Naruto: Boundless Potential

Kakashi stepped back, hands in his pockets.

"Alright, Naruto. You're going to try Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

Focus your chakra, form the hand seals, and release it straight ahead. Simple, right?"

Kakashi had already taught Naruto all the hand seals required and had even explained how to properly mold his chakra inside his body to perform it.

Then, Kakashi placed a candle in front of him and lit it.

"First, try to blow out that candle with your jutsu."

"..."

"Sensei, you do know I can blow that candle out with my breath too. Isn't that kinda easy?"

"Naruto, just try it first."

"Fine, fine! I'll do it!"

Naruto began forming hand seals. He remembered every step clearly.

Ram → Horse → Bird → Tiger

He completed the sequence quickly while molding his chakra just as Kakashi had explained.

Naruto's chakra started swirling in his chest and throat like a pressurized typhoon.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" he shouted, releasing a roaring blast of wind from his mouth.

FWOOOOOOSH!

But The gust was so weak, the candle flame didn't even flicker.

Pffft!

Hearing someone laugh Naruto's eyebrow twitched. He slowly turned his head, scanning the area like a predator.

Sure enough — that bastard Sasuke was smirking behind his hand, shoulders shaking slightly.

Naruto growled. "You think this is funny?!"

Sasuke didn't even blink. "Naruto, continue. I just remembered something."

His face was perfectly serious — as if he hadn't been the one laughing just seconds ago.

"You think I'm stupid or something?!"

"Yes."

Naruto's face scrunched up like a balloon about to pop.

Ignoring their usual banter, Kakashi moved on to teach Sakura and Sasuke their respective jutsu.

He showed them the correct hand seals, explained the chakra flow, and even gave them a few practice tips — just enough to get them started.

And then — poof!

He vanished in a puff of smoke without a word.

Turns out, The new volume of Icha Icha Paradise had hit the shelves that morning, and Kakashi had his priorities straight.

The three of them stood there, stunned.

"...Why is Kakashi-sensei always so quick to run away?" Naruto muttered, staring at the empty air where their sensei had been.

"Forget about that," he said with a determined face. "Let's focus on the jutsu."

With that, Naruto jumped back into training, determined to get it right.

He continued practicing Great Breakthrough repeatedly, slowly getting the hang of it and improving his control.

Sakura and Sasuke headed to different spots of the training ground to practice their own jutsu, leaving Naruto alone in his wind-blasted zone.

Naruto kept spamming the technique until his chakra was almost completely drained.

Finally collapsing onto the ground, panting, he muttered,

"Man, I'm beat. Let's take a break for a while… I'll practice more later."

As he lay back and closed his eyes, exhaustion washed over him like a wave.

Just as he was drifting into a light sleep, a strange tug pulled at his mind.

When he opened his eyes again, the world had changed.

The air was damp, and shallow water covered the ground beneath his feet.

The darkness surrounding him made everything feel eerie — almost like a sewer. That alone was enough to confirm his suspicion.

"Wasn't I just resting a moment ago? How did I end up here?" he wondered, confused.

As he looked around, still trying to piece things together, his eyes finally landed on something strange — a massive cage.

It was so large that even three Narutos could easily walk through the gaps between the iron bars.

"What kind of creature needs a cage this big?" Naruto thought, clearly intrigued by the sheer size of the structure.

As he stood there, marveling at it, a loud, smug laugh echoed from within the cage.

"Hahaha! You lost to me again, Admantine

Chains!" Kurama's voice rang out proudly from inside, his tone full of self-satisfaction.

He puffing out his chest like he'd just won an Olympic medal.

"Bow before the grandmaster of shogi!" Kurama declared, striking a proud.

"Truly, I am unmatched! This is my seventh victory today!"

Inside the cage, something stirred. The Adamantine Chains that usually kept Kurama in check twitched faintly—unimpressed.

But Kurama wasn't finished.

"You are still young, Brother Chains. You lack wisdom,"Kurama continued, now slipping into a tone that sounded oddly like an old, wise monk completed with imaginary beard strokes.

"Follow me, and I shall show you the way of life."

He raised a paw dramatically, as if addressing a crowd.

With the calm confidence of someone who had lived for centuries, he declared,

"I've lived for thousands of years, helping the poor and saving the helpless from tyrants.

In the ancient times, I was even called the Incarnation of Benevolence by the people!"

At this point, Kurama even gave himself a halo using chakra and made the most sacred face Naruto had ever seen—a mix between a temple monk and a saint.

clearly trying to impress the Adamantine Chains and sway them to his side.

The chains, however, merely gave a slight shake — clearly unimpressed and possibly bored out of their mind.

But Kurama grew frustrated. Getting beaten up again and again by those chains without any warning was starting to test even his patience.

So, like the sly old fox he was, he began coming up with counter-strategies to stop these sneaky attacks.

His first plan was to Befriend the chains.

He knew these chains placed far too many restrictions on him he really couldn't handle them on his own while sealed.

So, he figured, if the Adamantine Chains had some sort of consciousness, maybe just maybe he could charm them into easing up a little.

He had truly had enough of these chains giving him an ass-whooping without warning.

Whenever the chains came into the cage, Kurama would immediately start preaching about the countless good deeds he had doneof course in his imagination.

His main plan was simple: get the chains on his side and convince them to rebel against Naruto so he could finally break free.

At least the plan somehow worked—he hadn't been getting beaten up lately.

Off to the side, Naruto had been watching the whole scene unfold with a very strange expression.

He'd always thought that whoever was sealed in here must be a terrifying, powerful, and domineering being.

Instead, there was this giant fox… practically licking the chains to death.

Naruto squinted. He'd read about tailed beasts in books before, and judging by the number of tails, this had to be the Nine-Tails—the strongest and most fearsome of them all.

The most vicious tailed beast?

If Kurama's current behavior was considered vicious, Naruto didn't even want to imagine what the other tailed beasts were like.

Did they also try to lick people if they got too close?

He shuddered. The mental image was too much.

Still confused about where he was and why, Naruto watched as Kurama continued his dramatic monologue.

(・ω<)

"Trust me, Brother Chains! Join my side, and together—

WE WILL CONQUER THE WORLD!!"

Feeling proud of his motivational speech, Kurama took a deep breath to calm himself.

But then he noticed something—or rather, someone—standing there.

ヽ(●ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ●)ﾉﾟ

"Umm… would you believe me if I said I didn't see anything?"