Sometimes Change Is a Positive Thing

The afternoon sun filtered through the gaps in the canopy, creating shafts of light in the forest that made the dust motes, usually invisible, seem to float with a life of their own.

In a relatively open grassy area, a herd of deer with young antlers resembling tree branches lay resting. Among them were many fawns, nestled beside their mothers, their small, triangular heads propped up by their budding horns, looking particularly stubborn.

Occasionally, the clear calls of birds echoed from the trees, making the forest seem even quieter and more serene.

Whoosh~ Whoosh.

Discordant sounds suddenly broke the stillness of the woods. The deer lying on the grass immediately stood up, perfectly in unison, like a well-trained squad. The trumpet-like ears below their antlers perked up simultaneously, as if eavesdropping on their surroundings.

Swish! Swish!

Two dark figures suddenly flashed past a tree trunk not far from the grassy area.

The orderly herd was instantly startled and scattered, disappearing without a trace in moments.

"Naruto! That's enough, I'm out of energy, it's almost five, and we're about to hit the Forest of Death!"

A figure, slightly lagging behind, stopped by a tree trunk and called out with a tired voice.

"Oh? Shikamaru, this is the Forest of Death you mentioned?"

The figure in front stopped upon hearing this. His spiky blonde hair was particularly striking in the sunlight.

At this moment, the two figures, one in front and one behind, were on tree trunks in the forest, and they were Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Yeah, we can't go any further, I... Huh? Naruto, you!"

Shikamaru, who was speaking, suddenly saw Naruto wave his hand, and a kunai shot towards him.

Before he could finish speaking, Shikamaru's body flashed, and while dodging the kunai, he also threw one at Naruto.

This was a ninja's instinctive counterattack.

But the next situation made Shikamaru's pupils contract involuntarily, as he saw Naruto stand his ground and get hit by the kunai he threw.

Bang!

Just as he was starting to panic, Naruto, who had been hit by the kunai, fell backward. The moment he hit the ground, he suddenly transformed into a log.

Shikamaru's expression immediately relaxed. Then, his gaze shifted to another direction, and he said in surprise, "You've already learned the Substitution Technique!"

"What's so strange about that? It's just the basic Three Jutsu," Naruto replied, appearing on another large tree. Without changing his expression, he glanced in a certain direction in the distance. "Don't people from the great Konoha clans already know these fundamental things that genin should master?"

Hayate Gekko had already started moving away the moment he saw Naruto use the Substitution Technique.

Shikamaru shook his head without speaking. He himself had mastered the Substitution Technique and the Transformation Jutsu. As for the Clone Jutsu, it only created controllable, intangible clones, which were meaningless.

He had dedicated most of his energy to practicing his clan's secret techniques, because his father had told him he could learn the Shadow Clone Technique later.

But these introductory Three Jutsu were not simple at all.

Shikamaru was very clear on how long Naruto had been training. The information he got from the Third Hokage was precise: Naruto had only received the Ninjutsu scroll last night.

Furthermore, Naruto hadn't received any guidance from anyone.

"Let's go, didn't you say you were going to introduce me to a friend today?" Naruto saw Shikamaru remaining silent, his eyes flashing as he reminded him.

A conflicted look flashed across Shikamaru's face. "It's fine to go find him, but did you bring any money?"

"Money?" Naruto's gaze held a hint of playfulness. "Can you buy friendship with money?"

"Absolutely not!" Shikamaru's expression turned serious, then he revealed a pained look. "He just really likes to eat, and I'm worried I won't have enough money on me."

Naruto's heart stirred. So Shikamaru was talking about Choji.

Since the Mirrored World needed data collection, he also planned to get to know more people.

Especially those involved in the Hokage storyline. He wanted to see if he could verify some of his conjectures about the data collection patterns in the Mirrored World.

Choji was one of the Konoha 12.

After a scene related to Choji flashed through Naruto's mind, he said, "It's essential to carry money when you're out. Let's go, I'm very interested in this friend."

Early that morning, after Naruto finished breakfast and walked to the first floor, he found Hayate Gekko invisibly standing next to the chair he had sat in last night. The Ninjutsu scroll that the Third Hokage had given him the previous night was placed on the chair.

Naruto walked naturally to the chair, picked up the scroll, and sat down. In front of Hayate Gekko, he sat on the chair and carefully read the Substitution Technique and Clone Jutsu on the scroll several times.

He pretended to struggle with practicing the Clone Jutsu in the room, failing multiple times intentionally. It wasn't until after lunch that he successfully performed the Clone Jutsu once.

At that moment, he muttered that he was going to find Shikamaru, and Hayate Gekko immediately left stealthily.

Kurama and Minato Namikaze in the Sealed Space were puzzled as to why Naruto said he was going to find Shikamaru in front of Hayate Gekko.

