The Way of Cultivation

Why was Naruto so short and frail in the original story?

One could figure out the reason just by thinking with their toes.

Malnutrition.

Or, quite simply, the active destruction of his own physical health.

For him to have grown up normally?

That would have been the real miracle!

He could no longer expect anything from the Hidden Leaf Village.

If he wanted to be full, Naruto had to take matters into his own hands.

This forest became Naruto's primary target.

From the very beginning, before he even had the ability to protect himself, he would pick wild vegetables and mountain fruits from the outskirts. Later, once Naruto successfully refined his own chakra—especially after he entered the Ninja Academy and began to grow stronger—the range of his food collection expanded significantly. This included, but was not limited to, the live fish, shrimp, and crabs before him, as well as various beasts in the forest; all were targets for Naruto's hunting. Even for slightly more ferocious beasts, the current Naruto could handle them entirely on his own. In the beginning, he even used these beasts as objects to hone his skills. Furthermore, even if he couldn't win, to put it bluntly, there were Anbu tailing him nearby. In the worst-case scenario, those Anbu would serve as a safety net, so Naruto had absolutely nothing to fear.

And it was precisely because of this method.

Throughout this period.

Naruto never had to worry about his own food.

This approach.

Not only allowed him to obtain food, but also served as a form of training.

Why wouldn't he do it?

As for whether he would be restricted?

Naruto figured he could rest easy.

This sort of thing was not a problem at all. Those Anbu monitoring him would surely report every detail to the Third Hokage, and that old man himself possessed a crystal ball capable of monitoring the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

As long as they didn't stop him at the start.

It meant that this behavior was permitted.

He took the fresh fish he caught.

Naruto boiled them directly into a soup.

This was the cooking method that best ensured the freshness and nutritional value of the live fish.

As for the taste or anything of that sort.

Naruto, in his current circumstances, was never one to be picky. Everything was prioritized toward strengthening his own combat power. Whatever method best supplemented his nutrition and satisfied his daily training, that was the method Naruto would choose.

As for the necessary equipment required for ninja training.

After Naruto entered the Ninja Academy to study.

Some of it could be obtained from the academy.

And for the rest.

Even if Naruto couldn't buy it himself, he could still obtain it through Iruka. Even though Iruka still harbored a mix of three parts pity, three parts worry, three parts resentment, and one part confusion toward Naruto, because of the Third Hokage's instructions and his own identity as a teacher, Iruka was quite attentive to Naruto in most respects.

For instance, Iruka would often take Naruto out to improve his diet.

Whenever he learned that Naruto needed certain equipment for training.

Iruka would purchase and gift them to Naruto without the slightest hesitation.

Even when Naruto said he could pay for them himself.

He was always refused by Iruka with a smile.

Although the current Naruto had not yet obtained the Nine-Tails' chakra and could not sense malice, just from the atmosphere alone—especially when Naruto and Iruka locked eyes—Naruto could feel a sense of warmth.

This was one of the few rays of sunshine deep within Naruto's heart that remained uncovered by shadows.

Thanks to this.

Over the past year or so.

Naruto's life had become much smoother.

His training progressed steadily.

Even his days at the Ninja Academy were far better than Naruto had previously anticipated. At the very least, the children at school did not look at Naruto with fear or disgust. Of course, this was because these children did not yet know the truth. Furthermore, the Naruto of this life was not as mischievous as the one in the original story; he was quiet and steady, paired with a head of golden hair. Moreover, in terms of academics, he was far from the bottom-of-the-barrel failure from the original. Although Naruto intentionally hid his true ability and did not take first place in the class, his comprehensive scores in both theoretical exams and practical tests remained firmly in the top five, with his theoretical knowledge consistently ranking first.

This earned Naruto quite a bit of popularity among the young girls at school.

The one with the number one popularity rating was, naturally, that young master of the Uchiha clan.

It wasn't just because of his looks, but also because Sasuke consistently ranked first in every test. Coupled with the fact that he was the youngest son of the head of the Hidden Leaf Village's premier ninja clan, it was only natural that he received so much favor.

Naruto didn't care at all about such superficial fame in school.

The reason he chose to hide a little bit.

Was because he didn't want to be too high-profile.

It wasn't that he was afraid of anything.

At this stage, with the Third Hokage shielding him, as long as he didn't do anything out of the ordinary or let the Third Hokage truly perceive his inner thoughts, there wouldn't be any problems. It was even more impossible for that damned Bandage Man to take him away.

As long as the Third Hokage was still alive.

On this point, Naruto did indeed have to thank the Third Hokage a little.

Though it was only a fleeting thought in his heart.

Displaying the appropriate grades and standards was also because he had always maintained the image of being diligent and eager to learn. Plus, with the Third Hokage occasionally "checking in" on his training from above, it would truly be suspicious if he didn't have any impressive results to show for it.

Hiding a little bit wasn't a big issue. Besides, people habitually looked at the first place; as for the rest, unless they were the dead last, was there any difference between second place and tenth place in the eyes of an average person?

None!

Therefore, throughout this past year, not only during his personal time but also while at the Ninja Academy, Naruto was unexpectedly able to feel quite at ease.

"Well then, let's give it a try today as well."

After preparing it himself and finishing an extremely hearty lunch, Naruto rested for a while before beginning his afternoon training. From the initial tree-climbing training to the later water-walking training, honestly speaking, the time Naruto spent wasn't too much, nor was it too little. By the standards of an average ninja, this fell within the mean. In the original work from his past life, Naruto seemed to learn very quickly, but in reality, that Naruto already possessed a certain foundation at the time. If you look at his behavior during his time at the Ninja Academy—leaping over roofs and walls, causing trouble everywhere—he already had a foundation for chakra manipulation; it just appeared relatively casual and crude.

Later, there was the tree-climbing under Kakashi's guidance and the water-walking under Four-Eyes' guidance.

Naturally, he learned quite quickly.

To put it bluntly.

That blockheaded Naruto in the original work relied on physical instinct to learn anything.

But the Naruto in this life learned.

He relied more on his own brain.

Of course, physical instinctive reactions were present as well, but he had a subconscious reliance on the habits of his past life, preferring to use his brain to ponder things.

Without any guidance.

Naruto's cultivation was naturally a bit slower than in the original work.