Naruto Uzumaki Arrives

Chakra control training, the most famous methods should be climbing trees and walking on water.

Regarding these two chakra control training methods, even though several years have passed, Gu Qi still remembers them vividly.

Since he had a way, Gu Qi decided to practice well.

So Gu Qi prepared a soft, no, a mat, and brought a pot of Secret Brew and a few pieces of Dried Meat. After casually putting up the sign in front of the Ninja Tool Shop, he left in a hurry.

Braving the accumulated snow, Gu Qi once again came to the small grove where he had practiced before.

"Since I find you so pleasing to the eye, I've decided it's you."

Choosing a straight, towering tree, Gu Qi cleared the snow from around its roots and then placed the mat he brought on the ground.

Afterward, Gu Qi silently channeled Chakra into the soles of his feet.

"Crack!"

Because too much Chakra gathered in the soles of his feet, when Gu Qi placed his foot on the tree trunk, he directly made a small pit in it.

"It seems I used too much Chakra!"

So Gu Qi reduced the Chakra supply this time and stepped onto the tree trunk again.

This time was good. Gu Qi successfully made his soles adhere to the tree trunk.

Taking another step, once both feet were successfully adhered to the tree trunk, Gu Qi didn't rush to move forward.

Instead, he stood vertically on the tree trunk, feeling the flow of Chakra.

He only stopped when his Chakra was depleted and he fell onto the mat.

The reason Gu Qi did this was to better feel the flow of Chakra.

Taking out a piece of Dried Meat, Gu Qi took a small bite and chewed it slowly before swallowing.

When Gu Qi felt his Chakra completely restored, he carefully put away the remaining Dried Meat.

From when he drank the Secret Brew before, Gu Qi had discovered that with these recovery-type medicines, he didn't need to finish them every time.

It was like the Dried Meat; with Gu Qi's current Chakra capacity, he only needed a very small amount to recover.

If he ate it all, it would be a waste.

Based on the portion size of the Dried Meat, one piece was enough for the current Gu Qi to recover his Chakra 20 times.

Stretching his body, Gu Qi started training again.

With the previous experience as a reference, Gu Qi was very smooth this time.

He walked step by step, becoming more and more skilled.

"What the heck! It's this simple." Gu Qi couldn't help but feel smug, thinking he was a genius.

"Crack!"

Because he got carried away, Gu Qi instantly lost control of the Chakra in the soles of his feet.

As a result, Gu Qi, hanging in mid-air, was bounced off.

"I'm done for!" This was Gu Qi's last thought before he lost consciousness.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" When Gu Qi woke up, he found himself by a bonfire.

"Ah! You're awake!" a boy in an orange outfit said happily.

An orange jumpsuit, goggles on his head, and whiskers on the sides of his mouth – wasn't this the legendary Crown Prince?

"Did you save me?" Gu Qi asked, touching the back of his head, which ached faintly.

"Mhm! I saw you lying on the ground, so I lent a hand." Naruto Uzumaki showed a mouthful of pearly white teeth.

Gu Qi nodded and said sincerely, "Thank you."

Gu Qi was genuinely grateful to Naruto. If it weren't for him, he would have frozen to death here.

"Well, well! I'm determined to become Hokage, so helping villagers is what I should do, hehe." Naruto smiled happily.

This might have been the first time in his life he had received thanks from someone!

Brushing the snow off his clothes, Gu Qi stood up, tidied his things, and said, "As a thank you, let me treat you to a meal!"

It was already late afternoon, and Gu Qi was hungry.

Naruto Uzumaki was very tempted, but he was worried about being seen on the street and having his identity as the Demon Fox revealed.

"Um... um..." Naruto stammered.

"What's wrong?" Gu Qi looked at him strangely.

"My, my, my identity... actually..." Naruto was hesitant to speak, fearing he would see disgusted eyes.

"Demon Fox? Monster? So what!" Gu Qi said nonchalantly, with his hands in his pockets.

Naruto was surprised. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Afraid of you? With you looking like this, I could beat you with one hand. Why should I be afraid of you!" Gu Qi said disdainfully.

As long as Naruto didn't unleash the Nine-Tails, with his current abilities, he could deal with him in minutes.

"Damn it, don't underestimate me!" Naruto said indignantly.

"Hey! Are you going to eat or not?" Gu Qi asked impatiently.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, not 'Hey'!" Naruto jumped up and down.

