RADG: Chapter 129/130

Chapter 129: The Dream Maker

Glancing at the system prompt, Yami didn't pay much attention and continued increasing his Chakra output, letting the energy storm surge wildly.

The materialized Chakra had already destroyed the surrounding terrain beyond recognition. No matter how hard Naruto and Sasuke tried, they couldn't resist this storm. They were forced back and couldn't advance at all.

Eventually, both of them were pushed into a small pond. They choked on water and climbed out in a mess, staring in shock at Yami, who stood unmoved.

Yami slowly smoothed the wrinkled corners of his clothes caused by the Chakra burst. "Once you can get close to me, you'll basically be qualified as a Jōnin."

Uchiha Sasuke clenched his teeth. He realized he'd been wrong. He had always thought Yami was stronger than Uchiha Itachi, but not by much. He had subconsciously placed the two on the same level.

Now, despair filled his heart. He began to wonder if he would ever be able to take his revenge in this lifetime.

Thankfully, Naruto spoke up at the right time.

"I'll work hard, Yami-nii! I'll definitely defeat you and become Hokage!"

Even though he saw the massive gap, Naruto only became more motivated, declaring his goal with clenched fists.

Seeing someone ranked dead last show such spirit, Sasuke was also inspired and decided to start intense training once he returned home.

"Very good. That's the kind of energy I want to see,"

Yami praised Naruto's spirit, then added, "Let's stop here for today. Tomorrow, I'll take you on a mission."

He and Hinata were going to eat with Ino to celebrate their becoming Genin.

Sasuke nodded at Yami and left. Naruto, however, hesitated and walked over.

"Yami-nii, you said before, once I became a Genin…"

"Tonight, at midnight, come to the Hokage Rock and wait for me."

Leaving just those words, Yami took Hinata and left, while Naruto stood there punching the air excitedly.

Ino had already ordered food at Yakiniku Q and started grilling when the two arrived.

Midway through the meal, Ino started venting about Kakashi.

"Yami-nii, is Kakashi-sensei really reliable? I feel like he's another Shikamaru. Both of them have zero motivation."

The exam for Class 10 was also about snatching the bell, but things went completely differently from Class 7.

When Kakashi announced the rules, Shikamaru immediately grasped the true nature of the test.

He called Ino and Chōji over, gave some instructions, and first demonstrated the classic Ino-Shika-Chō teamwork. After proving they had perfect coordination and trust, he decisively surrendered.

This move stunned Kakashi.

Still, he had to admit that the synergy and trust within the Ino-Shika-Chō trio was exactly the kind of team setup he had in mind.

Then... Kakashi and Shikamaru ended up napping together. No wonder Ino questioned his reliability.

Two unmotivated people, plus one foodie. Ino couldn't imagine what the future of Team 10 would look like.

"Don't be so pessimistic."

Yami smiled as he placed grilled beef on Ino and Hinata's plates, gently comforting them.

"Let me tell you a little story you don't know. Actually, Kakashi wasn't supposed to be your instructor. The original instructor of Team 10 was Sarutobi Asuma."

"Huh? Then why did it change later?"

Ino perked up immediately, and even the shy Hinata leaned in to listen carefully. Girls couldn't resist juicy gossip.

"It was mainly because of me."

Yami smiled and explained to the two girls, "Originally, Kakashi was meant to lead Team 7. Hinata's spot was originally Haruno Sakura's. But I intervened, and the Third Hokage had no choice but to let me lead a team, which disrupted the arrangements of the other instructors."

"Later, Uncle Shikaku spoke with the Third again. He believed Kakashi was more suited to your stealth unit than Asuma, and in the end, Asuma was assigned to lead the perception team."

"Haruno Sakura?" Ino frowned.

"Why was she supposed to be in Team 7?"

Because of Yami's appearance, Ino and Sakura no longer had a competitive relationship. So there was no complicated rivalry. To Ino, Sakura was just a studious civilian girl.

And with the Ino-Shika-Chō trio's family background, she clearly understood Naruto's identity as a Jinchūriki.

A monster-like Jinchūriki, the last Uchiha orphan—why would a civilian ninja with no notable qualities be placed among them?

Yami simply smiled and didn't bother explaining the manipulations behind team assignments.

