Hard work pays off; Naruto had a system backing him, but he did not want to coast through life relying on it alone.
Even though the items and abilities redeemed from the system were directly ingrained and mastered.
Yet from his two skirmishes with Sasuke, he realized that the myriad variables in actual combat were simply not something these redeemed insights could comprehensively handle.
Combat thinking and the ability to improvise still required constant progress through his own training.
Four-forty in the morning.
Almost no figures could be seen on the streets of Konoha.
Hurry-scurry all the way to a secluded grove, Naruto simply calmed his rapid breathing before sitting cross-legged to condense his chakra.
About twenty minutes later.
Only then did Naruto open his eyes and slowly stand up.
After that came purposeful, targeted training.
First was throwing techniques, followed by close-quarters assassination with a kunai, and finally the cultivation of taijutsu.
As for ninjutsu, because his foundation was thin and his internal chakra volume was insufficient, plus he did not understand low-level Wind Release Ninjutsu, nor did he have an openly acquired channel, Naruto temporarily did not plan to practice it so as not to invite extraneous trouble.
Considering his current age, cementing his foundation firmly was the main priority.
Immersing his mind and body entirely in training, Naruto constantly shed sweat, and his white T-shirt was long since soaked through by perspiration.
This incomparably substantial training immersed Naruto deeply within it.
Soon, an hour and a half of training drew to a close.
Dragging his fatigued body just as he finished gathering the shuriken pinned to the tree, Naruto had barely turned around when he spotted a familiar figure.
"Heh, didn't I tell you to come at four-thirty?" Naruto looked speechlessly at the Twin Tails girl Sasuke. "You're only showing up now that it's all over, how did you oversleep?"
Hearing this, Sasuke let out a light snort and said, "I've already finished my training."
"Huh? So fast?" Carrying her canvas bag, Naruto walked up close to Sasuke and said, "Then what did you come looking for me for?"
"Hmph, having reached a cooperation, am I not... am I not your temporary girlfriend now?" Sasuke bit down very hard on the two words "temporary".
Seeing Sasuke blushing all over early in the morning could also be considered a picturesque scene; Naruto smiled, nodded, stepped forward, and directly grabbed Sasuke's small hand, saying, "Yo, so obedient? So well-behaved?"
"Hmph, not at all." Pouting as if she felt embarrassed, Sasuke turned her head to the side. "I just want to get stronger through you, that's all."
"Mm-mm..."
Seeing Sasuke act this way, Naruto pulled her along as they walked in the direction of his home.
"Alright, since you're cooperating like this, I'll teach you a training method right now."
Hearing this, the blush on Sasuke's face vanished as she looked seriously at Naruto. "What training method?"
"It's like this..."
Having said that, Naruto closed the four fingers of his right hand, extending only his middle finger, and then rapidly flicked his middle finger up and down, the speed so fast it was like a phantom.
"You... what kind of training method is this?"
Though young and inexperienced, intuition told Sasuke that this gesture was disgusting and lewd.
Seeing Sasuke reveal a look of disdain and contempt, Naruto shrugged and said, "Don't believe me? Forget it then."
"Practicing with a finger like this... can you tell me what use it has?" Sasuke pressed.
"Average ninja in battle will almost always probe with shuriken, immediately followed by a charge or rapid hand seals to launch ninjutsu. The goal is to firmly suppress the enemy from the very beginning of the fight by utilizing one's own solid foundation, thereby progressively expanding the advantage."
"Mm, that's right."
Sasuke was inwardly startled, not expecting Naruto's combat thinking to be even sharper than her own. If not for the fact that Older Sister Itachi had informed her in advance, relying on her own realization to figure out similar analyses, it would have been absolutely impossible for her to know earlier than Naruto.
"Without any surrounding enemies to influence you, and without needing to seize the fleeting moments in combat, how many seals can you form in a second?" Looking at Sasuke with a confident smile, Naruto asked.
Sasuke was obviously startled, then paused her steps, holding her breath and gathering her focus.
Naruto also looked at Sasuke with rapt interest; he had clearly witnessed Sasuke's seal-weaving speed in battle.
Swish, swish, swish...
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
If viewed through the eyes of children of the same age, Sasuke's seal-weaving speed was definitely fast like a phantom, unsurpassable. After all, weaving three seals per second at age seven in a non-combat environment was quite terrifying for that age.
"Three at the fastest in a second." Sasuke looked at Naruto and said.
