Chapter 42: Plan

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Naruto quickly became the commander of the Anbu, and besides receiving congratulations from familiar faces, he gained significant benefits. 

First, his status within the village of Konoha rose dramatically, making him one of the key personnel. 

Many important matters in the village could now be handled with his authority as an Anbu leader. 

Additionally, Naruto could now command many Anbu members, and as long as his actions didn't conflict with Konoha's interests, he had considerable autonomy. 

What excited Naruto the most was the access to a vast array of Konoha's jutsu, as long as they weren't highly classified forbidden techniques.

At the beginning of his new role, Naruto still had a lot to learn, and Tsunade personally guided him through many aspects. 

This position was initially a good fit for Jiraiya, but his carefree personality prevented him from accepting such a role. 

Therefore, Tsunade chose Naruto, whom she trusted the most. Having someone in that position also made her job as Hokage much easier. 

Naturally, emotionally and logically, she wanted Naruto to adapt quickly to his new role, which would also help solidify her control over the Anbu.

After about half a month, Naruto had grown comfortable with the job, and Tsunade had complete confidence in him. 

Naruto's primary focus was, of course, Konoha's collection of jutsu. 

When he first entered the village's jutsu archive, he was amazed by the strict security measures—only a handful of people were allowed access. 

The guards confirmed Naruto's identity and respectfully let him in: "My lord, please proceed." 

As Naruto ventured deeper into the archives, he was stunned by the sheer number of jutsu stored there.

Besides common techniques, there were numerous high-level jutsu, some related to kekkei genkai and forbidden techniques. 

This confirmed Konoha's reputation as the strongest ninja village among the Five Great Nations. 

Of course, the most dangerous forbidden techniques were kept elsewhere, likely accessible only to the Hokage. 

Immersing himself in the vast sea of jutsu, Naruto began reading and absorbing as much as possible, often using his Shadow Clone Technique to process the massive amount of information more efficiently. 

Tsunade had anticipated this; for someone as talented as Naruto, the allure of jutsu was undeniable.

However, Naruto wasn't just thinking about himself. He had to consider the team he was building. 

After setting aside some time, Naruto returned to his base, where Raisen welcomed him as usual. 

But Naruto cared most about the children he had taken under his wing. 

Raisen had safely brought the children to the villa, where they had settled in. 

Raisen also hired a few capable teachers to provide them with basic education. 

The place Naruto visited now was part of the villa set aside specifically for the children's learning. 

Naruto, still disguised as Kenji, greeted the kids. They were all excited to see him, viewing Naruto as their saviour.

Among them, Dali was the most enthusiastic, rushing over first. "Uncle Kenji, it's been so long since we've seen you! Where have you been?" 

Lucy also approached, smiling and nodding at Naruto, while the other children, including Tenba, followed suit, all curious about where he had been. 

Naruto patted their heads and replied, "Uncle Kenji has been very busy. Otherwise, I wouldn't have enough money to care for you all, let alone hire teachers." 

Tenba, one of the older and more thoughtful kids, stepped forward and asked, "Uncle Kenji, is there anything we can do to help?" 

"We all want to help you in any way we can." 

Naruto sighed and said, "You're all still too young. Telling you about these things now wouldn't make much difference." 

"When you grow older, I'll send you into the world, and you'll have to fend for yourselves."

Tenba, visibly upset, immediately responded, "We're not kids anymore, Uncle Kenji! We don't want to leave you!" 

"Let us stay by your side and help you—we'll do anything you need; just don't make us leave!" 

The other children, spurred by Tenba's words, echoed the sentiment: "Uncle Kenji, we don't want to leave! We'll stay with you forever!" 

Pretending to be reluctant, Naruto said, "All right, Uncle Kenji agrees, but you must help out as much as you can because I can't do everything alone." 

"We all have to work together." The children, who already saw Naruto as their saviour, agreed wholeheartedly, their loyalty to him stronger than ever.

