"You can take that and shove it!" Naruto had finally had enough. He charged through the gate into the Sealing Space and gave the Nine-Tails a thorough beating.
He alternated between Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in. To his surprise, the Nine-Tails didn't fight back.
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
A minute later, the Rinnegan vanished. Naruto looked at the Nine-Tails, sprawled on the ground and utterly listless, and grinned. "Do you still think I'm the Sage of Six Paths?"
"Kid, don't insult the old man. He had a great love for the world. He wasn't anything like you."
He actually beat me up... The old man would never do something like that. Not even in another life.
But if Naruto wasn't a reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths, then this whole thing was suspicious.
The Nine-Tails sat up, its enormous vertical pupils fixed on Naruto.
"Who are you, really?"
The Nine-Tails asked: Where did your Rinnegan come from?
Naruto answered: I won it in a dream lottery.
As if it would believe that. As a thousand-year-old fox, how could the Nine-Tails not know where the Rinnegan came from?
It belonged exclusively to the Sage of Six Paths!
So it would be more believable to just say the Sage of Six Paths had given Naruto the Rinnegan.
The Nine-Tails leaned toward that possibility, too. Otherwise, there was no explaining what had happened to Naruto.
The Nine-Tails asked again: How did you learn my real name?
Naruto answered again: I saw it with my eyes.
Well... that was somewhat plausible. The Rinnegan was mysterious and unfathomable, so it wouldn't be surprising if it had some strange abilities.
At last, the Nine-Tails snorted and put on an air of hauteur. "For the old man's sake, I'll believe you for now. As for becoming friends... that depends on how you act from here on out."
It looked exactly like a goddess dealing with a lovesick simp.
Naruto wholeheartedly agreed. "Well said. That's exactly what I wanted to say, too. I'm picky about my friends. Just any stray cat or dog can't be my friend."
The Nine-Tails roared, "You little brat! Who are you calling a stray cat or dog?"
"Ooh, you're mad. You're mad..."
"Roar!"
When you have a weapon, the urge to kill comes naturally.
After awakening the Rinnegan, Naruto had been itching to find an enemy and fight.
Unfortunately, he was under surveillance. Forget finding an enemy to fight—he didn't even have a chance to test his abilities.
How frustrating!
After turning it over in his mind, Naruto could only return to the Sealing Space and experiment with the Rinnegan's abilities there.
The next day, Naruto paid attention in class in the morning.
In the afternoon, he began his great escape from class.
Unlike in the original story, where he skipped class because he hated studying, Naruto did it because he thought the Ninja Academy's lessons were too basic.
The only useful things they taught were ninja fundamentals, like the Three Basic Jutsu and the Chakra Extraction Technique.
Genius ninja like Itachi graduated in a year. Some, like Kakashi, graduated in half a year.
It showed just how much of the Ninja Academy's curriculum was unnecessary.
Naruto considered himself of average talent. He wasn't planning to graduate early, but neither did he intend to spend six years going through the motions.
It was simply too much wasted time!
From now on, he planned to attend classes in the morning and leave his afternoons free for other things.
His main priorities were training and planning for the future. His plan was to focus on Taijutsu and ninjutsu, with Genjutsu and Medical Ninjutsu as secondary skills. If he had the opportunity, he'd learn Senjutsu, too. But today wasn't for training. Today, he was going out to buy wood and make a figurine—Raiden Shogun!
The Raiden Shogun he'd made before was two years old.
The wood was poor, and so was the craftsmanship.
This time, Naruto was going to make a lifelike Raiden Shogun, so he naturally had to use the best materials.
"Skipping class?"
The afternoon bell rang.
Iruka walked into the classroom. When he saw Naruto's seat was empty, his expression darkened. He looked at the students below and began, "Do you know..."
He paused, then suddenly realized something.
Wasn't it better that the kid wasn't here? That way, the Nine-Tails wouldn't lose control and hurt his students. Otherwise, it could be just like what had happened to his parents...
Iruka smiled. "Never mind. Let's get started."
Class went on. No one cared that Naruto was gone.
Only Hinata did.
She stared at the empty seat, worried.
I hope nothing happened to Naruto-kun...
And then there was the Third Hokage.
He liked to use his Crystal Ball to keep an eye on Naruto whenever he had a moment.
He saw for himself what Naruto did after skipping class that afternoon: he went home to eat, put on a mask to go shopping, bought a piece of wood, spent two hours tapping away at it, and then went to train.
He chopped down trees in the forest, ran, and practiced throwing weapons...
The second, third, and fourth days were all the same. He went to class in the morning, spent two hours tapping away at the wood in the afternoon, and went to bed at night. His routine was remarkably regular.
"This can't go on..."
He was all alone, keeping to himself, with no friends and nothing on his mind but his own pursuits.
That was too dangerous a state for a Jinchuriki.
He needed to form bonds with others. It looked like the Third Hokage would have to talk to Iruka.
A month later.
The morning dismissal bell rang. Naruto stood up, ready to leave school as usual.
Iruka suddenly said, "Naruto, wait a moment. I'd like to talk to you about something."
Naruto's expression remained calm. "What about?"
The other students in class were curious, too. What did Iruka-sensei have to talk about with the oddball?
Yes, an oddball—that was how the other students saw Naruto at the moment.
After all, Naruto was always by himself and never spoke to anyone else. If that didn't make him an oddball, what did?
The reason they didn't call him the Demon Fox was that, after a month of... well, you could call it spending time together.
Though they'd never spoken, Naruto seemed perfectly normal in every other way. And he didn't eat people like the village rumors claimed...
No matter how they looked at him, he seemed like a person. A little strange, sure, but still a person.
"Let's talk in the hallway."
Iruka clearly had no intention of satisfying the students' curiosity. He went out into the hall with Naruto.
Then he looked at Naruto, took a deep breath, and bowed. His voice was full of remorse. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have taken my personal resentment out on you. You and I were both victims of that disaster..."
Naruto was stunned. Wasn't this supposed to happen six years later? Why was it playing out early?
"Why don't you explain what you mean?"
"I'm asking you to forgive me, Naruto. Give me a chance to make things right. Please forgive me. Let's start over."
It sounded exactly like something a faithless woman would say to an honest man.
"Let me ask you something first. How did you come around, sensei?"
"Well, that was thanks to Lord Hokage. After Lord Hokage patiently talked things through with me..."
All Naruto could say was that the Will of Fire was truly terrifying.
Naruto understood, so he chose to forgive him.
What else could he do? Sit around and wait for the old Third Hokage to give him his thorough "attention"?
Iruka was delighted. "What would you like for lunch? It's my treat. We'll celebrate our fresh start."
Naruto thought for a moment. "Then... Ichiraku Ramen."
It wasn't because Ichiraku Ramen was especially delicious. It was because, aside from Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto had to wear a mask to enter any other restaurant.
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