"Mm, the speed is indeed very fast."
Sure enough, hearing this, a trace of pride appeared on Sasuke's face.
"Yet I heard that your older sister can weave up to seven seals per second at her fastest in battle. Compared to her, how do you think you measure up?"
After all, Sasuke was only seven years old right now. Even if Itachi had taught Sasuke before the Uchiha Clan Massacre, most of it was just throwing techniques and basic taijutsu.
As for Itachi's seal-weaving speed, Sasuke as a younger sister truly had never witnessed it with her own eyes.
Sure enough, upon hearing Naruto's words, the previously proud look on Sasuke's face instantly turned unsightly.
"In a combat environment... she can do seven seals a second?" Sasuke's eyes were filled with unwillingness. "Naruto, how do you know that? As her younger sister, how come I don't know any of this?"
Indeed, seeing Sasuke press for answers, Naruto shrugged. "As for how I found out, Sasuke, you'd better not ask. Also, everything I'm saying is the truth; once we grow a bit older, we'll be able to prove every bit of it."
With that, Naruto said nothing more and instead continued walking.
Struggle filled Sasuke's eyes as she followed along.
"I believe you..."
Sasuke broke the silence first, her voice carrying a hint of apology.
Hearing the tsundere girl Sasuke bow her head before him for the second time, Naruto also found it rather interesting.
It seemed that in this Hokage time-space, a single decision of his had caused Sasuke's personality to slightly change, making her not nearly as rigid and extreme as in the original story.
"Mm-hhm, trust Big Bro's word, and I guarantee you'll be able to accomplish the wish in your heart."
Hearing Naruto say this, Sasuke pouted again and muttered softly, "You're not even older than me, yet you keep calling yourself big bro, hmph."
As such tsundere words entered his ears, Naruto also asked out of curiosity, "By the way, Sasuke, what month and day is your birthday?"
"July 30th." Sasuke did not hide it either; after all, this was no secret.
"July 30th... in my memory, that should make you a Leo, right?"
Thinking to himself, Naruto immediately summoned the Lucky Money search bar and searched: Leo girl personality characteristics.
Clicking search yielded answers immediately, costing only 100 negative emotion points to redeem.
"Redeem."
[Ding, redemption complete.]
[Ding, the information is as follows.]
(Leo girls naturally give people a tsundere, cold queen kind of vibe, but actually all of this is an illusion. This isn't something they put on; rather, it is manifested through the temperament they are born with. Deep in their bones, they possess a mindset that says "this lady is innately extraordinary."
Being competitive, straightforward, and magnanimous are all labels that belong to them. Under normal circumstances, their words are sharp while their hearts are soft; once provoked, their tongues will absolutely show no mercy, and they must argue things out clearly face-to-face. However, they will never scheme behind people's backs-openness and uprightness are their values.
Under normal circumstances, they are optimistic and proactive. They hope to be the most outstanding whether in their careers or daily lives; they hope to win everyone's recognition, and they aspire to become a role model and pride in the eyes of others, forever striving to outdo themselves.
If you want to win over a Leo girl, you must first be able to see through her toughness. All the domineering aura they exude is merely meant to hide the vulnerability within their hearts.
If she has feelings for you and feels comfortable around you, she will talk to you endlessly.
If she feels nothing for you, she will remain cold to the very end and will never play any ambiguous games with you. She likes what she likes and dislikes what she dislikes-there are no whys.
Once you are loved by a Leo girl, besides you there is only work, and besides work there is only taking care of you, caring for you, and caring about the things you care about.)
Getting this information and matching it one by one with Sasuke's feelings and obsession toward Itachi, you have to admit, it really hit close to home.
The two walked side by side, neither speaking.
At this moment, Sasuke asked, "What about you, what's your birthday?"
"Oh, August 25th."
Naruto subconsciously blurted out his own birthday.
Yet when August 25th left his lips, he froze as well.
In the original story, a pregnant Kushina ran into Mikoto holding Sasuke on the street, and Sasuke at that time was only about a month old.
Judging by the timeline calculations, the original Naruto should have been a Virgo child, whose birthdates range from August 25th to September 24th.
Meanwhile, his own birthday in his past life was precisely August 25th, a Virgo.
Naruto felt a quiet sense of emotion deep in his chest.
"Well I'll be, it seems my transmigration wasn't entirely without a trace after all? It matches Naruto's zodiac sign and birth date precisely."
Before you continue