Early the next morning, as dawn barely broke, Konoha was still shrouded in a thin veil of pale blue mist.
Naruto tumbled out of the Kamui Dimension, his posture utterly lacking the dignity of a Hokage.
He braced one hand against the floor of his little courtyard and pressed the other hard against his throbbing temple. Sweat soaked his bangs, plastering them to his pale forehead, and every breath came heavily.
He felt faintly as though he were dying. The Sage of Six Paths seemed to be smiling and waving him over already.
All that talk about "showing his body who was boss" was complete bullshit...
Reality had taught Naruto a brutal lesson in less than four hours last night.
Training with the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique had drained his stamina and chakra at a frantic pace.
If Kurama's rough but frantic roar hadn't erupted from the depths of his consciousness, and if he, the One-Tail, and the Four-Tails hadn't used their chakra to forcibly jolt Naruto out of that nearly self-destructive trance, he might truly have exhausted himself to death without a sound in the Kamui Dimension.
Inside the Sealing Space, the Nine-Tails' voice was low, carrying obvious displeasure and a trace of lingering fear.
"Hey, Naruto, listen up! Kekkei mōra isn't something you can master overnight by running your body into the ground.
What you need most right now isn't to train yourself to death. It's rest! Right now, this instant!"
"Yeah... I know, Kurama."
Naruto caught his breath and answered quietly, his voice hoarse. He staggered a little as he stood, every muscle in his body protesting with pain.
Just then, the door to the room diagonally across from him slid gently open.
It was Hinata.
At the sight of Naruto's condition, her clear white eyes immediately