"Anyway, Kakashi is definitely much stronger than Asuma. Otherwise, Uncle Shikaku wouldn't have risked offending the Third Hokage to request the switch. Just follow him and study hard."

"If he doesn't teach you properly, come to me and I'll deal with him."

"Hehe, Yami-nii, you're the best!"

Ino immediately dropped her doubts, roasted two pieces of pork belly, and placed them on his plate.

After dinner, while watching the girls go shopping, Yami headed to the Anbu headquarters.

Sure enough, Uzuki Yugao was practicing swordsmanship in the training room.

Ever since she learned that the leader of Iwa during the Chūnin Exams was Monga, she had been training like mad—spending at least twelve hours a day in the training room.

After enhancing her body and learning swordsmanship from Yami, Yugao had firmly stepped into the Jōnin tier.

But Monga, being the Tsuchikage's right-hand man, wasn't weak either. He was a well-rounded ninja, adept in ninjutsu and taijutsu.

"Take a break."

Yami spoke after Yugao finished another round of sword practice.

Yugao sheathed her sword, walked over smiling, took the towel he handed her, and wiped her sweat.

"Didn't you have a placement exam today? Why are you here?"

"If I didn't come, you'd practice yourself to death." Yami handed her a water bottle.

"It's just Monga. I could ask Hikari or Izumi to accompany you. They'd take care of him."

"I still want to do it myself."

Yugao downed half the bottle in one go and looked at Yami with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I'm being stubborn."

Yami shook his head helplessly. "You guys... all of you are like this."

He felt that Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan was turning into a personal grudge resolution for the women around him.

Pakura and Rasa. Yugao and Monga.

But both wanted to handle revenge on their own, turning something simple into a huge mess.

Yami was strict with outsiders, but when it came to his own people, he always went soft.

Luckily, Pakura had taken his advice. Now only Yugao remained, and Yami had come up with a plan.

"Uncle Shinji will be returning to Konoha soon. As your uncle, he should be qualified to deal with Monga right?"

"Thank you, Yami."

Yugao hugged him emotionally. She knew Yami had transferred Uzuki Shinji back to give her a helping hand she couldn't refuse.

Yami pretended to be annoyed and pushed her away. "You just finished training. You're all sweaty. Don't rub on me."

Her eyes glimmered with teasing charm. "Then, can you help me wash it off?"

The advantage of Flying Thunder God showed itself. Without a word, Yami took her straight to the hot spring at home and devoted himself to the duty of being a washing assistant.

…

Late that night.

Konoha was especially quiet. Most of the lights were off. Aside from patrol ninjas and a few places for middle-aged men to relax, the village was in deep slumber.

Naruto arrived at the Hokage Rock early, waiting for Yami.

At the appointed time, a tall figure appeared atop the Fourth Hokage's head. Naruto quickly hopped over.

"Yami-nii, you're finally here!"

"Hmm, I'm not late, right?" Yami was still wearing a yukata. Fortunately, his body was strong enough not to catch a cold.

"No, not at all!"

Naruto scratched his head awkwardly. "I was just too excited. Thinking about learning the truth about my parents made time feel so slow."

"I get it."

Yami sat down, patted the ground beside him, and motioned for Naruto to sit.

"Hey, Naruto, I heard you recently messed up the Hokage Rock with paint and focused especially on the Third and Fourth Hokage."

"Hehe, that's nothing!"

Naruto puffed up proudly. "I once dumped water on the Third and Fourth's heads too, but no one found out. Otherwise, Grandpa Third would've locked me up!"

Yami's eyes filled with warmth. He patted Naruto's shoulder. "Good job. Keep it up."

What a filial child.

"Yami-nii, shouldn't you be getting to the serious stuff?"

Naruto was a little bashful. Usually, he could chat with Yami all day, but today, his heart wasn't in it.

"Alright, but before I tell you about your parents, you need to answer one question first."

Yami turned to him. "You know about the Nine Tails Jinchūriki now, right?"

Naruto's smile faded, and the light in his eyes dimmed.

"Yeah. Mizuki-sensei told me. I finally understand why the villagers hate me."

"There are nine tailed beasts in the world—one in Konoha, one in Takigakure, one in Suna, and the rest divided among the three major villages."

Yami began slowly.

"Since First Hokage Senju Hashirama's wife, Uzumaki Mito, invented the method of sealing tailed beasts into humans, every village has developed its own Jinchūriki system."

