Chapter 27: Altay Needs Support
The next morning...
Altay stood in the sealed space within Naruto's mind, his arms crossed over his chest. Opposite him stood little Naruto, looking around with sleepy eyes, unable to shake off the groggy exhaustion of the morning. Looking at the boy's innocent state, Altay began to speak in a calm and understanding tone.
"Alright kid, normally I should have taught little ones like you ordinary things—like reading and writing, strolling around, and communicating with friends."
After these words, he sighed, thinking of the world Naruto was born into.
"But the world you live in is not normal... At least, it's not my normal... And you are not a normal child either, so we must quickly lay a suitable foundation for you. I will teach you how to fight."
The word "fight" instantly tore the veil from Naruto's sleepy eyes. The inexhaustible energy within him suddenly burst forth, and he looked at Altay with eyes shining like stars.
"Ni-san! Are you going to teach me ninjutsu?"
Altay shook his head, gently breaking this hope.
"No! Unfortunately, I don't know ninjutsu either. I will teach you taijutsu and kenjutsu."
Not learning ninjutsu didn't really dampen Naruto's enthusiasm; after all, even the idea of learning something new and getting stronger was exciting enough for him. Taking slow steps, Altay moved across from the special training dummy he had requested from the system for the training, and took a proper stance. The lifeless, humanoid dummy adjusted to him and formed its own guard.
"Watch closely, kid. This martial art is called Muay Thai. It is also known as the art of eight limbs."
Naruto nodded with great seriousness and gave all his attention to the scene before him. Altay and the dummy circled each other for a few seconds, as if they were in an invisible ring. Then, like a released bowstring, they dashed toward each other at the exact same time. The two powerful kicks thrown collided in the air with a loud bang; the force of the clash created a light draft in the surroundings. This wasn't an ordinary Muay Thai training; by adding chakra to his strikes, Altay was trying to create his own fighting style in this world.
The fight between the two sides grew increasingly fierce. Although Altay's movements were on par with a Jonin-level taijutsu master, his flaws in chakra control showed that he hadn't yet achieved perfect harmony. As for Naruto, he watched this display of power before him with fascinated, shining eyes.
"AWESOME!"
In the cage behind the sealed doors, however, a completely different world was unfolding. Kurama was sprawled on his giant massage chair, giving all his attention to the manga in his hand. While holding the manga pages with one hand, he was eating ice cream from a giant tub with a spoon in his other hand. Occasionally, he would take his eyes off the pages to briefly glance at Altay's training.
'He still hasn't gotten used to chakra. It would be absurd for someone who hasn't used chakra their whole life to suddenly master it... Still, Altay is adapting faster than I expected.'
After this brief assessment, he turned his eyes back to his manga. He let out a deep, annoyed sigh at the scene he saw when he turned to a new page.
'...What a pity... Chelsea... I didn't expect her to go so quickly and ruthlessly...'
Kurama's feelings were a tangled mess. He was aware that what he was reading was just a comic book and that the ones dying weren't real people. However, he had immersed himself so deeply in this story that he couldn't help but form an emotional attachment. He had shown an emotional reaction for the first time at Bulat's death; now, even though he no longer gave grand reactions, a strange sorrow and melancholy were building up inside him. Sighing, he continued to read.
Meanwhile, Altay had finished his sparring match and was looking at little Naruto, panting.
"Now you've seen the technique you're going to learn in action. I will teach you this technique, but you must also practice what you learn here in the outside world."
Unable to stand still, Naruto nodded enthusiastically.
"Okay, come on, teach me!"
Thus, Altay and Naruto's first morning of training began with great energy.
As the clock ticked past nine, a completely different atmosphere hung in the Hokage's office. Hiruzen Sarutobi was carefully reading the scroll in his hand; as he progressed through the lines, the wrinkles on his face became even more pronounced. When he finished reading, he let out a tired sigh. Unexpected complications had arisen in Kakashi's mission, forcing an extension of the mission duration. Although it was unclear when he would return, the stubborn young man was not asking for backup either. Hiruzen leaned over his desk, quickly filled out two new scrolls, and tied both to the neck of his loyal ninken, Pakkun, who was waiting in front of the desk.
