Several days passed.
Naruto kept training in Lightning Armor.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode greatly boosted his speed, strength, and defense.
Naruto had also tried to infuse Lightning Release chakra into the Rasengan.
It was too violent, so he decided to try infusing Wind Release chakra instead.
First, he'd set himself a small goal: develop the Rasenshuriken.
"I can't wait for the day I secretly amaze everyone."
"Let the Rasenshuriken explode across the entire Ninja World!"
Naruto finished training.
Back in the village, he was bored again.
Lately, all his friends had been training as hard as they could.
There was no one to go eat barbecue with.
"Naruto! We were just about to visit a friend who's recovering in the hospital!"
Choji came running over happily with a bag of chips in hand.
"Akamaru's been cooped up at home reflecting on his mistakes lately. I guess he's a little embarrassed you beat him with a fart."
Shikamaru's words were pretty hurtful too.
"Naruto, haven't you been hanging out with Sakura lately?"
Ino looked curiously behind Naruto, then realized Sakura wasn't there.
Sakura?
Only then did Naruto remember.
He hadn't seen Haruno Sakura at all since he'd transmigrated.
Not that he cared.
Transmigration comes at no cost; reincarnation takes you straight to the Six Paths!
"Is that so? Then let's go together!"
Naruto was planning to visit the barbecue restaurant near the hospital anyway.
[Feeling the Host's concern for his friends, achievement unlocked: Bonds of Friendship] [Reward: 10 Goodwill Points]
That worked too?
Naruto drew a prize on the spot.
[Fantastic!] [The Host is incredibly lucky! He actually obtained the Leaf Body Flicker Technique]
Yikes!
At the hospital entrance,
Naruto couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.
Unbelievable.
He'd actually drawn something useful this time!
The Leaf Body Flicker Technique let the user turn into fluttering leaves to evade attacks.
Naruto already had Lightning Style: Lightning Armor.
In Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he was incredibly fast, making it a kind of Body Flicker Technique too.
Now he had two different Body Flicker techniques he could use in combination.
"Things have changed."
Naruto couldn't help sighing.
The system had been right to call him out. It finally seemed to be getting the hang of things.
"Naruto, what are you smiling about?"
Choji stood at the hospital entrance, eating chips as he asked.
"I just thought of something happy!"
Naruto stepped into the Ninja Hospital.
The group walked side by side.
Many of their classmates and friends had already been discharged.
The few who remained had suffered extremely severe injuries.
For example,
Rock Lee.
"Lee was hurt the worst, right? His fight with Gaara from the Sand Village left him with a bunch of broken bones!"
Choji said earnestly.
"He should be. Wait, something's wrong!"
Shikamaru noticed that the door to Rock Lee's Hospital Room was open.
His shadow had already slipped inside ahead of the others.
By the bedside,
yellow sand floated in the air.
Gaara, red-haired with a kanji carved into his forehead, stood beside the bed, ready to finish Lee off.
Whoosh!
A flash of lightning streaked past.
Naruto, in Lightning Release Chakra Mode, broke through the yellow sand with a hand chop charged with Lightning Release chakra!
"You're in the way!"
Gaara snapped in anger.
Why were these people trying to stop him?
He'd been just one step away from finishing off the person he hadn't managed to kill in the preliminaries!
Shikamaru formed Hand Seals.
He used his shadow to hold Gaara in place for the moment.
"What are you trying to do, redhead?!"
Lightning crackled all over Naruto's body.
Although he hadn't trained in Lightning Release Chakra Mode for very long,
it still gave him an advantage over Magnet Release!
"Nothing."
Gaara looked at Lee, who lay half-paralyzed in the bed after Gaara had beaten him.
"I defeated him, so I have to kill him!"
He spoke coldly, deciding life and death.
He was still so young,
yet he made everyone shudder.
Luckily, Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique was holding him back for now.
"Cut the crap! If you're sick, get treated!"
Naruto was already preparing to form a Rasengan.
