Naruto: With Favorabiltity System

Chapter 348: Training Naruto and Sasuke

"Really? Uncle Haneda is that amazing?" Naruto's mouth hung open in astonishment.

Once again, he was overwhelmed by Haneda's immense talent and genius.

No wonder Iruka-sensei often called him stupid—how could he compare when such brilliance was right in front of him?

Just then, a sudden gust of wind blew past, and a figure appeared out of nowhere, holding a kunai marked with the Flying Raijin seal.

"I'm not late, am I?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Naruto and Sasuke immediately recognized it as Uncle Haneda.

They eagerly ran over to grab Haneda's hands, smiling excitedly.

"Right on time!"

"Not late?" Haneda asked with a small smile.

"Not at all! There's still fifteen minutes before the agreed time!" Sasuke said, glancing up at the sky.

Though the evening was dark—indicating it had been nighttime for a while—the watch on his wrist showed there was still time left.

It was just winter's early sunsets making it seem darker. If it were summer, the sun wouldn't even have set yet.

Haneda first checked Naruto and Sasuke's progress, then personally demonstrated Rasengan and Chidori to them.

For Naruto's training, Haneda adhered strictly to the principle of tailored teaching.

He decided to use the original methods as outlined in the series.

In the original story, Naruto had learned the secret of Rasengan by observing a cat's paw. So Haneda decided to follow suit and brought a cat into the mix.

Summoning a small kitten named Kikyo, Haneda smiled at the puzzled creature and said, "Kikyo, try popping this water balloon."

"...???"

The little cat tilted its head, confused. Usually, Haneda only summoned it to deliver messages.

Now, he wanted to play? How touching!

Kikyo let out a few cheerful purrs, extended its paw, and lightly tapped the balloon. The water balloon immediately burst.

Haneda's smile froze.

"Kikyo!!!"

After two and a half minutes of stern "education," the now-dejected Kikyo reluctantly started poking the balloon with its fluffy paws.

To Haneda's surprise, Kikyo actually had a knack for learning Rasengan. It managed to replicate the technique's first stage effortlessly!

Watching the cat easily complete the water-balloon step, Naruto was dumbfounded.

He had been stuck on that step for ages, yet here was a cat accomplishing it right before his eyes?!

And it didn't stop there.

Kikyo soon moved on to the second and third stages, even managing to perform the Rasengan as an A-rank jutsu using its small paws.

Seeing a cat master Rasengan in a single evening lit a fire in Naruto.

Sure enough, Naruto was highly talented when it came to Rasengan.

After observing and mimicking Kikyo's actions, Naruto quickly grasped the concept.

Following just a few demonstrations, he managed to rub his hands together and form his very first Rasengan!

"I did it! Sasuke! Uncle Haneda!!"

The moment he succeeded, Naruto excitedly shared his achievement with the two.

This success deeply irritated Sasuke, who felt a sharp pang of jealousy.

Both Chidori and Rasengan were A-rank jutsu, so why was it that Naruto had such an easy time learning his while Sasuke struggled so much?

Could it be that Uncle Haneda's "tailored teaching" really was that effective?

Unable to suppress his frustration, Sasuke blurted, "Uncle Haneda, I want tailored teaching too!"

"Hmm?" Haneda glanced at Sasuke. Unlike Naruto, Sasuke didn't have the foundational training needed to learn Chidori quickly.

Even with Kakashi teaching him during their academy years, it had taken Sasuke about a month to master it.

But at his current age?

Mastering Chidori in one month? That wasn't realistic.

Shaking his head, Haneda said, "This is the path you're meant to take. Even if Kakashi were teaching you, it wouldn't be much different from what I'm doing."

"Rasengan only requires mastering a single technique: chakra shape transformation.

"But Chidori involves both chakra nature transformation and shape transformation. It's naturally harder to learn than Rasengan.

"Still, with enough effort and patience, Chidori is achievable. Rasengan, on the other hand, requires quick, instinctive insight."

"...Alright," Sasuke sighed, resigned to returning to his original training regimen.

…

The Year Is Konoha 57, Post-New Year

Under Haneda's guidance, Sasuke finally mastered Chidori.

In addition to Chidori, Haneda taught Sasuke other lightning-style techniques, such as Lightning Body Flicker and Lightning Clone.

Since Haneda's body was still undergoing the Tenseigan fusion process, which temporarily limited his power, he stayed in Konoha to play it safe, rarely leaving the village.

Most of his time was spent helping Kakashi with paperwork or staying close to Naruto and Sasuke, watching over their growth.

Among all the children, Naruto held a special place in Haneda's heart.

Setting aside the fact that Naruto was the protagonist and the reincarnation of Asura, Haneda had been entrusted with Naruto by the Fourth Hokage himself.

Haneda's care for Naruto bordered on favoritism, driven by a desire to make up for past regrets.

Naturally, his fondness for Sasuke, Naruto's best friend, grew as well.

Originally, Haneda had no plans to personally train Sasuke, intending to leave that responsibility to Itachi, Shisui, Kakashi, or even Orochimaru.

But over time, as he mentored Naruto, he found himself drawn into teaching Sasuke too, eventually taking on the role wholeheartedly.

In Naruto: Shippuden, Sasuke was best known for his Sharingan, lightning-style jutsu, fire-style jutsu, and kenjutsu.

Coincidentally, these were all areas where Haneda excelled.

As a wielder of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan for years, Haneda was a master of its abilities.

In lightning and fire release, Haneda's skills were second to none in the ninja world.

The only person who could rival him in lightning release was Kakashi, with his Purple Lightning technique.

However, Haneda possessed the unique ability to combine lightning and fire chakra into a devastating Kekkei Genkai: Blaze Release.

Even in kenjutsu, though not quite at the level of Sakumo Hatake, Haneda was considered world-class.

In many ways, Haneda was the ideal mentor for Sasuke.

That year, besides training Naruto and Sasuke, Haneda accelerated his larger plans.

Initially, the five-year plan to solve hunger and transportation issues was set to finish on schedule. However, Haneda pushed to complete it by the end of Year 57.

The Fire Country initially operated under a planned economy, where the state managed all production and distribution. This system allowed the nation to undertake seemingly impossible projects, such as a nationwide railway network.

Such achievements relied on the tireless efforts of farmers and workers—and, of course, the significant contributions of ninja.

Haneda also began discussing reforms to the ninja mission system with Shikaku.

Traditionally, missions were funded by wealthy merchants or politicians to handle tasks they couldn't do themselves, such as providing escort services or carrying out assassinations.

Haneda aimed to shift the focus entirely to national needs, such as public safety.

For example, the Fire Country had long struggled with crime: rogue samurai, bandits, rogue ninja, and underground organizations ran rampant.

The demand for public safety missions rivaled that of escort or assassination jobs, but these missions were far more stable.

Funding wouldn't be an issue either. The Fire Country had already been spending vast amounts annually on public safety—with little to show for it. Redirecting those funds more effectively wouldn't be a problem.

With improved public safety, the need for escort missions would diminish significantly.

As for assassination missions?

In a stable society, was there really any need for such work?

(End of Chapter)

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