The west wind howled across the Konoha training grounds, rustling the leaves of the dense trees until they scattered into the sky like confetti. A single leaf, its veins clearly visible, floated gently downward—only to be struck by a stone mid-air and blown toward the target board.
Naruto Uzumaki, with his messy golden hair, stood focused. He flicked another stone—and once again, it struck dead center on the target's red bullseye.
"Chakra really is amazing," Naruto muttered as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "If I had to rely on physical strength alone, I would've been exhausted ages ago."
He had been training here for over an hour, putting his newly acquired ninjutsu and physical prowess to the test. So far, things were going well.
The Body Flicker Technique, the Substitution Jutsu, the Shadow Clone Jutsu—they were all incredibly practical, and more importantly, they felt completely natural to use. There was no clumsy adjustment period. The Selector's rewards felt like divine insight—skills instantly mastered without the need for repetition or trial and error.
The only one left to test was the so-called "Perfect Seduction Technique," which he planned to try after he got home. For now, he was focused on improving his precision.
He bent down to pick up another stone and prepared to aim—when the sound of crunching leaves reached his ears. Without hesitation, Naruto spun and hurled the stone toward the sound.
A hand snatched it midair.
The visitor was none other than the Third Hokage himself—the leader of Konoha Village.
With a calm expression and a slight smile, the Third Hokage let the stone drop from his hand and walked slowly toward Naruto.
"Now, now, Naruto," he said gently. "You shouldn't be throwing rocks at people."
Naruto put on an innocent face and replied, "Ah, sorry, Grandpa Third! I heard some rustling and thought it might be a big, mean yellow dog or something."
The Third Hokage's face twitched.
What kind of description is that...?
His eyes scanned Naruto's face—now almost the spitting image of the Fourth Hokage. The resemblance was eerie, and certainly not the result of any Transformation Jutsu. This was his real face.
The Third took a deep breath and asked, "Naruto, have you… experienced anything unusual lately?"
Naruto's eyelid twitched slightly. He had expected this ever since noticing the changes in his body. What he didn't expect was that the Third Hokage would come personally to question him.
"I don't really get what you mean, Grandpa Third," Naruto replied, scratching his head with a clueless grin.
This old man really is something else.He always acted like a kind and loving grandfather. When the entire village looked down on Naruto for being the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, this man was the only one who reached out to him with care and concern.
No matter what trouble Naruto caused—even spray-painting the Hokage Rock—he would never scold him too harshly. He'd even tried to get Iruka to treat Naruto with more warmth.
He seemed like the most understanding person in Naruto's life.
And yet… if he truly wanted to protect Naruto from discrimination, all he had to do was tell the villagers the truth—that Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage. There would've been no need for all the secrecy or roundabout sympathy.
But he never did that.
If it was really about "protecting the identity of the Jinchūriki," then why was it public knowledge that Naruto contained the Nine-Tails? Why did everyone know about that, but no one knew he was Minato's son?
Naruto had long since realized the truth: the Third Hokage didn't want the village to see Naruto as the Fourth's son. He wanted a Naruto who grew up lonely and dependent—a weapon shaped by his ideology, someone who would grow up believing in and defending the system no matter what.
Too bad for you, old man. That version of Naruto no longer exists.
"You don't feel any different lately?" the Third pressed on gently. "You've grown taller. And I heard you defeated some of your classmates today. That's impressive."
Naruto smirked slightly, wondering how best to dodge further questioning—when the Selector's voice suddenly rang out in his mind. Glowing text appeared in front of his eyes:
[Passive Selection Triggered!]The Third Hokage is trying to get information from you. He's suspicious about your transformation and wants to know whether it's something beyond his control. What will you do?
[Option 1 – Friendly but defiant]:Insult him: "Old bastard, you don't deserve to know anything. Get lost before I kill your whole family."Reward: 20% control of the Nine-Tailed Fox.
[Option 2 – Rational confrontation]:Challenge him to a fight, defeat him, and humiliate him afterward.Reward: Rasengan.
[Option 3 – Reckless power grab]:Use Genjutsu to control him and make him order Konoha to gather 3,000 beautiful women for your personal pleasure.Reward: Rinnegan.
[Option 4 – Ruthless execution]:Chop him into pieces.Reward: Wood Release.
Naruto blinked.
What kind of suicidal options are these?
The Selector was clearly testing him. Especially option three—3,000 women? What was this, a harem fantasy RPG?
Even if the Third Hokage somehow did fall under his control, there was no way the rest of Konoha would allow something that insane. The guy would probably end up locked in an asylum, and Naruto along with him.
These were death flags, every one of them.
But something caught Naruto's attention—Option 2 offered the Rasengan as a reward.
Compared to the other rewards—Nine-Tails control, Rinnegan, Wood Release—the Rasengan seemed modest. That alone made it interesting.
Naruto quickly realized something: the harder the task, the better the reward. But if the task was impossible, the reward skyrocketed into dream territory.
The third and fourth options were absolute nonsense. The first was dangerous, but doable, hence its lower-tier reward.
But the second… was possible.
It looked like a throwaway option, but it was actually the only path that could work.
Who says you have to be a Genin to challenge the Hokage?
Naruto grinned.
Rasengan? Yeah, I'll take it.
"Grandpa Third," he said cheerfully, "before you ask me anything else… you'd better beat me in a fight. Otherwise, I'm not telling you anything."
He clapped his hands together and made a hand seal.
The Third Hokage raised an eyebrow, confused. "What are you talking ab—"
Before he could finish, Naruto shouted from across the training ground:
"Sexy Jutsu: Perfect Upgrade!"