Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 85

He sat confidently at his only low table.

The table was piled high with empty cup noodle containers, snack wrappers, and several "literary books" with extremely suspicious covers and pictures of sexy women.

The man was engrossed in reading a book, with a bit of instant noodle soup stains on the corner of his mouth. If he wasn't one of the legendary Sannin, then who else could it be but "Toad Sage" Jiraiya?!

An indescribable warm feeling instantly rushed into Naruto's heart, and his nose even felt a little sore.

On this evening, after a brutal battle and with mixed feelings, returning to an empty home is the norm.

But now he sees this teacher who, though unreliable, genuinely cares about him.

The feeling of being waited for and missed almost brought tears to his eyes, a child who had been used to loneliness since childhood.

"What...a lecherous immortal?!"

Naruto's voice trembled with surprise as he rushed inside, nearly tripping over the debris on the ground: "You... how did you get here? When did you arrive? You... were you waiting for me?"

Jiraiya put down his "literary masterpiece," looked up with a hearty smile, and reached out to ruffle Naruto's messy blond hair: "Haha, of course I've been waiting for you, my silly disciple! I heard you passed the preliminary rounds and shone brightly?"

"Well done! Of course, your teacher must come to congratulate you on your success right away. By the way... cough cough, experience the everyday life of Konoha and find inspiration for my new work, 'Make-Out Paradise: Konoha Special Edition'!"

Naruto's initial surge of emotion lasted less than three seconds before his gaze was drawn to the mountain of trash and the empty snack shelf on the table.

He rushed to his "secret granary".

In front of a cardboard box placed in a corner, disguised as a trash can, I opened the lid and took a look!

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!! My limited edition seafood cup noodles!!!"

Naruto let out a shrill scream, not much different from Lee's scream earlier.

All that could be seen in the box were a few lonely, crushed empty packaging bags. His treasured stock, which he had kept for a long time, had been almost completely wiped out!

"A lecherous immortal—!!!"

Naruto whirled around, his eyes blazing with fury, pointing at Jiraiya, trembling with rage: "This isn't a victory celebration! It's blatant looting! It's a mopping-up operation! It's like a locust swarm! All the food I painstakingly saved up! You've eaten it all!"

Jiraiya showed no remorse whatsoever. Instead, he picked at his ear and said matter-of-factly, "Oh dear, Naruto, don't be so stingy!"

"As your teacher, I've come from afar, weary from my journey, to celebrate your victory. Isn't it normal for you to expend some energy and eat something to replenish your strength?"

"Besides, these things would be a waste to leave here. I've taken care of them for you, so they won't expire! You should thank me!"

Jiraiya not only showed no remorse, but even let out a burp.

"Thank you?! Thank you my ass!"

Naruto completely lost his temper, and the last bit of emotion he felt was burned away by his anger.

He roared and pounced on him, swinging his fists: "Give me back my collection! Pay up! I'm not Naruto Uzumaki if I don't beat you to a black eye today!"

"Hey! You unfilial disciple! How dare you lay a hand on your master!"

Jiraiya yelled and nimbly dodged Naruto's wild punches, leaping and bounding in the confined space.

While dodging, he casually grabbed an empty bag of potato chips and threw it at Naruto: "Don't you understand the importance of respecting your teacher? It's just a few snacks, is it really that big of a deal? I'll treat you to ramen if necessary!"

"Ichiraku Ramen? Extra Deluxe Double Chashu Version?"

Naruto paused for a moment, a flicker of struggle crossing his eyes, but it was quickly overwhelmed by even greater rage: "No! Let's fight first! Take this!"

Suddenly, chaos erupted in the small apartment.

Tables and chairs were knocked over and scattered everywhere, and empty instant noodle containers and snack bags flew all over the place.

Jiraiya shouted and yelled as he tried to "defend" while provoking Naruto with all sorts of fallacies and heresies. The two wrestled and fought, creating a chaotic scene that filled the quiet apartment with a sense of life.

Inside the sealed space, Madara's lips twitched involuntarily: "Minato, I've never seen anyone as shameless as your teacher."

The first time could be considered unintentional, but this time it looks like Jiraiya did it on purpose.

At this point, Minato had chosen to crouch in a corner to minimize his presence; he genuinely didn't want to be dragged out and publicly executed by Madara.

Ultimately, this farcical display of "deep teacher-student affection" ended with Jiraiya using his height advantage to pin Naruto's head down.

No matter how much he flailed his limbs in the air, he couldn't get close. In the end, he offered the ultimate temptation: "Three bowls! Super deluxe double char siu plus a soft-boiled egg! All you can eat!"

"Hmph! That's pretty much it!"

Naruto, panting heavily, angrily straightened his ripped clothes, but his stomach started growling loudly.

Anger aside, the allure of ramen is undeniable.

"Hehe, let's go, let's go. How can you get stronger on an empty stomach?"

Jiraiya grinned and put his arm around Naruto's shoulder, dragging him outside without a word: "Tell me all about your glorious deeds today! Especially that little monster from Sunagakure...tsk tsk, the Jinchūriki of Shukaku..."

