Cultivation

With everything settled, Naruto returned to the main topic. His consciousness shifted back, and while Minato guided his training within the mental space, Kushina cheered him on from the sidelines.

"Naruto, the Flying Thunder God is not as difficult as it sounds. The first step is to use your spiritual energy to perceive the nodes existing in space. Only by sensing these spatial nodes can you proceed with the training. Remember, you must only use spiritual energy," Minato's voice echoed in Naruto's mind.

Hearing this, Naruto released his spiritual energy to observe his surroundings carefully. Gradually, everything within his mental reach dimmed until the entire area turned pitch black, at which point tiny specks of light appeared in the void.

Are these the spatial nodes? Naruto thought to himself upon seeing the lights.

Having spotted the nodes, Naruto retracted his spiritual energy, opened his eyes, and asked Minato in the Sealing Space.

"Dad, I saw many specks of light. Are those the spatial nodes?"

"Yes, those are the spatial nodes. I didn't expect you to find them so quickly. It seems you have quite a talent for space-time ninjutsu."

"What should I do next?"

"Next, try to perceive them using chakra instead of spiritual energy."

Following Minato's instructions, Naruto closed his eyes and tried again. Instead of converting his energy, he used his spiritual essence, activating the God Moon Mind's Eye as he released it. This time, it was even faster than before; the surroundings darkened instantly, and the specks of light grew to the size of human heads, appearing in far greater, denser numbers than before.

Opening his eyes again, he described what he saw to Minato. Minato wore a serious expression, as it had taken him a full week to reach this stage.

Minato explained all the subsequent steps of the Flying Thunder God to Naruto, and once finished, Naruto began his attempts. By focusing on the spatial nodes and selecting a target, he could move to the next stage once only the target and his own location remained. As he concentrated, the specks of light around him gradually diminished until only two remained.

The next phase of training involved leaving a mark on an object, sensing the location of that mark, and then, through hand seals, traversing the spatial node at his current location to reach the node at the mark's location.

The Flying Thunder God Technique has no direct offensive capability; it is merely a form of teleportation. However, its learning curve is among the steepest in all of ninjutsu, with the requirement to perceive spatial nodes alone barring most aspirants from ever beginning.

Since the Second Hokage created the Flying Thunder God, only he, Minato, and Minato's three-man guard unit (who could only use it by working in tandem) had mastered it. Minato even improved upon it, perfecting it to the third stage. Minato's ability to use the technique without hand seals was closely tied to his immense talent for space-time ninjutsu, as well as his deep familiarity with the technique.

As he began the final stage of training, Naruto failed repeatedly. Despite performing the hand seals diligently, he could not succeed. Naturally, Naruto did not lose heart and persisted in his attempts.

Time passes unnoticed in training. As the day flew by and darkness fell, Naruto grabbed a quick bite to eat before entering the Sealing Space. He touched his fingers to the foreheads of Minato and Kushina, imprinting a cultivation method called the "Soul Gathering Art" into their minds. This was a technique for tempering the soul, absorbing the soul essence drifting in the void to strengthen one's own soul; the stronger the soul, the greater the individual's innate talent.

Although Minato and Kushina were currently only conscious entities—fragments of their souls—they could still practice this technique to strengthen their soul essence. When they were eventually resurrected, they could merge these conscious entities with their souls, granting them even greater strength and talent upon their return.

After passing on the technique, Naruto exited the Sealing Space. He had his own training to attend to; he understood well that the stronger he was, the more weight his words would carry.

Back in reality, Naruto did not continue with the Flying Thunder God, but instead practiced the Supreme Demon Sutra, which was the foundation of his growth.

Thus, Naruto began his routine in the valley: practicing the Flying Thunder God by day, the Supreme Demon Sutra by night, and chatting with Minato, Kushina, and Kurama whenever he had a spare moment. Though exhausting, Naruto was happy.

Three days later, Naruto was finally able to perform the Flying Thunder God Technique in its entirety. Following Minato's guidance, Naruto left his mark on a large tree. Unlike Minato's, Naruto's mark was not a character, but the pattern of a fox's head. This secretly pleased Kurama in the Sealing Space.

Although Naruto still needed hand seals to use the Flying Thunder God, it was sufficient for his needs. He did not require the technique to increase his combat power, so there was no need to train until he could use it seal-less; as long as he could perform it, that was enough.

Having mastered the Flying Thunder God, Naruto began learning from Kushina. Before teaching him sealing techniques, Kushina taught him the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique. It shared the same characteristics as the standard Shadow Clone, only dissipating when its energy was exhausted. Soon, the valley was filled with many yellow-haired urchins; some were reading scrolls, others were practicing leg techniques, and some were zipping around using the Flying Thunder God, while the original body practiced the Supreme Demon Sutra nearby.

By the time evening arrived and they had eaten, Naruto dispelled the Multi-Shadow Clones. In that instant, his mind was flooded with a wealth of experience in sealing techniques, leg work, and the Flying Thunder God. Even though Kurama had provided the energy for the clones, the sheer volume of information forced into his mind left Naruto feeling drained. The mental fatigue was far worse than physical exhaustion, so he stumbled into the cave and fell asleep.

The night passed without incident. The next morning, Naruto woke up feeling refreshed and free of any discomfort. After stepping out of the cave and testing his skills one by one, he discovered that his Mad Demon Leg, Flying Thunder God, and various sealing techniques had all made significant progress. The first form of the Mad Demon Leg, Mountain Breaker, had reached a state of perfection, allowing him to begin training the second form, Stream Cutter. His use of the Flying Thunder God had also become increasingly fluid; with Minato's guidance, he believed he would soon be able to use it without hand seals.

