How much you look forward to it when you arrive, and how embarrassed you feel when you leave.
After being sent out of the house by Naruto, the Third Hokage walked alone down the alley. His shadow stretched long and thin under the streetlamp, disappearing at the end of the road.
Inside the house, Naruto was busy cleaning up the dishes. Thinking about the disgruntled, embarrassed face of the Third Hokage, he couldn't help laughing.
"Big fox," he said to Kyuubi, grinning, "tell me—do I count as fighting the Hokage and actually surviving unscathed?"
Kyuubi remained expressionless, a little speechless at Naruto's habit of defeating hundreds of enemies while simultaneously sabotaging himself. Yet, seeing Naruto's happy smile, a rare, soft relief washed over the Tailed Beast's eyes.
It seemed that Naruto was different from the previous jinchuriki. This one would open his heart to Kyuubi.
The next morning.
Naruto had just returned from his morning exercise when he noticed an extra cardboard box at the door.
He picked it up and looked around. Not bad—Anbu's delivery service knew how to handle fragile goods without smashing them on the doorstep.
Opening the box, Naruto's eyes lit up. Inside were ninja training books, a complete Naruto Edition. Titles like How to Properly Extract Chakra, Key Points of Taijutsu Practice, and Sanshenshu Practice and Experience stared back at him, covering every aspect of ninja life.
Excitement bubbled in him. After being trapped in the womb of his mother's previous life (and presumably some other cosmic nonsense), he could finally touch extraordinary power and live out his dream of jumping over rooftops.
Picking up the chakra refinement book, Naruto sat on the sofa and studied carefully. Some passages were obscure, but he combined the knowledge with his memories from previous lives and slowly grasped the essence of chakra.
Chakra, he realized, is the fusion of spiritual and physical energy. Mixing them evenly forms the cornerstone of ninja power—a refined energy known as chakra.
Of course, it wasn't easy. Beginners could take over half a month to successfully extract chakra; mediocre people might never succeed in a lifetime and couldn't become real ninjas.
Naruto, of course, did it in a few hours.
The warm current of chakra flowed through him, pleasant in his meridians, fully responsive to his will. Testing it, he bent down, grabbed the sofa legs, and with a small lift, raised the hundred-kilogram sofa above his head.
But chakra ran out too quickly, and the sofa came crashing down, pinning him to the ground.
Getting free, Naruto blushed, realizing for the first time that chakra practice wasn't just about power—it carried real risks.
The next few attempts were more cautious. Unfortunately, his furniture-lifting antics attracted the attention of his downstairs neighbors, who yelled angrily at the "crazy kid."
After the initial excitement wore off, Naruto dashed to the sealed space to show off to Kyuubi.
The Tailed Beast raised an unimpressed eyelid. "I know you extracted chakra, but thousands of people in this village can do the same. Not impressed. Should I throw a parade?"
Naruto knew Kyuubi didn't care. To the fox, the difference between a lower ninja, middle ninja, or upper ninja was meaningless. Still, Naruto felt proud. His chakra was far from Kyuubi's, but it was enough to count as mid-tier—at least the equivalent of four "cards" in his life.
After refining chakra, Naruto's stomach reminded him that energy costs calories. Time for lunch.
After lunch, he wandered with ninja manuals in hand, ready to attempt ninjutsu. Compared to raw physical combat, he still found ninjutsu exciting and romantic.
Unfortunately, the three jutsu sent by the Third Hokage were basic: the Three Body Art—Shadow Clone, Transformation, and Substitution. Still, they were useful: Shadow Clone could confuse enemies, Transformation could spy, and Substitution… well, it existed.
Naruto quickly memorized the hand seals. With a bang and a cloud of smoke, a twisted clone appeared, foaming at the mouth. Failure.
Why? Kyuubi's overflowing chakra had interfered.
Naruto ran to the sealed space. Kyuubi, lying lazily, grinned.
"Little ghost," he taunted, "I know why you're here. If you can't even perform a simple ninjutsu, give up. The path of the ninja isn't for you."
Naruto glared. "Don't think I don't know you were messing with me. My hand seals and chakra were perfect. The only reason the technique failed was your interference."
Kyuubi raised his head triumphantly. "I didn't target you deliberately! You simply couldn't resist a foreign chakra. But… if you start calling me 'Master' from now on, maybe I'll consider helping you."
Naruto scowled but left the sealed space, thinking.
Getting rid of Kyuubi's influence would be tough. He could try to precisely control every flow of chakra, but that was far too complicated for now. The easier path: show respect, call Kyuubi Master, and hope the fox favored him.
With Kyuubi's power, achieving Nine-Tails Mode and advancing to Super Shadow wasn't impossible. And, as luck would have it, Naruto had recently gained "Soft Fist Practice Experience"—perfect for refining chakra control and physical combat.
Digesting the memory, Naruto gained a new understanding of precise chakra control and combat techniques. Mastery would take time, but now he had a solid foundation.
Priority #1: Dinner.
A full stomach was essential before anything else. Naruto ate heartily. The day's training had increased his appetite drastically—what used to last fifteen days would now be gone in ten. Profiteers beware.
As he lay on the bed, staring at the moon, Naruto thought: If only this third Hokage gave me a month's expenses that actually lasted a month… I'd probably be able to kill him in my next life.
With that chaotic thought, Naruto fell asleep.
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