Another Year

"Brat, I want to watch Investiture of the Gods."

At that moment, the Nine-Tails dearly wanted to roar those words at Naruto.

But doing so would amount to indirectly admitting defeat to Naruto.

It was a matter of pride, and the Nine-Tails could not get past it.

However, it soon stopped dwelling on it, because the first episode of Calabash Brothers had begun.

"Hmph, Calabash Brothers it is, then. It looks pretty interesting too. It may not be Investiture of the Gods, but it's better than nothing."

Comforting itself like that, the Nine-Tails reluctantly put the matter of Investiture of the Gods aside for the moment and turned its full attention to the cartoon called Calabash Brothers, watching with great interest.

From the old man obtaining the lotus seed, to growing the Calabash Brothers, who were captured by the Snake and Scorpion Demons, and finally Big Bro—who possessed immense strength and could grow larger or smaller—trying to rescue them only to be trapped by the demons.

There were three episodes in total. Although each one was short, adding up to only around half an hour, the story grew more and more engaging.

Then, just when it was getting good, the Nine-Tails realized there was no more!

It immediately turned its head and glared furiously at the brat, who was switching to a new program while watching it with a half-smile.

"Beg me. Beg me, and I'll let you watch."

The Nine-Tails clearly read that meaning on Naruto's face.

"I, Lord Nine-Tails, possess a thousand years of experience. How could I let a mere brat lead me around by the nose?"

"Hmph, I'm not watching anymore."

The Nine-Tails roared inwardly. With a cold sneer, it bared its fangs at Naruto, then simply stopped watching television.

It closed its eyes, lay down, and went straight to sleep. Out of sight, out of mind.

Naruto did not care. He found another cartoon called Doraemon and played it, then lay back on the sofa to wait for it to begin.

The Investiture of the Gods he had watched last night had been pretty good too, but for a child Naruto's age, cartoons were undoubtedly still his favorite.

The story of the robotic cat Doraemon traveling back through time from the future in a Time Machine, taking out all kinds of miraculous futuristic gadgets to help the hopeless elementary school student Nobita grow, quickly drew Naruto in.

Although the Nine-Tails had closed its eyes, not a single sound from the television escaped its ears.

Without realizing it, scenes began to take shape in its mind.

Since the story took place in a world it knew nothing about, it could not reconstruct those scenes clearly.

But precisely because of that, the Nine-Tails grew increasingly restless.

It wanted to watch, but it could already foresee that the brat would definitely cut off the television just as the story started getting good, forcing it to submit.

It could simply shut off its hearing, but the cartoon had already begun and had successfully piqued its interest. Being able to watch but refusing to do so made the Nine-Tails somewhat unwilling.

It dearly wanted to seize control of the television remote and watch everything it wanted in one go, but unfortunately, its Chakra could not influence that exceptionally rational brat.

As for using force, that was even less possible. It could not break through the Eight Trigrams Sealing.

"Damn brat."

No matter how it thought about it, the Nine-Tails could not find a way to solve the problem.

"Could it be that I really have to submit to this brat? Agree to his demands?"

The moment that thought surfaced, the Nine-Tails cast it aside.

"Hmph, impossible. Lord Nine-Tails is noble. I will never bow my head to a lowly human!"

In an instant, it came up with a new idea.

"Got it. I'll keep watching the television, but I absolutely won't agree to his demands. At worst, I'll only watch the beginning each time. That'll still kill plenty of time and ruin this brat's plans."

"Heh heh, human brats have limited lifespans. Once you die of old age a few decades from now, all these television shows will be mine!"

Thinking viciously, the Nine-Tails convinced itself and opened its eyes to look at the television.

Then it saw Naruto's half-smiling expression.

Afterward, Naruto thoughtfully rewound the Doraemon episode, which had already been playing for a little while, back to the beginning so the Nine-Tails could watch it from the start.

At that moment, the Nine-Tails felt rather conflicted.

But before it had time to think further, the cartoon's plot had already seized all of its attention.

More than half an hour later, Naruto turned off the television right on time, pulled out the memory card, and cheerfully bade the Nine-Tails farewell. "Good night, Big Fox. See you tomorrow. We'll watch television together again. Bye-bye."

The same words as yesterday.

After a three-second pause, Naruto's figure vanished.

The Nine-Tails wanted to keep him there, but in the end, it could not bring itself to speak.

Back in the Learning Space, Naruto began studying as usual.

Days passed one after another.

For a long time afterward, Naruto returned to the orderly, routine life he had lived before.

He got up early every day.

While most of Konoha was still asleep, Naruto had already washed up.

After finishing household chores such as laundry, cooking, and cleaning, Naruto would leave home carrying boxed lunches for both noon and evening, heading to a quiet, deserted forest at the edge of Konoha.

There, he began his day's training.

His training mainly consisted of physical conditioning and Ninja Tool Throwing. Occasionally, he would also refine Chakra, practice the Three Body Technique, and work on using Chakra to enhance his taijutsu.

Although the negative effects brought by that Big Fox's Chakra had always remained, Naruto gradually overcame them through relentless practice. He could now successfully use the Three Body Technique.

The applications of using Chakra to enhance taijutsu, which were no less difficult than the Three Body Technique, were also gradually mastered by Naruto.

During breaks in his training, while resting and recovering his strength, Naruto would read.

At first, he read the books the Third Hokage had given him. After finishing them, he would return to the Learning Space to read, making full use of every minute and second.

Only when night blanketed the land and the moon climbed into the sky would Naruto end his training.

He would pass through Konoha, which had fallen quiet under the night sky, buy any ingredients or ninja tools he needed along the way, then return home to bathe and sleep, ending another fulfilling day.

Yet while his body slept, his mind remained active.

Every day, he would watch television with the Big Fox in the Sealing Space for about an hour, then return to the Learning Space and begin studying in earnest.

To the people of Konoha, Naruto had once again become what he had been during the previous year.

Someone surrounded by rumors, yet absent from their sight.

Though they lived in the same village, their lives would never intersect, just as they had not during all the time Naruto had experienced in the past.

But this time, Naruto already had a clear goal.

He trained diligently every day, moving toward that goal.

There was not the slightest confusion in his heart.

In the blink of an eye, spring passed and autumn came. Naruto was already five years old.