own.

"It's not all about breaking your back in training, kid. There are more aspects to being a shinobi than just brute force," Jiraiya responded lazily, putting away his notebook. "By the way, how are you withstanding temptation? That's important for a shinobi's life. I know a place where the girls…"