At the Beginning

"The chakra output was a bit too high just now. Alright, let's reduce the adhesion slightly this time, and pay special attention to the balance..."

With his eyes closed, Naruto recalled the sensation of that first step in his mind.

Then, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Hmm, this time should work, right?"

He adjusted his chakra output based on the feeling he had just experienced.

Naruto took his first step toward the tree in front of him once again.

This time, he planted his first foot firmly onto the trunk, and before a glimmer of joy could even reach the corners of his eyes—

The next moment.

"Crack."

As he followed up with his second step, the tree trunk shattered once more.

Naruto's expression shifted slightly, and he quickly exerted force in the opposite direction.

"Thud."

He landed back on the ground with ease.

"Was it too much force again? I have to maintain a balanced output at all times. Phew... it seems completing this training in a short period is going to be a bit difficult."

Naruto took a deep breath, shook his head with a wry smile, and whispered to himself.

Even if the chakra output for the first step was perfect and allowed him to stand steadily, any instability in the subsequent output—whether too much or too little—would inevitably result in either shattering the trunk or falling straight down.

"It's going to take constant practice to make up for it with experience."

Naruto shook out his arms, pondered for a moment, then channeled his chakra into the soles of his feet again and stepped toward the tree once more.

Training is dull and tedious.

Yet, it is something every ninja must endure.

To quote that pervy sage from the original story:

Those who understand patience, those who are capable of enduring.

Only they can be called ninjas.

This refers not only to enduring the environment but also to mastering patience with one's own emotions.

Especially for Naruto.

The next six or seven years.

This would be the most critical period.

Whether he could survive in this cruel world and achieve his goals.

Depended entirely on what level he could reach in these coming years.

Immersed in his training, Naruto did not notice the passage of time. In his previous life, he had already been deeply fascinated by this power that existed only in another dimension, and now, with the pressure of reality, Training.

Becoming stronger!

This was almost Naruto's only choice.

Although Naruto had the Nine-Tails as a cheat code, it was a pity that at this stage, he had no way to communicate with the Nine-Tails inside him. He had tried every method he could think of, so Naruto could only rely on himself. Besides, if his goal was the pinnacle of the ninja world, the Nine-Tails could only ever be an auxiliary; his true reliance had to be his own strength.

After all, those big shots in the original story all treated the Nine-Tails like a pet kept in a cage.

On this point.

Naruto was very clear-headed.

Tree climbing, water walking.

For a ninja, these are the most basic and effective exercises for chakra control.

The entry level is the hardest step.

Especially for Naruto, who had the influence of the Nine-Tails' chakra inside him, making free control nearly impossible. His first day of training ended almost entirely in failure; either the chakra was excessive, or it was insufficient.

Even though Naruto had been cautious, he still ended up falling hard from the tree several times due to the repeated failures.

It was only because of this current body; if it had been his body from his previous life, he would have been sent to the hospital after a few falls. Especially the height of that last fall—in his previous life, he would have been meeting God directly.

"Phew... let's call it a day."

It wasn't until the sky began to darken and the accumulated fatigue made Naruto feel he couldn't take any more that he stopped his training at the right time.

Naruto shook his little head, his golden hair glowing with an even more brilliant color under the reflection of the setting sun.

Afterward, Naruto picked up the bamboo basket at his side, looked at the wild vegetables and fruits he had gathered during his breaks, and his little nose wrinkled slightly, revealing a faint smile.

"Hmm, I can have an extra meal today."

With that, his retreating figure cast a long shadow under the sunset, moving slowly toward the foot of the mountain.

The forest returned to its former tranquility, leaving behind only the tree trunks scarred with footprints.

The gears of the young boy's fate began to turn in earnest at this very moment.

Tree climbing, water walking, and additional physical conditioning.

Immersed in these training sessions, Naruto hardly ever felt a hint of boredom.

Time slipped away rapidly.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Naruto was about to welcome his sixth birthday.

Of course, in this world, no one remembered Naruto's birthday—not even the seemingly benevolent Third Hokage. Or rather, even if he did know, it was an existence that had to be erased.

Because Naruto's birthday signified the Nine-Tails' rampage.

It signified the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage and his wife.

That day was also the day many Hidden Leaf Village ninja and villagers had perished.

No one wanted to speak of that day.

Including the Third Hokage!

The Third Hokage never appeared on the day of Naruto's birthday.

To be fair, after the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, sacrificed himself during the Nine-Tails' incident six years ago, the Hidden Leaf Village, which had finally shown signs of improvement, had once again fallen into a state of decline. The Third Hokage, having taken up the mantle of Hokage once more, was even busier than during his previous tenure. This busyness was not only directed outward but also inward.

Over these past six years, for Sarutobi Hiruzen to find time to visit (which also served as a form of surveillance and assessment) Naruto was already a rare occurrence.

Of course, this "rare occurrence" was the very thing Naruto least wanted to encounter over these six years. Meeting the Third Hokage tested his acting skills far too much. There were a few times Naruto felt he was on the verge of being seen through. Fortunately, certain factors served as his best camouflage, and even though the Third Hokage did observe him, he was mostly concerned with whether Naruto harbored any hatred toward the Hidden Leaf Village. His attention to other aspects was not particularly high, which had allowed Naruto to avoid revealing any flaws thus far.

This was naturally aided by the wholesome image Naruto had cultivated.

He wanted to become Hokage; he wanted everyone to acknowledge him.

He simply took every noble, naive, and romantic sentiment he could find and made it his own.

After all, that was exactly what he had said and done in the original story.

For Naruto, mimicking that was incredibly simple.

Of course, simple as it was, every time he faced the Third Hokage alone, Naruto felt a sense of trepidation, fearing that he might be exposed at any moment.

It was the ultimate test of his acting.

Fortunately, over these six years.

Naruto had made it through unscathed.