Naruto: The new beginning

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Naruto returned home and trained physically for over an hour, attempting to deplete his energy, but to no avail. He was no longer the child who grew tired after just a few dozen push-ups.

Naruto considered adding weights to his workout routine. 

However, if he strictly adhered to Rock Lee's regimen, he risked injury or worse. 

He decided to increase the weights gradually and thought he could approach Kimimaro for guidance. 

After all, Kimimaro worked hard every day with his Team 4 friends, so he would probably understand.

At dinner, the family of four sat around the table, and as usual, Kakashi arrived on time. 

Naruto kept staring at Kakashi's ninja pouch, making the Jonin visibly uncomfortable.

Even with all the courage in the world, Kakashi wouldn't dare take out any of his strange books in Naruto's house. 

Yet, he often touched his ninja pouch, like someone desperate to check their phone after an hour. 

Feeling the presence of his "food" seemed to calm his nerves.

Kushina talked about her day in class. She mentioned how Kiba and Akamaru rushed recklessly during a test and ended up getting knocked to the ground by her. 

She also shared how Shino's insects grossed her out so much that she accidentally punched him in the face, breaking his sunglasses. 

Kushina also noted that little Hinata, despite being skilled in taijutsu, lacked decisiveness and would need more training.

Naruto was concerned whether Akamaru was hurt and asked curiously if Shino's eyes were tiny dots since he had never seen Shino without his sunglasses. 

Then, he worried whether Hinata would turn out rebellious like in the alternate version of her (the alternate universe where Menma and Naruto Uzumaki fought).

Minato asked Kakashi about Naruto's performance that day. Kakashi praised Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. 

Naruto, however, took the opportunity to complain, saying that Kakashi used his Sharingan to defeat all three of them and that, in the end, Kakashi had slammed both him and Sasuke to the ground so hard that Sasuke was nearly in tears from the pain.

'Feel the pain, Kakashi,' Naruto thought with a sadistic smile.

Kakashi felt a chill down his spine under Kushina's sharp gaze.

Meanwhile, bro-con Sasuke, who was showing off his Sharingan at home, sneezed, rubbed his nose, and went back to enjoying his brother's praises.

There was frequent laughter at the dinner table, and Kimimaro, who had been quietly smiling, seemed to eat a bit more lightly. 

He truly cherished his current family—his father, mother, younger brother, and Kakashi, who felt like an older brother.

After dinner, Minato and Kushina once again reminded Kimimaro not to overexert himself in training, and everyone dispersed.

****

Later that evening, Naruto went to his usual meeting with Kurama.

"Big fox, wasn't it cool when I launched ten Water Dragon Jutsu today?"

"Hah, those little splashes? The Third Hokage could do better while sneezing."

"Is it that bad? I thought it was enough to give Shukaku a run for his money."

"Are you thinking of fighting Shukaku?"

"Don't you hold a grudge against him?"

"That's the spirit!" Kurama perked up, something rare for the Nine-Tails. "Once you get better at Water Style, you'll almost be at that woman's level. When the time comes, use my chakra to drench Shukaku in a downpour!"

Imagining Shukaku's miserable state, Kurama nearly laughed out loud. "Hahahahaha...Oh, and that chain-breaking technique of yours—give Shukaku a taste of that too. Then..."

Kurama suddenly stopped and lay down, his once-excited tail drooping to the ground. His expression turned melancholic.

Naruto sensed that mentioning the Adamantine Sealing Chains brought up painful memories for Kurama, and he didn't know how to comfort the tailed beast.

Fortunately, Kurama's resilient nature kicked in, and he clenched his massive claws into fists, pounding the ground as he roared, "Just like that! Get stronger, kid! Beat all eight of those other beasts, and tie them up with that broken chain of yours!"

'There are nine-tailed beasts in the world—if one fox suffers, all should feel the same pain! Hehehehehehe...'

What had gotten into Kurama? Naruto had no idea, and he didn't dare ask. He figured that bringing up Shukaku wasn't the best idea, as it had ignited the fox's fighting spirit. 

Maybe he should have talked about peaceful coexistence with the tailed beasts instead.

Naruto thought for a moment and then said, "Tonight, I'll tell you the story of 'Jujutsu Kaisen.' It all begins with the..."

Kurama, intrigued by the promise of a new story, calmed down.

"In Jujutsu Kaisen, all living beings emanate energy called Cursed Energy, which arises from negative emotions that naturally flow throughout the body. Ordinary people cannot control this flow in their bodies."

"As a result, they continually lose Cursed Energy, resulting in the birth of Curses, a race of spiritual beings whose primary desire is to bring harm to humanity. These Curses are shown as gruesome monsters: onryō (vengeful spirit), yūrei (ghosts), and yōkai..."

The more Kurama listened, the more familiar the tale seemed. 

This cursed energy, the creation of mystical creatures to bring balance to the world, sounded a lot like the Sage of Six Paths creating the tailed beasts...

Was Naruto just making this up to deceive him? But the details seemed too specific. 

Kurama's moral education had a long road ahead.

****

Early the next morning, Team 7 gathered at the mission hall on time, but Kakashi was only half an hour late this time.

Their first mission wasn't the usual cat-catching task but a D-rank emergency mission—to help out at the orphanage.

Naruto was curious, "Is the orphanage short on staff? Shouldn't they hire long-term workers? Hiring ninjas doesn't seem cost-effective."

Kakashi, who seemed to know a lot about the orphanage, explained as they walked, "The village usually provides subsidies for these kinds of missions. Sensei has been very supportive of the orphanage in recent years."

He continued, "The orphanage normally has four staff members, including the director and her adopted son, so they usually don't need extra help. But one of the teachers suddenly fell ill, and the director with her son had to assist with surgery at Konoha Hospital yesterday, so they're temporarily short-handed."

Naruto felt something was off.

Sakura raised her hand and asked, "Why would the orphanage director and her son need to assist in surgery? Doesn't the hospital have enough doctors?"

"They do," Kakashi replied, "but this surgery was particularly complicated. The director and her son are highly skilled in medical ninjutsu, even more so than most of the hospital's doctors, so they were asked to help."

Naruto found this even stranger. More skilled than the doctors at Konoha Hospital? Who were these people? Did Tsunade secretly adopt someone and place them at the orphanage as the director?

Unable to figure it out, he asked, "Who are these two people?"

Kakashi thought for a moment and replied, "Their names are Yakushi Nono and Yakushi Kabuto."

Naruto felt a sense of familiarity with the names. "Huh?"

Kakashi continued, "Yakushi Nono was once a highly regarded ANBU operative. But after a certain mission, she approached Sensei and said she was tired of the ANBU life and wanted to return to Konoha to run the orphanage."

"Minato-sensei respected her wishes, and she's been dedicated to the orphanage ever since. When funds were tight, she would help out at Konoha Hospital to earn extra money. Now that the village supports the orphanage, she still volunteers at the hospital from time to time."

****

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