"Because the tailed beasts are too dangerous, people isolate Jinchūriki out of fear. They justify their cowardice by calling them monsters."

"Your experience isn't unique to Konoha. Other villages are the same. There's one Jinchūriki in Suna about your age. He hasn't slept peacefully since he was four or five. Even his own uncle tried to kill him."

"Oh, except the Eight Tails Jinchūriki in Kumo. He isolated others, not the other way around."

Naruto was completely captivated.

He knew very little about tailed beasts and Jinchūriki, and had just learned that other villages had their own.

Hearing that other Jinchūriki also had it rough made him feel a bit of kinship.

"Wait! Yami-nii!"

Suddenly, Naruto remembered the wife of the First mentioned earlier—Uzumaki Mito.

"Uzumaki Mito… the First Hokage's wife also had the Uzumaki surname?!"

Yami gave him a weird look. "Took you long enough."

"Yes, Uzumaki Mito is related to you. She's your great-grandmother's elder."

"But there's no need to be so shocked. You didn't react much when you met Karin."

"Karin is from the Uzumaki clan too?!"

Naruto was stunned. He didn't even know he and Karin were relatives.

Yami paused too.

Right… to save trouble, he always just called her Karin and didn't mention her clan when registering for the Academy.

"Ahem, it's not important. Let's talk about your parents."

Yami changed the subject.

"Twelve years ago, on the day you were born, the Nine Tails attacked Konoha."

"A mysterious man released the Nine Tails and struck the village."

He pointed down at the Hokage Rock. "Right here, the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, used time-space ninjutsu to redirect ten attacks that could've destroyed the village."

"And his wife, Uzumaki Kushina, was the previous Nine Tails Jinchūriki."

"Losing the tailed beast usually means death. Plus, with the mysterious man's ambush, the Fourth had no choice but to seal the Nine Tails into someone else. And you, with Uzumaki blood, were the best choice."

Gulp!

In the silent night, the sound of Naruto swallowing was unusually clear.

His lips were dry. His limbs numb. When he heard the name, his soul trembled.

Uzumaki Kushina...

"Yami-nii… Uzumaki Kushina…"

"That's right."

Yami nodded slowly, meeting his gaze.

"She is your mother. And your father is the village's hero, the Fourth Hokage—'Yellow Flash of the Leaf,' Namikaze Minato."

Yami looked down at the sleeping village.

"Most people in this village owe your family their lives."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 130: Ashura Chakra, The True Sage Body

On the Hokage Rock, Yami stopped speaking, giving Naruto time to process everything.

No one knew how long had passed before Naruto seemed to return to himself, and his eyes refocused.

He didn't know how to describe how he felt at that moment.

Knowing he wasn't just an abandoned orphan, and that his father was one of the village's only four Hokage, Naruto was, of course, happy.

But after the joy faded, countless questions rose in his mind.

Knowing that being a Jinchūriki would lead to rejection, why did they still seal the Nine Tails in him?

Why had Grandpa Third never told him anything about his parents?

Why did the villagers avoid him even though he had sealed the monster inside himself? Being ignored was one thing, but some even mocked him, calling him the incarnation of the demon fox.

He was himself, and the Nine Tails was the Nine Tails.

Couldn't those adults understand something so simple?

All kinds of questions flooded Naruto's already not-so-bright mind, leaving him dazed and confused.

Images of being scolded, shunned, and driven away kept surfacing.

In front of him, it felt like a twisted, demonic face loomed over the peaceful village, opening its jaws wide to devour him.

Gradually, Naruto's breathing became ragged. The whisker marks on his cheeks darkened and stretched, while a crimson chakra surged from his body, bubbling up like columns of water.

"Calm down."

Yami placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Deep within the seal, the Nine Tails snorted as its overflowing power was suppressed and pulled back without resistance.

Naruto's eyes cleared again as he looked at Yami in confusion.

"Yami-nii, what just happened...?"

"The strength of the seal depends on your willpower," Yami explained. "Just now, the Nine Tails tried to take advantage of your moment of vulnerability to seize control of your body."

Naruto instinctively touched his stomach, feeling a lingering fear.

"So what should I do?"

"Don't worry. Everything's fine. The seal is still strong. A bit of leakage like this will be restrained once you recover your senses. It's not a big deal."

