[Listen, I never believed a word you said. And even if you really are the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths' son, what's that got to do with me?]
[You seemed genuinely sorry, so I took pity on you and stopped using Kamui. But if you piss me off again... your body will belong to me!]
[Now get lost! Don't bother me while I'm sleeping!]
Back in the real world, Naruto scratched his ear. Setting everything else aside, Kurama sure had a loud voice...
"But I really did gain a lot from that trip. Not only did I verify that the 'plot' was real, I also unexpectedly unlocked some of my own chakra... Maybe my relationship with Kurama has improved a little, too?"
In the darkness, Naruto thought quietly.
"Then the next step in my plan is simple."
"I just have to follow the original script."
"I'll fail the graduation exam, then wait for Mizuki to approach me. That'll give me the chance to steal the Scroll of Seals..."
Naruto had two reasons for doing this.
First, it would give his change in personality a reasonable lead-in.
After all, going through a "thrilling" "life-or-death battle," then having a profound realization and changing as a result, was perfectly reasonable, wasn't it?
Second, he really did need to get his hands on the Scroll of Seals.
At this stage, it was the best way for him to learn advanced ninjutsu.
Judging by the original story, the Multi Shadow Clone Technique was practically his signature jutsu, and suited him perfectly. But more than its combat potential, Naruto valued its ability to speed up his training.
One clone meant twice the training efficiency. A hundred clones meant a hundred times the efficiency.
Naruto was the only person in the entire Ninja World who could withstand the side effects of using the Multi Shadow Clone Technique to speed up his training. He had to get his hands on this cheat that was practically exclusive to him. As far as Naruto was concerned, the original version of himself had wasted this cheat by only using it while training the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken.
If you had a cheat and didn't keep using it, were you even human?
Besides, if he learned ninjutsu faster than he had in the original story, he might be able to take a look at another jutsu before Iruka-sensei and Mizuki came to find him...
With that in mind, Naruto also began testing the theory he'd come up with in the sealed space.
"Clone Technique!"
Poof!
As the smoke cleared, three perfect copies of Naruto stood beside the bed.
"I was right!"
Naruto clenched his fist, thrilled.
Casting the jutsu just now had felt completely different from before.
In the past, whenever he tried to move his chakra, he'd struggled to control its flow. It was as if he were swept along by its momentum, and where it went was left entirely to chance. But when he'd just performed the Clone Technique, his chakra had suddenly seemed to behave. Under the control of his greatly strengthened mental energy, it went exactly where he directed it, as easily as moving his own arm.
So it was true... spiritual energy had to match physical energy. Once they fell out of balance, there was bound to be a flaw.
That made him wonder if Teacher Kaido and Rock Lee's lack of talent for ninjutsu—and the fact that, later on, they barely used any jutsu besides the Eight Inner Gates—wasn't entirely due to a lack of natural ability. Perhaps their physical energy was simply so powerful that it far outstripped and suppressed their spiritual energy. Could that be a key factor, too?
They'd overdone the bodybuilding...
Naruto felt a strange rush of excitement as all this information and knowledge began to connect in his mind. He could clearly feel his understanding of chakra deepening. In the past, studying had always given him a headache, but now he felt an intense desire to learn and devour books.
After all, the videos in the movie theater had explained chakra in broad, general terms. But the details—like which meridians chakra should flow through, how different Hand Seals guided it in different ways, and the precise locations of the body's pressure points—could only be learned in this real Ninja World.
But he couldn't let his character slip...
Naruto sighed, ruefully reflecting on why he'd never read a book at home before.
To be safe, he held back that urge and didn't do something the old Uzumaki Naruto would never have done.
After forming the hand seals for the Clone Technique again and deliberately creating several malformed, failed clones, Naruto lay down, closed his eyes, and began training to refine his chakra.
The Anbu monitoring him wouldn't notice this kind of training. The process would be tedious, but now that Naruto had things he had to accomplish, every moment counted. Each step forward brought its own joy.
What Naruto didn't know was that, at that very moment, the Nine-Tails was also reflecting on its own actions inside him.
"I actually argued with a brat... How humiliating..."
"And why did I have a brain fart and stop eroding the seal on my own? Do I really want to be locked up forever?"
The Nine-Tails brooded over its own foolishness.
"Kurama, has nobody ever apologized to you? How come you lost your head the moment the brat apologized... Right, nobody ever has. But I'm the disaster fox, the source of all misfortune. Why would anyone apologize to me..."
"..."
"Still, the brat apologized to me. Does that mean he actually believed what I said so easily?"
"...Hahaha, what an idiot. This brat's a real pushover. His body is as good as mine, hehehe..."
"..."
The Nine-Tails cracked an eye open. For some reason, words from long ago suddenly echoed in its mind.
[Obey me.]
[I'm sorry, but your power is too great. I can't let you roam free.]
[Whenever you use your power, you'll invite hatred. Just stay quietly inside me.]
[One thing is certain: you and I are both unlucky. You can suppress the world, and I can suppress you.]
[I love Kushina. I could never bear to lose her, and I'll never hand her over to you!]
"...Hmph."
Believe him?
So what?
The Nine-Tails buried its head.
The ending would be the same either way.
"When that brat... learns the truth about how his parents died..."
"He'll hate me, too."
The next day.
Following the script, Naruto pretended to be an idiot as soon as he woke up, ran off to scribble graffiti on Kage Rock, and was promptly tied up by Iruka-sensei.
Honestly, pretending to be an idiot wasn't easy.
It meant wrestling with his own sense of shame. It was even more exhausting than arguing with Kurama.
—But the Ichiraku Ramen Iruka-sensei treated him to was pretty tasty.
As he ate, Naruto glanced at Iruka beside him, and a thought struck him.
For more than a decade, Iruka-sensei was probably the only person in all of Konoha who had truly cared about him without expecting anything in return.
And yet here he was, plotting how to use him... That's right. What he planned to do tomorrow would be an outright deception, taking advantage of Iruka-sensei—and even getting him hurt.
Naruto made no attempt to dress up his actions with any high-minded excuses. He knew perfectly well that this was a scheme, and it weighed on him.
Even so, he had no intention of backing out of the plan.
In real life—especially in the world of shinobi—not every moral dilemma could be avoided, nor could every goal be reached smoothly. Naruto had long since accepted that he would have to shoulder the consequences.
Naruto lifted his bowl and quietly drank the broth, the rim hiding his expression.
"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei."
In the end, he was no longer the Naruto from the original story, a saintly and flawless boy who would always remain innocent.
Nor did he want to become that person.
The third day.
Thanks to Naruto's deliberate slacking, he naturally failed the graduation exam.
It was his third time failing to graduate.
As he made his way through the crowd, watching from afar as his classmates celebrated passing the exam and their parents came to collect them, Naruto couldn't help feeling lonely.
This time, though, he didn't suppress the feeling. He let it wash over him, making his act more convincing.
Then, on his way home, Mizuki's voice called out behind him, just as expected.
"Naruto!"
"Teacher Mizuki..."
Before you continue