"No way. Sukuna, I'm sure you're mistaken. This idiot here can't be an Uzumaki," Karin retorted. Ever since the two idiots learned that they weren't the only living Uzumaki in the village, they'd been at each other's throats.
Sukuna had no idea why it took him pointing out the obvious — that they were both Uzumaki — for them to realize it. Their names had been called out in class many times, but somehow they never connected the dots.
"This idiot here can't be an Uzumaki. Just look at him! He's loud and annoying. He doesn't even have red hair — Uzumaki always have red hair!" Karin barked.
"Oh, I don't know… maybe it was also the red-haired Uzumaki who were the real idiots and annoying ones," Naruto shot back, sticking out his tongue.
The truth was, neither wanted to be associated with the other. At first Sukuna thought they might get along, but he was wrong. Both were stubborn to the bone, and the whole mess started with Karin questioning Naruto's legitimacy as an Uzumaki based purely on his hair color.
Naruto only had the identity the village gave him. He didn't even know for sure if he really was an Uzumaki — he'd never known his parents or any relatives. So of course the boy got defensive when Karin attacked his identity.
And so, they were constantly at each other's throats.
"Who cares who the real Uzumaki is? You're both equally annoying. Now shut up and get back to your Taijutsu training," Sukuna said, smacking both on the head. They winced in pain before going back to training, grumbling something about aggressive pink-heads.
Seeing them quiet down a little, Sukuna finally sighed in relief and cursed under his breath at Iruka for putting him in charge of helping Karin.
Actually, no… helping just one of them was completely fine. It's when they're both together that nuclear fusion starts, he grumbled, already planning to wash his hands of them after this Taijutsu lesson.
They were coming along well enough — there wasn't much left for him to teach anyway. What they needed now was a lot of training.
And so do I… Sukuna's mood, already sour thanks to the two annoying brats, dropped even lower.
Because of this whole Karin ordeal, he hadn't gotten any time to do what he originally went out of the village for: finding the bounty market and picking up some jobs.
Karin had been in the village for over a week now, and he found himself constantly looking out for her. He knew the Hokage had assigned ANBU to keep an eye on her — Karin herself had hinted at it — but he wasn't worried about them.
He was worried about that old warhawk Danzo pulling something behind his back. So, most of the time, he stayed with Karin.
Since nothing had happened so far, and even if Danzo did manage to take Karin Sukuna knew where he would hide her, Sukuna was finally planning to go back to his original goal.
"Sukuna, can't you teach me some awesome jutsu? How long do I have to train in just Taijutsu? I already know how to punch and kick people," Naruto whined.
Like any ordinary boy, he wanted flashy, powerful jutsu. Unfortunately for him, he was asking that of someone who couldn't use any ninjutsu at all.
A tick mark appeared on Sukuna's forehead. Karin, more observant thanks to her Mind's Eye of Kagura and the time she'd spent with him, could tell when his patience was wearing thin enough to be dangerous for those around him.
"I can't do ninjutsu," Sukuna said, forcing himself to stay calm.
"Eh?" Karin was the first to react.
What do you mean you can't do ninjutsu? Are you telling me you cut down ninja like they were rotten tomatoes just by swinging your finger in the air? What about phasing through things, teleporting, or putting me in a genjutsu so I'd forget your face until I saw you again? Who are you trying to fool? she thought, feeling his shamelessness reaching new heights.
Naruto just tilted his head. "I see… I don't get it."
"Forget it. Don't you have your grandpa Hokage? Go ask him for a jutsu. He's the Hokage — he must have plenty. Go make trouble for him," Sukuna said with a shrug.
"Ah, that's a great idea!" Naruto's eyes lit up and he immediately bolted toward the Hokage's office. However, just as he passed Sukuna, his leg caught on something and he went tumbling face-first into the ground.
"Hey! You did that on purpose!" Steam practically shot from his head as he glared at Sukuna's glasses-covered eyes in resentment.
"Do it after you finish your Taijutsu lesson," Sukuna chided, ignoring the boy's glare. He picked Naruto up like a tabby cat with one hand, showing off his immense physical strength, and tossed him back beside Karin.
"Tsk… I'll get my revenge one of these days. Just you wait," Naruto grumbled.
That's when a hand rested on his shoulder — Karin, looking at him with sympathy.
Don't worry, you're not the only one, she thought.
For a moment, they seemed to forget their petty feud over who was the "real" Uzumaki. Now, they looked at each other like real siblings, united against a bully.
"Get back to training, or I'll add another hundred reps to both your regimes tomorrow."
"Hai!" they both snapped out of their daze and returned to training immediately.
Once he was done with them, Sukuna finally had time to think about his own training.
I'm already pretty strong… but stagnating feels like a waste of time, especially when so many strong people will appear in the future, he thought.
"My Cursed Technique and everything related to it — binding vows, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and fuinjutsu — those are the only paths I have for getting stronger right now." He found himself sitting on top of the Hokage Monument, looking down at the village.
"I'm already practicing my Cursed Technique and using binding vows for small benefits. My Taijutsu is coming along fine. That leaves Genjutsu and Fuinjutsu.
Outside of actual combat experience, those are the only two areas where I see room for growth.
But how?..."
Once again, he had a headache.
Almost all his actions so far had been with the goal of getting stronger. But he had no idea how to train in Genjutsu or Fuinjutsu.
Thanks to the Sharingan, he could use Genjutsu — but being able to and actually using it effectively were different things. Pulling small tricks like he did with Karin was one thing, but learning combat-ready Genjutsu was another. He couldn't just learn it alone.
Trial-and-error training would take too long, even if he somehow got his hands on Fuinjutsu scrolls. No — he needed a teacher.
Shame the two best Genjutsu users in Konoha — maybe in the world — aren't available anymore. Shisui's dead… I made sure of that… and Itachi… eh, forget it.
That left only Kurenai Yuhi. She was good, no doubt, but normal Genjutsu and Sharingan Genjutsu were different beasts.
"Perhaps someone else from the Uchiha clan…" he muttered. But who could he even ask?
Then there was Fuinjutsu. Sukuna wasn't even sure if that path would work for him. Yes, he could use fuinjutsu — using storage scrolls had proven that much — but whether he could create his own seals was another matter.
Not like I have any way to learn fuinjutsu right now. There weren't many people in Konoha who knew it well, and those who did… well, he didn't want to mess with them anytime soon.
"Wait…" His eyes suddenly widened.
"What about Karin?" he muttered. Doubt crept in — she was young, and it was unlikely she'd learned much from her mother, if her mother even knew fuinjutsu in the first place.
But asking wouldn't hurt.
With that in mind, he stood up.
"It's finally time to resume my search for the bounty market."
xxx
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