Naruto: I Can Upgrade My Techniques Infinitely
Chapter 145: Playing a Han Dynasty Envoy Just Means Dying in a Foreign Land—But Playing a Konoha Envoy Is Pure Suffering

Chapter 145: Playing a Han Dynasty Envoy Just Means Dying in a Foreign Land—But Playing a Konoha Envoy Is Pure Suffering

"Little Naruto, this is Uncle Kazuki," Uzumaki Kushina said cheerfully as she introduced Nara Kazuki to the baby. Kazuki smiled awkwardly.

Still, looking at the beaming, happy Naruto, even Kazuki couldn’t help but smile a little.

Chances were that one day, little Naruto would call him "Uncle Kazuki." Even though Kazuki didn’t feel old at all—he thought "Big Bro Kazuki" sounded better—since Naruto wasn’t even one yet, maybe "uncle" was fine for now.

"This kid’s got the look of a future Hokage," Kazuki said with a laugh, a compliment that made Kushina’s eyes crinkle with joy. It was clear how much she adored her son.

That got Kazuki thinking about something.

In the original story, Minato and Kushina died early, which was why Naruto grew up alone. But now that both Minato and Kushina were still alive... would they have another child in the future?

Given how Konoha worked, having more kids was important. Many families had one or two, and some even three or four. The village encouraged reproduction, which kept the shinobi population growing. If not for the three previous shinobi wars, Konoha’s housing prices would probably be astronomical by now.

"Kazuki, come over for dinner next time, okay? Lately Minato’s been talking about you all the time," Kushina said warmly, hugging Naruto as she spoke. Kazuki agreed with a nod. Honestly, even if she hadn’t invited him, chances were he’d be summoned soon anyway.

After all, the steam train project had become a key development initiative in the village. Konoha clearly had plans to start building one—the benefits were obvious, and the leadership wasn’t stupid.

There were certainly plenty of risks and challenges, but when the profits were high enough, people were willing to take those risks. If profit hits 100%, they’ll take a gamble; at 300%, they’ll start a war. That was just how it worked.

Right now, though, Konoha needed peace.

"First they’ll have to divide the pie before they can start digging," Kazuki muttered, glancing toward the Hokage Tower. He wasn’t there, but he could already imagine the elders inside, red-faced and shouting over how to split the profits.

Still, once the benefit-sharing was settled, the rest would fall into place.

And as it turned out, Kazuki was mostly right.

He ended up with a full month of downtime.

During that month, he did nothing but train—honing his ninjutsu and strengthening his body.

"Captain, aren’t we doing missions anymore?" Shisui asked, confused, squatting beside Kazuki. Nearby was a very young Itachi. Kakashi wasn’t with them—he was off on another mission.

"Nope," Kazuki replied, waving a hand. He wanted to go on missions, but since the current debates hadn’t finished, Minato hadn’t assigned him anything. He was in standby mode.

Kazuki had a bad feeling about what his next mission would be. It wasn’t hard to guess.

Something related to the steam train, of course—probably that idea he’d brought up himself: sharing the blueprints with the other shinobi villages in exchange for benefits.

A cross-era invention like the steam train would massively accelerate commerce across the continent. Trains running between villages could mean huge profits—but also huge problems.

And Konoha couldn’t monopolize the technology. Trains weren’t that hard to reverse engineer, and the hardest part—the engine—could be copied. If only Konoha had them, they’d just become targets.

So once the internal debates were settled, Kazuki knew exactly what was coming: a giant pain in the ass.

Being sent to the other four great nations to negotiate. A diplomatic nightmare.

But at least it was for cooperation, not conflict—he might survive this one.

"Kazuki, you’ve got a mission." Right after his 3,000th push-up, an ANBU operative appeared, speaking fast and handing over a sealed scroll.

Shisui immediately perked up.

Kazuki didn’t react much. He’d been in ANBU for a while—mysterious on the outside, bureaucratic on the inside. People knew who he was.

He checked the scroll—seal intact, encryption key matched—then opened it.

"Let’s go, White Crow. We’ve got a mission," Kazuki said as he stood up, his whole body briefly igniting in a soft flame. His sweat-dampened clothes instantly dried from the heat.

The ANBU operative handed off the assignment and left. Kazuki headed home in a hurry—he hadn’t worn his ANBU gear today and needed to change.

"Captain, where are we meeting?" Shisui asked, excited as he jogged alongside Kazuki.

"Village gates. This mission doesn’t include Crow," Kazuki replied. As expected, they were heading to one of the other four great nations, so they couldn’t bring Itachi.

Even though Itachi would one day become a plot-armored god blessed by Kishimoto himself, right now he was still just a kid—not ready for a mission like this.

"Got it," Shisui said. He trusted that Kazuki had his reasons, though he looked a little disappointed. He’d hoped to bring Itachi along.

Kazuki felt the same. If they had future Itachi—the guy who broke Edo Tensei’s control with Kotoamatsukami and soloed both Nagato and Kabuto with surgical precision—this mission would be a vacation.

Hell, he even pulled out Izanami on Kabuto. That guy was built different.

No wonder the fandom had so many complaints.

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