Chapter 580: Naruto’s Three Instructors of Sea, Land, and Air

"Strong enough? Heh."

Kushina let out a cold laugh, and Naruto immediately felt an overwhelming pressure descend on him.

Wait!

Wasn't Kurama inside him?

Naruto suddenly realized something was wrong.

He had only just checked. The Nine-Tails was definitely inside his body.

So where was the Tailed Beast chakra surrounding his mother coming from?

When Naruto first entered this world, Konoha had seemed almost identical to the real village. Everything had felt familiar.

Yet barely any time had passed, and already Naruto felt like he had been dropped into a completely foreign place.

If he could choose again, he absolutely would not have charged into things this recklessly.

For the first time, Naruto deeply regretted ignoring one of the lessons both Kakashi-sensei and the Pervy Sage constantly repeated:

Gather intelligence before acting.

For a ninja, information was everything.

"You just don't want to train!"

Kushina punched Naruto squarely in the stomach.

"Do you know why I haven't broken your arms and legs?

"Because then you'd have another excuse to slack off."

Naruto's face went pale.

"My foolish son, if you don't want to get beaten, then run. Escape. Keep running until the day you possess Tailed Beast power equal to mine.

"Only then will you be qualified to stand before me."

Kushina looked down at him.

"Now, I'm giving you one chance to reorganize your words."

"W-Waaah! I was wrong! I'll train hard!"

Naruto burst into tears immediately.

Before entering, he had imagined all kinds of possible scenarios.

Getting beaten the moment he met his mother had somehow never made the list.

And this wasn't some ordinary beating.

Iruka had hit him plenty of times in the real world.

But Iruka's punches and Kushina's attacks were on entirely different levels.

Kushina wasn't merely using Tailed Beast chakra.

She was using actual techniques with it.

Who could survive that?

Even more terrifying was the explanation about why she had deliberately not broken his limbs.

If Naruto kept arguing and she really did break his arms and legs, what was he supposed to do then?

"Good."

Kushina clapped her hands once.

"You three can come in."

The three people who had been waiting outside entered.

"Naruto, these are the three instructors I personally selected for you."

Kushina gestured toward them.

"Each one represents one domain—sea, land, and air.

"You may choose one of them as your training instructor."

Then she sat down on the nearby sofa, crossed her arms, and watched.

"You three, introduce yourselves."

"Instructors?"

Naruto stared blankly.

"Shouldn't it be Kakashi-sensei? Or maybe the Pervy Sage?"

This felt wrong.

Why was his treatment suddenly starting to resemble Konohamaru's?

Did he actually have private family tutors now?

Then what were Kakashi and Jiraiya supposed to be?

"Kakashi? Jiraiya?"

Kushina's eyes instantly narrowed.

"So those two degenerates are the ones who corrupted you!"

Naruto flinched.

"I warned them long ago not to get too close to you and not to let you fall into the Three Shinobi Prohibitions.

"And they ignored me anyway.

"Wonderful. Apparently the Hokage's words mean absolutely nothing!"

"D-Degenerates?"

Naruto looked even more confused.

"And what are the Three Shinobi Prohibitions?"

Kakashi and Jiraiya might be a little questionable, but calling them outright degenerates seemed excessive.

"You forgot the Three Prohibitions too?"

Kushina glared at him.

"Alcohol, women, and gambling. You stay away from all three!"

She pointed sharply.

"Of the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade fell into alcohol and gambling, Jiraiya into women and gambling, and Orochimaru is somehow the one who barely qualifies as a respectable person.

"Naruto, remember this.

"Train properly under the instructors I chose for you and stop filling your head with nonsense!"

"O-Okay."

Faced with Kushina's overwhelming presence, Naruto had no choice but to agree.

He turned toward the three instructors.

Naruto had absolutely no memory of any of them from the real shinobi world.

And judging from their clothing…

Naruto had traveled across multiple countries as one of the shinobi world's Sage Mode instructors, so he had developed a decent understanding of regional customs and attire.

