Chakra Refining Technique, Almost Forgot Kurama Was Still Living Inside Me

"Hinata."

"As the heir of the Main Family, why did you act on your own?"

"I..."

"For you, for the Main Family, how many people have sacrificed themselves?"

"You should know these things by now."

Hinata closed her eyes in pain.

As if possessed, she turned her head and looked in the direction Naruto had left.

"How many floors do I have to carry this bag of rice?"

"Four floors."

"How many floors do I have to carry this bag of rice?"

"Get lost! I'm not selling it anymore!"

The owner's expression turned extremely ugly.

But when he remembered what the Mask Shop Owner had said earlier,

he gritted his teeth and helped carry the rice upstairs anyway.

After taking the money, he shot Naruto a disgusted glance.

He muttered, "Hope you choke to death!"

Naruto had more or less grown used to such looks.

The way they looked at him had never changed.

And the way he looked at them had never changed either.

When he pushed open the door, he saw that Sarutobi Hiruzen had somehow appeared in his home.

He was holding a scarf and several padded cotton clothes.

Naruto knew the scarf had been left behind by his hot-tempered, sweet-but-dumb Mom.

"Grandpa!"

Naruto instantly put on a smiling face.

"Yo, Naruto."

"It's getting cold, so I came to bring you some clothes. I also have good news for you."

"Thank you, Grandpa. What good news?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed a kindly smile and took out a scroll, placing it on the table.

He chuckled.

"Congratulations, Naruto."

"You've passed the assessment and possess the outstanding qualities needed to become a ninja."

"Passed the assessment? Grandpa, when was there an assessment?"

Naruto pretended not to know.

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. He couldn't exactly say that the Will of Fire had already "taken root and sprouted" in Naruto's heart, could he?

During this time, he had been constantly instilling the Will of Fire into him.

Besides, it wasn't as though he didn't know Naruto possessed the Uzumaki Clan's constitution.

After so much time, Nine-Tails Chakra had begun to leak out somewhat.

Having Naruto refine Chakra to suppress it was the most urgent matter at present.

Recently, several Anbu Ninja assigned to monitor Naruto had already left.

All because Naruto had discovered them.

With the Woods-Woods Fruit combined with Nine-Tails Chakra, Naruto's perception of malice had become increasingly sharp.

In order to obtain the Chakra Refining Technique ahead of time,

Naruto had to put on an act in public and keep acting in private.

It was truly exhausting.

"Hahaha, any assessment is all in Grandpa's heart."

"What? Aren't you happy to become a ninja?"

Naruto hurriedly shook his head and said with a smile,

"But Grandpa, you said I had to earn everyone's acknowledgment."

"Mm, I did say that, but haven't you been working hard all this time?"

"Your efforts haven't gone unnoticed."

Sarutobi Hiruzen went along with his words.

Naruto sneered inwardly.

Feeling that the timing was about right, he asked expectantly,

"Really? I can?"

"Of course. You can read it now. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me."

Naruto: "(＾-＾)V~"

Then he skipped over to the table and began reading the scroll.

Chakra—the product of combining spiritual energy and cellular energy.

These two kinds of energy would not combine automatically.

They had to be actively refined.

Without learning the Chakra Refining Technique, one would not possess Chakra.

The method was not difficult.

But turning it into an instinctive response was very difficult.

Very quickly, under Sarutobi Hiruzen's guidance,

Naruto completed his first Chakra refinement.

How had Sarutobi Hiruzen widened the gap between himself and Danzo?

Naturally, it was only after returning to serve as Hokage, when he had gained control of vast resources, that he managed it.

As a professor of ninjutsu, he knew many techniques, but that was about it...

After all, this world wasn't one where knowing more ninjutsu automatically made someone stronger.

But when it came to brainwashing... teaching people, the Pyramid Scheme Leader certainly had a knack for it.

Naruto had originally only half-understood the Chakra Refining Technique, but after Sarutobi Hiruzen explained several key points, he grasped it immediately.

Speaking of Sarutobi Hiruzen's Hokage position, one had to mention the Second Hokage.

