At the farm.
Ichiro Tsuchigen brought Naruto inside. After entering, he went straight to the person in charge of the farm, Tomu Tsuchigen.
"Tomu," Ichiro said seriously, "this is the person Grandpa asked me to bring. I'm handing him over to you now. You must teach him how to become a real cultivator and worker."
Tomu looked at the unfamiliar young man in front of him. When he heard that this was arranged by the clan leader himself, he immediately became cautious.
"Don't worry, Young Master," Tomu replied respectfully. "Leave it to me."
Ichiro turned to Naruto, patted his shoulder, and said, "Naruto, train well."
Naruto nodded firmly.
"I will."
"I'll come pick you up in the evening," Ichiro added.
After saying that, he turned around and left without hesitation.
After Ichiro left, Tomu walked up to Naruto and shouted loudly:
"Hey, foreigner! Your name is Naruto, right?"
Naruto was startled for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes."
Tomu walked around Naruto, observing him carefully from head to toe.
After a while, he frowned.
"Your breathing is steady, and your foundation isn't bad," Tomu said. "But your physical strength is far from enough."
Now he understood why this boy had been sent to the farm.
Naruto's body was far weaker than the average Tsuchigen clansman.
"Alright, kid," Tomu said firmly. "First lesson—chopping wood!"
"Chopping wood?" Naruto repeated.
Tomu nodded.
"Yes. Chopping wood."
He waved his hand.
"Follow me!"
Tomu led Naruto to a forest work area.
Logs were piled everywhere.
Members of the Tsuchigen Clan were unloading firewood from carts and stacking it neatly.
"This place supplies firewood for the entire city," Tomu explained.
"After chopping, carts will deliver it to every household."
Naruto suddenly realized.
So the firewood I used last night came from here…
"Come on, young man," Tomu said loudly. "Let's see how much you can chop today!"
He called over a worker.
"Ah Shuo! Come here!"
A young man walked over and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Boss?"
Tomu pointed at Naruto.
"Take him with you today. Teach him how to chop wood properly."
Ah Shuo smiled.
"No problem. Leave it to me."
After Tomu left, Ah Shuo led Naruto to a small wooden shed.
Inside, many axes were neatly arranged.
"Pick one you like," Ah Shuo said. "Then follow me."
Naruto stepped forward and examined the axes.
They were finely crafted and extremely sturdy.
If these were ninja tools, they'd be treasured in Konoha…
He picked one up.
"Ugh—!"
It was unbelievably heavy.
Naruto almost dropped it.
Ah Shuo laughed.
Naruto scratched his head awkwardly.
He tried another one.
Still too heavy.
After several attempts, he finally found one he could barely handle.
"This one?" Ah Shuo asked.
Naruto nodded.
"Yes."
"Alright, let's go."
Ah Shuo casually picked up the heavy axe Naruto couldn't lift earlier, as if it weighed nothing, and walked away.
Naruto was speechless.
So strong…
They arrived at the chopping yard.
Ah Shuo stopped and said seriously:
"Pay attention."
"Chopping wood is simple, but if you want to be fast and efficient, you need proper technique."
"First, squat slightly. Keep your stance stable."
"Like a horse stance."
"Then inhale, raise your arms."
"Exhale, and swing down."
"Got it?"
Naruto nodded, though he felt confused.
Isn't this just chopping wood? Why is it like training taijutsu?
"Try it," Ah Shuo said.
He demonstrated beside Naruto.
Naruto placed a log on the stump.
He copied Ah Shuo's posture.
Inhale.
Raise.
Exhale.
Swing!
Crack!
The log split in half.
Naruto raised his eyebrows.
"That wasn't too hard."
Then he looked at Ah Shuo.
And froze.
Ah Shuo was chopping at terrifying speed.
His movements were smooth, steady, and rhythmic.
It looked effortless.
"This is way too fast…" Naruto muttered.
Ah Shuo noticed him stop.
"Don't pause. Keep going!"
Naruto nodded quickly.
"Oh—okay!"
He continued chopping.
Trying to catch up, Naruto pushed himself harder and harder.
Slowly, sweat poured down his face.
His arms began to ache.
His breathing became heavy.
He looked at Ah Shuo again.
The man showed no signs of slowing down.
Still steady.
Still strong.
Still relentless.
I can't stop…
Even if I'm slower, I can't give up!
With that thought, Naruto gritted his teeth and kept swinging.
They worked nonstop until noon.
When the lunch bell rang, Naruto felt like his arms no longer belonged to him.
He wiped his sweat weakly.
"I'm starving…"
Four buns in the morning were nowhere near enough.
Ah Shuo smiled.
"Put the axe down. Let's eat."
They went to a large dining hall.
"Stay close," Ah Shuo said.
Naruto nodded.
The food surprised him.
There were vegetables, meat, and eggs.
But the eggs were huge—three times larger than normal ones.
After getting their food, they sat down.
Naruto immediately began eating.
Around them, workers secretly glanced at Naruto.
He clearly looked different.
"Hey, Ah Shuo," someone whispered, "who's that kid?"
Ah Shuo replied casually:
"His name's Naruto. A foreigner. The young master brought him here."
"Really?"
"I heard it was arranged by the clan leader."
"What?! The clan leader's guest?"
"That means he's important!"
Ah Shuo was secretly shocked too.
He looked at Naruto differently now.
"Eat more," Ah Shuo said kindly. "I'll get you water."
Naruto nodded gratefully.
"Thank you."
The rice grains here were huge.
Each grain was nearly four times the size of Earth's rice.
Naruto ate heartily.
After eating, they rested for an hour and a half.
Then Tomu came to inspect.
Work resumed.
They chopped wood until evening.
By the time Ichiro arrived, Naruto couldn't even lift his arms.
"Oh my God, Naruto," Ichiro said in shock. "You really worked hard!"
Naruto gave a bitter smile.
Ichiro picked him up directly.
After saying goodbye to Tomu, they flew away.
Dinner had already been eaten at the farm.
Back home, Naruto didn't even have the strength to bathe.
He collapsed onto the bed.
Within minutes, he was asleep.
He was completely exhausted.
But in his heart, Naruto knew—
This was the first step toward rebuilding his strength.
And he would never stop.
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