Refine, refine… light refraction…
Chakra, Chakra… angle of incidence…
Ahhhhhhh—
Naruto was frantically pulling at his hair, his head feeling like it was about to explode.
"This is simply impossible!"
"If this continues, I'll go insane before I get stronger!"
"Please Host…"
"…I understand."
"Alright, alright, this time I'll focus on listening to the lecture, and then see if my body moves on its own…"
"Activate…"
"Knowledge Absorption!"
Naruto instantly entered a state of complete concentration, staring eagerly at every word Iruka-sensei wrote down. His efficiency in listening to the lecture indeed skyrocketed.
However… Chakra did not begin refining on its own.
"Please Host…"
"I'm trying!"
Naruto tried again, forming hand seals, first activating Chakra Refining Technique, then suddenly entering the Knowledge Absorption state during the process. But the result was that the Chakra Refining Technique quickly interrupted.
However, Naruto seemed to see a glimmer of hope… because, although the Chakra Refining Technique interrupted once he entered the Knowledge Absorption state, it didn't interrupt immediately, but rather continued for a very short period!
"Aha! In that instant, wasn't Divided Attention achieved?!"
"Please…"
"I'm about to succeed!"
"Chakra Refining Technique!"
Naruto once again entered the Chakra Refining Technique, and then didn't even consciously tell himself to suddenly enter the Knowledge Absorption state.
In other words, he was… tricking his own brain!
Sure enough, this time, while fully concentrating on the lecture, Chakra, as if by inertia, continued to refine successfully for a period of time!
And, it was a few moments longer than before!
"There's a way! There's a way!"
Naruto was overjoyed and began to try frantically.
From being able to "parallel process" for only an instant at first, he gradually increased it to a few seconds, then ten-odd seconds, dozens of seconds… By the time this class ended, Naruto could already sustain Divided Attention for a full minute!
"If, if this continues, I can completely turn Chakra Refining Technique into a passive skill…"
"As long as I can breathe, I can let my body move on its own, refining Chakra day and night…"
"Isn't this a perpetual motion machine?!"
"Aha, aha…"
Naruto grinned and burst into laughter, as if he saw an incredibly bright and brilliant future.
Iruka-sensei glanced at him, shaking his head with a sigh.
"That Naruto kid, I only praised him for a few days, and in today's class, he's already spacing out again…"
"Is it because of that 'battleground'?"
"But, alas, he is at an age of youthful exuberance…"
Uncharacteristically, he said nothing, and after announcing the end of class, he walked out of the classroom.
The classroom quickly grew noisy.
Many people were still discussing, pointing fingers at Naruto and Hinata.
They were clearly still immersed in the conflict from before class.
Naruto, however, was indifferent, immersed in his own world of Divided Attention.
Hinata's mood was somewhat complex.
She was very unaccustomed to being the center of attention.
In class, she had always been known for being low-key and introverted, never having received so much attention, and furthermore, not all of those discussions were necessarily kind words.
However… Hinata's first thought was… "Naruto-kun… is this how he's usually treated?"
"I… I'm only enduring this much, and I already feel bad. How much pain and loneliness must he usually experience?"
Hinata, on the contrary, felt even more heartbroken for Naruto.
She cautiously stole a glance at Naruto.
"Naruto-kun is indeed still training…"
"That's right, he's already used to all this, and his mind is strong enough not to care anymore…"
"And, indeed, diligently improving oneself is the best choice…"
A faint smile appeared on Hinata's small face.
The internal struggle and gloom she felt earlier were instantly swept away.
She also quickly entered a state of training.
So, neither of them noticed… Ino returned to the classroom, distraught.
Her eyes were red, clearly from crying, and two streaks of tears still remained on her fair, delicate cheeks.
Under everyone's gaze, Ino dragged her sorrowful body back to her seat.
She slumped onto her desk, burying her head deeply in her arms.
Soft sobs began again.
But Sakura Haruno never returned until the very end… Chapter 30: Hinata, do you like Naruto? Please give me monthly votes!!!
After a full day of effort.
Naruto's Divided Attention became increasingly proficient.
Under the premise of the Knowledge Absorption entry's power, he could still maintain the Chakra Refining Technique for a full three minutes!
Don't underestimate these three minutes… it's not short anymore!
This also meant that Naruto only needed about three minutes to temporarily exit the Knowledge Absorption state, then reactivate the Chakra Refining Technique, and immediately re-enter the Knowledge Absorption state before the system's Lightning Release baptism activated, allowing him to continuously use Divided Attention!
This was the so-called… Dual-Core Uzumaki Naruto!
The effect was… Naruto's Chakra refining training time increased by more than several times compared to normal, all while not falling behind in his academic classes!
After all, normally he could only train during scattered periods like breaks, lunch, and after school.
But now, it was an entire day!
Just this one day, Naruto's Chakra amount increased by a full 9 points!
This was equivalent to the effect of two or three normal days!
On his way home from school, he didn't even need the system's reminder; he proactively decided to frog-hop home with weights while continuing to try and practice the Chakra Refining Technique!
This even caught the system a bit off guard.
Naruto, immersed in self-improvement, seemed to have forgotten the events of the day.
The original him, having offended Sakura Haruno so much, would surely be extremely worried, filled with trepidation, and would try every possible way to beg for her forgiveness, even if it meant letting her hit him back ten or a hundred times!
However, now… I, Uzumaki Naruto, only want to train!
However… upon seeing Hinata's figure, Naruto still felt a slight stir in his heart.
He showed his characteristic bright smile and waved to Hinata.
"Hinata!"
Hinata turned and saw Naruto, and her small face immediately turned crimson again.
"Na-Naruto-kun…"
Naruto walked up and walked shoulder to shoulder with her under the dim sunset.
"Um, about this morning, thank you…"
Naruto said, scratching his head with a dry laugh.
Hinata quickly shook her head: "It's, it's nothing…"
"But Hinata, I've always wondered…"
"Why did you protect me?"
Hinata instantly became flustered, her body feeling as if an electric current surged through it.
"I…"
"I don't know either, my body just seemed to move on its own…"
Hinata was incredibly shy; saying this was almost like a confession… Naruto, however, was startled.
"Your body just seemed to move on its own?"
He immediately thought of his own Divided Attention, and nodded thoughtfully.
"Indeed, sometimes these things just happen…"
"Mhm, mhm."
His lack of understanding of romance, on the contrary, made little Hinata breathe a sigh of relief.
"Alright, Hinata, I'm going home…"
"See ya."
Hinata said softly and gently: "See you tomorrow, Naruto-kun…"
She watched Naruto's frog-hopping back fade into the distance under the setting sun, brushed away her hair that was disheveled by the summer breeze, and felt a great joy in her heart.
Not just for Naruto, but also for herself.
She felt that she seemed to have become… a bit braver than before.
This included not only her unexpected actions this morning but also her daily interactions with Naruto.