Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 38

He put down his chopsticks, his expression instantly becoming alert.

“Someone’s coming,” he thought to himself, “at least three people, armed.”

"The kid's perception has improved," Nine-Tails remarked with a hint of surprise.

Sure enough, the sound of hurried footsteps and the clanging of metal came from outside the window.

Three ragged but armed wandering samurai appeared in the courtyard, and the one-eyed man in the lead kicked open the gate.

"Boy, hand over that old man's grandson!" The one-eyed samurai grinned, brandishing his katana. "Lord Kado wants him to negotiate!"

Naruto stood silently in front of Inari, his blue eyes slightly narrowed: "You've got the wrong person."

"Naruto..." Minato's voice suddenly became urgent.

"Shut up, Minato!"

However, before Minato could finish speaking, Madara interrupted sharply, "Let him handle it himself."

“But Senior Madara, this is too dangerous—”

"Danger?" Ban said with a serious expression, "The real danger is that we've been protecting him like a baby."

Naruto didn't engage in the internal debate; all his attention was focused on the three samurai.

He could sense the argument between the three "fathers," but strangely, it made him even calmer.

“Step back, there.”

Naruto said softly, while assuming a strange starting stance—right hand extended forward, left hand tucked to his waist, and legs slightly bent.

This is a martial arts stance personally taught by Madara.

"You ignorant brat!" The one-eyed warrior waved his hand, and two other warriors flanked him from both sides.

Naruto moved as the first samurai rushed towards him.

His movements were so fast they almost left afterimages. His right hand precisely gripped the opponent's wrist holding the knife, while his left hand delivered a powerful elbow strike to the samurai's armpit nerve plexus.

The samurai screamed in agony as his katana clattered to the ground.

The second samurai attacked from the right. Taking advantage of the momentum from the first samurai's fall, Naruto executed a beautiful spinning kick, slamming his heel into the opponent's temple.

The second samurai fainted before he could even utter a sound.

The one-eyed warrior's eyes widened, clearly not expecting this seemingly ordinary boy to possess such skill. He cautiously took half a step back and suddenly whistled.

"He's calling for reinforcements!" I cried out in terror.

"I know."

Naruto said calmly, his gaze fixed on the one-eyed samurai: "Go to the kitchen and find Tsunami-neechan, then hide."

Taking advantage of Naruto's moment of silence, the one-eyed samurai suddenly attacked, his katana flashing a cold light as he aimed straight for Naruto's throat.

Naruto calmly turned to the side, the blade grazing the tip of his nose.

The instant the opponent sheathed his sword, Naruto swiftly cut into the inner circle and delivered a straight punch to the one-eyed samurai's stomach.

The one-eyed warrior knelt on the ground and spat out a mouthful of acidic liquid.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside.

Through the window, Naruto saw at least five more samurai on their way.

"There are quite a lot..."

Looking at so many people, Naruto scratched his head helplessly, then smiled and said, "Let's use that then! Shadow Clone Technique!"

With a "bang," two clones appeared beside him.

Unlike his previous tactic of overwhelming numbers, Naruto created only the minimum number of clones this time—a principle of efficiency that Madara repeatedly emphasized.

"Hmph, you've finally learned how to allocate chakra properly." Madara's voice carried a hint of satisfaction.

The three Narutos stood back to back in a triangular formation.

When the reinforcements burst through the door, they were greeted with a feast of martial arts.

Naruto in his true form moved like a ghost among his enemies, each strike hitting vital points precisely—the popliteal fossa behind the knee, the vagus nerve in the neck, the vulnerable area between the ribs... His movements were fluid and graceful.

The two clones are equally formidable.

One is dedicated to disarming, skillfully removing the enemy's weapons; the other focuses on defense, ensuring that no attack can threaten the main body.

"That's it!" Nine-Tails couldn't help but cheer him on.

"Madara-san's physical training, combined with his own talent, has finally yielded results!" Minato's voice was full of satisfaction.

Ban remained silent, only his lips curling into a smile.

The battle was over in just two minutes.

Eight warriors lay sprawled on the ground, groaning but unable to get up.

Naruto released his clone without changing his breathing; the whole process couldn't even be called a warm-up.

"Naruto-nii-san!"

Yi ran out of the kitchen, her eyes wide: "You're amazing!"

Naruto grinned, about to say something, when suddenly a loud bang came from afar.

He and Ira both looked toward the bridge, only to find it shrouded in thick fog.

