Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 7

Only the residual energy still caused the surrounding plants to move without wind, proving that what had just happened was not an illusion.

Kakashi stood three meters away, his headband already pushed up, a hint of surprise flashing in his crimson Sharingan eyes.

However, he quickly pulled his headband down again.

"Time's up." He lowered his hands from the hand seal, the bell gleaming coldly in the setting sun. "You lost."

Naruto lowered his head and remained silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up with a smile: "Tomorrow! I'll definitely get it tomorrow!"

Kakashi stared at him for a long time, then smiled and said to Naruto, "But remember, your punishment will be doubled!"

"No!!!"

Immediately, Naruto's screams echoed throughout the training ground.

At night, the lights in the Hokage's office cast a long shadow of the Third Hokage.

Kakashi stood by the window, his silver hair still covered in dust from the training ground.

“His taijutsu…” Kakashi chose his words carefully, “...incorporates the essence of some ancient school, and his chakra control precision is completely unlike that of a genin.”

The third generation exhaled a smoke ring: "Who do you think is guiding him?"

“Uncertain.” Kakashi’s eyes gleamed in the shadows.

“But to enable a child to progress to this level in such a short time…” he paused, “that person is probably no less capable than you.”

Meanwhile, Naruto sat by the river with his knees drawn up, and three pebbles skipped across the water.

"Dad, am I... still far from enough?"

Unusually, Ban did not make any sarcastic remarks.

A pale blue chakra enveloped Naruto like a thin mist: "Today you forced him to use half of his strength."

"Really?" Naruto looked up abruptly, the gloom in his eyes vanishing instantly. "Then I'll..."

"Focus on the basics." Ban interrupted him, his voice gentler than usual. "Next time, make sure he goes all out."

Deep within the sealed cage, the Nine-Tails unconsciously raised the corners of its mouth slightly, seemingly enjoying its current environment.

Chapter 8 The Warning from the Spotted One

Nighttime, Naruto's room.

Moonlight streamed through the window onto Naruto's small bed, where the blond boy lay sprawled out asleep, drool still hanging from the corner of his mouth.

He would occasionally mutter in his sleep, "Ramen... another bowl..."

In the shadows of the room, an aged figure silently emerged.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wearing a divine robe, held an unlit pipe between his fingers, gazing at the sleeping Naruto with a complex expression.

"As expected... someone is teaching him."

Kakashi's report from not long ago still echoes in my mind.

Naruto's shuriken skills, combat awareness, and even some of his taijutsu moves all bear the mark of someone not of his age.

That's something you can't learn in school, much less something an orphan without guidance can figure out on their own.

The Third Hokage slowly approached Naruto's bedside, reaching out his hand to probe the chakra fluctuations within him.

"If you dare touch him, I'll burn your old hand."

A cold voice suddenly rang out in the room!

The third generation's pupils contracted, and he instantly took two steps back, almost dropping the pipe.

He suddenly looked up and saw Naruto still fast asleep with his eyes closed, but a cold smile that didn't belong to someone his age curled up at the corner of his mouth.

"Hmph, the Hokage, sneaking into a child's room in the middle of the night... Has Konoha fallen so low?"

The voice was deep and imposing, seemingly emanating from Naruto's body, yet clearly echoing in the air.

The Third Hokage steadied himself and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you? Why are you lurking inside Naruto?"

"Infiltrate?" The voice scoffed. "I have no interest in hiding."

As he spoke, his tone turned to the Third Hokage: "As for you, Third Hokage, since you suspect someone is teaching Naruto, why don't you just ask him directly?"

The Third Hokage paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Because I'm not sure if that person will harm Naruto."

Naruto's eyelids twitched slightly, and then his right eye snapped open!

The crimson Sharingan gleamed with an eerie light in the darkness, its three tomoe slowly rotating.

The Third Hokage's heart tightened suddenly, and he almost blurted out, "Uchiha...?!"

"Don't be nervous, kid."

Naruto grinned with an arrogant smile that didn't belong to him. "I have no interest in your Konoha, nor do I care about the Uchiha clan. I'm just a ronin with no one to follow."