"Pakkun, this one is for Guy and the other is to be given to Kakashi. Just in case, I am sending Guy as backup. Go carefully."
Pakkun nodded with a serious expression.
"Understood, Hokage-sama."
As Pakkun vanished from the office with a single leap, Hiruzen was left alone at his desk. Behind the smoke of his pipe, he let out a deep sigh.
'I should go see Naruto, so he doesn't search for Kakashi in vain today.'
The Hokage's body instantly disappeared using the body flicker technique, and before long, he appeared at the door of Naruto's house. After giving a slight nod of acknowledgment to the ANBU members standing guard around, he knocked on the door. The sound of little running footsteps could be heard from inside; the door opened quickly, and Naruto's joyful shout echoed.
"THIRD GRANDPA!"
A compassionate smile appeared on Hiruzen's face.
"Are you free, Naruto?"
Naruto nodded his head rapidly.
"Yes! I just ate! Come in, grandpa!"
Stepping inside with a word of thanks, Hiruzen's eyes caught the state of the room, and he couldn't hide his astonishment.
"Are you cleaning?"
Faced with this question, Naruto scratched his head and displayed a shy demeanor. The kitchen, unlike usual, was sparkling clean. The little boy had spent his last two hours tidying up the kitchen, cleaning the food scraps, and washing the dishes. Why? Because a soldier with military discipline now lived in his mind. When Altay saw the messy room, he had immediately ordered him to clean it. Naruto had resisted at first, thinking "it will just get messy again anyway," but against Altay's uncompromising and stern voice, the three-year-old had no choice but to submit. Trying not to show the pressure behind him, Naruto murmured with vacant eyes.
"...I'm trying..."
The Third Hokage chuckled at this effort and affectionately patted Naruto's messy blond hair.
"Good job, kid. You're starting to grow up."
Although Naruto blushed at this unexpected praise, he couldn't hide his curiosity.
"Why did you come, grandpa?"
Hiruzen relaxed his shoulders and smiled calmly.
"I just wanted to drop by and see what you were up to. What are you going to do today?"
Hearing this, Naruto began to explain enthusiastically, as if the floodgates of a dam had been opened. He started from what he had learned from Teuchi last night, jumped to the story of the White Fang, and recounted the mission Teuchi gave him all in one breath. Hiruzen listened to this endless childhood energy with a smile. When Naruto reached the end of his story, he puffed out his chest with pride.
"...That's why I'm going to look for Hatake Kakashi, the son of the White Fang!"
In the face of Naruto's confident declaration, Hiruzen's smile gave way to a tired sigh.
"Unfortunately, you won't be able to find Kakashi today."
Naruto's enthusiasm was instantly dashed; tilting his head to the side, he asked.
"Why?"
Slowly stroking his beard, Hiruzen tried to explain the situation.
"Because Kakashi is on a mission outside the village and won't be here for a few days."
This news disappointed not only Naruto but also the ANBU squad watching them from the shadows, as they wouldn't get to see Kakashi's despair-filled appearance today. Hiruzen chuckled softly to mend the boy's dampened spirits.
"Don't worry, Naruto. I will let you know when Kakashi returns. Enjoy yourself today, be lazy, stroll around."
Altay crossed his arms over his chest and plunged into deep, troubled thoughts.
'Kakashi not being in the village is bad. I wanted to put Naruto under an adult's wing early on... What do we do now? The kid will wander around aimlessly without developing in the outside world. If I didn't know the future, I wouldn't mind, but this brat wandering alone means he will be subjected to the ostracization and insults of those living in this @#$@ hellhole...'
He was caught in a great dilemma while weighing the options before him.