"Kakashi-sensei and the others..." Naruto's expression turned serious.

Suddenly, Inari grabbed Naruto's hand: "Naruto-nii-san, go help them! I'll protect Mom and the family!"

Naruto looked at the once timid boy in surprise, now his eyes shining with determination.

"are you sure?"

"Yes!" Yi nodded vigorously. "Dad protected this bridge, and I want to protect our home too! I'll go and warn the villagers to hide!"

Naruto ruffled Ira's hair: "Well done! That's a true hero's son!"

He quickly checked his ninja tool kit to make sure he was fully equipped. Madara instructed him in his mind: "Take the coastline, avoid potential ambush points."

"Got it!" Naruto ran towards the door, then turned back and shouted, "Wait for me to come back, and I'll tell you even more amazing taijutsu stories!"

As Naruto's figure disappeared into the woods, Inari rubbed her eyes and turned to help the newly awakened Tsunami to her feet: "Mom, let's go tell the villagers to hide!"

The fog in the direction of the bridge grew thicker, and the sounds of battle became clearer.

As Naruto ran, the three "fathers" within him reached a rare consensus.

“Remember, kid,” Madara said sternly, “the real test is yet to come.”

"Trust your own judgment," Minato added gently, "You're not that reckless child anymore."

Nine-Tails snorted: "If you can't beat them, remember to call me... although I don't think you need to right now."

Naruto flashed a confident smile and accelerated into the thick fog. The final battle in the Land of Waves was about to begin.

Chapter 44 Ice Release Ninja

The thick fog enveloped the entire bridge, reducing visibility to less than five meters.

Naruto sprinted along the coastline, the roar of waves crashing against the bridge piers filling his ears.

But even clearer were the metallic clanging sounds and the muffled thuds of ninjutsu bursting forth from the depths of the thick fog.

"There's a shortcut on the third pier to the left," Ban's voice guided in his mind.

Naruto made a sharp turn, jumped onto the slippery bridge pier, and darted between the steel frames like a nimble cat.

As the distance closed, the sounds of battle became clearer.

It was the crisp sound of kunai colliding, and a strange sound he had never heard before, like ice crystals shattering.

"Watch out!" Minato suddenly warned, "There's a strong chakra reaction ahead!"

Naruto abruptly stopped, and almost simultaneously, a water blade grazed his nose, leaving a smooth cut on the steel beam behind him.

"Whoa! What the hell is that?!"

"This is Water Release: Water Blade Slash. It seems that the demon from Kirigakure is fighting your teacher."

Madara, who was targeted by Tobirama, was also familiar with various water-style techniques.

Naruto swallowed hard and pulled a shuriken from his ninja tool pouch.

The fog was too thick for him to see the battle situation ahead, so he could only rely on sound and chakra sensing to make judgments.

"Nine-Tails Uncle, can you sense Kakashi-sensei's location?"

Kurama reluctantly replied, "Two hundred meters ahead, there are two streams of chakra that are very chaotic. It seems they are fighting fiercely."

"There's a brat from the Uchiha clan and another strange chakra source eighty meters to the right... Wait, what's this...?"

Kurama's voice suddenly became alert, and before Naruto could ask anything, a loud bang came from the right.

That was the sound of Sasuke's Fireball Jutsu exploding, followed by a series of crisp sounds like ice crystals shattering.

"Sasuke is in danger!" Naruto turned and rushed to the right without hesitation.

As they passed through a thick fog, the sight before Naruto made his eyes widen instantly—

Sasuke knelt on one knee, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his Sharingan spinning wildly as he tracked the enemy's movements.

His opponent, the boy wearing the mask of the Hidden Mist Anbu, was standing on a piece of crystal-clear ice.

Even more shockingly, the mist around them condensed into countless suspended ice needles, shimmering with a deadly light in the sunlight.

"Secret Technique: Thousand Kill Water Flight," the masked youth whispered, his fingers twitching slightly.

Countless ice needles rained down on Sasuke!

"Sasuke!" Naruto instinctively formed hand seals. "Shadow Clone Technique!"

Two clones appeared instantly and pounced on Sasuke at the same time.

One clone tackled Sasuke to the ground, while the other swung a kunai in an attempt to block the ice needles, but was instantly riddled with holes and vanished in a puff of white smoke.

Sasuke looked at his suddenly appearing companion in surprise: "How did you...?"