Training Alone, Taking Stock of Himself

Naruto nodded in agreement, adding to himself, Perfect. I need time to train anyway.

Early the next morning, Naruto packed his things and prepared to head out.

He tied the laces of his ninja sandals in the entryway, checked the kunai and shuriken in his ninja tool pouch, then reached for the door.

"Naruto..."

Just then, Sakura's voice came from behind him.

She stood in the hallway with her arms crossed over her chest, her tone carrying the air of someone making a perfectly natural arrangement. "Sasuke needs someone to take care of him. His injuries haven't healed yet, so I need to stay and change his medicine and cook for him."

"So the mission to protect the bridge is up to you."

Naruto's hand paused on the door.

He did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned and glanced at Sakura.

Naruto's gaze made Sakura's heart inexplicably skip a beat.

There was none of his usual fervor or eagerness to please, none of that foolish shyness and flustered clumsiness. There was only a cool appraisal, as if he were evaluating something that had nothing to do with him.

"This is the last time."

Naruto spoke slowly, his voice calm and devoid of emotion.

After saying that, he pulled open the door, walked out, and casually shut it behind him.

Sakura stood there blankly for more than ten seconds.

Naruto's tone just now had been polite, yet utterly devoid of warmth.

He was nothing like the dead last who used to follow her around every day.

And that final look Naruto gave her, that undisguised indifference, pricked somewhere inside Sakura like a thin needle. It did not hurt, but it made her intensely uncomfortable.

When Sakura finally came to her senses, her anger erupted like a volcano.

"Damn it, Naruto!"

Sakura roared inwardly. The muscles in her face twitched slightly as she forced herself not to shout, and her fists clenched until her knuckles turned white.

"You dare speak to me with that attitude?"

"You even dare say it's the last time?"

"What does that mean? What gives you the right?"

"You weren't like this before!"

"You dare treat me like this? I... I'll never speak to you again..."

After finishing her inner tirade, Sakura took a deep breath and, at top speed, rearranged the fury on her face into a gentle, charming smile. She fixed her hair, carried out a bowl of freshly cooked hot porridge from around the hallway corner, and took graceful little steps toward the room where Sasuke was recovering.

"Sasuke, I made porridge!"

Her voice was sweet enough to drip honey, making her seem like a completely different person from the furious Sakura in her mind moments ago.

Naruto walked along the path leading into the forest. Sunlight streamed through gaps in the leaves, casting mottled patches of light and shadow across the ground.

There was not a ripple in his heart.

It was not as though Naruto did not understand Sakura's thoughts, but to him, every minute and every second was precious now.

He had no time to play romance games with a twelve-year-old girl, much less any interest in continuing to play the role of a lapdog who came when called and left when dismissed.

Naruto created a Shadow Clone Technique and sent him to follow Tazuna near the bridge.

This shadow clone had half of his Chakra, enough to handle any unexpected situation that might arise.

Even if some clueless bandits really came to cause trouble, he could easily take on ten wandering warriors.

The shadow clone nodded, leaped away, and vanished into the forest.

Naruto himself followed the path from his memories and entered the forest where Team 7 had trained before.

In this forest, he and Sasuke had climbed trees, using Chakra to cling to the trunks as they competed to see who could climb higher. They had gotten so competitive that they crushed the bark beneath their feet, then both fell from midair and ended up bruised and battered.

It was also in this forest that Naruto had first met Haku.

Naruto stood in that familiar clearing and looked around.

Tall conifers blotted out the sky. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the canopy, forming slanting columns of light. The moss beneath his feet was soft and springy, while the air carried the mingled scent of pine resin and soil.

Naruto did not rush into training. Instead, he first made security arrangements.

His hands formed a cross seal.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique."

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

More than fifty shadow clones emerged from the smoke. Without wasting a word, they automatically split into several squads and scattered in every direction through the forest.

Some crouched in the treetops, hiding among dense clusters of pine needles with only their eyes exposed.

Some lay behind bushes, their Chakra senses stretched to the limit as they monitored every movement within a hundred meters.

Some patrolled along the stream, their eyes sweeping over the water and the grass on both banks.

Some guarded the path leading into the forest, disguising themselves as ordinary people leaning against tree trunks.

More than fifty clones turned the training area into an airtight ring of vigilance.

Forget people. Even if a rabbit hopped out of the grass, at least three pairs of eyes would lock onto it at once.

Only after completing all that did Naruto nod in satisfaction.

Do not ask why he was being so cautious. The answer was simple: he had plenty of Chakra and could spare a few clones.

The lessons of his previous life had taught Naruto that carelessness was the greatest enemy.

He did not want someone barging in and interrupting him at a critical point in his training, or seeing the process of his training.

Absolute Control was his greatest trump card. Before he became strong enough, no one could be allowed to learn of it.

No, even after becoming strong, he would not let anyone know.

After finishing all that, Naruto found a flat rock in the middle of the clearing and sat down.

He crossed his legs, rested his hands naturally on his knees, closed his eyes, and began to calm himself and regulate his breathing.

Inhale, exhale.

Inhale, exhale.

His heartbeat gradually slowed from its already steady rhythm. The birdsong, wind, and murmur of the stream were filtered out of his awareness one by one, until only the faint sound of Chakra flowing inside his body remained.

First was the Shadow Clone Technique.

Shadow clones had one advantage.

That was, he could have the shadow clones train, then dispel them to share their experience. In theory, he could create hundreds of clones to train at once, making his efficiency ten or even a hundred times greater than anyone else's.

Of course, having too many shadow clones also had side effects. If the memories of a hundred clones flooded into his mind at once, one wrong move might turn him into an idiot.

That was why the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique had been classified as a forbidden technique, one that only people with enormous Chakra reserves could train in.

But Naruto had not yet begun practicing Ninjutsu.

Naruto shook his head, then took stock of the foundation he currently possessed. First was the Uzumaki bloodline's innate advantage: an enormous amount of Chakra.

Then there was Nine-Tails Chakra. Though he could tame it with Absolute Control and use it freely, he still needed to deal with the Nine-Tails itself.

And that was all.

His offensive Ninjutsu was practically nonexistent.

His defensive Ninjutsu was practically nonexistent.

As for taijutsu...

The original Naruto's skills, bluntly put, were just street brawling mixed with a bit of basic Ninja Academy taijutsu. It was barely enough for dealing with fodder, but against even a slightly proper opponent, his true colors would be exposed.

Genjutsu went without saying. He had not even figured out its basic principles.

Any other transmigrator in this situation might already have been considering giving up and taking it easy.

After all, in the world of Naruto, bloodlines were the ceiling.