Chains of Heaven

No!

Bibi Dong immediately refuted her own conjecture.

Spirit Hall had long since been reorganized into the Spirit Empire, and its attire had been drastically altered under her orders; how could anyone still be wearing these old-style uniforms?

Furthermore, during the Great War at Jialing Pass, every spirit master the Spirit Empire could mobilize had been deployed, and even ordinary citizens of the empire had been pressed into service as laborers. How could there possibly be a spirit master here, leisurely awakening spirits for people?

Bibi Dong's thoughts were in a chaotic mess.

As her struggle ceased, the golden chains wrapped around her body finally stopped emitting that dangerous, screeching sound.

"Alright, it's all over!"

After finishing with the last person, the bearded spirit master waved his hand, turned around to face the crowd, and stroked his beard. "Your street is quite lucky this year; three people actually awakened spirit power."

"Eh? How could it be our luck? It's all thanks to your blessing, sir. If you hadn't awakened their spirits, how would these little ones have had such good fortune?"

The neighborhood head's face bloomed like a flower as he bowed slightly, fawning over the bearded spirit master.

"Too much, too much."

The bearded man waved his hands, though he couldn't stop the smile on his face. "Awakening spirits is my job, after all. How can you say such things?"

"..."

Under the gaze of all the children, the two of them performed a scene of adult social interaction.

After exchanging some pleasantries, the neighborhood head herded the group out of the Spirit Hall like ducks.

The Spirit Hall in Nuoding City was not large, and there were few spirit masters within. To avoid crowding during spirit awakenings, they conducted them in batches by neighborhood, and parents had to wait outside.

Walking out of the solemn gates of the Spirit Hall, sunlight spilled down. Buildings with pointed roofs, full of exotic flair, stood in rows, extending all the way to the stone City Lord's Mansion. Citizens dressed in simple hemp clothing moved back and forth, and the wheels of carriages creaked as they rolled over the gravel road.

Jiang Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly, adjusting to the outdoor light.

Inside his body, Bibi Dong's eyes widened. She had single-handedly ignited the war between the Spirit Empire and those two pathetic nations; such peaceful street scenes had long since vanished from the continent!

"Brat! What is going on here? Why is This Seat inside your body? What year is it!?"

Jiang Naruto ignored her, intending to give this "Queen" the cold shoulder for a while.

As the children who had awakened their spirits walked out of the Spirit Hall, dozens of parents in various attire, who had been waiting for a long time, swarmed forward right outside the gates.

"How was it? Son, do you have spirit power?"

"You must be hungry, right? Mom brought something delicious!"

"..."

The two streams of people converged, and it instantly became noisy. Naturally, none of this had anything to do with Jiang Naruto. He stood quietly beside the neighborhood head, ignoring the clamor in his ears and listening to the electronic voice that had suddenly sounded in his mind.

[For many years, Naruto, born an orphan, could only hide in corners, watching from afar and envying the happy families of others. The absence of parents left Naruto with an infinite longing for "love" in his heart...]

Are you kidding me?

System, are you blind?

We're at this point, and you still think this is the Naruto world? And you're even keeping the narrative going!

No!

Recalling something, Jiang Naruto shook his head violently. He wasn't an orphan, so why was he inserting himself into this? Strictly speaking, counting his brother, out of their family of four, he was the one who had died. That was called losing a child!

Well... that was also a pretty dark joke...

Naruto shook his head. He had finally experienced the system's function of writing Naruto's legendary life, and as expected, it was completely useless.

The neighborhood head, who was busy sharing the good news with the parents of the other two children, glanced strangely at Naruto, who was shivering all over. He assumed the boy was touched by the scene, thinking of his deceased family, and had started crying in secret.

The neighborhood head sighed softly but didn't speak, fearing he would hurt the little man's pride.

The parents of the children without innate spirit power sighed and left in disappointment, while the parents of the two who possessed spirit power couldn't help but chat a bit more with the neighborhood head. Just then:

"Wait!"

A resonant voice came from behind.

The group turned their heads and their expressions changed drastically. The bearded spirit master was holding his precious beard as he trotted out from the Spirit Hall.

"Master Spirit Master? What is this about?"

