Naruto: Uchiha Youngjo's Konoha Spring

Chapter 326 Side Story: The New Generation (3)

The next day, Sarada arrived at the Uzumaki clan's territory early in the morning.

In order to prepare for the upcoming Ninja Academy graduation exam and the even more rigorous selection process for the Konoha Elite Ninja Force, Sarada felt she had to improve her strength as soon as possible.

So, when Naruto went out early in the morning, he encountered the new disciple guarding the door.

"Uh, Sarada? Is she here to see Boruto?" Naruto scratched his head and asked.

“No, Master! I came to find you! Please guide me in my cultivation!” Sarada bowed.

"Uh, is there no need to be in such a hurry?" Naruto said.

"The school's graduation exams and the selection for Konoha's elite ninja force are in two weeks," Boruto said slowly from behind him.

"Is that so? Then I'll have to train hard!" Naruto nodded and looked at Sarada. "Then come with me."

"Yes!" Sarada nodded energetically.

"And you, Boruto? Should Dad give you some pointers while he's at it?" Naruto asked, turning around.

"No need. I haven't finished the training I learned from Uncle Neji on how to cultivate the Tenseigan using natural energy, so it's not suitable for me to learn other things."

"Alright." Naruto nodded with some regret, then headed to the training ground with Sarada.

Upon arriving at the training ground, Naruto grinned at Sarada, whose eyes were full of anticipation. He then casually pulled an ancient scroll from his pocket and unfolded it in front of her with a snap.

The scroll was covered with dense, mysterious runes, and at the top were the words "Myoboku Mountain Spirit Communication Contract".

"This is a summoning contract scroll?" Sarada's eyes widened. She naturally recognized how precious this thing was, after all, the Ryuchi Cave's inheritance scroll was in her father's hands.

"That's right! Sign it and you can summon a toad companion from Mount Myōboku."

“Come, write your name here with your blood. This is one of the best ways to quickly improve your combat power. Although the Sage Mode of the new Holy Land created by Master Douguang has gradually replaced the Sage Techniques of the three Holy Lands, the toad companions of Mount Myōboku are still very reliable,” Naruto said.

Sarada took a deep breath, bit her thumb without hesitation, and used the blood to solemnly write the words "Uchiha Sarada" on the contract scroll.

"Alright! Give it a try!" Naruto encouraged. "Concentrate, channel your chakra into the contract, form the hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu, and then summon your comrades!"

Sarada did as instructed, her hands rapidly forming hand seals. She could feel a strange connection forming between her chakra and the scroll. As the last hand seal was completed, she uttered a low shout: "Summoning Jutsu!"

"Oh!"

A burst of white smoke exploded, accompanied by a slightly muffled thud as the smoke hit the ground.

When the smoke cleared, what appeared before Sarada and Naruto was not the imposing giant battle toad they had imagined, but a small toad... only slightly taller than Sarada, with dark green skin and a tiny metal tube gleaming with a ghostly blue light in its mouth.

The little toad, wearing a slightly oversized orange vest, slowly inhaled a puff from the metal tube in its mouth, exhaled a faint smoke ring with a strange aroma, and then spoke in a deep, slightly hoarse voice that was completely incongruous with its youthful appearance:

"Tsk... This time, the summoner is a little girl from the Uchiha clan. Hey, little brat, is it you who woke me up from my nap?"

Naruto was also taken aback, then stroked his chin and looked Gamama up and down, suddenly realizing, "Oh! I remember now! You're that kid from the Gamakichi family! You've grown so much?"

"Oh, it's Uncle Naruto." Gamama greeted Naruto. "Don't mention that old-fashioned stubborn man. It's a new era now. Traditional cigarettes are destined to be phased out. Real men who are at the forefront of the times only smoke e-cigarettes."

Then, Gamama turned his big eyes and looked at Sarada, who was still a little dazed. "So, little girl from the Uchiha clan, what brings you here? Let me make it clear beforehand, fighting is fine, but I won't do anything too troublesome."

