Naruto Uzumaki Makes His Entrance

The most famous chakra control training exercises were probably tree climbing and Water Walking.

Even though several years had passed, Gu Qi still remembered those two chakra control exercises vividly.

Now that he had a method, Gu Qi decided to practice it properly.

So Gu Qi prepared something soft—no, a mat—and brought along a flask of Secret Brew and a few pieces of dried meat. After propping up the sign outside the Ninja Tool Shop, he hurried off.

Braving the snow, Gu Qi returned to the small woods where he had trained before.

"Since you look so pleasing, I've decided it'll be you."

He chose a towering, straight tree. After clearing the snow from around its roots, Gu Qi laid the mat he'd brought on the ground.

Then Gu Qi silently gathered chakra beneath his feet.

Crack!

Too much chakra had built up under his feet. The moment Gu Qi stepped onto the trunk, he left a small dent in it.

"Looks like I used too much chakra!"

So this time, Gu Qi reduced the amount of chakra he was feeding into his feet, then stepped onto the trunk again.

That went better. Gu Qi successfully stuck the soles of his feet to the trunk.

He took another step. Once both feet were firmly attached to the tree, Gu Qi didn't hurry to keep climbing.

Instead, he stood upright against the trunk, feeling the flow of chakra.

He kept at it until his chakra ran out and he fell onto the mat.

Gu Qi was doing this so he could get a better feel for the flow of chakra.

Taking out a piece of dried meat, Gu Qi bit off a small piece and chewed it slowly before swallowing.

Once Gu Qi felt that his chakra had fully recovered, he carefully put away the rest of the dried meat.

Ever since he'd first tried the Secret Brew, Gu Qi had realized that he didn't need to use up all of a restorative every time.

For example, with his current chakra reserves, he only needed a little dried meat to recover.

Eating all of it would be a waste.

Based on the amount of dried meat in each piece, one piece was enough to restore Gu Qi's chakra twenty times.

After loosening up, Gu Qi resumed training.

With his earlier attempt as a reference, this time went very smoothly.

He walked one step at a time, growing more and more confident.

"What's this? It's actually pretty easy." Gu Qi couldn't help feeling smug. He was a genius, after all.

Crack!

His overconfidence made Gu Qi lose control of the chakra beneath his feet.

Hanging in midair, Gu Qi was flung backward.

I'm done for! That was Gu Qi's last thought before he passed out.

"Ow, ow, ow!" When Gu Qi woke up, he found himself beside a campfire.

"Hey! You're awake!" a boy in orange clothes said cheerfully.

An orange jumpsuit, goggles on his head, and a pair of whisker-like marks on his cheeks. Wasn't this the legendary Crown Prince?

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

"Yeah! I saw you lying on the ground, so I stepped in to help." Naruto Uzumaki flashed a bright, white smile.

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

He was genuinely grateful to Naruto. If Naruto hadn't helped him, he would have frozen to death out there.

"Aw, come on! I'm going to be Hokage, so helping the villagers is my duty. Hehe." Naruto laughed happily.

Perhaps this was the first time since he was born that someone had thanked him.

Brushing the snow off himself, Gu Qi stood up and gathered his things. "As a thank-you, I'll treat you to a meal!"

It was nearly evening, and Gu Qi was hungry anyway.

Naruto was tempted, but he was worried that people might see him out on the street and call him the Demon Fox.

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

"What's wrong?" Gu Qi asked, looking at him curiously.

"I... I... My identity... Actually..." Naruto couldn't quite bring himself to say it. He was afraid of seeing that look of disgust.

"The Demon Fox? A monster? So what?" Gu Qi said indifferently, his hands in his pockets.

Naruto stared at him in surprise. "You're not afraid of me?"

"Afraid of you? I could knock you flat with one hand. Why would I be afraid?" Gu Qi said dismissively.

As long as Naruto didn't release the Nine-Tails, Gu Qi could deal with him in no time with his current abilities.

"Damn it! Don't underestimate me!" Naruto protested.

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

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki, not 'hey'!" Naruto hopped up and down.

"I'm Kakashi Gu Qi. That's my name." Gu Qi introduced himself.

"Kakashi Gu Qi..."

"Hungry? Have a little something to tide you over." Gu Qi handed Naruto a piece of dried meat.

Looking at the dried meat in his hand, Naruto suddenly felt like he was about to cry, though he didn't know why.

"Hey, hey! Don't tell me you're already getting all emotional?" Gu Qi said, rolling his eyes.

"Y-you're so annoying. I'm not emotional," Naruto said, his face turning a little red.

Gu Qi thought about it, then decided not to tease Naruto.

The boy had it pretty rough. Not only had he lost his parents at such a young age, he was also constantly shunned by the ignorant villagers.

"I'm asking you, are you coming to eat or not?"

"I'm coming. Why wouldn't I?"

At Ichiraku Ramen, the most profitable ramen shop in Konoha, Gu Qi and Naruto sat side by side.

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

"Uncle Teuchi! This is someone I just met, Naruto Uzumaki." Gu Qi grinned.

Teuchi smiled when he heard that. "I see. What would Gu Qi and Naruto like?"

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

Then Gu Qi turned to Naruto. "Naruto, is that okay?"

"Sure, sure!" Naruto said with a silly grin.

Looking at Naruto's goofy expression, Gu Qi couldn't help rolling his eyes.

If Gu Qi hadn't known Naruto's personality and circumstances, he might have thought the boy was an idiot.

"Oh, and Uncle Teuchi, bring us each a bottle of cola, too."

"Coming right up."

"Here's your cola." Uncle Teuchi's daughter, Miss Ayame, came over to the two of them carrying two bottles.

Then Ayame deftly took out a wrench and opened the bottles.

"Thank you, Big Sis Ayame," Gu Qi said in an adorable voice.

"No problem, little Gu Qi." Ayame, who was a little girl herself, smiled at him.

"This is so good!" Naruto said, eating his ramen with utter contentment.

Naruto, who usually ate instant noodles and nearly expired boxed meals, had never tasted such a delicious meal before.

"Thanks for the meal."

"Uncle Teuchi, put it on Kakashi's tab." Full and satisfied, Gu Qi said the words with great confidence.

"Sure, little Gu Qi." Uncle Teuchi seemed to be used to this already, and merely nodded with a smile.

"All right, I'm heading home too. It's getting late, so you should head back soon as well," Gu Qi said to Naruto.

Naruto glanced at Gu Qi and asked bashfully, "Can I come find you to hang out again?"

Gu Qi shrugged. "I train in that same patch of woods almost every day. If you want, you can come find me there."

"Yeah, I'll definitely come!" Naruto said happily.

"Anyway, thanks again for saving my life. If you ever run into trouble, you can come to me," Gu Qi said to Naruto one last time.

"No problem. We're friends, after all! Haha!" Naruto said with a bashful grin, rubbing the back of his head.

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

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

"I was gone for so long, and you didn't even come looking for me. Do you know I almost died?" Gu Qi complained, unhappy with Kakashi's attitude.

Seeing Gu Qi bouncing around in perfect health, Kakashi couldn't help rolling his eyes. "But you're fine, aren't you?"

"Hmph! If Naruto Uzumaki hadn't saved me, you'd be looking at a ghost right now," Gu Qi said unhappily.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" Kakashi set down the book and asked.

"Yeah, the Demon Fox."

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

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

"Friends?"

"Yeah! Is there a problem?"

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

Kakashi seemed to remember something from the past. He put away Icha Icha Paradise and said, "Now that you're back, I'll head home."

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

Kakashi smiled, ruffled Gu Qi's hair, and left with a somewhat forlorn look.

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