Naruto had plans for these children. First, he asked Raisen to gather information about their ages—over twenty were over fifteen. 

They were already quite mature at this age, especially after enduring so much hardship. 

Naruto had Raisen lead them to a secret underground room. The children were surprised, as they had never known about this hidden area. 

Naruto sat in a chair positioned slightly higher than the others, giving the impression of a leader. 

Raisen stood beside him, guiding the children in. The atmosphere was serious.

Naruto smiled and said, "No need to be so tense."

"The youngest here is fifteen, so you're all mature enough now." 

"What I'm about to tell you must remain a secret—don't even share it with your fellow companions in the villa. Understood?" 

The children, sensing the gravity of the situation, nodded in agreement. "Understood." 

Naruto continued, "You must be curious why there's a place like this. Well, now I can tell you—it's a secret base I built." 

"No one, besides you and me, is allowed in." The children were astonished, but they listened attentively. 

Naruto added, "In this world, to survive, you need power. More specifically, you need strength. Do any of you think you have that strength right now?" 

The children shook their heads, some lowering them in frustration. Naruto asked, "Do you want to gain power?" The children shouted in unison, "Yes!"

Naruto smiled and said, "In this world, a powerful ninja can easily defeat a hundred ordinary people. So..." 

Before Naruto could finish, Tenba interjected, "Uncle Kenji, are you saying you want us to become ninjas? But without a teacher, it's impossible." 

Naruto laughed and said, "Don't worry about that. I'll take the time to teach you, including how to use jutsu." 

Dali, thrilled, shouted, "Does that mean Uncle Kenji is a ninja? That's awesome! We can learn ninjutsu and become ninjas, too!" 

Naruto nodded, and the children were overjoyed. The opportunity to learn jutsu was incredibly exciting for them.

Occasionally, Naruto would take time off in the village to relax and catch up with old friends. It was a great way for him to unwind. 

That night, Naruto slept particularly well, and when he opened his eyes the next morning, he saw a familiar figure with white hair at his window—it was Jiraiya. 

Naruto quickly sat up and said, "Jiraiya-sensei, you're back!" 

Jiraiya casually responded, "Yeah, the mission is completed, and I've gathered solid intel." 

"For the next year or two, Akatsuki won't make a move against you. So, I've taken you on a training trip to help you improve your strength."

Naruto replied, "Jiraiya-sensei, I still need your guidance in training, but I might not be able to stay with you for long periods." 

"I have important responsibilities in Konoha, too." 

Jiraiya was slightly surprised and said, "I didn't expect you to have so many other things going on." 

"In that case, I'll have to travel and collect 'research material' alone." 

From the look on Jiraiya's face, Naruto guessed that Tsunade hadn't told him about Naruto's current situation. 

Naruto suggested, "Has Granny Tsunade not filled you in on the details? You should ask her when you get a chance."

Jiraiya responded, "I handed over the intel to her as soon as I returned and didn't have time to talk much." 

Naruto quickly got out of bed, dressed, and dragged Jiraiya toward the Hokage's office. 

Despite it being early in the morning, Tsunade was already at work. When she saw Naruto and Jiraiya arrive, she signalled Shizune to leave the room. 

After closing the door, Tsunade explained Naruto's current situation to Jiraiya. 

Jiraiya was shocked at how much Naruto had grown in strength; he had reached a level where he could handle things independently.

Tsunade added, "With his help, my workload as Hokage has been much lighter. But Naruto's position in the Anbu must remain a secret." 

Jiraiya remarked, "As my student, he's not going to be inferior to anyone." 

"I've always said he's a genius, but it seems he's even more exceptional than I thought. 

"I still have a lot I want to teach him, though, so I planned to take him out for training. What do you think?"

As strong-willed as always, Tsunade cut him off, "No way. Naruto's position in the Anbu is special, and he's only just been appointed." 

"He can't leave so easily, and I have many important missions for him." 

Jiraiya had no choice but to accept her decision, knowing he couldn't win against her. 

