Repay Resentment with Virtue—Then How Do You Repay Virtue?

"Where the leaves dance, the fire burns on. Its light will continue to illuminate the village and let new leaves sprout."

This was the core of the Will of Fire.

It spoke of setting aside the prejudices of family and clan, protecting one's fellow villagers, and, like Konoha, igniting oneself to selflessly care for the next generation. It pursued peace and a beautiful future where everyone in the village loved one another.

This spirit known as the Will of Fire had been passed down from Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage of Konoha.

Naruto understood that Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, hoped he would possess this spirit as well.

Having always been cared for by the Third Hokage, Naruto also hoped he could possess such a spirit and love everyone in the village.

But reality did not allow it.

Naruto asked himself: he had done nothing wrong, yet nearly all the villagers treated him with cold disdain, even shouting for him to be beaten or killed.

If not for the Third Hokage's protection, Naruto might already have been dead.

And even with the Third Hokage protecting him, his normal life had still been affected. Even when he held money in his hand, no one was willing to sell him anything, and everyone ignored him.

Under such circumstances, Naruto had no way to identify with the so-called Will of Fire.

If one repaid resentment with virtue, then how should virtue be repaid?

Naruto strongly agreed with this saying from the Analects.

Repay resentment with fairness, and repay virtue with virtue. That was the Way of the Gentleman.

At this moment, Naruto still did not know what attitude he should take toward those villagers who looked at him with such cold eyes in the future.

But loving one another with them as the Will of Fire described was something Naruto definitely could not do.

After setting aside Will of Fire, Naruto flipped through the other books one by one. They were all subjects that interested him greatly.

Compared to historical stories from another world, the history and geography of the world he lived in were naturally more appealing to Naruto.

However, what interested Naruto even more were the contents of Chakra Refinement Detailed Explanation, Three Body Technique, Basic Body Technique Training Methods, and Shuriken Throwing from Beginner to Mastery.

These books contained knowledge on how to become a ninja.

Ninjas who leaped across rooftops were everywhere in his daily life, and even the games the children around him played were ninja games. Naturally, Naruto also yearned to become a ninja.

"I don't know what I'll do in the future, but becoming a ninja and gaining enough strength to survive is the foundation of every dream. Third Hokage said that once I graduate from the Ninja Academy, he won't give me living expenses anymore."

With that thought in mind, Naruto opened Chakra Refinement Detailed Explanation.

Although he had never entered the Ninja Academy, Naruto still knew that Chakra was the foundation of becoming a ninja.

"Chakra is a powerful energy created by extracting physical energy from the human body's 130 trillion cells and mixing it with spiritual energy. It is the foundation of all ninjutsu and taijutsu. The method of refining it is..."

The book began by directly explaining the nature of Chakra.

It also covered practical matters such as Meridians, Acupoints, the nature of cells, and the general directions for increasing Chakra, before finally describing several specific methods for refining and using Chakra.

As Naruto continuously absorbed this knowledge, it felt as though the doors to a new world had opened before his eyes.

Without realizing it, he became completely immersed in it.

By the time he looked up, it was already evening.

For once, Naruto did not go out at night. After quickly taking care of dinner, he held Chakra Refinement Detailed Explanation and continued reading.

Soon, it was nearing ten at night, and Naruto had finally finished Chakra Refinement Detailed Explanation.

"All right. I'll try refining Chakra for the first time. Whether I succeed or not, I'm going to sleep afterward."

After washing up, Naruto sat cross-legged on his bed and encouraged himself. Then he closed his eyes and followed the method recorded in the book, entering a focused state as he began his first attempt at refining Chakra.

Then, he fell asleep...

His body unconsciously curled beneath the blanket, his expression relaxed, and his breathing gradually became even.

The Anbu assigned to watch over and protect Naruto saw this and shook their heads. "He's still just a child. Quietly refining Chakra is still too difficult for a Jinchuriki of this age."

Yet, unnoticed by anyone, earth-shaking changes were taking place within Naruto's body.

Strands of blue energy gathered and formed within Naruto's Meridians, then began circulating rapidly throughout his body. Before long, they had grown from barely perceptible wisps into a stream.

And they continued to increase...

"Where is this?"

Naruto, who had just fallen asleep, discovered that he had not appeared in the place he had named "Naruto Uzumaki's Exclusive Learning and Entertainment Space," or Learning Space for short. Instead, he had appeared in a dark, damp space.

Naruto stood before an enormous barred iron gate. A paper seal bearing the character for "seal" was affixed to it, while shallow water pooled beneath his feet.

The surroundings were dimly lit. Naruto could barely make out the silhouette of a giant beast, towering like a mountain, behind the iron gate.

At this moment, the beast radiated a cold, hateful aura from its entire body.

As though it had sensed Naruto's arrival, that chilling aura surged forward, passing through the iron gate and enveloping Naruto. He could not help but shiver as all the miserable experiences of recent days suddenly rose in his heart.

Then, Naruto could clearly feel killing intent welling up from the depths of his heart, along with an urge to destroy everything.

But the feeling came quickly and faded just as quickly.

The killing intent in his heart was soon suppressed by Naruto. Or rather, it still existed, but it could no longer affect his rationality.

Seeing this, the giant beast hidden in the darkness let out a soft sound of surprise.

It had not expected its Jinchuriki—Naruto, who had only just turned four—to resist the negative effects of its Chakra and not immediately become berserk.

Logically speaking, although the amount of Chakra it could seep through the seal was limited, it should not have been something a four-year-old child could resist.

But it did not give up.

"Brat, aren't you angry? Don't you want to destroy those people who look at you with cold eyes?"

"Come on. Don't resist. I can feel the darkness in your heart. Accept my power, kill them all, and make them regret everything they did to you."

A deep voice echoed through the space, filled with temptation.

As it spoke, a gigantic fox with orange fur, nine tails waving behind its back, and bared fangs stepped out of the darkness and appeared before Naruto.