"They're not Konoha shinobi?"

Naruto asked cautiously.

"Two of them aren't."

Kushina nodded.

"Shinobi from other villages are allowed into Konoha?"

Naruto scratched his head.

Had this Engraved Tsukuyomi world also reached the stage where all the nations were allied?

"Of course not."

Kushina's expression turned cold.

"What do you think Konoha is? A place where any random stray can wander in?

"If these people hadn't received my personal approval for both their status and strength, do you think they would even be qualified to enter Konoha's gates?"

She leaned back.

"As for shinobi from other villages…"

"If I decide I want a useful resource, then it belongs to me."

Naruto stared.

"As Hokage, my authority is absolute.

"You should understand that, Naruto."

Every viewer watching from outside went silent.

Wasn't this version of Kushina a little too domineering?

Even Uchiha Hikari finally understood why the Sage of Six Paths had merely glanced around before apparently deciding there was nothing he needed to modify.

From Hagoromo's perspective, this whole scenario was probably equivalent to letting Naruto personally experience what it had been like for him to deal with Kaguya.

"You three may begin."

Seeing that Naruto had stopped talking, Kushina gestured for the instructors to introduce themselves.

The first to step forward was a heavyset man who was obviously from the Akimichi clan.

"I am Akimichi Pangmao, son of Akimichi Torifu, who once served the Second Hokage.

"Since childhood, I studied Water Release under Lord Second himself.

"I represent the sea!"

He gave Naruto a confident look.

"Young Master Naruto, please choose me.

"My signature technique is my personal secret art, Water Release: Great Waterfall Bomb.

"I use my enormous chakra reserves to flood the battlefield with Water Release, then activate the Expansion Jutsu and leap into the water, creating a massive impact wave."

Pangmao proudly slapped his stomach.

"Young Master Naruto, your huge chakra reserves and ability to transform using Tailed Beast power make you extremely compatible with my style."

Naruto's eyes widened.

The second instructor stepped forward.

"Young Master Naruto, my name is Namikaze Yukishō, and I come from Sunagakure.

"I'm a distant cousin of your father."

Naruto immediately looked more closely at him.

"I represent the land.

"Unlike your father's Flying Raijin, which relies on space-time ninjutsu, I pursue pure physical speed.

"I abandoned Wind Release's cutting power and instead specialized entirely in acceleration."

Yukishō struck a dramatic pose.

"By combining Wind Release with the Eight Gates, I can move at speeds beyond anything you can imagine!"

Then he pointed directly at Naruto.

"Naruto, you really think you can outrun me?"

His eyes burned with fighting spirit.

"Choose me, and we'll start training around Konoha immediately!"

Naruto blinked.

Why did that last part sound strangely familiar?

Then the third instructor stepped forward.

"Yo! Nice to meet you, Na-ru-to~!"

He moved with an exaggerated rhythm.

"I'm Kaobi, little brother of Kumogakure's Killer B!

"I once studied abroad in Iwagakure under Tsuchikage Ōnoki and learned the Light-Weight Rock Technique."

Kaobi spread his arms dramatically.

"That's right!

"I represent the air!"

He flashed Naruto a grin.

"If Naruto-san chooses me, I'll have you flying through the sky immediately~ man!"

He pointed finger guns.

"Naru-man! Choose me!"

Naruto was stunned after hearing all three introductions.

At first, their appearances had seemed completely ordinary.

And since he had never even heard of them in the real world, Naruto had assumed they were just obscure nobodies.

Yet every single one of them possessed some incredible specialty!

Naruto was genuinely tempted.

Anything he learned inside the illusion might not physically carry back into reality—

But knowledge and memories could.

Ideally, he wanted to choose all three.

Unfortunately, after what had just happened, Naruto no longer dared challenge his mother's authority.

He could not bring himself to ask.

And for some strange reason…

Even though Naruto honestly thought all three instructors seemed extremely reliable, a shadow of unease refused to leave his heart.

Something about this felt ominous.

Very ominous.

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