"Kakashi Gu Qi, that's my name." Gu Qi introduced himself.

"Kakashi Gu Qi..."

"Hungry? Let's grab something to eat first!" Gu Qi handed Naruto a piece of Dried Meat.

Looking at the Dried Meat in his hand, Naruto felt a sudden urge to cry for some reason.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't tell me you're actually moved!" Gu Qi rolled his eyes.

"L-L-L-Loquacious, who's moved?" Naruto said, blushing slightly.

Gu Qi thought about it and decided not to tease Naruto anymore.

After all, the kid was quite pitiful. Not only had he lost his parents at such a young age, but he was also constantly shunned by the ignorant villagers.

"I said, are you going to eat or not!"

"Yes, why wouldn't I."

Inside Ichiraku Ramen, the most profitable establishment in Konoha, Gu Qi and Naruto sat right next to each other.

"Oh, it's Gu Qi! And who is this?" Uncle Teuchi asked curiously.

"It's Uncle Teuchi! This is someone I just met, Naruto Uzumaki." Gu Qi said with a grin.

Uncle Teuchi smiled upon hearing this. "Is that so? What would Gu Qi and Naruto like to eat?"

"One Pork Cutlet Ramen for me, and one Special Chashu Noodles for Naruto," Gu Qi said.

After speaking, Gu Qi looked at Naruto. "Naruto, you don't have any objections, right?"

"No, no!" Naruto replied with a silly grin.

Looking at the utterly goofy Naruto, Gu Qi couldn't help but roll his eyes.

If he hadn't known Naruto's personality and circumstances, Gu Qi might have mistaken him for an idiot.

"Oh, and Uncle Teuchi, two Colas for us, please."

"Coming right up."

"Here are your Colas." Miss Ayame, Uncle Teuchi's daughter, walked up to them with two bottles of Cola.

Then, Miss Ayame skillfully took out a wrench and opened the Colas.

"Thank you, Miss Ayame," Gu Qi said with a cute expression.

"You're welcome, little Gu Qi," Miss Ayame, who was also a young girl, said to Gu Qi with a smile.

"This is so good!" Naruto exclaimed, thoroughly satisfied with the ramen in his hands.

For Naruto, who had always eaten instant noodles and expired bento boxes, this was the first time he had tasted such delicious food.

"Thank you for the meal."

"Uncle Teuchi, put this on Kakashi's tab," Gu Qi said heartily after he had eaten his fill.

"Of course, little Gu Qi." Uncle Teuchi seemed used to this and just nodded with a smile.

"Alright, I'm heading home. It's getting late, you should head back too!" Gu Qi said to Naruto beside him.

Naruto looked at Gu Qi, a little shyly. "Can I still come find you to play in the future?"

Gu Qi shrugged. "I'm usually training in that forest every day. You can come find me there if you need anything."

"Okay, I'll definitely come," Naruto said happily.

"In any case, thank you again for saving my life. If you ever run into any trouble, you can come find me," Gu Qi said to Naruto finally.

"It's nothing, we're friends! Haha!" Naruto said, shyly scratching the back of his head with a silly grin.

Gu Qi smiled, waved goodbye to Naruto, and left the ramen shop.

"Yo, you're back?" In Gu Qi's Ninja Tool Shop, Kakashi was in a corner reading a copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

"You didn't even bother looking for me after I was gone for so long? Do you know I almost died?" Gu Qi said indignantly at Kakashi's attitude.

Seeing Gu Qi alive and kicking, Kakashi couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You're fine, aren't you?"

"Hmph, if it wasn't for Naruto Uzumaki saving me, you'd be looking at a ghost right now," Gu Qi grumbled.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" Kakashi asked, putting down his book.

"Yeah, the one with the Demon Fox."

"What I'm curious about is, did you beat him up?"

"Why would I beat him up? We're friends now."

"Friends?"

"Yeah! Is there a problem with that?"

"No, as long as you're happy."

Kakashi seemed to recall past events, putting away his Icha Icha Paradise as he said, "Since you're back, I'll be going then."

"I'll let you off the hook for now, but I'll give you a surprise in a few days!" Gu Qi said mysteriously.

Kakashi smiled, ruffled Gu Qi's hair, and left with a hint of loneliness.

Watching Kakashi's heavy figure, Gu Qi sighed, "Obito Uchiha, you really are a bastard!"