After inspecting himself, Naruto was very satisfied.
Once he was done, Naruto paced leisurely through the forest. As he passed through the flock, every goat stopped grazing, raised its head, and looked at him.
Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, scattering specks of light across Naruto's body.
At that moment, Naruto seemed to be bathed in divine radiance.
He strolled up to a dazed goat, swept his golden hair behind his back, where it flowed smoothly down to his waist, then crouched. The goat seemed intimidated by Naruto's aura, frozen stiff and unable to move.
"Good. You're not afraid of me, so I won't eat you today!" Naruto patted the goat's head, rose to his feet, and left the forest.
Only after he had gone did the goat regain its senses, its eyes unfocused as though it had no idea it had just escaped disaster.
Back in the courtyard,
Sasuke was training there. He knew that even after learning the A-rank Ninjutsu Rasengan, he still could not beat Naruto. Over the past three years, Sasuke had been trying to enter Sage Mode.
He thought that with a Sage Mode Rasengan, he should be able to beat Naruto senseless, right?!
Besides, after taking beatings for three years straight, Sasuke's Sharingan had evolved to three Tomoe in both eyes. That had happened during a fight when Naruto used Netherworld Passage, awakening the most terrifying inner demon in Sasuke's heart.
It had dragged Sasuke's mind back to the moment when he personally witnessed his clan's massacre again. That pain was like falling into hell, driving Sasuke mad. Although he had fortunately evolved his three-Tomoe Sharingan, he had nearly lost control of his mind and become insane.
Because of that, Naruto never used Netherworld Passage again when fighting Sasuke.
"Naruto, you're back!" Sasuke