Win One Game, Then Go to Sleep

The Uchiha Clan Compound was neither small nor particularly large. The five of them toured the whole place in under two hours, mostly because Kakashi had lingered outside one residence for quite a while.

Seeing the sorrowful look on his face, no one disturbed him. What they did not know was that Kakashi had already made up his mind to train hard. The next time he met Obito, if he could not persuade him to turn back, he would beat him up first and persuade him afterward.

What Naruto cared about most was actually Naka Shrine—not the shrine itself, but the basement beneath it.

In the anime, Pain had flattened all of Konoha into ruins with a single Super Shinra Tensei, yet the basement of Naka Shrine had remained completely intact. It was even sturdier than Ichiraku Ramen's shop.

Unfortunately, no matter how familiar they were with one another, Naruto could not just barge into a place like that. Besides, even if they saw what was written on the stone tablet now, Fugaku and Itachi might not believe the nonsense Black Zetsu had tampered with.

With the tour over, today's team-building event came to a perfect close. Though they were on vacation, everyone still had their own things to do, so they said goodbye.

After scamming Sasuke out of some pocket money, Naruto was in high spirits. His cultivation progress that afternoon went much more smoothly as well.

In Konoha 61, life for the people of Konoha Village had hardly been peaceful, considering they had endured both the Sky Ninja Village's attack and threats from rogue ninja.

Fortunately, Konoha was strong enough, and the village's strategic defenses, offensive measures, and logistical support had all been handled well. No irreparable losses had occurred, and most people had entered Konoha 62 in peace.

It was a pity that the people of Konoha did not have the Ku Jing people's ability to automatically refresh every day at midnight. Otherwise, it would have been perfect.

After several major incidents, both the green barrier that had protected the village and the Shadow Guard who had sprouted wings and flown through the sky had given the villagers a great sense of security.

Of course, seeing Little Blondie all over the mountains and fields gave them even more security. As long as they stood beside him, he could instantly take them to hospitals, shelters, the Military Police Force, and all sorts of other places.

It was said that using that ninjutsu to deliver things was called logistics, while using it to deliver people was called Human Flow. Some even called it DiDi Da Ming. No one knew what it had to do with a rooster crowing, but it was useful all the same...

What they did not know was that over the past half year, this ninjutsu had mostly been used to take the Hyuga Clan's eldest daughter sightseeing. They went to the Land of Snow to see snow, the Land of Grass to see grass, the Land of Bears to eat bears, and the Land of Birds to eat birds...

Hinata looked pitifully at the little bird and said, "Naruto-kun, this bird is so cute. Could we not eat it?"

Hope shone in the eyes of the little bird Naruto was about to pluck. This was a two-legged creature with a conscience!

"Cute?" Naruto looked seriously at the bird that was trying to get by on adorableness. "Then should we add more chili powder or more cumin when we roast it?"

Hinata tilted her head and thought seriously for several seconds. "Um... cumin."

The despairing bird gave up struggling. Humans were all devils...

After finishing the grilled meat in his hand, Naruto did not even wipe his mouth before mischievously smearing a greasy flower onto Hinata's face.

Hinata let out a small cry of surprise, then blushed as she returned the favor by smearing one onto Naruto's face.

Even Naruto had not expected things to develop this way, so he decided to add a few more streaks with his hand. Soon, the two little dirty-faced cats were playfully wrestling on the grass, laughing in a heap.

When it was time to part, Hinata said happily, "Naruto-kun, the new ninjutsu I've been practicing is almost complete."

"Really? Then you have to show me properly when it's done." Naruto knew Hinata was developing her own ninjutsu and guessed it was probably the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists. But Hinata had been so mysterious about it that Naruto did not want to spoil the surprise. He would just wait and see.

"I'm almost done learning Sage Mode too. I can make horizontal pupils and even apply eye shadow automatically. I'll show you when the time comes."

"Mm!"

Gu Man

Mount Myoboku.

"Ahhh! How the hell am I supposed to do this?!" Naruto frantically grabbed at his hair. He had bragged so much, yet his Sage Mode was still always supposedly about to succeed, but never actually succeeded. How was he supposed to explain that later?!

Should he ask Naruko how she did her eye shadow and draw some on himself later?

Smack! Naruto slapped his forehead. He was so anxious that his brain had turned to mush. Naruko was him! If he could not do it, his clone could not do it either!

Sage Fukasaku watched Naruto's twitchy behavior and kindly advised, "Little Naruto, I can sense that you really are close to learning it. But the more impatient you are now, the harder that final step will become."

"I know that too, but this thing won't listen to me..."

"Come on, let's try again." Sage Fukasaku led Naruto back up to the top of the stone pillar, and each of them placed down a stone slab.

"Try to keep your mind level, focus your attention, and imagine that you are just a stone..."

Naruto followed Sage Fukasaku's instructions step by step. I'm just a stone, searching for the way home~

Whoosh—Naruto fell, then flew back up. The lyrics felt wrong somehow, but Wang Toutiao had led him astray!

"Sage Fukasaku, could you not mention stones?"

"...All right." Sage Fukasaku knew that this child's associations were far too strange. Perhaps the word "stone" reminded him of something unforgettable.

Sage Fukasaku had no choice but to phrase it differently. "Calm your mind... Feel the Natural Energy around you, and try to make contact with it little by little..."

Naruto tried hard to settle down, feeling like an enlightened monk meditating.

Come to think of it, every time he came here to cultivate, sitting with Sage Fukasaku atop a stone pillar on those stone slabs always gave him the strange feeling that he had wandered into Journey to the West.

Tang Sanzang had also sat atop a platform with Tiger Strength Great Immortal to compete in meditation. It seemed whoever failed to keep their mind calm would fall.

Eating a bite of Tang Sanzang's flesh could grant immortality. Naruto did not know whether taking a bite out of him could restore injuries. He guessed that he and Old Mom might have that ability, but he had never tested it and did not want to.

Maybe he would treat a dead horse as a live one someday, when he had been beaten half to death and neither Tsunade Nee-san nor Sakura Bro could do anything. Still, with the absurd healing power of Nine Tails Chakra, which could restore a lung even after it had been pierced through by Chidori, he probably would never need it.

If it really worked, would that make him the ninja world's Uzumaki Sanzang? Where was Your Majesty the Queen?

Just thinking about hearing "Imperial Brother" made him excited. But why had he only cared about watching the monkey back then?

Naruto's thoughts ran wild, and he fell off the stone slab again.

Sage Fukasaku: ...

This lesson could not go on!

This time, Naruto was not discouraged. In the instant before he fell, he had truly caught the faintest trace of that feeling. Perhaps, maybe, possibly... I'm about to master a Divine Skill?

With that thought, Naruto was fired up again and began trying over and over.

He kept at it until one-thirty in the morning. He was both cultivating immortality and pulling an all-nighter.

In the end, Sage Fukasaku simply could not take it anymore and persuaded Naruto to go home.

Even as he left, Naruto felt a little embarrassed. He did not want to keep the Elder from resting, but it was like playing games at night. He had said he would sleep after winning one match, only to lose twenty in a row and stay up until dawn.