The Beginning

"Could it be a problem with chakra control? Or is it a matter of quantity?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, muttering in deep frustration.

He really couldn't figure it out.

If one were to claim it was a matter of chakra control.

That didn't make any sense.

They were all part of the Three Body Technique.

There was no reason why the Clone Technique should be harder to control than the Substitution Technique or the Transformation Technique. Naruto even felt that the Substitution Technique was the hardest of the three to master; the object to be swapped and the timing of the swap were all factors a ninja had to consider when using it.

There was no reason for the Clone Technique to be more complex than the Substitution Technique.

It was, after all, just a clone without any physical substance.

Furthermore.

Naruto had already completed his chakra control training for tree climbing and water walking.

As for the issue of chakra quantity.

That was even more preposterous.

Whether in his past life or this one, Naruto had never heard of the Three Body Technique being affected by the amount of chakra used for control. It wasn't some high-level ninjutsu that would fail to manifest if one lacked the necessary chakra; a mere Three Body Technique shouldn't reach that point. Besides, taking a step back, it wasn't as if Naruto hadn't tried before. He had experimented with every possible output volume and rate of chakra, and he had even specifically asked Iruka about it. The conclusion remained the same awkward situation he faced now.

Iruka, who had seen Naruto use the Clone Technique with his own eyes, was equally bewildered. It was clear that he could use the Substitution Technique and the Transformation Technique perfectly well.

Why was it that the Clone Technique just wouldn't work?

Iruka, whose own experience was not particularly vast, couldn't provide an explanation either.

He could only offer Naruto some comfort.

And tell him to keep working hard.

After all, he was only in his second year.

With more than four years left until the graduation exam, there was no need to rush.

"Sigh, but compared to the beginning when I couldn't even distinguish the object, at least it looks somewhat human now. I suppose that counts as progress?"

He performed the Clone Technique once more.

Looking at the Naruto standing before him—who could barely be identified as his own clone—he sighed helplessly.

Unable to find the cause, Naruto could only attribute it to a so-called bug.

"Forget it, let's call it a day."

Watching the scenery grow dim, a flicker of light passed through Naruto's pupils. He rolled his neck and stood up again.

After packing up his various tools and the wild vegetables and fruits he had gathered that day, Naruto stretched, picked up his belongings, and walked toward the edge of the forest, preparing to return home.

"I still need to change my training plan..."

"I can spend a little time practicing the Clone Technique during this period, but I can't waste too much time on it..."

"The focus should still be on strengthening my physical constitution..."

"The kunai I took before is almost worn out. Hmm, I'll ask Iruka-sensei for some more tomorrow..."

"Ah... I'm so tired..."

The setting sun cast its final rays of twilight.

They spilled across the earth.

Casting Naruto's long shadow behind him.

At night, after returning home and finishing a simple dinner, Naruto rested for a moment before sitting down at his desk and opening the textbooks placed upon it.

Training by day.

Studying by night.

This had been Naruto's established routine for the past year.

It wasn't just the content taught in class.

Naruto had a plan to borrow and read every book in the Ninja Academy regarding ninjas, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. In this regard, thanks to Iruka, Naruto had many conveniences at his disposal. Of course, because of his age and the fact that he had only been in school for a little over a year, Iruka still had to place some restrictions on him. It wasn't that he forbade Naruto from reading, but from Iruka's perspective, he didn't want Naruto to have high ambitions but low abilities, or to bite off more than he could chew. This was the thing Iruka had said to Naruto most often over the past year.

Iruka was naturally very happy that Naruto was so eager to learn.

Moreover, because he frequently interacted and spent time with Naruto.

Seeing such a sunny Naruto.

Iruka's defenses gradually lowered. It wasn't that he had forgotten the tragic past of his parents' deaths, but he was able to look at Naruto's existence squarely. The Nine-Tails was the Nine-Tails, and Naruto was Naruto; the two were not one and the same. Furthermore, because Naruto had become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and was consequently loathed and ostracized by ninety-nine percent of the village, Iruka felt even more pity for him.

As the two grew closer and their relationship became more harmonious.

Iruka naturally placed even greater importance on Naruto's future.

He hoped that Naruto could, just as he had said himself, become a great ninja and earn the recognition of everyone.

Iruka paid even more attention to Naruto's training and studies than he had a year ago.

Although Naruto's learning progress far exceeded Iruka's expectations.

Naruto mastered much of the knowledge as soon as he learned it.

But because Naruto still held back his true abilities to some extent.

Iruka's assessment of Naruto was bound to be skewed.

Naruto himself did not pay much attention to it.

There were benefits to reviewing certain content repeatedly, as it deepened his memory.

In this regard.

Naruto had carried over his personal habits from his previous life quite well.

"Ah... is it already this late?"

Naruto, who had been engrossed in his studies.

Feeling a bit of soreness in his neck, he straightened his back and stretched his neck, happening to catch the time displayed on the clock on his desk.

Naruto let out a yawn and said with a hint of drowsiness.

"I have to get up early tomorrow, better wash up and go to sleep."

Naruto shook his head, closed the book in front of him, stood up, stretched his limbs, and walked straight into the bathroom. After finishing his routine.

Naruto went straight to bed.

In less than a minute.

Due to the accumulated fatigue.

Naruto quickly fell into a deep sleep.

And what should have been a night like any other, sleeping peacefully until dawn.

Today.

Saw a massive, unexpected event.

"BOOM!!!"

The sound of an explosion suddenly echoed across the entire sky above the Hidden Leaf Village.

A pillar of fire shot into the sky.

The fiery clouds illuminating the entire horizon.

Caused the once cold and quiet Hidden Leaf Village to instantly erupt into chaos.

Naruto, who had already fallen into a deep slumber.

Was jolted awake.

The piercing, sharp roar, along with the faint sounds of fighting drifting in.

Naruto immediately scrambled out of bed.

He quickly ran to the window.

Staring at the sky-high flames in the northwest corner of the Hidden Leaf Village and the Hidden Leaf ninjas constantly flashing and closing in from all directions, a look of extreme shock flickered in Naruto's pupils.

"That direction, if I'm not mistaken, is the Uchiha Clan's compound, right? A fire this large? Could it be the plot of the Night of the Massacre? Calculating the time, it matches up."

Naruto nodded slightly and muttered to himself.

Not long after Sasuke enrolled in the academy, the Uchiha Clan was indeed wiped out.

However, something was off.

Although Naruto couldn't quite remember the details of the plot.