Naruto explained that he was giving the Third Hokage an opportunity to arrange for Shikamaru to appear before him at the right time and place.

Otherwise, where would he find Shikamaru?

He hadn't been to the Nara Clan's territory, and he had the patience to ask around.

But the Third Hokage might not have that patience.

He was merely giving the Third Hokage a convenient opportunity to make arrangements. Only by letting them arrange it would Shikamaru come to find him.

As Naruto had expected, he soon "coincidentally" met Shikamaru.

The moment Naruto reached the entrance of the Ninja Tool Full Point Hall, Shikamaru spotted him at the intersection, and Hayate Gekko also followed them stealthily.

Since he had walked around the village in his true form yesterday, Naruto didn't use the Transformation Jutsu when he went out today, although this earned him quite a few second glances along the way.

Besides, how would Shikamaru greet himself if he used the Transformation Jutsu?

After meeting Shikamaru, Naruto said he wanted to test his skills. Shikamaru readily agreed, and the two of them immediately went to the forest where they had first met.

However, when they first met, Shikamaru said he wanted to introduce him to a new friend, but he hadn't seen anyone yet. He thought the Third Hokage had already arranged someone to wait for him.

Hokage's Office.

"Are you sure Naruto has mastered the Clone Jutsu and Substitution Technique?"

The Third Hokage sat in his chair, looking solemn as he asked Hayate Gekko.

Hayate Gekko took out a small notebook and flipped through it, replying with a serious expression, "Yes, but the target had some trouble when performing the Clone Jutsu, failing quite frequently. However, he successfully executed the Substitution Technique in one go during his spar with Shikamaru."

It seems the Five Elements Seal is working. Things are going smoothly, and Naruto can no longer control his chakra well.

With this thought, the Third Hokage nodded. He then asked, "Shikamaru proposed taking Naruto to meet a new friend, and he didn't refuse?"

"No!" Hayate Gekko flipped another page in his notebook and said, "The target actually seemed a bit expectant when he heard about meeting someone else."

"Hmm?" The Third Hokage's gaze sharpened. After a moment of thought, he ordered, "Go back immediately and continue monitoring!"

Something isn't right.

Naruto's personality seems quite different from before after he fainted.

However, it's something he welcomes if the Jinchuriki is willing to form bonds with people in the village.

"Hello, I'm Choji."

After leaving the forest, Shikamaru led Naruto straight to the entrance of a snack shop and immediately found Choji Akimichi.

He was a somewhat naive-looking chubby kid, wearing a white t-shirt with the character "Eat" printed on the chest.

"Hello, Shikamaru said you like to eat chips."

Naruto held out a pile of snacks with both hands and offered them to Choji.

"Mmm-hmm!" Choji Akimichi's eyes lit up. He took all the snacks Naruto offered with both hands, hugged them to his chest, and began to unwrap them. Under Naruto's slightly surprised gaze, he quickly devoured bag after bag of snacks.

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Shikamaru's face. Choji was so easily tempted by snacks; it made him worry that Naruto would form a negative opinion of Choji.

"Thanks!" After finishing the last bag of chips, Choji placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders and said enthusiastically, "If you're Shikamaru's friend, you're my friend too!"

'Collecting data.'

The moment the voice appeared in his mind, Naruto casually placed a hand on Choji's arm. Indeed, he could collect data from Choji.

'Data collection complete. Current data integrity at 8%. Please complete the data as soon as possible!'

"Yeah, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, it's great to meet you!"

Naruto's expression was incredibly sincere as he spoke.

In the dark of night, Naruto was sitting on his bed, studying the changes after the Mirrored World's data update. The result was almost the same as before. He figured it was still due to the low data integrity.

However, he was quite sure that the targets for data collection in the Mirrored World were closely related to the characters he knew from the story.

But there was one thing he couldn't understand. The Third Hokage was also a character with significant plot relevance in the story, so why couldn't he collect any data from him?

"Naruto, aren't you afraid of arousing the Third Hokage's suspicion by being so different from usual today?"

Just as Naruto was lost in thought, Minato Namikaze's voice echoed in his mind.

Naruto's consciousness shifted to the Sealed Space. He looked at his father calmly and said, "Oh? You think I'm acting a bit strange, Father?"

Minato Namikaze's expression was complex. "I just think you've become a bit more proactive today, and I'm worried the Third Hokage might..."

"Change itself is a proactive thing. I'm just controlling myself to change in a direction that benefits me, and there will be more and more such changes in the future."

"As for the Third Hokage..."

As Naruto said this, his gaze turned quite dangerous.

"I believe the Third Hokage, who is monitoring me in real-time, will quickly come up with a reasonable explanation himself."

"I'm just expanding my circle of friends."

"Isn't that the outcome he was hoping for?"