Hearing Yami say that, Naruto finally relaxed.

But he immediately remembered everything he had just been thinking, and the countless emotions narrowed into one question.

"Why?"

"Why?" Yami was slightly confused by the vague question.

"Why didn't Grandpa Hokage tell me any of this? Why didn't he tell the villagers I'm the Fourth Hokage's son?"

Realizing how that sounded, Naruto hurriedly added, "I don't mean I want special treatment. I just didn't want to be discriminated against or shunned..."

"I understand."

Yami ruffled his hair. "To be honest, I don't know either."

"The reason the Third gave me was that he thought you were too young to handle the glory of being the son of a hero, and it would attract enemies of the Fourth Hokage."

"But I think that's nonsense. He didn't even hide the fact you're a demon fox, and now he says it's for your safety."

"But I won't take my guesses as fact. Only he knows the truth."

"What about the Fourth Hokage?" Naruto didn't call him 'father.' His voice was a bit low. "Didn't he know what kind of life I'd live as a Jinchūriki?"

Yami shrugged. "Maybe he thought going through hardship would help you grow stronger and more mature?"

"If you get the chance to meet him someday, you can ask him yourself."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "Yami-nii, is the Fourth Hokage still alive? What about my mom?"

Seeing Naruto's disappointed face, Yami shook his head. "They're gone. But there are all kinds of strange jutsu in the shinobi world. Some can make that wish possible."

"Well, that's enough for today."

Yami stood up. "I'll give you a small goal. When you can beat Kakashi, I'll figure out a way to let you see the Fourth Hokage."

"Kakashi…" Naruto instantly had a clear target. "I'll work hard, Yami-nii!"

[Host and Uzumaki Naruto's bond has reached Stage Three. Reward: Ashura Chakra]

[Ding... Foreign matter detected. Initiating antivirus… Antivirus complete. Host has received Ashura Chakra (pure version)]

Foreign matter?

Yami narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, many things became clearer.

"Naruto."

"Huh?" Hearing Yami call his name, Naruto looked over reflexively.

"Now that you understand everything, take some time to think about your experiences. Think about them using your own mind. Don't be influenced by anyone, including me."

After speaking, Yami used Body Flicker and went home to cuddle with Hikari and sleep.

Naruto sat alone on the Hokage Rock for a long time. Finally, he jumped down, glanced at the Fourth Hokage's statue, and disappeared into the darkness.

The next morning.

Sasuke arrived outside the Hokage building at nine. Naruto came shortly after.

Seeing how much quieter Naruto was than usual, Sasuke was surprised.

Why had Naruto's personality changed so much overnight?

He used to wear "I'm an idiot" on his face, but today he had a gloomy aura and seemed lost in thought.

With Sasuke's personality, he couldn't ask directly, so he just stood there quietly, deep in thought.

The two stood in awkward silence.

Fortunately, the deadlock didn't last long. Yami appeared with Hinata.

He hadn't meant to be late, but he was delayed at the Hyūga estate.

He thought that since Hinata was on his team, she might as well move into the Shimura residence. There were plenty of rooms, and it'd be more convenient in the future.

But Hiashi was firmly opposed, and Hanabi cried, saying she wouldn't let her sister go unless she could come too.

Hiashi was furious. In the end, neither of his two daughters were willing to stay.

Yami had to give up on bringing Hinata home.

Seeing him arrive, Naruto perked up and greeted him. "Yami-nii!"

"Let's go accept a mission."

At the mission center, the familiar scent of paperwork filled the air. This time, Yami didn't even need to ask. The diligent clerk handed him the mission log automatically.

Yami randomly picked a D-rank mission—catching a lost chicken on a farm outside the village.

Since it was their first mission, even a D-rank one didn't disappoint Naruto and Sasuke. They went off happily to catch the chicken.

But over the following days, Yami only assigned D-rank missions.

Weeding, searching for runaway cats, cleaning Konoha's sewers.

They were exhausted every day but gained no actual combat experience. Eventually, both started to complain.

"Yami-nii, don't we have any missions that involve fighting or leaving the village? I don't wanna catch any more cats!"

Naruto rolled on the ground, and Sasuke nodded silently.

"Well, wait until I disappear and ask my real body."

Yami rubbed his chin.

"What?! Yami-nii, you only sent a Shadow Clone to handle us? Is your real body out shopping with Hinata?"

