Chapter 11: A Light-Speed Kick
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
"Th-this… this is such a low-level ninjutsu!"
"I'm a gentleman! How could I possibly fall for something this crude?!"
Ebisu's face turned bright red as he flailed his arms and legs wildly, but he did not collapse the way Konohamaru had expected.
"Huh? He didn't fall?"
Konohamaru looked disappointed. He didn't think the technique itself was the problem — he simply assumed he hadn't trained enough yet.
"Sorry, Big Brother. I didn't learn the technique properly," he said apologetically, looking at Naruto.
Naruto shook his head and comforted him. "You only practiced for half a day. It's already impressive that you managed to learn it at all. Keep working hard and studying this technique. I'm sure you'll be able to defeat Ebisu soon."
"Really?"
"Yeah. And if you can learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, I'll teach you an even stronger one."
"An even stronger technique?!"
"The upgraded version of the Seduction Technique — the Massive Seduction Technique! Once you master it, no man in all of Konoha will be your match."
"Really? Even you, Big Brother?"
"…Maybe."
Naruto was still a man. He couldn't guarantee he would have zero reaction to seeing one… or a group of beautiful women.
[Little Ai reminder: No lewd thoughts~]
'Shut up.'
Naruto replied mentally.
"Hmph. Seduction Technique, Massive Seduction Technique — they're nothing but crude, low-level tricks!"
"Naruto, I will not allow you to keep corrupting Young Master Konohamaru like this!"
Seeing Konohamaru getting more and more involved, Ebisu finally lost his patience and decided to teach Naruto a lesson.
He stepped in front of Naruto, pushed up his glasses, and spoke with clear arrogance.
"You claimed that once he masters the Seduction Technique and its upgrade, no man in Konoha would be able to stand against him, right? Then let me see this so-called invincible ninjutsu of yours!"
Naruto stared at Ebisu with an expressionless face and said calmly, "I don't need that kind of technique to defeat you."
"Hmph. I don't care what technique you use. If you can defeat me today, I'll allow you to continue teaching Young Master Konohamaru. But if you lose, you must stay away from him from now on!"
"I refuse!"
Before Naruto could answer, Konohamaru shouted loudly. "I won't leave Big Brother Naruto!"
"Young Master Konohamaru! You absolutely cannot keep fooling around with someone like him! If you want to become Hokage, the fastest way is to study under me!"
"I don't want to!"
"Young Master Konohamaru…"
"I accept."
Seeing the two about to keep arguing, Naruto cut in.
"Big Brother Naruto!"
Konohamaru looked at him anxiously.
"Don't worry. If I can't even defeat a mere Special Jonin, how could I teach you to defeat the Hokage?" Naruto said, a rare faint smile appearing on his face.
Konohamaru was stunned for a moment, then grinned and nodded firmly. "Mm!"
He hadn't realized it before, but deep down he hadn't truly believed in Naruto's strength. He had only called him "Big Brother" because Naruto was older.
As for actual power, Naruto had never really shown what he could do.
"Hmph. A mere Special Jonin?"
Ebisu looked at Naruto with a cold laugh. "Don't talk big. A Special Jonin is still a Jonin, and I'm nothing like that failure Mizuki."
He knew Naruto had only graduated by defeating Mizuki and becoming a Genin.
But beating a useless Chunin teacher wasn't exactly impressive.
"Is that so?"
Golden light began to glow around Naruto's leg as he looked at Ebisu. "Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light, Ebisu?"
"Light…?"
Before Ebisu could finish, Naruto flashed in front of him and delivered a powerful kick.
Speed is power!
Despite his small frame, the kick sent Ebisu flying more than ten meters, smashing through three trees before he finally stopped.
Looking at the unconscious Ebisu, Naruto shook his head in disappointment.
"Looks like you're no different from Mizuki."
"Konohamaru."
"Yes!"
Konohamaru was still stunned by Naruto's strength. The sudden call made him snap back to attention.
"Take him to the Konoha Hospital. Don't let him die. I'm heading home."
"Yes, Big Brother! Please… take care!"
Konohamaru gave a respectful salute and watched Naruto leave with eyes full of admiration.
So this is Big Brother Naruto's real strength?
As expected of the person I chose to follow. He's too strong!
"Ko… Konohamaru… Young Master… save… save me~"
"Ah! Ebisu-sensei! Don't die! I'll take you to the hospital right now!"
...
In the Hokage Building,
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Naruto defeat Ebisu with a single kick, his expression turning serious.
"That move again…"
"If even Ebisu couldn't last a single blow, what level is Naruto's strength at now?"
Thinking about it, Hiruzen began to worry about Kakashi.
Could Kakashi really handle a Naruto with this kind of power?
If the Nine-Tails inside him ever went berserk…
"I can only hope nothing goes wrong."
...
The next morning,
Naruto got out of bed, brushed his teeth and washed his face absentmindedly, then made himself a bowl of instant ramen.
"Ramen last night, ramen again today. When will I finally live a decent life?"
Naruto sighed helplessly as he ate and complained to the system.
"Little Ai, what's the next task?"
[Ding!] [Master's next task: Pass Kakashi's test!] [Reward: Max-Level Japanese + 5,000 ryo in cash!]
5,000 ryo?
Naruto's eyes lit up the moment he heard there was a money reward.
He didn't even care about the max-level Japanese anymore.
Not being able to read Japanese only made him illiterate. Not having money would make him starve.
He checked the time.
It was 8:30 AM — only half an hour left before team assignments.
Kakashi's test was tomorrow.
After quickly finishing his meal, Naruto headed to the academy.
On the way, he thought about how he should approach Kakashi's test.
According to Kakashi's standards, as long as the three-man team could work together, help each other, and show the spirit of comradeship, they should pass.
He already knew the criteria, so he could act accordingly.
But Sasuke and Sakura didn't know.
Those two were variables, and he couldn't tell them the real test conditions.
After all, he didn't know if the Third Hokage was secretly watching them.
If he helped the two cheat, they might be failed immediately.
"So I'll have to see how Sasuke and Sakura act. If they perform normally, it shouldn't be a big problem."
"I'm just worried my presence might cause some butterfly effect."