Naruto, What's the point of being Hokage without you!

"Refine, refine... refraction of light..."

"Chakra, chakra... angle of incidence..."

"Arghhhhhh—"

Naruto yanked at his hair frantically, his head feeling like it was about to explode.

"This is simply impossible!"

"If this keeps up, I'll have a mental breakdown before I even get stronger!"

[Please, Host...]

"...I understand."

"Fine, fine, this time I'll focus my energy on listening to the lecture properly, then see if my body will move on its own..."

"Activate..."

"[Knowledge Absorption]!"

Naruto instantly entered a state of total concentration, staring with a thirst for knowledge at every word Iruka wrote down; his efficiency in listening to the lecture indeed skyrocketed.

However...

The chakra did not begin to refine itself.

[Please, Hos...]

"I'm trying!"

Naruto tried forming hand seals with both hands again, first activating the Chakra Refinement Technique, then suddenly entering the [Knowledge Absorption] state during the process, but the result was that the Chakra Refinement Technique was quickly interrupted.

Yet, Naruto seemed to see a glimmer of hope...

Because, although the Chakra Refinement Technique interrupted once he entered the [Knowledge Absorption] state, it didn't stop immediately; it still continued for a very short duration!

"Aha! In that split second, haven't I achieved Dual-Tasking?!"

[Please...]

"I'm almost there!"

"Chakra Refinement Technique!"

Naruto entered the Chakra Refinement Technique once more, and this time, he didn't even consciously tell himself to suddenly enter the [Knowledge Absorption] state.

In other words, it was...

Tricking his own brain!

Sure enough, in this state of total concentration on the lecture, the chakra continued to refine successfully for a period of time, as if by inertia!

And, it lasted a bit longer than before!

"There's a way! There's a way!"

Naruto was overjoyed and began to experiment frantically.

From only being able to "parallel" for an instant at the start, he gradually improved it to a few seconds, then over ten seconds, then several dozen seconds...

By the time the class ended, Naruto was already able to maintain the state of "Dual-Tasking" for a full minute or so!

"If, if this keeps up, I can completely turn the Chakra Refinement Technique into a passive skill..."

"As long as I can still breathe, I can make my body move on its own, refining chakra day and night..."

"Isn't this a Perpetual Motion Machine?!"

"Aha, aha..."

Naruto grinned and laughed, as if he saw an incredibly bright and brilliant future.

Iruka glanced at him, shaking his head with a sigh.

"That kid Naruto, I just praised him a few days ago, and today he's started spacing out in class again..."

"Is it because of that so-called Asura field?"

"But, sigh, after all, it's the age of youth..."

For the first time ever, he didn't say anything, and after announcing the end of class, he walked out of the classroom on his own.

The classroom soon became noisy.

Many people were still whispering, pointing at Naruto and Hinata.

Clearly, they were still immersed in the conflict from before class.

Naruto didn't care, immersed in his own world of "Dual-Tasking."

Hinata's mood, however, was somewhat complicated.

She was not used to being the center of attention.

She had always been known for being low-key and introverted in class, never having received this much attention from so many people, let alone the fact that those discussions weren't necessarily kind.

However...

Hinata's first thought was...

Is this the kind of treatment Naruto-kun... usually has to endure?

I... I only had to bear a tiny bit of it and already felt so terrible. How much pain and loneliness must he feel on a daily basis?

Instead of being discouraged, Hinata felt an overwhelming sense of heartache for Naruto.

She carefully stole a glance at Naruto.

Naruto-kun is still training, as expected...

That makes sense. He's long since grown accustomed to all this, his heart is strong enough that he doesn't even care anymore...

And, as expected, working hard to improve oneself is the best choice...

A faint smile appeared on Hinata's small face.

The inner conflict and gloom she felt just moments ago were instantly swept away.

She quickly entered a meditative state of training as well.

Because of this, neither of them noticed...

Ino returned to the classroom, looking utterly dejected.

Her eyes were bloodshot, clearly having had a good cry, and two tear tracks still remained on her fair, delicate cheeks.

Under the gazes of everyone, Ino dragged her sorrowful frame back to her seat.

She slumped over her desk, burying her head deep into her arms.

The sound of soft sobbing began to echo once more.

But Sakura Haruno did not return until the very end...

After a full day of effort.

Naruto's Dual-Tasking had become increasingly proficient.

With the power of the Knowledge Absorption trait in effect, he was able to maintain his Chakra Refinement Technique for a full three minutes!

Do not underestimate these three minutes...

It is not short at all!

This meant that Naruto only needed about three minutes to temporarily exit the Knowledge Absorption state, immediately restart the Chakra Refinement Technique, and then, before the system's Baptism of Lightning Release could trigger, re-enter the Knowledge Absorption state. This allowed him to maintain continuous Dual-Tasking!

This is what one might call...

Dual-Core Naruto Uzumaki!

The result was...

While Naruto's academic studies didn't fall behind in the slightest, his training time for chakra refinement increased by more than several times compared to usual!

After all, he previously could only train during fragmented periods like breaks, lunch, or after school.

But now, he had the entire day!

In this single day alone, Naruto's chakra volume had increased by a full 9 points!

This was equivalent to the results of two or three normal days!

On the way home from school, he didn't even need a system reminder; he proactively decided to practice the Chakra Refinement Technique while doing weighted frog jumps all the way home!

This even caught the system off guard.

Immersed in self-improvement, Naruto seemed to have cast the events of the day to the back of his mind.

The original him would have been deeply concerned and terrified after offending Sakura Haruno, desperately trying to find ways to beg for her forgiveness, even if it meant letting her hit him back ten or a hundred times over!

However, now...

I, Naruto Uzumaki, only want to train!

However...

Upon seeing Hinata's figure, Naruto couldn't help but feel a slight stir in his heart.

He flashed his signature bright smile and waved at Hinata.

"Hinata!"

Hinata turned around and saw Naruto, her small face instantly turning bright red.

"Na, Naruto-kun..."

Naruto walked up to her, and they walked side-by-side under the amber glow of the setting sun.

"About that, thanks for what happened this morning..."

Naruto said with a dry laugh, scratching his head.

Hinata hurriedly shook her head: "It, it was nothing..."

"But Hinata, I've always been unable to figure out..."

"Why did you protect me?"

Hinata was instantly flustered, a jolt like electricity surging through her entire body.

"I..."

"I don't know, my body just seemed to move on its own..."

Hinata was overcome with shyness; saying it like that sounded exactly like a confession...

Naruto was taken aback.

"Your body moved on its own?"

He immediately thought of his own Dual-Tasking and nodded thoughtfully.

"Indeed, sometimes that sort of thing just happens..."

"Mm-hmm."

His lack of romantic awareness actually made little Hinata breathe a sigh of relief.

"Alright Hinata, I'm heading home now..."

"Ja ne."

Hinata said softly and gently, "See you tomorrow, Naruto-kun..."

She watched Naruto's retreating figure as he frog-jumped away under the setting sun, tucked back the hair mussed by the Natsuhi breeze, and felt a profound joy bloom in her heart.

Not just for Naruto, but for herself as well.

She felt that she seemed to be...

A little braver than before.

Not just because of her unexpected actions this morning, but also in her daily interactions with Naruto.