Sarada finally came to her senses. Looking at this unique companion, her eyes gradually shifted from astonishment to determination. She adjusted her glasses and said earnestly, "Hello, Gamama, I am Uchiha Sarada. I need power. Please help me pass the graduation exam and the elite selection!"

The toad scrutinized the burning fighting spirit in the girl's eyes, remained silent for a moment, then scratched his crotch and said in a low, hoarse, husky voice:

"Interesting. You want to get stronger, huh? Fine, then let me see if you're qualified to be my Toad's true contractor."

The atmosphere on the training field suddenly became tense.

The toad was smoking an e-cigarette, its dark green skin shimmering in the sunlight, and its large eyes held a lazy, playful glint.

"Little girl, are you ready? Don't cry." Toad's husky voice carried a hint of teasing.

Sarada didn't answer, but took a deep breath, gripped her kunai tightly with both hands, and assumed the standard Uchiha clan starting stance, her eyes focused.

She knew very well that without activating her Sharingan, she was at a complete disadvantage when facing summoned beasts.

"Begin!" Naruto, who was standing to the side, acted as the temporary referee.

Before the words were even finished, the fat toad's figure suddenly blurred!
"So fast!" Sarada was startled and could only rely on her instincts and the reflexes from her daily training to retreat quickly.

However, a green afterimage swept over like a whip – it was the toad's tongue!

"Thud!" Despite her best efforts to block, the immense force still sent Sarada flying, kunai and all, flying. She crashed heavily into a tree, the shock causing her blood to surge.

"Tsk tsk, too slow." Toad stood still and leisurely took a puff of his e-cigarette.

Sarada gritted her teeth, stood up, and charged forward again.

She tried to distract him with her shuriken shadow clone technique, but Gamama didn't even need to move. His long tongue flicked out with precision and speed, knocking down all the shuriken. Occasionally, when he rushed in, his seemingly clumsy but actually agile dodges or solid body would withstand them.

The battle was almost entirely one-sided.

The toad's speed, strength, and combat experience far surpassed Sarada's at this point.

She was knocked down time and time again, her body quickly covered in mud and grass clippings, her arms and calves aching in many places. "Give up, little girl, fighting spirit alone isn't enough," Toad said, his smoky voice tinged with helplessness as he watched Sarada stubbornly get back up.

Sarada simply wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and adjusted her slightly crooked glasses.

The intense pain was real, but she could feel a tenacious life force supporting her from deep within her body. The strong physique from her mother's vortex clan meant that although she was in a sorry state, the actual damage she suffered was far less than it appeared.

Each time she was knocked down, she was able to get up faster and grasp Toad's attack patterns more clearly.

"Not enough..." she murmured to herself, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

She was waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to get close!

Once again, she seemingly recklessly charged forward, taking the brunt of Toad Shin's heavy blow with her shoulder. The intense pain made her vision go black, but she did not retreat because of her strong will and physique. Instead, she took advantage of the momentum and pounced forward, grabbing Toad Shin's forelimb with both hands!
"Got you!"

"What?" Toad was stunned. He didn't expect this girl to be so resilient and even dare to get close and restrain him.

Now! Sarada freed one hand, her fingers moving rapidly as she condensed the little chakra remaining in her body with unprecedented precision.

"Sealing Seal - Lock!"

With a low shout, several pale red chains formed from chakra appeared out of thin air, instantly coiling around Gamama's body like serpents, and the powerful sealing force began to suppress its chakra flow!

"This is... a sealing technique of the Uzumaki clan?!" Gamama finally showed his surprise. He struggled desperately, but the chains were exceptionally tough, and with his chakra temporarily suppressed, he was unable to break free for the time being.

Sarada was panting heavily, her whole body aching, but her eyes were filled with the light of victory. She maintained the spell tightly and said, word by word, "Now, am I qualified? Gamama."

