Naruto: The new beginning

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Naruto, sensing that he was nearing the completion of the Rasengan, stretched out his hand and visualized an invisible sphere within his grasp.

He concentrated on containing his chakra within the boundaries of that imaginary sphere.

Blue chakra surged in Naruto's hand, forming thousands of chakra threads that spiralled around a central point, following different paths until they coalesced into what resembled a translucent ball of energy.

This was the preliminary form of the Rasengan, but its power was still far from the perfected version.

Naruto pressed the chakra ball against a nearby tree, and with a "bang," sawdust flew as a hole about the size of a basketball was blasted into the trunk.

Excited, Naruto summoned ten shadow clones, instructing them to strike the tree with their unfinished Rasengans.

The surrounding trees were left in disarray, a clear testament to the destructive power of the jutsu.

Next, as long as he kept practising to make the Rasengan more stable and powerful, he would fully master it.

His two teammates were already accustomed to Naruto's antics and didn't pay much attention. Kakashi, however, had noticed Naruto's progress.

He looked at the blonde boy with the blue sphere in his hand. It was as if he could see the shadow of Minato-sensei.

Kakashi walked over to Naruto, instinctively ruffling his hair, and asked, "Have you mastered the Rasengan?"

"Not quite yet, but with more practice, I'll perfect it soon. After that, I'm planning to learn the Flying Thunder God jutsu. Got any tips?"

"The Flying Thunder God? You'd be better off asking Genma and the others. Or better yet, ask Minato-sensei directly," Kakashi replied with a bit of helplessness.

Minato-sensei had tried to teach him, but unfortunately, he didn't have the knack for it.

Despite being called a genius, Kakashi knew he wasn't skilled in every aspect.

"Haha, your answer makes me feel like I should have already asked him, huh? I've also studied the Flying Thunder God seal quite a bit, but I'm still working on getting the hang of it."

"Then I'm not sure I can help," Kakashi admitted, though he was looking forward to the day Naruto mastered the Flying Thunder God.

The combination of the Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God would make Naruto Konoha's second Yellow Flash.

"Hey, what's the use of asking you? Huh? Maybe there is some use," Naruto mused, deciding to give his mentor something to do.

"What's on your mind?" Kakashi sensed mischief in Naruto's tone.

"What do you think about Sasuke?"

"Hmm... In terms of strength, he's certainly strong for a Genin, and he's talented, especially since he awakened the Sharingan at such a young age..." Kakashi began to catch on to what Naruto was suggesting.

"Then why not teach him that move of yours?"

Kakashi sighed. "You mean Chidori. Don't go renaming other people's jutsu without permission."

"I still think 'doughnut palm' sounds cooler. But if you don't like that, I've got another name: 'doughnut maker,' where a single strike creates a hole in the ch—"

"Stop, stop!" Kakashi interrupted Naruto's wild naming spree and brought the conversation back on track. "Why do you suddenly want me to teach Sasuke Chidori?"

'Because we're all training hard, and it feels wrong watching you do nothing,' Naruto thought, but instead, he said.

"Sasuke's learned a lot of flashy jutsu, but he still lacks a powerful, one-hit-kill move. The Sharingan and doughnut maker would be a perfect match."

Kakashi couldn't argue with that. After all, he knew from personal experience how well the Sharingan complemented Chidori. "Alright, I'll go check on Sasuke's progress."

With that, Kakashi left, and Naruto created more shadow clones to continue practising the Rasengan, determined to grasp the "spatial awareness" needed for the Flying Thunder God jutsu on his own.

Naruto had also wanted to learn Chidori, not necessarily for practical use, but just for fun.

With his chakra reserves, plus the chakra of the Nine-Tails within him, he might even be able to create a city-level version of the doughnut palm jutsu for amusement.

'Hmm, what should I name it then?'

But that could wait, mastering the Flying Thunder God jutsu was more important. After all, it's hard to play a game without being able to flash-step.

Before long, Naruto heard the distinct chirping sound of birds—Kakashi must have been demonstrating Chidori.

It seemed that Kakashi and Sasuke had hit it off and jumped straight into training mode.

****

That evening, after Naruto returned home, Kushina suddenly called out, "Naruto, come here. Mom's going to teach you a new ninjutsu."

"Ninjutsu?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

"That's right, a sensory ninjutsu."

"Why do you suddenly want to teach me a sensory technique?" Naruto wondered.

Kushina tapped her chin with her finger as she explained, "Well, you know how Shino's presence is so low it's easy to overlook him. So, I learned a sensory jutsu from Minato just to avoid ignoring him."

"Before I say something important, I quietly sense how many people are in front of me to make sure I haven't missed him. But today, I realized that even without consciously using sensory jutsu, I can sense the chakras around me. So…"

"What?"

'Did she awaken Kagura's Mind Eye?'

Naruto was taken aback, feeling like he had a lot to say.

For example, was Shino's presence really that low? Almost to the level of a Kekkei Genkai?

And did she learn a sensory jutsu just to keep track of her students?

And Kagura's Mind Eye, awakened for such an absurd reason? Was she joking? Could it get any more ridiculous?

In short, Kushina had indeed mastered this ability.

She then explained to Naruto the sensation of using Kagura's Mind Eye—how, with herself at the centre.

she could sense all the chakras within a five-kilometre radius and distinguish between them.

As she grew more accustomed to the ability, the range seemed to be gradually increasing.

Naruto thought that if he could match these different chakras with specific people, it would be like playing an RPG with a mini-map…

Finally, Kushina taught Naruto the sensory ninjutsu she'd been using frequently, encouraging him to practice it diligently.

The jutsu was called Chakra Sensing, invented by the great ninjutsu pioneer Tobirama Senju.

It didn't require any hand signs, all you needed to do was touch the ground or a wall with your fingers, and you could sense anyone nearby.

For general sensing, you didn't need to take any action, but this technique required a certain level of talent.

Naruto's family had this talent—Minato had used it before when he led Kakashi and the others on the battlefield.

So, Naruto's training regimen expanded, but he didn't mind. After all, who wouldn't want a mini-map?

"Mom, can you sense how much chakra I have? Say, compared to Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, curious about something he'd been wondering for a long time, though his question was tinged with a bit of mischief towards Kakashi.

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