The two pairs of parents instinctively lowered their heads in the presence of a Spirit Hall master; only the neighborhood head spoke up to ask.

"Look at my memory, I only gave you the certificates." The bearded spirit master took the three certificates from the neighborhood head, pulled out Naruto's, crossed out the word "Chain" with a bold stroke, and lowered his head. "Lucky kid, what is the name of your spirit?"

"Eh?"

Seeing the boy was confused, he added:

"The other two are one thing—they don't even have two levels of innate spirit power, so filling in anything will do. But you are a big shot who will become a Spirit King or Spirit Emperor in the future. You can't be careless with your spirit's name, or you'll be a laughingstock when you talk about it in the future."

The parents still remaining in front of the gate turned their heads in unison, staring wide-eyed at the orphan Jiang Naruto.

This guy was so lucky!

Jiang Naruto didn't care at all what they were thinking; he furrowed his brows and fell into deep thought.

A name?

Adamantine Sealing Chains?

Naruto's first thought was of that classic bloodline limit from Naruto, but just as he was about to answer, he recalled the golden chains engraved with runes that had wrapped around Bibi Dong earlier, moving entirely at his command.

Was that his Martial Soul too?

Or was it a bonus gift from the system?

Naruto couldn't find an answer, but the fact that these chains could seal gods gave him other ideas. He looked down at the soul mark on the back of his hand and opened his mouth instinctively.

"Chains of Heaven."

"Oh?"

The bearded soul master glanced at Naruto, smiled, and scribbled it down with his brush.

"That's a name with soaring ambition. Cultivate well; don't disgrace your talent, and don't disgrace the ambition you showed today."

"Yes!"

Jiang Naruto cupped his hands in thanks. The bearded soul master returned the other certificates to the ward head, but handed Jiang Naruto's directly to him.

"Take it. With this certificate, you can choose any of the primary schools in the surrounding cities."

Looking at the certificate in his hand, Jiang Naruto felt a lot of emotions; his path of cultivation was starting right here.

[The night before entering the Ninja Academy, holding his admission letter, six-year-old Naruto tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Will I be able to make friends at school? he wondered...]

Shut up! You silly system!

"Little Naruto, have you decided which primary academy to enroll in?"

In front of the quiet Jiang family courtyard, the ward head asked with a smile. People on the Douluo Continent matured early, and besides, such a major life decision had to be made by Jiang Naruto himself.

Naruto scratched his head and gave a vague answer that fit his perceived age, "I haven't decided yet. I plan to go look at a few primary academies."

"That's right!" The ward head nodded in approval. "Choosing an academy is not something to be careless about. You really should look around more and think it over. There are still a few days before school starts, so there's no need to rush."

After saying that, he seemed to remember something and added, "Prepare yourself well. Don't slack off just because your innate soul power is high. For us commoners, we only get one chance like this in a lifetime, so grasp it well."

The ward head rambled on and on, even repeating the story of how he broke through to a level 10 soul master and absorbed a forty-year soul ring when he was twenty.

He meant well, so Naruto nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. Only after the man finished speaking did he bow to see him off.

"Thank you, Uncle Ward Head."

"It's nothing, nothing at all. We all live on the same street; if you need any help, just speak up."

The ward head waved his hand and turned to disappear at the end of the street.

After all that, Jiang Naruto returned to his quiet home. The courtyard his parents left behind wasn't large, but it was enough to keep him fed. He closed the doors and windows, sat cross-legged on the bed, and decided it was time to see how his "Dong Trumpet" was doing.

The moment the seal loosened, Bibi Dong's anxious voice exploded in his ears through his consciousness.

"Little brat?"

"Still calling me a little brat? Didn't your mother teach you manners?" Jiang Naruto's brows shot up, his tone unfriendly. A man's gentleness is for eighteen-year-old girls, not for old aunties!

"I am your savior, after all. If it weren't for me, you would have been dead already!"

"..."

"...Little Friend..."

After a long while, Bibi Dong stammered out those two words.

With that single short sentence, Jiang Naruto broke through on the spot. An invisible, ripple-less wave of energy rose from his back, and he stepped directly from the Ant Realm into the Little Friend Realm!