At the edge of the training field, Naruto crossed his arms, a smile of satisfaction mixed with surprise on his face: "Using her superhuman physique and resilience to withstand damage and create opportunities, then using a sealing technique to finish the job, tsk tsk, this girl, her battle mind is just as good as her dad's, but her approach is more like her mom's."

The toad stopped struggling. Looking at the disheveled but determined-looking girl before it, it remained silent for a moment before speaking in its deep, husky voice:

"Hmph... You're tough, smart, and even know this kind of troublesome technique. Not bad, Uchiha Sarada, you're definitely qualified to be my contractor."

……

After training, the setting sun had painted the sky a warm orange-red. Sarada, dragging her aching but excited body, followed Naruto into the familiar Ichiraku Ramen shop.

The rich aroma of bone broth filled the air, instantly awakening a sense of hunger.

"Boss! Two big bowls of signature char siu ramen, with a soft-boiled egg and bamboo shoots!" Naruto found a seat familiar to him, waved his hand generously, and appeared very generous.

“Yes, Mr. Naruto!” Ayame, the daughter of the man who was being humiliated, replied with a smile.

The steaming hot ramen was served quickly.

Sarada was indeed hungry. Following Naruto's example, she put her hands together, said "I'm starting to eat," and then buried her head in her food.

The rich broth and chewy noodles greatly relieved my fatigue.

Halfway through his meal, Naruto slurped down a large mouthful of soup, sighed contentedly, and then looked at the girl opposite him, casually asking, "Speaking of which, Sarada, you said before that you wanted to become stronger and defeat your dad. Besides the Summoning Jutsu, is there any other technique you particularly want to learn? How about the Rasengan? Or Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

Sarada put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and pushed up her glasses with a very serious expression: "Teacher, I want to learn sealing techniques."

"Pfft—cough cough!" Naruto almost choked on his noodles. He put down the bowl, his expression turning somewhat awkward, and scratched his blond hair. "Well... sealing jutsu..."

“Yes!” Sarada nodded vigorously. “According to the current rules of the clan, the training to nurture the Sharingan using Sage Chakra can only begin after the body has basically matured at the age of 16. Therefore, if I want to become stronger quickly, sealing techniques may be a better choice.”

Naruto looked at his student's expectant eyes, and his embarrassment deepened.

His eyes darted around, but finally, as if he had made up his mind, he slammed his hand on the table and said frankly:
"Um... Sarada, to be honest, my sealing techniques might not even be as good as yours..."

"Huh?" Sarada was stunned, completely unprepared for this answer. "But...but you're so amazing..."

“Being good is another matter!” Naruto shrugged, looking at him with a difficult-to-explain expression. “It’s like I can eat, but I don’t necessarily know how to farm! Besides, the person who inherited the Uzumaki clan’s sealing techniques is your mother.”

Sarada: ? ? ?

"Teacher, aren't you a legend of the Uzumaki clan? How can you not know sealing techniques?" Sarada said incredulously.

"So what! Who said that legends of the Uzumaki clan have to know sealing techniques?" Naruto retorted stubbornly. "Even legends of your Uchiha clan don't know them..."

Before Naruto could finish speaking, his face slammed into the ramen bowl in front of him, looking like he had been hit hard on the back of the head.

The scalding soup splashed all over the table, startling Sarada.

"Teacher?" Sarada immediately became alert upon seeing this.

"Cough cough cough! It's nothing! Don't be nervous, it's just a little accident." Naruto raised his head, took a tissue from the table, and wiped his face.

[The teacher is getting more and more terrifying.] Naruto thought to himself as he wiped his face.

"In short, if you want to learn sealing techniques, your mother is more suitable to teach you. Why don't you learn the Rasengan from me? It's a ninjutsu with unlimited potential created by my father, the Fourth Hokage!"

Sarada looked at her teacher's embarrassed expression and didn't know how to react. She finally understood why Boruto said his father was unreliable.

The path to defeating her father seemed destined from the very beginning to deviate from the script she envisioned.

(End of this chapter)