Sensing the awkwardness, Naruto stepped between them and said, "How about this? While Jiraiya-sensei is in Konoha, I'll focus on my training."

"But for safety reasons, we can tell everyone that I'm training outside the village with Jiraiya-sensei, while in reality, I'll be dedicating more time to my Anbu duties."

Tsunade nodded in agreement, "That's a good plan." 

Jiraiya, having no say in the matter, looked resigned. 

As he and Naruto left the Hokage's office, Jiraiya sighed and said, "I've never been able to get the upper hand with Tsunade." 

"But Naruto, I usually don't stay in Konoha for long, so if I'm going to help you with your training, time might be tight." 

Naruto nodded in understanding. Jiraiya was right. Suddenly, Naruto had an idea: " The Last time I talked to Gamakichi, he mentioned that it's really easy for us to go to Mount Myoboku using the Summoning Jutsu." 

"How about we train there in the future?" 

Naruto often summoned Gamakichi and Gamatatsu to play when bored, so he had a good relationship with them and was familiar with such details. 

Jiraiya responded, "That's a great idea. If you ever want to find me, you can use the toads to contact me." 

"I've been to Mount Myoboku countless times, though the food… never mind, let's not get into that. So, what do you need help with right now?"

Naruto thought back to his recent battle with the Mist Village ninjas. 

Even though he hadn't used his Wind Style or Fire Style techniques, he knew that even if he had, it wouldn't have made much of a difference. 

That battle revealed his weaknesses: first, he couldn't deal a decisive blow against enemies with strong defences, and second, his ability to counter genjutsu was lacking. 

If he were to face someone like Itachi Uchiha, it would be a huge problem. 

Naruto said, "Jiraiya-sensei, I'd like you to teach me how to counter genjutsu. And if possible, I also want to learn a powerful offensive jutsu."

Jiraiya, experienced in handling genjutsu, taught Naruto methods like stopping the flow of his chakra. 

Naruto mastered these techniques using Shadow Clones within a day. 

However, Jiraiya warned him that these methods would only work against average genjutsu and wouldn't be effective against powerful ones. 

Naruto asked, "Is there no better way to avoid genjutsu, Jiraiya-sensei?" 

Jiraiya shook his head, "At my level, this is the best I can do. For someone like Itachi, whose Sharingan is a powerful bloodline limit and who has even advanced to the Mangekyo Sharingan, simple methods won't work." 

"However, the Fourth Hokage once used rapid movement to avoid being locked onto by the Sharingan." 

"But again, it depends on the difference in strength between the two opponents. If the enemy is too powerful, even that might not work."

Naruto understood this well and had only asked Jiraiya on the off chance that there was a miracle solution. 

Luckily, there were only a few people with such strong genjutsu abilities. 

And as far as Itachi was concerned, Naruto knew that from a certain perspective, Itachi wasn't likely to harm him.

Naruto shifted his focus to another issue: mastering a more powerful jutsu. He realized it was time to complete the wind-nature chakra transformation. 

He shared his idea with Jiraiya, who nodded and said, "If you complete this training, you'll be able to use more jutsu." 

"But the main goal is whether you can fully develop the Rasengan. The Fourth Hokage created the Rasengan by perfecting shape transformation, but it doesn't include nature transformation." 

"If you can add nature transformation to it, the power should be immense."

In the following days, under Jiraiya's guidance, Naruto began his wind-nature chakra transformation training. 

With Naruto's natural talent and the use of Shadow Clones, his progress was astonishingly fast. 

Cutting through a leaf, the initial step, was no problem for him. 

Naruto also consulted Asuma for advice on the technique, though the cost was treating him to some barbecue, which wasn't a big deal for someone as well-off as Naruto.

Naruto dedicated most of his training time to areas he wasn't particularly skilled in, especially lightning-nature chakra. 

He had focused on it heavily and had avoided wind-nature training mainly because he knew the resulting jutsu could potentially harm him. But now, it was clear that he needed a jutsu with greater power.

<End Chapter>

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