After confirming that he had received the reward, the mechanical prompt especially emphasized that he no longer had time for challenges.
With a thought, Naruto exited the Mirrored World. Immediately afterward, a tidal wave of exhaustion washed over him, and he fell straight onto the bed.
Naruto slept deeply that night. Even when an Anbu stood outside the second floor at five in the morning and forcefully pulled open the window, he failed to notice.
The man had been assigned by the Third Hokage to monitor Naruto at fixed times and observe him up close. Three times a day, always punctual.
Naruto had known about this for a long time; he had simply pretended not to.
Before, he had thought he had no secrets, so he left his window half-open every day. The people sent to watch him were like clocking in—they took a look and left.
But last night had been unusual. He had shut the window tight, and before going to sleep, he had lacked the energy to restore the usual arrangement.
What woke Naruto was the habit of a fixed biological clock formed over two lifetimes. When the hour hand of the wall clock reached six thirty, his brows twitched naturally, and he struggled to open his eyes.
He moved his arms. Though his body's instinct wanted to keep resting, Naruto pushed himself up from the edge of the bed.
The moment clarity returned to his eyes, he saw the open window.
He frowned.
He knew the watcher had already come. The reason he frowned was not because being watched annoyed him.
The people watching him were Anbu ninja. As ninja, they should not have forgotten to erase their traces. It seemed these people could not even be bothered to keep up appearances anymore.
Did you really think you could control everything?
How ridiculous. How pathetic.
At that thought, Naruto's gaze turned deep and dark.
Soon, he did as usual: washed up, changed clothes, ate breakfast, then unhurriedly walked out of the small building and locked the front door.
Everything was a vast expanse of white. Though snow was not falling, the ground remained blanketed in snow, silver-clad and seemingly no different from yesterday.
But from now on, he was no longer the same as before.
His gaze swept over his surroundings, and his hands had already formed the standard Hand Seals.
Since he had successfully refined Chakra, it was time to begin a different kind of life!
Transformation Jutsu!
Poof!
Naruto transformed into a brown-haired young boy with an immature face. It was the appearance of one of the children he had remembered from yesterday's crowd.
Crunching through the snow, Naruto headed toward today's destination.
"Ninja Tool Full Point Hall."
Softly reading those words, Naruto looked toward a shop with advertisements for various ninja tools and weapons hanging outside its door.
After crossing several streets, Naruto found the place. He had come to buy Chakra Test Paper. After thinking for a moment, he followed several people entering and leaving through the shop's entrance and stepped inside.
Once inside, Naruto saw shelves filled with all kinds of ninja tools, scrolls, and things that looked like books and materials from various fields.
As he stood in an aisle, studying several Dagger-like ninja tools with great interest, a gentle voice sounded beside him.
"Little one, those aren't toys. The toy shop is on the street where Yakiniku Q is. Would you like big sister to take you there?"
Turning slightly, he saw a woman who looked like a sales clerk bending over and smiling at him.
Naruto's expression did not change as he said evenly, "Thank you. I'd like to buy some Chakra Test Paper."
"So you're a customer! This way, please."
The woman's smile remained unchanged, but A Trace of oddness clearly flashed through her eyes. She gestured with one hand, then straightened and stepped aside before leading Naruto to a counter.
"Customer, this is Chakra Test Paper. How many sheets would you like?"
"Five sheets, please."
"That'll be 1,000 ryo!"
~~~~~~
After leaving Ninja Tool Full Point Hall, Naruto did not go straight home. It was still early, far from lunchtime, and he was currently walking along a sparsely populated, relatively remote, somewhat gloomy street in the village.
He was thinking about the Mirrored World's request to collect data last night.
According to the instructions, any needed data could randomly appear on certain people, buildings, or objects.
That was simply like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Thinking about how the Mirrored World's data completion was only at 1%, Naruto felt somewhat depressed.
