"This… Fire Breathing Style?"
Seeing this, Naruto couldn't help but shout in shock.
"Hah! Not bad, Uncle, you've got some knowledge. Yes, this is the Fire Breathing Style!"
"Uncle! Get ready to take my attack!"
"Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku!"
With just two simple hand seals, Mirai opened his mouth and unleashed a blazing inferno that covered the sky.
"Uwa!" A group of Shadow Clones screamed and turned to smoke.
In the distance, Yamato, Sakura, and Sai's expressions changed drastically.
"Such a powerful Gouka Mekkyaku! Its power rank might have risen from B to A, and its range has expanded too…" Sakura exclaimed.
"This is the Fire Breathing Style… it enhances fire-element ninjutsu and shortens hand seals." Yamato muttered.
"This feeling might suit ninjas better than Rokushiki. To think a 9-year-old has mastered it." Sai murmured.
The flames roared fiercely.
When the Great Fire Annihilation ceased, the ground where the fire had swept was scorched, thick smoke rising into the sky.
Naruto's sole real body stood outside the flames' reach, staring at Mirai with a face covered in cold sweat.
'This little punk is so strong! What the heck! He's clearly just a 9-year-old—how can he be this powerful?'
Naruto recalled being 9 years old, still playing in the mud! The gap was too vast.
He felt a bit crushed.
But he hadn't given up and was preparing to counterattack.
*WHOOSH!*
Mirai's figure in the distance moved, darting swiftly toward him.
Seeing this, Naruto hurriedly formed hand seals, intending to keep using Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. But Mirai thrust out his palm, and a fierce blast of hot wind enveloped Naruto, forcing him to stop.
In that brief pause, Mirai closed in and threw a punch.
*BAM!*
Before it even fully connected, Naruto felt his breathing constrict, his whole body uncomfortable. He dodged to the side and countered with a right-hand punch.
Mirai, however, extended his hand and firmly blocked it.
Naruto felt the heat from his opponent's body.
This temperature was at least over seventy degrees!
"Ugh…"
He groaned softly, enduring the pain, and engaged Mirai in close combat.
*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*
Collision after collision.
Naruto kept retreating until his condition plummeted, taking a punch to the stomach and collapsing in pain.
"Uncle, you're really weak. Giving up already?"
From above, Mirai mocked, pulling out the crumpled toy cigarette he'd pocketed during the fight and putting it back in his mouth.
"…"
Strangely, Naruto didn't respond, staring blankly at the sky.
He lost! Truly lost! Lost to a 9-year-old.
With strength like this, was he worthy of calling himself a Konoha elite, worthy of protecting Konoha?
Humiliating, utterly humiliating.
The more Naruto thought about it, the more he withdrew into himself.
"Nar-Naruto, are you okay?"
Sakura approached, asking with concern.
She wanted to comfort him, but recalling Mirai's age of 9, her words caught in her throat.
"Don't be discouraged, Naruto. Mirai was born into the Sarutobi Clan, a ninja family, trained in Rokushiki, Fire Breathing Style, and supporting ninjutsu since childhood. Though only 9, his true strength is on par with a Jonin from the ninja village era."
"Compared to him now, you only lack True Qi. With True Qi, trust me, everything will be different."
Iruka walked to Naruto's side, helped him up, and comforted him.
"Jonin? This kid's a Jonin?"
Naruto stared at Mirai, unconsciously sucking in a cold breath.
"So strong… a Jonin at 9? Is this what the kids of the Shinobi Empire are like?" Sakura marveled.
Yamato was silent.
He recalled Kakashi, who set a record by becoming a Jonin at 12!
And Yamato was certain Kakashi back then was nowhere near as strong as the Mirai before him!
"Hah? What's there to admire? My strength is decent compared to regular people, but compared to real monsters, I'm nothing."
Mirai looked at Team Naruto with slight disdain.
His gaze was like looking at country bumpkins.
"You little punk, what do you mean by that? Are there kids even stronger than you?" Naruto said incredulously.
"Of course. The strongest here are Uchiha Shiho and Hatake Haruki. They're about my age, but in terms of strength, they're far above me." Mirai said.
"Uchiha? Hatake?"
Yamato was shocked.
"Uchiha Shiho is the child of Uchiha Shisui from the Uchiha Clan. Hatake Haruki is the child of Kakashi-senpai." Iruka explained.
"Kakashi-sensei's kid! Kakashi-sensei has a kid!"
Naruto and Sakura shouted in shock.
"What's so surprising?"
Empire Iruka looked puzzled.
Then, as if realizing something, he said:
"Kakashi-senpai is very strong and handsome. He was a famous heartthrob in the Capital, even listed among the most popular men. Tons of girls liked him. But in the end, Rin-senpai won his heart. After marrying, they had Haruki."
"Kakashi-sensei's wife, Rin?"
Naruto muttered, a smile unconsciously forming on his lips.
'Kakashi-sensei in this world seems really happy—good for him!'
"Uchiha Shisui…"
Yamato muttered, clearly fixated on the name.
"Yamato-sensei, you know him?" Sakura asked.
"Shisui… he's supposed to be an exceptional genius of the Uchiha Clan, right?" Yamato didn't answer Sakura directly, instead looking at Iruka.
"Correct. Shisui-kun is one of the greatest geniuses of the entire Uchiha Clan. Shiho inherited his talent and is also a renowned genius."
Iruka nodded.
"So… how strong are those two kids, really?" Yamato asked.
He wanted to better understand the Empire's strength and how formidable its geniuses were.
"How strong? Hmm… right now, they're probably close to Kage-level from the ninja village era… His Majesty even praised them, saying if nothing goes wrong, they'll definitely reach Kage-level before 12."
Iruka smiled broadly.
"12 years old… Kage?"
Team Naruto was too shocked to know what to say.
This answer was utterly outrageous and terrifying.
Kage—the pinnacle of combat power in the five great ninja villages! Their numbers were few across the ninja world, the absolute peak.
And such peak existences… in the Shinobi Empire, a 12-year-old could achieve it? This gap…
"Exactly, that's why His Majesty praised them." Iruka said, smiling.
"A bunch of bumpkins, jaws dropping? So old, yet so weak, and you thought you could compare to geniuses?"
Mirai saw Team Naruto's shocked expressions and mocked again.
"You annoying little punk, don't get cocky. Once I master Rokushiki, I'll definitely beat you!"
Naruto grumbled angrily and helplessly.
"Oh? Uncle's got some spirit, huh? Still want to beat me? Fine, I accept the challenge. I'll wait for you."
Mirai said with slight enthusiasm.
"Just you wait, you little punk!"
Naruto kept throwing threats. Soon after, with a medic's treatment, he recovered and rejoined training.
This failure seemed to push him to work harder.
During training, he was far more serious than before.
Even after school ended, he stayed training alone on the field for a long time.
Only then did he drag his exhausted body back to the lodging, receiving memories from the Shadow Clone studying with Empire Minato.
The clone with Minato didn't train, only memorizing key points and knowledge about Breathing Styles.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
The next day, Team Naruto continued training with the kids, circulating True Qi through their bodies.
Until the third day.