He didn't mind fighting Gaara to the bitter end.
"You don't understand!"
"My father wanted me dead from the time I was born. He's sent people to assassinate me several times."
As Gaara spoke, he looked down at his hands.
He sank into his memories.
"Hold it right there!"
Naruto cut off Gaara's recollection with one hand.
"Nobody asked about your family. Don't just start reminiscing! I usually skip this kind of stuff!"
Oh?
Gaara's attention shifted to Naruto.
His gaze grew even colder.
"This world has no love. And don't ask me how I got the word 'love' on my forehead."
His killing intent began to rise. That dead-eyed guy, the chubby kid, and the blondie beside him—
how could they possibly stop him, a One-Tail Jinchuriki?
"Come to think of it, nobody's asked about that 'love' on your forehead from start to finish."
"I think you're just sick—a case of chunibyo. All you need is one good beating!"
Naruto interrupted Gaara's reminiscing again.
Damn it!
Gaara couldn't help looking at Naruto.
The blond kid had an aura similar to his own,
and yet it was even more sinister!
But why did Naruto have friends by his side? Why was he protecting other people?
Gaara couldn't understand Naruto. He was even a little curious!
[The Host is encouraging others to be good. Gaara's favorability has increased by 10%.] [Reward: 10 Goodwill Points] [The Host truly has a kind heart. Go do a few more good deeds!]
What?!
Naruto hadn't expected the Ninja World to be this messed up.
Was everyone a tsundere?
Why were they happy when he chewed them out?!
"You're just like me."
"But why are you different?!"
Gaara stared at Naruto.
His gaze held curiosity and resentment, along with a hint of envy.
The sand stirred.
It flew out of his gourd on its own, instinctively moving to protect him.
When faced with something he couldn't understand,
Gaara only wanted to destroy it. And anyone he didn't understand, he wanted to kill!
"Riddle-mongers, get out of the Ninja World!"
Naruto sensed the hostility.
Bang!
Might Guy smashed the sand apart with one palm.
"The Sand Village has gone too far! They even want to hurt my dearest, most passionate, most youthful disciple!"
"If you insist on fighting, then the Blue Beast of Konoha will take you on!"
The moment Guy showed up,
Gaara knew he wouldn't be able to kill Lee.
He turned to Naruto and said:
"I'll kill your friend in the tournament! Then you'll know what pain feels like!"
Whoosh!
Gaara used Body Flicker Technique to leave in a flash.
The people of Konoha were so strange.
They were willing to risk their lives to protect others.
Especially that nasty blond kid!
"You're all talk. You just ran away fast."
Naruto had almost gotten the chance to give Gaara a Rasengan.
"Thank you, everyone."
"Naruto, your heartfelt words just now really touched that boy. He almost opened up about what he was feeling."
Guy flashed Naruto a big, toothy grin and gave him a thumbs-up.
What did he mean, "touched his heart"?
Gaara had been the one who insisted on reminiscing!
[The Host has done a good deed and saved Rock Lee from near assassination. Achievement unlocked: A Life Saved] [Reward: 10 Goodwill Points] [The Host may have a sharp tongue, but he has a soft heart. He's a natural-born good person!]
Damn it!
Naruto was determined to become evil.
He couldn't stand being treated so unfairly!
"At least that was a close call, Naruto. Let's go get barbecue together!"
Choji happily rubbed his stomach.
"I want to eat a whole cow!"
Naruto stuffed himself until he was full.
On the way home, he drew twice more.
[Good heavens!]
[With the Host's luck helping him, his first draw actually won him the highly coveted Space-Time Ninjutsu Scroll: Summoning Ninja Tools.] [His second draw won him the ultra-powerful Taijutsu: Konoha Dragon God.]
"Enough, enough!"
"Do systems these days have to go through a boot camp at a praise group before they can start working?"
Naruto stood beneath a streetlamp.
Just as he was about to head home, a bashful figure blocked his way.
Haruno Sakura!