Four Years in a Blink

[Obtained entry tag--Ninja]

[Enter school at six, graduate at twelve. As expendable material in the Ninja World, the training provided to students is crude and absurd. When a student can skillfully utilize the Three Body Technique and engage in life-or-death combat with peers, you may be called a Ninja!]

[Tag equipment effects: 1. Combat Instinct: Easier to discover opponent weaknesses during battle, increases luck. 2. Trees Are Talking: Reduces presence in the eyes of those nearby while equipped, making you harder to detect when hiding. 3. Endurance: Execute the Ninja Way, better able to endure pain, hunger, the urge to defecate...]

As things stood, Naruto's eye muscles merely twitched slightly.

He had already learned to calmly accept this moronic system of his. No matter what kind of foolish things it said, he could remain composed and keep a straight face.

Regardless of how abstract these tag effects were, at least it was a proper, combat-enhancing tag!

Having convinced himself of this, Naruto shifted his gaze to the latter half of the system's voice.

[What kind of emotion is this? Sasuke stared at the water tank with a gaping hole in its top. An emotion called frustration surged into his heart for the first time. He knew clearly the result of the battle just now—he had lost.]

[Witnessed Major Event: Important event in Naruto's life witnessed—defeated Sasuke. Reward has been issued!]

A puff of smoke exploded in his palm, his fingertips brushing against a familiar texture.

A scroll appeared in Naruto's hand.

Looking at the bold, sweeping calligraphy on the scroll, the smile on Naruto's face could no longer be contained.

"Looking at your Heavenly Book again?"

Bibi Dong furrowed her brows slightly, her tone laced with sourness. She resided within Naruto's body; how could she not know where those strange, self-created Spirit Skills of his came from?

It was just that, in Bibi Dong's eyes, these books were truly Heavenly Books—there wasn't a single character on them.

She wanted to learn... or even just borrow ideas, but she couldn't. How could she not be bitter?

As for counting on Naruto to explain them?

This guy's descriptive ability was at a disaster level!

She didn't know who he learned it from, but he would add a massive amount of onomatopoeia to describe the cultivation process. God only knew what kind of gibberish he was spouting.

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Naruto's eyes curve into crescents, his expression one of extreme smugness, clearly about to show off. Bibi Dong immediately turned her head away, preempting him with an indifferent tone.

"Yes, yes, it's not a Heavenly Book, it's your ladder to the Sky Throne. You've already said that several times."

Naruto wanted to say something more, but seeing that Bibi Dong had already closed off her hearing, he could only give up in frustration.

This person was a real buzzkill!

After grumbling, Naruto looked down at the scroll in his hand, the cold electronic voice ringing in his ears.

[Obtained reward: A-rank Ninjutsu, Rasengan!]

The next day, Notting Academy, As a primary Spirit Master academy, Notting Academy was not very large, consisting only of a training ground and a few teaching buildings and dormitories.

Having studied the Rasengan all night, Naruto saw Tang San and Xiao Wu from afar through the dense crowd. The two of them noticed him as well.

Xiao Wu's reaction was as strange as ever, immediately shrinking behind Tang San. Tang San turned his head and merely glanced at Naruto, the rich confidence in his eyes still undiminished.

Knowing that the casual move he made yesterday hadn't achieved its intended effect, Naruto didn't care much.

The three of them exchanged a look, then tacitly shifted their gazes away, pretending not to know one another.

A mere loser!

The system voice in his ear was already compiling various Japanese-style loser remarks for Tang Sasuke. Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets, listening intently, and couldn't help but puff out his chest and hum a little tune in triumph.

"It seems we'll have a much easier time over the next few years."

"Don't get complacent just yet. Don't forget, you've only just become a Spirit Master." Bibi Dong spoke at the right moment, pouring a bucket of cold water on the brat.

Naruto put his hands behind his head, responding perfunctorily.

"Got it, got it..."

"Hmph!"

Four years passed in a flash.

Click.

Bright sunlight spilled into the Jiang Family courtyard, which had been tidied up neatly.

Before the mirror by the window, utilizing the sunlight, the scissors in his hand clicked rhythmically. Pale purple hair clippings drifted down, landing on the table.