And so, Naruto spent his days practicing martial arts, the Flying Thunder God, and sealing techniques with his clones, while his original body focused on his cultivation method, and his nights were spent sleeping. His days were incredibly fulfilling.

Konoha.

The clone Naruto left behind continued to attend classes in his stead, making his task much easier. He would attend lessons, chat with Hinata, and walk her home in the evening, concluding his daily duties. (Since the energy for the shadow clone was provided by Kurama, who could perceive events through the clone, Naruto had no concerns about anything going wrong on that end.)

The few Anbu agents controlled by Naruto continued their surveillance mission every day, reporting to the Third Hokage that Naruto's situation remained entirely normal.

Today was the seventh day of school, and there was only one item on the agenda: sparring. Once the practice was over, they would be dismissed, so the students were eager to begin.

Seeing the students raring to go, Iruka smiled. "Alright, let the sparring begin. First group: Inoue Taro versus Nara Shikamaru."

Hearing Iruka call their names, the two students walked to the center and stood facing each other. Once they were in position, Iruka said, "Perform the Seal of Confrontation."

After they performed the seal, the sparring began. At this stage, the ninja academy only taught the Three Body Technique, which was rarely used in actual combat, so the sparring was primarily based on taijutsu. As the young master of the Nara Clan, Shikamaru had been trained by his family since childhood, so, unsurprisingly, he won quickly.

Seeing the match end, Iruka said, "Perform the Seal of Reconciliation."

After performing the seal, Shikamaru muttered, "What a drag," and returned to his seat with his hands in his pockets.

Iruka began calling names again.

"*** and ***, spar."

"*** and ***, spar."

The students continued to spar in groups. Standing below, Naruto's shadow clone noticed that the pairings were almost always a clan heir against a commoner, with the clan heirs consistently emerging victorious.

"Uchiha Sasuke versus Uzumaki Naruto, spar."

The shadow clone, who had been zoning out, reacted quickly upon hearing his name and walked to the center of the field, where Uchiha Sasuke was already waiting.

Usually, the shadow clone only spoke with Hinata in class and never interacted with other students. Even though he had played with these clan children when they were younger, Naruto had no desire to reconnect with them now.

Since the Uchiha Clan had not yet been wiped out, Sasuke was still just an arrogant little brat.

The two performed the Seal of Confrontation. When Iruka shouted "Start," Sasuke charged at Naruto with his fists raised. Just as Sasuke was about to reach him, Naruto raised his hand and said, "I forfeit."

Hearing Naruto concede, many students around them sneered. "That demon fox brat actually forfeited? Is he afraid of getting beaten up?"

Only the children from the Konoha clans stood silently, watching. Hinata gripped her hands tightly in front of her, wanting to say something, but she remembered what Naruto had told her: "Don't worry about what they say, because I don't care. I don't want you to be angry because of them; it's not worth it."

Meanwhile, upon hearing Naruto's forfeit, both Iruka and Naruto developed a visible vein on their foreheads.

"Naruto, sparring helps you see your shortcomings more clearly so you can improve and grow stronger," Iruka said.

"Uzumaki Naruto, are you looking down on me? Are you insulting the Uchiha Clan?" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto ignored Sasuke, turned to Iruka, and said, "Iruka-sensei, I haven't even mastered the Three Body Technique yet, so I definitely can't beat Sasuke. I don't want to get beaten up, so I forfeit."

Hearing Naruto say he didn't want to get beaten up, Iruka recalled something and said nothing more, simply having the two perform the Seal of Reconciliation.

After Naruto and Sasuke left, Iruka stepped forward and said, "All sparring is finished. Everyone should know their own shortcomings by now. Go home and train hard. Class dismissed."

Once Iruka announced the end of class, Naruto took Hinata by the hand and walked toward the school gate; after spending time together, Hinata was no longer as shy as before.

As they neared the school gate, Naruto saw Hiruzen Sarutobi standing there. After a moment's thought, he told Hinata to wait where she was and walked over to Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Grandpa Third, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see little Naruto. How do you feel about school?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked with a smile when he saw Naruto approach.

"It's great! I've made friends," Naruto replied with a smile.

Hearing Naruto mention friends, Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Hinata in the distance. "Then keep it up, make more friends. Also, why did you forfeit during the sparring match today? Why didn't you use those chains?"

"Eh? How did Grandpa Third know I could use chains? I felt those chains were too strong, and I couldn't control them. I was afraid of hurting Sasuke." Hearing the question, Naruto continued to act innocent.

Hearing Naruto's answer, Hiruzen Sarutobi patted his head. "Mm, little Naruto did the right thing. As for how I knew, it's because I am the Hokage, and the Hokage knows everything."

"Is that so? Then I want to become the Hokage too!" Naruto continued to bluff Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Haha, then you'll have to work hard. Hurry home now." With that, he patted Naruto's head and turned to leave.

"Goodbye, Grandpa Third." After saying this, Naruto walked back to take Hinata's hand, escorted her home, and then returned to his own house.

In the valley.

Inside the Sealing Space, Kurama used a small ninjutsu to replay the events that occurred at the ninja academy for Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki to see. When Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared, a creaking sound echoed—it was the sound of Kushina Uzumaki clenching her fists. Beside her, Minato Namikaze said nothing, though his eyes flashed with a fierce light. Kurama lay there, lost in thought, while Naruto was still training, unaware of what was happening within the Sealing Space.

.Provided by the great Ti Ta, author of "Starting Naruto by Drawing Asura Chakra"