Testing Defense

Over the next while, Naruto and Hinata spent a long time together.

They cooked together, ate together, and chatted together. It was not until the sun had set that Naruto walked her home.

After returning home, Naruto sat cross-legged and checked the Experience Points he had gained today.

"A total of 200 Experience Points. Sasuke and Sakura's Experience Points have been drained, and if I absorb a little more from Kakashi tomorrow, his will be gone too. Looks like I need to find new targets."

Naruto furrowed his brow, considering who his next targets should be.

"Kurenai, Asuma, and Might Guy's teams are worth trying. Their Experience Points may not be as high as Sasuke's, but they're still nothing to scoff at."

"Then there are Mitaraishi Anko, Uzuki Yugao, Gekko Hayate, and the others. Oh, and the Legendary Sannin. Their Experience Points must be incredibly high. Too bad they aren't in Konoha, but no need to worry—they'll return sooner or later."

After silently analyzing the situation and picking out his future targets one by one, Naruto finally began exchanging for Saiyan Blood.

[ Ding! 200 Experience Points consumed. Successfully exchanged for 20 drops of Saiyan Blood. ]

A boiling warm current flowed through his body as even stronger power surged within him. Naruto's hair darkened a little more, and his aura grew increasingly solid.

"I'm getting stronger and stronger. These weighted clothes feel like thin clothing now. They barely weigh anything."

Naruto frowned. He had only worn the weighted equipment for a single day, yet it had already stopped being effective. That left him rather frustrated.

"I'll figure out a way to get heavier weighted equipment later. First, let's look at my personal data." Naruto opened the Data Panel.

Ding!

Naruto: Hybrid Saiyan

Bloodline: 14%

Abilities: Ki Blast, Kamehameha, Multi-Shadow Clone Technique

Experience Points: 3

...

"My Saiyan Bloodline is already at 14%. I'm getting closer and closer to 50%. I really look forward to seeing what I'll be like after reaching 50%. Time to train."

Naruto flipped through the ninjutsu scrolls but did not find any ninjutsu related to gravity. Hinata probably had not gathered any yet.

After thinking it over, Naruto created several Shadow Clones and had them practice the ninjutsu while he began training his body.

He could not be bothered to train ninjutsu himself anymore. Having his Shadow Clones do it was enough, because a Saiyan's physique was the foundation of everything.

He had mostly completed things like tree climbing, water walking, and Chakra Nature Transformation back when he was at the Ninja Academy. He could leave the rest to his Shadow Clones.

Now, he was more focused on improving his physique. As long as his body was strong enough, any attack would be a joke in front of him.

He had even planned it out already: train his physique at night and go out to earn Experience Points during the day. That method of training would definitely allow his strength to rise rapidly.

"Then it's decided!"

Having made up his mind, Naruto began training his body inside the house.

First, he supported his body with a single finger and trained while standing upside down. When he found that too easy, he fetched a heavy object and continued training while holding it up, but he still found it effortless.

"If only I had a gravity chamber. What a shame, what a shame."

Naruto felt it was a little regrettable, but when he remembered that Hinata was helping him search for gravity-related ninjutsu, he no longer felt sorry about it and immersed himself in physical training once more.

This training session lasted the entire night.

The next morning, the sun shone brightly, while birds sang amid fragrant flowers.

Naruto took a cold shower, then ate breakfast shirtless at the table while feeling the greater strength hidden within his body.

"I wonder what level I've reached now. I remember that Goku wasn't afraid of bullets when he was young in Dragon Ball. How old was he then? Eleven or twelve?"

Naruto could not remember clearly, but Goku had definitely spent a considerable amount of time traveling from space to Earth. Their ages should have differed by one or two years.

"He was already mostly unafraid of bullets at that age. What about me? How good is my defense now? I still have very little bloodline power, but if it's the Broly Bloodline, the boost should be enormous."

Naruto murmured as he took a Kunai from his tool pouch and looked at his wrist.

"Let's test it."

Naruto gripped the Kunai and sliced it across his arm, then checked the result.

"No effect? Nice, nice. Let's use more force."

Naruto's eyes brightened slightly as he looked at his wrist, which did not even have a scratch on it.

Then he drew the Kunai across his hand again, this time clearly using more force.

Scrape!

A tough sensation, like cutting through cowhide, traveled up his hand. Naruto looked at his uninjured left hand, then at his wrist, which did not even hurt, and felt even more deeply just how extraordinary his bloodline was.

"Let's keep trying and see how far my defense can go."

Naruto steadily increased his strength, repeatedly slicing his wrist back and forth with the Kunai, using more and more force each time.

Crack!

The Kunai broke. Naruto looked at his completely unmarked left hand, and a delighted smile spread across his face.

"I never expected the improvement from my bloodline to be even greater than I imagined. And I've only had this bloodline for a few days?"

Naruto really wanted to find someone to fight and see exactly what level he had reached.

But when he thought of Experience Points, he decided to wait for now. He could fight anytime, but Experience Points would not wait for him. After all, this world had already changed.

"If the plot is gone, how will the plot characters recover their Experience Points? And if a plot character dies, will those Experience Points be gone for good? By the way, is there Impure World Reincarnation?"

Naruto was a little curious, but he still decided to raise his bloodline to 50% as quickly as possible. By then, he would be unstoppable.

Naruto thought silently as he quickly finished breakfast and began putting on his weighted equipment, because someone had arrived.

"Naruto, are you up? Kakashi-sensei said he's going to teach us important combat techniques today."

A girl's voice came from outside. With that familiar loud voice, who else could it be but Sakura?

"Got it."

Naruto replied, put on a new outfit, tidied himself up, and walked out of the house.

"Huh? Naruto, that outfit looks pretty good. It suits you."

Sakura had been waiting outside in boredom, but she was slightly surprised when she saw Naruto.

She found that Naruto looked much more pleasing to the eye, though she could not say exactly why. She simply assumed his clothes suited him well.

"Let's go." Naruto could not be bothered with her and headed straight toward the outskirts of the village.

"Don't rush. You don't even know where the others are, so why are you walking so fast?" Sakura muttered.

"What's so hard about that? Don't forget my sensory ability," Naruto replied.

"I know you have sensory abilities, but Sensei and the others are far away. Do you really know where they are? Is your sensing range really that large?" Sakura asked doubtfully.

"Outside the village, by the river to the northwest," Naruto said calmly.

"Huh? You really do know..."

Sakura froze when she heard that. She had not expected Naruto's sensing range to be so vast. It was so vast that it made her envious.

"Not bad, Naruto. Your sensing range is so wide. How did you do it? Can you teach me?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because you're too dumb."

"Naruto!!"