The Third Hokage stared intently at that Sharingan, his mind racing.

Although the relationship between the Uchiha clan and Konoha has deteriorated, it has deteriorated to the point that they are harming the village's Jinchūriki.

Moreover, it looks like it's being controlled by illusion magic, yet it can still be controlled silently even with the ANBU watching.

Only Shisui and Itachi possess this ability, but these two children are the people the Third Hokage trusts the most, so they would never do such a thing.

However, apart from these two, there should be no one else in the Uchiha clan with extremely high proficiency in genjutsu.

"who are you?!"

"The name doesn't matter."

Naruto (Madara) lazily rolled over, propping his cheek up with one hand, his scarlet right eye still locked on the Third Hokage. "All you need to know is that this brat is now under my control."

The Third Hokage narrowed his eyes: "What is your purpose in teaching Naruto?"

"Purpose?" The other party sneered as if they had heard a joke. "If I had to say... I think he's too useless and an eyesore."

Third generation: "..."

The room fell silent for a moment.

After a long while, the third generation suddenly sighed, and the guard on his face relaxed slightly.

"You... care about Naruto a lot, right?"

Naruto sat bolt upright, his Sharingan widening. "Kid, has your brain been ruined by smoke?!"

The third generation smiled, his gaze gentle: "Although your tone was harsh, every word you uttered was in defense of him."

"If he's really just an eyesore, you can simply ignore him; why bother teaching him?"

Naruto's expression froze, and even the tomoe of his Sharingan paused for a moment.

How could I have forgotten about this? It's been so long since I've negotiated with anyone that I've almost forgotten how to negotiate.

The Third Hokage continued, "Furthermore, you could have easily concealed yourself, but you chose to reveal yourself and warn me... Were you afraid that I might rashly investigate and hurt Naruto?"

"Stop being so naive!" Naruto (Madara) scratched his head in frustration. "Stop being so clever, Hokage!"

The third generation didn't take it to heart. Instead, he sat down by the bed and tapped his palm lightly with his pipe.

"No matter who you are, since you have no ill intentions towards Naruto, I will not interfere."

"Hmph, you know what's going on."

"However..." The Third Hokage suddenly changed the subject, his eyes sharpening, "If one day your existence threatens Naruto, or Konoha—"

Naruto's Sharingan suddenly contracted, and a terrifying pressure of chakra erupted instantly! The items in the room trembled violently, and the windowpanes rattled!

The third generation's entire body tensed up, almost instinctively forming hand seals for defense.

However, the oppressive aura suddenly dissipated the next second.

Naruto (Madara) simply looked at him coldly, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"Save your breath, kid. If I wanted to harm Konoha, you'd be a corpse by now."

Because he knew that what the other person said was true.

That chakra... was so powerful it was terrifying.

Just now, the Third Hokage seemed to see the shadow of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

Powerful, shamelessly powerful.

"Don't worry." Naruto closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his Sharingan had disappeared, returning to its original azure blue.

His tone was still impatient, but less hostile.

"This brat... I'll keep an eye on him."

The third generation stared at him for a long time before slowly nodding.

"Then, I'll leave Naruto to you."

"Hmph, you don't need to tell me."

The Third Hokage stood up, took one last look at Naruto who had gone back to bed, and turned to walk towards the window.

The night wind blew his divine robes. He paused for a moment, but did not turn around.

"By the way... what if Naruto asks about tonight?"

"I know, I won't say anything." Naruto (Madara) waved lazily. "Hurry up and leave, don't disturb his sleep."

The third generation smiled, leaped out of the window, and disappeared into the night.

Silence returned to the room.

Naruto rolled over, mumbling sleepily, "Dad... don't take my blanket..."

spot:"……"

Inside the sealed space, Kurama lay on the ground, grinning and mocking, "Tsk tsk, the Hokage saw right through you, Madara."

Ban crossed his arms and sneered, "Shut up, you slovenly fox."

Kurama rested his chin on one hand: "You're clearly concerned about that brat, but you're pretending. You Uchiha are so awkward."

Madara glared at the other party, and Kurama wisely shrank its neck, but still suppressed its laughter.