After a simple trim, the young man at the table put down the scissors and began to carefully examine himself in the mirror. However, anyone with a basic knowledge of the continent would realize that this youth was actually quite peculiar.

His features were fair and handsome, that went without saying, but his jet-black hair faded into a bright, pale purple at the tips, and his pupils were a deep purple rarely seen on the continent.

Douluo Continent had no such thing as hair-dyeing technology. Although there were various hair colors, this gradient style was truly rare on the continent; walking down the street would likely invite many strange looks.

However, looking at the youth's self-satisfied expression, he clearly didn't care.

"Damn! How am I getting more handsome by the day?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, resting his chin on his hand, and couldn't help but nod in self-praise at his reflection in the mirror.

Not bad.

This young man was none other than Naruto, four years later!

Spirit power nourishes the body; the way it nurtures a Spirit Master's physique is reflected in their growth rate.

One must remember, when Tang San first enrolled in Shrek Academy, twelve-year-old Ma Hongjun had already been frequenting brothels for years, and fourteen-year-old Oscar was already sporting a thick beard, leading Tang San to mistake him for a middle-aged man.

The nourishing effect of spirit power was evident.

"I really don't know why a grown man like you spends every day preening in front of a mirror. If you have this much free time, why not use it to cultivate?" Bibi Dong frowned in disgust, her words sharp and biting.

Naruto ignored her completely, casting his consciousness inward.

Four years had passed, and the Sealing Space had undergone some changes. The stagnant water that once covered the floor had vanished, and the peeling wall plaster had restored itself, now reflecting a metallic sheen.

Naruto scanned his surroundings; it could no longer be called a sewer—a prison was a far more fitting description.

He located the current Dong Trumpet.

Dong Trumpet had also changed significantly. The area was filled with various items conjured from spirit power. There was no need to mention the sofas and coffee tables that exuded a feudal, extravagant style; she had even gone so far as to leave a shabby chair for Naruto on the side...

Naruto had protested several times to no avail and could only swallow his pride.

Not only that, but the Golden Silk Papal Robe Bibi Dong once wore had been replaced by the latest seasonal fashion.

It was Naruto's own loose tongue to blame; a few years ago, he had wanted to initiate a "spiritual civilization" campaign for Haji-Dong so she would stop acting out, but instead of learning propriety and shame, she had taken the lessons on eating, drinking, and enjoying life to heart.

She had forced Naruto to visit every fabric shop in Nuoding City, shamelessly asking for patterns.

Fortunately, he only needed a glance to replicate them with spirit power, otherwise, Naruto would have been drowning in debt.

And she called that vanity?

She had the nerve to call him vain?

Naruto felt indignant. Besides, he had a legitimate reason for his vanity.

Suppressing the complex emotions in his heart, Naruto raised his eyes to gaze at Bibi Dong's delicate face, comparing their features in his mind, and couldn't help but frown.

If an outsider were here, they would immediately notice the anomaly—how could two people look so much alike?

The same deep purple pupils, the gradient light purple hair tips, and their similar facial features—it was practically a gender-bent version!

Stop!

The hair on Naruto's back stood on end, and he shook his head, casting away the terrifying thought.

It must just be the influence of Dong Trumpet's spirit power. After all, thinking back, the six whisker marks on Naruto's face were caused by the Nine-Tails' chakra; it wasn't strange for him to be affected by Dong Trumpet's spirit power.

Convincing himself of this, Naruto sneered and shifted the topic in his mind, or rather, resumed their previous conversation. "I don't know who it was back then who said my talent was mediocre? It kept me up all night, unable to sleep!"

"And look at the result! I'm already level twenty-eight! What about Tang San? Didn't he just scramble to obtain his second spirit ring last year?"

Bibi Dong leaned lazily against the sofa and glanced at Naruto. "This Seat was merely trying to spur you on. If not for my careful prodding, could you have grown so quickly?"

"Sophistry!"

Naruto scoffed in response.

Following that, the two, who usually bickered for half the day, fell into an inexplicable silence. The smile on Naruto's face slowly faded, replaced by a grave expression.

"Are you certain that person was Tang Hao?"

Bibi Dong paused for a moment before nodding heavily.