Bad and Good

Night fell.

In the room.

Naruto came out of the bathroom, rubbing his hair dry. Bare-chested, he instinctively met his own gaze in the mirror.

Water dripped from his damp golden bangs and slid along his much more defined jawline. The person in the mirror looked calm, standing in the unlit room, silently lost in thought.

In the moonlight, shadows clearly outlined his muscles, defining each section. Naruto's once-scrawny body was no longer thin. It was as if a layer of light but powerful armor covered him, his physique now fuller without being bulky, combining agility with explosive strength.

He put on his pajamas. As expected, the shoulders felt noticeably tight, and the fabric stretched over his chest, leaving the hem around his waist looking loose. In just half a month, thanks to Naruto's abnormal endurance and recovery, along with training so intense it bordered on self-torture, his body had already outgrown its old frame.

But there was no trace of pride in Naruto's eyes. Compared with Madara Uchiha's superb Taijutsu, as striking as a rose on the battlefield, he still had a long way to go.

And that was nothing compared to Might Guy's kick, which could make space itself twist.

Even during the brief moment after his bath when his mind was blank, Naruto's thoughts still circled around ways to get stronger.

Behind him, densely packed charts covered most of the bedroom wall. They recorded the daily measurements of his body: [Maximum number of shuttle runs in one minute], [Changes in mixed-oxygen intensity after running one lap around Konoha], [Maximum weight of a stone carried during squats], [Maximum number of weighted two-finger push-ups]...

The numbers changed every day. Naruto recorded them all in line graphs, using them to assess his progress and adjust his plans accordingly.

For Naruto, training wasn't just about honing his body. It was like solving math problems. He trusted precise numbers more than vague physical sensations.

"...Using stones for weighted training is still too crude. I should have special weights made, like Rock Lee's. That'd be more convenient, and I could make better use of my time outside training, too..."

Without realizing it, Naruto had wandered to the window, still lost in thought. In the evening breeze, a faint blue presence swayed on the windowsill that had always been empty.

They were the Nigella Ino had given him.

Before handing them over, Ino had repeatedly warned him about all the things he needed to know to care for flowers. Then she'd put on a tough front and threatened him, ordering him to take good care of them or else.

"If you can't even protect a flower, you shouldn't be a Ninja," Ino had said.

"Pfft."

Naruto didn't know why the words suddenly made him laugh.

Maybe it was because Ino looked cute when she tried to act tough.

How had he never noticed before?

His nerves, wound tight for so long, seemed to relax a little. Naruto reached out and gently touched a soft Nigella petal. The moonlight shifted, bringing a little life to the quiet room.

"Having a pot of flowers is pretty nice."

Naruto's lips curved into a slight smile. He switched on the light and started making dinner and tomorrow's training meals. He'd trained so hard today that he'd forgotten to send a Shadow Clone home early to prepare them.

He rinsed the rice and set it to cook, washed the pan, dried the water from its base, poured in oil, added chicken, drizzled in soy sauce, then tossed in some broccoli...

The steps were simple, but Naruto followed each one meticulously. Every meal had to include carbohydrates, protein, and fiber. He didn't even forget the fruit for dessert to replenish his vitamins.

He prepared his meals so carefully partly for the sake of training. As the saying went, training was thirty percent and eating was seventy. Besides, Naruto secretly hoped he'd grow taller, so getting enough nutrition was important.

The other reason was that Naruto now knew what his mother had said to him before she died.

So he would listen to her.

He would eat well.

Time moved forward as usual.

One month later.

There was still no notice about when they would have their Ninja portraits taken or when the team assignment briefing would be held.

By then, Naruto had nearly confirmed that something must have happened to disrupt the plot he knew.

The change wasn't enough to make him anxious, but it had certainly left him feeling more or less on edge.

After all, no matter how much he thought about it, the flapping of his butterfly wings so far shouldn't have been enough to affect the plot. Surely the original story had only just begun by now? If this was really because of him, then the effect would have happened far too quickly. It simply didn't make sense.

So, after ruling out the most obvious cause—which, on closer analysis, seemed unlikely—Naruto could only reach another conclusion. It sounded like wild speculation, but somehow made more sense.

Someone or something other than him had affected the world and caused the plot to veer off course.

Later, when Naruto asked Ino around for information, that conclusion was confirmed.

Given Naruto's social standing at the moment, aside from the Third and Iruka Umino, Ino—the young lady of the Yamanaka Clan—was the only person he could approach indirectly for information.

According to Ino, her dad had said that the Third had recently dispatched many jōnin-level fighters on missions. As a result, the jōnin originally meant to lead their teams weren't in the village, so the Genin who had just graduated had to wait until the jōnin returned.

Ino didn't know whether they were all on the same mission or several different ones, or what the details were.

So the mysterious mission must have been what caused the plot to change.

That was undoubtedly bad news for Naruto.

He wasn't fixated on changing the plot, but as a pragmatist, he still hoped to use his foreknowledge of the future to secure more advantages and a safer environment in which to grow—so long as things remained within his control. Once he was fully prepared, he could make larger changes to the future...

But now, it seemed that Naruto's plan was doomed from the start.

The sense of security he'd subconsciously felt from "knowing the future" was gone. In its place was a nameless anger: "Something's changed, and I know it, but there's nothing I can do." That drove Naruto to train even more brutally over the course of the month. He strictly limited the time spent sleeping, eating, and taking care of other necessities to nine hours a day, using the other fifteen hours to train.

However.

