Five Days

In its place stretched a vast grassland with an unobstructed view, a transparent blue sky, and fluffy white clouds.

A breeze swept across the grassland, rustling the blades of grass and gently rippling Kurama's dark orange fur like waves of wheat.

There was no oppressive dome, no stench of rust, no icy stagnant water.

There was only grass, sky, a breeze, and a vast space where he could roll about freely.

Kurama's eyes snapped open.

He lifted his head from his paws, looked at the endless grassland to his left, then the endless grassland to his right, and finally raised his gaze to the impossibly blue sky above.

His tail instinctively swept across the grass. The sensation of the blades brushing against it was so real that he found it unbelievable.

"Kid, you..."

Kurama's voice could not hide his shock.

"Looks like you like it."

Naruto clapped his hands and admired his handiwork. "Then let's leave it like this for now. These are the only two environments I can imagine at the moment. I'll change it for you when I get some inspiration later."

"We'll talk next time, Kurama."

Naruto waved at Kurama, his gesture casual and natural, as though he were saying goodbye to a friend.

Then his consciousness began to slowly fade from the grassland like mist scattered by the wind.

"This kid..."

Kurama stared at the spot where Naruto had vanished and remained silent for a long time.

Then he pushed up his enormous body, took two steps across the soft grass, found a spot with just the right amount of sunlight, and slowly lay down.

His nine tails spread out behind him, his thick front paws folded over his chest, his chin resting on the furry backs of his paws.

Sunlight spilled over his dark orange fur, warm and comfortable, while the breeze of the grassland gently brushed the tips of his ears.

Kurama slowly closed his eyes.

No matter what this kid was plotting, no matter what secrets he had.

At least that damned sewer, that iron cage which had trapped him for over a decade, had now become a place with grass, blue skies, sunlight, and wind.

Kurama had to admit, it did not feel bad.

Outside

Naruto slowly opened his eyes.

Sunlight filtered through gaps in the canopy, falling directly onto the large boulder where he sat cross-legged and warming the black ninja pants covering his legs.

Birdsong came from the treetops in every direction, while a stream flowed through the cracks between rocks with a soft babbling sound. Everything was quiet, without the slightest anomaly.

Naruto swept his gaze around. The more than fifty Shadow Clone Technique sentries he had deployed earlier were still in their positions. Some crouched in the treetops, while others hid behind bushes, maintaining their alert formation.

Everything was exactly as before.

Naruto nodded in satisfaction, then slowly raised his right hand.

In an instant, Chakra gathered in his palm, then began spinning, accelerating, and compressing at high speed.

Within a few breaths, a Rasengan appeared in Naruto's palm, emitting a low hum.

The Chakra currents at the sphere's edge stirred a faint breeze, causing the hair over Naruto's forehead to sway slightly.

Naruto nodded as he looked at the spinning Rasengan in his palm.

It had taken less than ten minutes to master the Rasengan from theory to practice.

This was the first true A-rank offensive ninjutsu he had mastered so far, as well as the greatest expression of his current single-target destructive power.

With the Rasengan, Naruto now had a decisive trump card in close combat. He no longer had to rely solely on his fists and Shadow Clone Technique to fight head-on.

Then there was the Flying Raijin Technique. That would not come so quickly.

Minato Namikaze had taught Naruto the complete technique diagram and the essentials of spatial perception, but calculating spatial coordinates and comprehending spatial perception required insight.

Naruto set himself the goal of carving out at least the initial form of his first Flying Raijin Technique formula before returning to the Chunin Ninja Exams. Even if he could not activate it reliably yet, he would first inscribe the formula.

Sealing Technique was the real heavyweight.

Adamantine Sealing Chains, the Four Symbols Seal, the Fire Sealing Method, barrier deployment, multi-layered nesting.

Kushina had crammed the foundational framework of the Sealing Technique passed down through generations of the Uzumaki clan into Naruto as though force-feeding him enlightenment.

But Sealing Technique was one of the most complex formula systems in the Shinobi World.

Every rune, the speed of every hand seal, and the deployment order of every nested structure could only be built up through vast amounts of time and sweat.

Naruto understood this clearly, so he had no expectations of mastering Sealing Technique overnight. He merely added it to his list of long-term training.

In short, through this training and the Chakra Kushina and Minato Namikaze had left for him, his ability to protect himself had risen by far more than one level.

When he had first transmigrated here, Naruto had only managed to withstand Haku's Ice Crystal Magic Mirrors through Absolute Control and the explosive burst of Nine-Tails Chakra.

If Naruto fought Haku again now, he could win even without Nine-Tails Chakra.

After returning to Konoha, as long as he kept a low profile, did not stir up trouble, and did not draw Danzo's or the Third Hokage's attention too early.

He could take missions step by step to earn money and improve his living conditions while secretly training the Flying Thunder God and Sealing Technique, steadily building up his strength.

Once the Chunin Ninja Exams ended, the Third Hokage died, and Tsunade took office, his situation would become much more relaxed.

By then, he would already have enough trump cards in hand to develop however he wished.

The future looked promising.

At that thought, the corners of Naruto's mouth curled slightly, and one of the strings that had been tightly wound in his heart loosened a little.

He raised his hands and formed the seal to dispel the technique.

"Release..."

"Poof, poof, poof, poof..."

In an instant, more than fifty Shadow Clone Techniques throughout the forest simultaneously turned into white smoke.

The continuous popping sounds rose and fell, echoing through the entire forest like a relay. White mist spread between the trees before the wind scattered it away.

At the same time, the memories accumulated by the clones during this period flooded into Naruto's mind like a tide.

Five days.

It had not felt like long inside the Golden Space, but five whole days had already passed in the real world.

Scene after scene flashed through his memories. Over the past few days, villagers gathering medicinal herbs had occasionally passed by the forest entrance, only to be politely turned back by Naruto's clones on the grounds that "ninjas are carrying out a special mission ahead, and passage is temporarily prohibited."

A few idle men had refused to accept that and tried to force their way through, but Naruto's clones had politely sent them off with some very restrained taijutsu. No one came again after that.

Other than that, nothing major had happened.

In a small place like the Land of Waves, ever since Gato died, even wandering samurai had vanished. Public safety had instead risen sharply.

After sorting through those memories, Naruto stretched his body, pushed off the rock beneath his feet, and leaped toward the bridge.

Several minutes later, Naruto landed on a reef at the bridge entrance.

The full view of the bridge unfolded before Naruto's eyes.