He hadn't died because of plot convenience. His condition had genuinely deteriorated too severely, which was why he had been killed by the insignificant Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

One had to know, that man was covered from head to toe in Forbidden Techniques.

But it was precisely because of that that he fell from his pedestal in his later years.

To put it simply, Forbidden Techniques were undeniably powerful, but they also undeniably damaged the body.

More importantly, Forbidden Techniques were not particularly difficult to learn.

Even the Naruto from the original story could master the Multiple Shadow Clone in a single night.

But looking at it the other way around, what was Naruto's situation when he developed the Rasengan Shuriken?

Then think about how the Second Hokage had a body full of Forbidden Techniques.

That alone was enough to show that it was already impressive he had stayed alive. Wasn't it perfectly normal for his condition to decline?

How far had it declined?

After Kinkaku and Ginkaku were revived through Impure World Reincarnation, their first words were,

"We were revived by the technique of the Second Hokage, the man we once defeated."

However, the Second Hokage's thinking was still on another level.

The progress of an era could not do without renewal.

In other words, the replacement of the old by the new.

With a Forbidden Technique on the level of Impure World Reincarnation under his command, he could have summoned his own Onii-chan and killed Kinkaku and Ginkaku in just a few moves.

But he did not do so.

All of his ninjutsu and accumulated knowledge... were ultimately passed on to Sarutobi Hiruzen, the "strongest Hokage," who used them to consolidate power and bolster Konoha's image to the outside world.

Well, strongest only within Konoha.

"Not bad. It's already very good that you can do this on your first try."

"I'm sorry, Grandpa. I'm too useless."

Naruto lowered his head, looking as though he had done something wrong.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was extremely satisfied by what he saw.

He smiled and comforted him.

"You have to eat one bite at a time. There's no need to rush; you have plenty of time. Practice more, and you'll naturally be able to refine Chakra."

After guiding Naruto for a while longer, he finally left in satisfaction.

There was no longer any need to worry about the seal.

After all, he was Minato's son and possessed the Uzumaki Clan's constitution.

But in the end, it was because I, his "teacher," taught him so well.

Although he had failed, success was not far away.

It was only because this was Naruto's first time practicing the Chakra Refining Technique, he was still unfamiliar with Chakra, and time had been short. Otherwise, if he had been more patient, Naruto could have guaranteed success on his first attempt.

How could Sarutobi Hiruzen have known that Naruto had succeeded on his first try?

He had merely pretended to fail in order to fool him.

Sure enough, not long after Sarutobi Hiruzen left, one more Anbu Ninja secretly monitoring Naruto was withdrawn.

With Chakra, his sensory abilities would improve drastically.

So it was better to be cautious.

"Lord Hokage!"

"Mm, return for now. Shinnosuke will arrange your next mission."

See? The Third Hokage's son and daughter-in-law were both leaders in the Anbu.

Elsewhere.

After Sarutobi Hiruzen left,

Naruto expressionlessly shut the front door.

By now, he could already sense the gaze of the Anbu Ninja watching him.

He went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

The feeling of being watched vanished instantly.

After washing his hands, he lay on the bed for a while, then paced back and forth.

He paid attention to when the Anbu Ninja's gaze would fall on him,

and how long they would watch him under normal circumstances.

After figuring out the pattern,

he took off his clothes and entered the bathroom.

Sure enough, the gaze was gone.

On one hand, enclosed spaces had many blind spots. On the other, who would be interested in watching a little brat use the toilet?

After refining Chakra once more, Naruto raised his hand.

He looked at the arm that had undergone Elemental Transformation into wood.

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

"It works. With Chakra, the Woods-Woods Fruit's abilities are becoming increasingly effortless to use."

"With Chakra, the plan is already half complete."

"Next, with my foreknowledge, I can master Chakra control ahead of time."

Water Walking, Tree Climbing, and the like could all be practiced in secret.

But just as he prepared to practice Water Walking, he discovered that his Chakra had suddenly become chaotic and difficult to control.

He frowned, then suddenly understood.

"Almost forgot. It seems there's still a tenant living inside me who owes several years of rent."