Not everything that happened during that time was bad. In fact, quite a few good things had happened in Naruto's life.

First was Ino.

Ever since the day they met, she'd been coming to the training ground every day under the pretext of "making sure he's taking good care of the flowers," pestering him without fail. Naruto suspected she was just bored.

For a while, he even secretly wondered whether she thought he was the sort of person who only worked hard in short bursts, and came to watch just to see when he'd give up.

But even if that was true, Naruto didn't feel insulted. On the contrary, he valued the chance to interact with another person.

After all, chatting with a pretty girl always lifted your spirits—Naruto was being honest.

Second was Kurama.

Feeling on edge, Naruto went to visit Kurama again and asked him to release some chakra to interfere with the flow of Naruto's own.

Naruto wasn't crazy. He wanted to use it to improve his precision in controlling chakra.

Just as adding weights could improve the body through training, if Naruto could still perform Ninjutsu normally while Kurama interfered with his chakra, then his control over chakra would surely improve greatly when there was no interference.

That would also increase the speed and power of his Ninjutsu.

In the end, the Nine-Tails agreed to Naruto's request.

It wasn't because the Nine-Tails had suddenly grown generous or approved of Naruto. Naruto had promised that if Kurama helped him train, he would find a chance to beat up Shukaku someday—and make sure Kurama enjoyed it. If Kurama wasn't satisfied, Naruto would keep beating Shukaku.

The Nine-Tails figured that releasing chakra took no effort. He had nothing to do while locked up, and causing Shukaku trouble in the future sounded pretty good, so he agreed.

—Of course, the Nine-Tails would never admit that part of the reason he agreed was that refusing would make the brat a nuisance... The little punk was exactly the kind of shameless hardhead who'd come by every day to insult a fox.

It wasn't that the Nine-Tails couldn't insult him back. It was just that he was old enough to know better; trading insults all the time would be undignified. He'd just let the little kid have his way.

Naruto had no idea Kurama was secretly cursing him. He was surprised that the Nine-Tails had suddenly become so agreeable, and figured it was because Kurama had been won over by his personal charm and moral character.

Last of all...

After they'd run into each other repeatedly for a month, Might Guy and Rock Lee suddenly told Naruto that they approved of his youth (?) and enthusiastically invited him to join the Konoha Green Spandex Enthusiasts Alliance. They even offered him the title Blue-Gold Beast of Konoha...

Naruto politely declined, and the two of them wept in each other's arms (?).

After that, although their schedules were different, the three of them would sometimes get together to train for a while. Naruto even occasionally trained with Team 10. He also received plenty of guidance in Taijutsu from Might Guy, and began calling him Teacher Kaido, just like his three disciples did.

"...So Konoha-Style Taijutsu isn't just about physical strength. The ability to direct chakra at a moment's notice, and the timing of it, are important too. For example, if you're fighting on sand and you can't control your chakra well enough to match the moment you exert force, your Taijutsu attacks can easily become weak and ineffective. You might even misstep and fall..."

"Remember, fighting and traveling in your daily life are two different things. Managing your chakra in battle is far more difficult than doing so while traveling. That's why tree climbing and Water Walking might look advanced, but they're only the most basic beginner exercises."

Early in the morning, during a break in Team 10's group training, Might Guy took the opportunity to pass on some practical knowledge that couldn't be found in books.

Among Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten, there was also a scruffy-haired guy in patched clothes.

"I see! As expected of Teacher Kaido!"

"Rock Lee, don't shout so loudly and disturb everyone..."

Tenten complained helplessly, then turned to Naruto.

"By the way, Naruto, your new weights are ready. You can pick them up at my family's shop later."

"Okay, thanks, Tenten."

Naruto nodded in thanks, his tone gentle. "Sorry for the trouble. The village has sent out the living allowance, too. I'll bring that along with the money for the Ninja tools I bought on credit before."

"Ah, it's fine. There's no hurry," Tenten said with a wave. "I just made them from Rock Lee's old weights, and the Ninja tools you got before were used, too. It barely cost anything."

"You can pay me once the jōnin who'll be leading your team come back and you're able to take on missions for money. For now, use the money to buy some new clothes—and get a haircut while you're at it."

"Heh."

Naruto smiled but didn't reply. Seeing that, Tenten could only sigh.

After spending all this time together, she'd gotten to know Naruto's personality.

Her junior was good in every way. He was independent, polite, and hardworking in training like Rock Lee. When it came to being a Ninja, he was a genius like Neji. But when it came to accepting other people's kindness, he took things far too seriously—as if anyone helping him meant they were losing out. If he could refuse, he would; if he couldn't, he made sure to repay them as soon as possible.

They'd already agreed to give him a discount, but he stubbornly refused and insisted on paying full price. He'd even secretly used the Transformation Technique to visit her family's shop and ask about the real prices, exposing her the moment she tried to quote him a lower one.

Honestly... He was an orphan, and taking care of himself alone was already hard enough. Why did he care so much about whether he owed anyone anything?

Naruto Uzumaki, you...

Sigh. Never mind.

That awkward streak was part of Naruto's charm, too. It wasn't as though just anyone would be welcome to train with Team 10.

Thinking of that, Tenten suddenly smacked Naruto on the back. "You'd better make something of yourself someday, you know!"

Naruto looked at her, puzzled.

"By the way, Naruto,"

Might Guy said, his tone carrying a hint of embarrassment.

"Um... About the training proposal for the Mixed-Oxygen Method you came up with, I've put both our names on it. I submitted it to Lord Hokage this morning."