"Pant... pant..."
At the edge of Konoha Forest, beside a massive waterfall.
Beneath the crushing torrent of the waterfall.
At the base of the falls, Naruto, his golden hair bright, sat cross-legged shirtless as he trained.
Although he did not have the necklace from the original story around his neck.
Having reached an agreement with the Nine-Tails within him, he was able to make better use of the Tailed Beast's chakra.
Enduring the immense pressure of the cascading water, Naruto's face remained calm. Three faint red whisker marks showed on each side of his cheeks.
His hands formed a slight seal before resting at his lower abdomen.
A layer of red chakra flowed rapidly within his body, forming a perfect circuit with the outside world and precisely offsetting the pressure brought by the waterfall.
"Hey... do you think this kind of training is even meaningful...?"
On the bank beside the waterfall, Kiba Inuzuka watched Naruto at the bottom of the falls from the clearing. Tilting his head, he sighed softly.
At his side, Akamaru let out a series of whimpers as well, looking like a fellow sufferer.
Hearing him.
Not far away, Shikamaru, who had been controlling his shadow with his eyes closed to touch a wooden post, slowly opened his eyes. He glanced at Kiba and said quietly.
"What, are you planning to give up already?"
Hearing Shikamaru's words, Kiba nearly jumped to his feet. He quickly turned his head and shouted.
"Who... who said I was giving up!"
As he said that, he lowered his head slightly, his gaze complicated.
"I just think our current training doesn't seem like it'll do much. Don't forget, we've all seen the strength of those Hollow Spirit Empire guys..."
"At our current pace, who knows when we'll be able to fight them..."