'Frankly, if I push the dimensional guardians a bit, they could get me out of here, but since they gave me a system, they want something from me. There is no such thing as free power. Looking at the name of the system, it's a situation related to the multiverse... which means I need to stay safely here in Naruto's stomach and get stronger... so I can't leave this early, plus... in my current state, it's not really possible for me to support Naruto...'
With thoughtful eyes, Altay looked toward the seal gate in the middle of Kurama's giant bars, towards that strange paper. The idea that had been gnawing at his mind for the past month resurfaced.
'...Should I awaken the 4th Hokage?'
With the thought of this idea, he broke the silence.
"Kurama!"
The otaku Kurama, lazing on his massage chair in his cage, lifted his head from the pages of the manga he was reading and looked at Altay with curiosity.
"Yes?"
Anticipating the reaction to what he was about to ask, Altay spoke in a slightly hesitant tone.
"Buddy... I have something in mind, but I can't do it without you, and it's something you won't like very much..."
Kurama's eyes instantly narrowed, his brows furrowing with suspicion.
"What is it?"
Altay didn't say a single word; he simply raised his finger and pointed at the seal paper stuck right in the middle of the gate. Kurama first looked at the paper, then back at Altay. The moment he realized what the pointed object meant, his giant eyebrow began to twitch violently.
"Are you going to awaken that bastard's clone?"
Altay slowly nodded in confirmation, but Kurama was not pleased with this situation at all. His voice came out booming enough to rattle the iron bars of the cage.
"That is really not a pleasant request at all! MAN, THE GUY SPLIT ME IN TWO!"
Altay sighed with understanding in the face of his righteous anger.
"Kurama, I can't awaken him without your support anyway; if you don't provide chakra, Minato will disappear in a few minutes."
Hearing this, Kurama's grumpiness increased even more; he grumbled, snorting steam from his nose.
"So I'm going to give him chakra just so he can stay in my house too?! Yeah, right! Do you have any other requests? Want us to awaken Kushina too? Maybe we should even serve them a tray of coffee and Turkish delight? What do you say?"
Altay gave a dry laugh at this sarcastic reaction and scratched the back of his neck, revealing his true intention. Kurama was absolutely shocked by what he saw.
"DAMN IT, DO YOU WANT TO AWAKEN BOTH OF THEM?!"
Altay shrugged helplessly.
"Look, buddy. I didn't think of it at first and I had no intention, but I have a strange feeling inside... this whole system and dimensional guardians issue has planted a seed of doubt in me. Besides, even if I train Naruto, he needs real support, and I need a real instructor. Minato can do both. I can teach Naruto discipline, close-quarters combat tactics, infiltration, and reading psychology, but Minato can teach him chakra, and Kushina can instill sealing arts in him early on. The Otsutsukis, Akatsuki, Pain, Uchiha Madara... Naruto's future is full of wars and struggles, and you are aware of this too."
Upon hearing these words, Kurama dove into a deep sea of thought. He did not like this situation one bit; after all, that husband and wife—who had imprisoned him and, as if that weren't enough, split his body and power in two—would now be living in his future home, and what's more, they would exist using his chakra.
However... Altay was entirely right too. He could teach this little boy to be a good person, a disciplined soldier, but he couldn't teach him to be a true ninja. Altay knew the ninja world only from the mangas he read and the animes he watched. Let alone performing ninjutsu, he couldn't even use chakra properly yet. The worst part was that the situation with his system was genuinely problematic.
Many systems gave mandatory quests to the user, forcing them to complete them, and right now, it wasn't even clear what kind of quest Altay would be dragged into. The only clue was that the system was related to the Guild. In three months, the system would activate, and the truth of everything would be revealed, but the danger was massive. In a life-or-death situation where the risk was around fifty percent—or even up to eighty percent if the missions undertaken in standard Guild stories were taken into account, and considering this would take place in the multiverse—Altay, who was well-intentioned and his only human friend, was truly stuck.
Weighing all these circumstances in his mind, Kurama sank into deep thought. Altay, not wanting to interrupt his internal analysis, simply waited patiently for the giant fox to make his decision.