"Disappointed, Naruto. Very disappointed."

The Shadow Clone looked at him sadly. "The real me is handling something extremely important. It's already respectful of him to send me to deal with you. And you still complain?"

Sasuke, tossing garbage into a bin, twitched his mouth at that.

He finally understood why Itachi never got along with Yami.

Who could get along with someone this unreasonable?

In a laboratory.

Yami did have more important things to deal with than babysitting.

Dozens of Shadow Clones were conducting research in an orderly fashion. Their focus: Yami's own cells.

Yami had discovered a very troubling issue.

His cells were far more complicated than Hashirama's.

Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, Ōtsutsuki.

Each of these powers was terrifying on its own—enough for Orochimaru to study obsessively for a lifetime.

But fused together, they became extremely unstable. In one experiment, just transplanting a bit of his original cells into a death row prisoner caused the man to explode within a minute from chaotic energy overload.

Considering that his entire body was made of these cells… it was honestly a miracle he was still alive.

So what Yami had to do now was refine and isolate the various energies in his body to purify them.

The approach he came up with was to activate one of the powers first, let it dominate, then extract it fully.

Among them, the Ōtsutsuki bloodline was the most troublesome. It had few outward traits, but it deeply affected the essence of life.

Every day, his Shadow Clones grumbled while firing off ninjutsu.

Meanwhile, Yami's real body focused on studying the Ashura Chakra he'd been rewarded.

Chakra, being a blend of spiritual and physical energy, could be seen as part of the soul and carried some characteristics of its owner.

Because of this, the Senju and Uchiha clans had clashed for generations. The reincarnations of Ashura and Indra were destined to conflict.

However, since the chakra reincarnates rather than the soul, there was still room for change.

Hashirama had the greatest chance of breaking the cycle as Ashura's reincarnation, but he gave his love to Konoha instead of Uchiha Madara.

The chakra granted by the system had been purified.

So what could Ashura Chakra do?

First, it unlocked the Sage Body.

Not the kind with huge chakra and vitality like the Senju or Uzumaki, but one refined through continuous training and pushing past limits.

Among the Sage of Six Paths' two sons, Indra had overwhelming talent early on. Ashura only caught up by steadily evolving his Sage Body.

This was reflected in Naruto. His jutsu had no upper limit and could keep evolving.

Second, it enabled fusion with Indra's power to awaken the "power of all things"—the Rinnegan.

Many misunderstood this. Sharingan did not evolve into Rinnegan.

The final form of Sharingan was Mangekyō Sharingan.

The Sage of Six Paths was born with the Rinnegan. It wasn't something awakened through upgrades. There was no inherent link between the two.

Sasuke's Rinnegan was a Magatama Rinnegan, which was a separate case.

After fusing Ashura Chakra, Yami tried training. He found that even abilities at the Limit Break level still improved slightly with exercise.

Unfortunately, his nearly perfected Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan didn't change at all.

"Yami-nii, what have you been doing these past few days?"

After being left alone for half a month, Naruto and Sasuke finally saw Yami again.

Naruto had returned to his usual cheerful self, at least on the surface. The moment Yami and Hinata arrived, he immediately started complaining.

Yami shook his head. "I've just been working hard for Konoha's future. Naruto, you can't slack off just because I'm gone."

Naruto gave him a look that screamed, "You think I'll buy that?" He'd known Yami long enough to understand what he was like.

Who knew? He might've just been off enjoying life with one of his future sister-in-laws.

Sasuke also looked at him with an aggrieved expression.

Facing a sensei who taught with fists, he didn't dare act like he did with Kakashi.

He could only vent his frustration through silent protest.

Seeing the two of them like that, Yami chuckled. "Alright. Things on my end are settled for now. You three have gotten used to working together. Next, it's time to boost your personal strength."

Hearing this, both Naruto and Sasuke lit up.

Yami led Team 7 to a forest training ground.

Tree climbing and water walking were unavoidable basic exercises. Both Sasuke and Naruto had good potential.

Once their foundations were solid, their growth would be insanely fast.

Though Naruto was a bit dense, his Multi Shadow Clone Technique was the best training cheat in the entire shinobi world.

When Sasuke saw dozens of Narutos climbing trees and falling at the same time, he was stunned.

(To be continued.)