But being depressed was useless. He walked silently through the alley, pondering where to go.
Before he realized it, the already deserted street had left only him behind. After looking around, Naruto passed around a corner.
Poof!
He canceled the Transformation Jutsu and prepared to head home.
"Hmm?"
Rustle, rustle.
Just after canceling the Transformation Jutsu, he heard an out-of-place sound coming from the snow. Looking over, he saw a small figure staggering toward him through the snow.
Naruto stopped. He watched the figure fall every few steps, stumbling closer and closer, until he heard soft sobbing.
"Ah—"
As she approached, the small figure plunged headfirst into the snow. The crying reached his ears. It was a girl, wearing a brown cotton coat and a beige scarf.
"Why are you crying? Can you tell me?"
"I... I..."
The little girl raised her head at the sound of his voice. A pair of blue eyes reflected in her pupils, clear and bright, while golden hair shone like sunlight.
Their eyes met, and Naruto froze as well.
Short bangs, short hair, and a pair of white eyes.
It was Hinata!
Seeing Hinata unable to speak as tears welled in her eyes, Naruto reached out and pulled her to her feet.
He seemed to have seen this episode before.
Hinata had probably been mocked by several village children because of her Byakugan. In the original story, Uzumaki Naruto had appeared at the scene, and the two had met because of it.
Now, he was not that Uzumaki Naruto. He had missed the original events, yet he had still encountered Hinata.
"Are you lost?"
Naruto asked as he gently brushed the snow from her scarf.
Hinata did not speak. She first shook her head, then nodded, and her tears nearly fell again.
"Don't be afraid! I'll take you home."
Naruto smiled and directly took Hinata's hand, walking in the opposite direction from his own home. After he led Hinata out of the street, a ninja-clad figure appeared out of thin air in the middle of the road.
The man's face was pale, and he had severe dark circles under his eyes.
"Cough! Cough! It's about time to report the target's situation to Lord Hokage!"
After saying that, the figure vanished into thin air in the same way he had appeared.
"We're here. This is your home, right?"
"Mhm."
Naruto had brought Hinata to the Hyuga Clan compound. A plaque on the wall above the main gate clearly bore the words "Hyuga."
"Well then, goodbye!"
Naruto waved, turned around, and began walking away. He did not introduce himself.
Hinata was stunned. She still did not know who he was.
~~~~~~~~
Naruto quickly returned home. After eating a simple lunch, he did not immediately take out the Chakra Test Paper to test himself. Instead, he sat on the bed with his eyes closed and began refining Chakra for training.
After a while, he suddenly found himself standing in a dim, indistinct space. A towering iron gate stood before him, with a seal bearing the word "seal" affixed high in the center.
He took a step forward, and a massive fox face filled the entire gate, its crimson vertical pupils wide open.
"Even though I knew the Nine-Tails existed, seeing it for the first time still feels oppressive. But more than that, I'm a little surprised. I was wondering when I'd be able to come here."
After muttering to himself for a while, the fox face beyond the iron gate split open its big mouth full of steel-like fangs and spoke.
"Hehe, brat, I never expected you to be able to enter this place already."
Naruto took another step forward, looked it over, and said, "Very beautiful!"
The Nine-Tails' fox eyes visibly froze. Its face instantly twisted viciously. "Roar!! Brat, what did you say!"
"Shh!"
Naruto placed his index finger against his lips, then stepped back several paces. He took a running start, sprinted close to the iron gate, and leaped fiercely, reaching up to grab the seal on the gate and yank it hard.
Riiip!
The seal was gone!
"What!!!"
Without the slightest warning, happiness had come too quickly!
The Nine-Tails' eyes bulged so wide they nearly popped out. Its fox heart instantly surged to the peak of excitement. Just as it was about to act, it suddenly discovered another figure standing before the iron gate.
Its crimson pupils abruptly contracted!
"Roar!! It's you! Fourth Hokage!"
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