Summary of Gains

First, he had completed the Flying Raijin Technique First Stage.

Naruto had originally expected it to take several days to fully grasp spatial perception and formula inscription, but with forty clones studying it simultaneously and the surging Chakra support of Golden Body Mode, he completed the hardest breakthrough from zero to one overnight.

Then came an unexpected gain: Golden Body Mode.

It had not originally been part of tonight's plan, but because of that exchange of punches with Nine-Tails, Nine-Tails had voluntarily opened the gates to its Chakra, allowing him to master Nine-Tails Chakra Mode ahead of schedule.

Although the entire process had risked exposure, fortunately, under the dual suppression of Zetsu's Absolute Control and the Perception Isolation Barrier, no one in Konoha noticed anything happening by the waterfall pool.

Since arriving in this world, Naruto had, for the first time, felt that he held some real bargaining chips in his hands.

Not the prophetic advantage brought by an information gap, nor the breathing room gained through clever tricks in the shadows, but power he truly held in his own hands.

At last, he had a trace of confidence when facing those old schemers of the Shinobi World and Konoha.

The sky gradually shifted from gray-white to pale orange, and the clouds behind the distant mountains were edged in gold by the rising sun.

The meeting time was eight o'clock. It was still early, but he could not cut the timing too close.

He needed to return to the village before daylight, and he also had to switch back seamlessly with his Shadow Clone Technique without letting the ANBU detect anything unusual.

But he had already planned all of that out with his Shadow Clone Technique in advance.

With that thought, Naruto leaped toward Konoha.

In a small alley near one of Konoha Village's main roads stood an old-fashioned public restroom built at the corner.

The restroom was in a remote location, flanked by two abandoned old warehouses. Normally, aside from stray cats and the occasional construction worker sneaking off to slack around, almost no one passed by.

Naruto landed behind the outer wall of the public restroom and first swept the area with both Good and Evil Perception and ordinary Chakra sensing.

There were no ANBU nearby, no patrolling ninja, not even any villagers out for an early morning walk.

He pulled open the wooden door and went inside. As expected, it was empty. All three stalls stood open, and the faucet over the sink dripped steadily.

He walked into the innermost stall, closed the door, and waited quietly.

At the same time, back at the apartment, the Shadow Clone Technique opened his eyes on schedule.

He stretched, yawned, then got out of bed and washed up.

While brushing his teeth, he even made a face at his reflection, his mouth full of foam.

The Shadow Clone Technique imitated every detail of Naruto's daily life perfectly, even reproducing little things like squeezing out slightly too much toothpaste.

After changing into his ninja clothes and putting on his forehead protector, the Shadow Clone Technique left the apartment.

In the treetop across the street, an ANBU member silently yawned, nudged his partner with an elbow, and tipped his chin toward the apartment entrance.

His partner nodded and silently adjusted the focus of his binoculars.

The blond boy emerged from the apartment building, neither too fast nor too slow, crossed the empty morning streets, and headed toward the little bridge where Team 7 usually gathered.

Everything was normal, no different from any previous morning.

Halfway there, when the Shadow Clone Technique passed the public restroom at the corner of that secluded alley, he naturally turned inside.

The door closed behind him.

Less than thirty seconds later, Naruto's real body pushed open the stall door, put the Shuriken transformed from a Shadow Clone Technique into his ninja tool pouch, turned on the faucet at the sink and washed his hands, adjusted his forehead protector in the mirror, then pushed open the restroom door and continued toward the meeting point in the morning sunlight.

Less than a minute had passed from his arrival to the Shadow Clone Technique entering the restroom.

Other than an orange cat perched on top of the wall, there was no movement in the alley outside.

The ANBU's attention had remained fixed on the steadily moving target, and they noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

By the time Naruto reached the bridge, Sasuke and Sakura had not arrived yet.

As for Kakashi, there was no need to mention him. Everyone in Konoha knew that Team 7's Jōnin leader was infamous for being late. Arriving early would have been abnormal.

The bridge was empty. Only a few early-rising sparrows hopped about on the railings, while a thin veil of morning mist drifted over the river.

Naruto leaned against the railing of the little bridge, glanced at the sky, and silently calculated the time.

There was still at least an hour before the eight o'clock meeting time.

Waiting around like this would make him seem unlike the Naruto who always arrived right on time—or even late. Being too early would draw more attention instead.

He formed a cross-shaped hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Technique."

Poof, poof, poof...

More than a dozen clouds of smoke burst across the bridge, and more than a dozen Narutos appeared in the morning light.

The clones exchanged looks, immediately understood, and swiftly spread out over the small clearing beside the bridge, pretending to carry out various basic drills.

Some did push-ups, some repeatedly practiced Shuriken-throwing stances, while a few squatted by the river and tossed stones into the water, competing with B to see who could throw the farthest.

The training looked lively enough, but it was really more about creating the impression that he was still diligently working hard.

Of course, the ANBU watching in secret would only see it as an ordinary day in the life of an energetic Genin.

Naruto himself sat cross-legged on the ground with the remaining few clones, closed his eyes, and continued digesting the theoretical knowledge behind Flying Raijin Second Stage.

The core of Flying Raijin Second Stage was using Flying Thunder God repeatedly for multiple high-speed teleportations in combat, even using the momentum of teleportation to alter the direction of an attack.

Simply sitting there with his eyes closed and a calm expression, occasionally gesturing with his hands at B, made him look like he was pondering some especially difficult Shuriken combo.

The two ANBU watched from afar, and the less experienced one clicked his tongue softly.

"This guy really has a ton of Chakra. He splits off more than a dozen Shadow Clone Techniques to train this early in the morning!"

"The Uzumaki clan's bloodline, plus that thing."

The older ANBU replied flatly. There was no judgment in his tone, only the cold indifference of stating a fact.

"Having abundant energy is normal."

"Focus on the mission. Stop chatting."

"Yes, senior!"

The younger ANBU said nothing more and returned his attention to Naruto.

They did not notice that, among the more than a dozen Shadow Clone Techniques, there was actually one extra.

The Shuriken transformed from the Shadow Clone Technique during the restroom handoff had been mixed into Naruto's ninja tool pouch and brought out. During the earlier training, it silently blended into the clones, used the smoke as cover to dispel itself, and returned to the original body.

Second by second, the time drew closer to eight.

Once Naruto judged that it was about right, he dispelled all the Shadow Clone Techniques.

After the smoke cleared, he sat alone leaning beneath the bridge railing, breathing slightly heavily, with a few beads of sweat on his forehead. Even his expression had been perfectly adjusted to look like someone who had just finished training.

This degree of disguise might have required deliberate thought in the past, but now, with his continued use of Zetsu's Absolute Control, controlling his expression, adjusting his breathing, and simulating his posture had become as natural as breathing.

As eight o'clock approached, two figures appeared in the morning mist at the end of the bridge.