As the sun completely sank below the horizon, the warm lights and enticing aroma of Ichiraku Ramen temporarily soothed Naruto's wounded heart.

The shouting between the master and disciple gradually blended into the hustle and bustle of Konoha's night.

Author's note: Brothers! Please urge me to update more! If you ask for more, I'll add another chapter before midnight tonight.

Chapter 97 Uchiha Brothers

In stark contrast to the chaos at Naruto's house, deep within the Uchiha clan compound, Sasuke remained in the training grounds.

At this moment, an almost deathly silence enveloped everything.

It's empty and deserted here.

Sasuke sat cross-legged on the tatami mat in the training room, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

However, after the curse mark on the back of my neck calmed down, it began to ache again, like a maggot clinging to my bone.

The frustration he felt facing the Bronze Guy in the preliminaries, and the intense shock he experienced when he finally witnessed Gaara's inhuman power and cruel methods, filled him with anxiety and resentment.

One month... He must become stronger!

Otherwise, who knows what stupid things that bottom-of-the-class student might do because of me.

Just then, the door to the training room was silently opened.

A figure dressed in ANBU uniform and wearing an animal mask appeared silently at the door. Beneath the mask were a pair of calm, unwavering, yet deep black eyes, as dark as the night sky—it was Uchiha Itachi.

"Brother." Sasuke opened his eyes, his cold expression turning cheerful.

When facing Sasuke, Itachi's voice also became gentle.

He walked into the room and gently closed the door behind him: "I heard you passed the preliminary selection."

"Hmm," Sasuke responded, but his eyes dimmed involuntarily.

Itachi, noticing that something was wrong with Sasuke, fixed his gaze on Sasuke, his sharpness seemingly able to penetrate his clothes.

Soon, Itachi accurately detected the weariness hidden between his younger brother's brows and the faint, eerie chakra emanating from the cursed seal on the back of his neck.

"Who did this?" Itachi stroked the cursed mark on Sasuke's neck, a hint of anger in his voice.

Sasuke then recounted his experiences in the Forest of Death and the process of the preliminary rounds to Itachi.

He tried to remain calm, but when he mentioned Orochimaru, his eyes couldn't help but reveal a deep-seated hatred.

“That Sound Ninja was Orochimaru in disguise.” Sasuke’s voice was icy. “When I was fighting him with Naruto, he planted this in me. This thing has been interfering with my chakra flow. Kakashi helped me suppress it a little.”

When that familiar cursed seal, imbued with Orochimaru's signature chilling aura, came into view, Itachi Uchiha's anger caused his eyes to involuntarily switch to Sharingan.

An extremely terrifying and highly concentrated killing intent, like a tangible ice storm, instantly erupted from Itachi's body!

The air inside the training field seemed to freeze, and the temperature plummeted!

Fortunately, his parents weren't at the training ground at that time.

"Orochimaru…"

Itachi's voice was as deep as the cold wind of the underworld, carrying a chilling anger that sent shivers down one's spine.

His hands, held at his sides, had knuckles white from being clenched so tightly that his nails were almost digging into his palms.

At that moment, Sasuke clearly felt his brother's overwhelming rage, which was like a volcanic eruption but was forcibly suppressed!

It wasn't for the glory of the Uchiha clan.

It wasn't for the benefit of the village.

Simply because... his only younger brother was targeted and harmed by that dangerous rogue ninja!

This murderous intent came quickly and went quickly.

Itachi took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the terrifying aura that was enough to suffocate a Jonin.

The crimson in his eyes faded, returning to a deep black.

But Sasuke knew that the anger had not disappeared; it had simply been buried deeper, like frozen magma.

Itachi's voice returned to calm, but if you listened carefully, you could detect a subtle tension.

The intelligence from the Anbu (Anbu) mentioned Orochimaru's cursed seal experiments.

However, there wasn't much information available. The only thing that was clear was that the curse mark on the human body was shaped like a three-tomoe jade.

He walked behind Sasuke, extended his finger, his fingertip swirling with extremely pure chakra, and carefully touched the black mark.

The moment Itachi's chakra touched the cursed seal, a cold, evil, and rebellious force suddenly surged out!

The cursed seal twitched as if it were alive, emitting an ominous purplish-black light!

Itachi snorted coldly, and the three-tomoe Sharingan instantly appeared in his eyes and spun rapidly!

An even larger, purer chakra, imbued with the unique Yin Release power of the Uchiha clan, forcefully suppressed it!

It was as if invisible sparks were clashing in the air!

The dark purple cursed seal light was suppressed by the scarlet Sharingan chakra, struggling violently and emitting a faint sound like the hiss of a venomous snake.

Sasuke groaned, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead, and a sharp burning and tearing pain shot through the back of his neck.

A moment later, the agitation of the cursed seal was temporarily suppressed, its light dimmed, and it returned to its original dark purple pattern.

But Itachi's brows furrowed even more.

"A very troublesome curse mark."

Itachi withdrew his hand, his voice grave, "It is directly connected to your chakra source and nerves, and has a strong corrosive effect on the mind."

Orochimaru's methods... are very insidious.