"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The sound of fists pounding against a tree echoed through the small grove by the river on the second morning.
Fortunately, it was still early, and no one was around. Otherwise, someone would surely come and complain about the noise this kid was making at six in the morning.
Today, Naruto woke up on his own, without the Nine-Tails urging him. He got up, washed quickly, had a simple breakfast, and jogged to the same training spot from the previous day, eager to start.
Thanks to his Uzumaki clan's constitution, there wasn't a single scar left from yesterday's training. Naruto also noticed that his pain tolerance seemed to have increased. Now, punching the tree didn't hurt at all. Aside from the sound of his fists hitting the bark, he couldn't feel any pain. He even managed to keep a rhythm, drifting off in thought as he mindlessly struck the tree—much like how he used to space out during class in his previous life while spinning a pen.
"Naruto..."
"Grandpa just came by to check on you."
"Why don't you take a break?"
Suddenly, the voice of the Third Hokage broke through Naruto's thoughts. He turned to look at the old man, still punching the tree without pause.
'The Third Hokage?'
'What's he doing here? Passing by? Yeah, right!'
Naruto didn't buy the old man's excuse for a second. He probably noticed Naruto training by the river and specifically came to check on him. Still, Naruto couldn't figure out why. Could it be the old man doesn't want to see me working so hard?
"Take a break before you hurt yourself," Hiruzen said with a kind voice, though inwardly, he was perplexed. 'Has this kid really gotten addicted to training?'
'No, I must stop this before he overdoes it with the taijutsu training!'
The Third Hokage reached into his robe and pulled out two scrolls, smiling at Naruto.
"Look what I've brought you! Basic ninjutsu—the Clone Technique!"
"And a chakra refinement method!"
Naruto stared at the old man, deadpan. 'Are you kidding me?'
'Chakra refinement and the Clone Technique?'
'Why not just hand over my dad's Flying Thunder God technique? Or at least my mom's sealing jutsu!'
Still, Naruto put on an act, pretending to be excited. He rushed over, took the scrolls, and beamed up at Hiruzen.
"Thank you, Grandpa! I promise to work really hard!"
The Third Hokage smiled warmly at Naruto's enthusiasm. He reached out to ruffle Naruto's hair, but Naruto dodged, moving out of the way.
'Touching my head? No way! Doesn't he know that it stunts your growth?!'
Naruto shot the Third Hokage a furious look. Ever since he was little, the old man had this habit of patting him on the head. If Naruto ended up short in the future, he knew exactly who to blame!
"Hahaha..." The Third Hokage chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head.
Then, with a more serious tone, he added, "Before school starts, focus on practicing. I'll be waiting for some good news from you."
With that, the Third Hokage clasped his hands behind his back and strolled away, though he was still thinking to himself: 'Hopefully, with these two scrolls, Naruto will stop beating up that poor tree.'
'This kid probably won't even manage to refine any chakra before school starts, let alone master the Clone Technique.'
As expected, after the Hokage left, Naruto immediately opened the scrolls and began to study them intently.
The Clone Technique was still a bit too difficult for him at the moment, so he only skimmed through it before setting it aside. Most of his attention went to the chakra refinement method.
"Chakra within the human body..." Naruto read through the instructions multiple times, then sat cross-legged on the ground, trying to refine his chakra.
Inside the sealed space, the Nine-Tails watched this unfold and was utterly dumbfounded.
'What the hell is this kid doing?!'
'Who the heck refines chakra in that position!?'
"Hey, kid, what are you doing?" Ten minutes later, the Nine-Tails finally couldn't hold back its curiosity.
It really couldn't take watching this anymore. Was this kid an idiot?
"Shh! I'm starting to feel something!" Naruto muttered.
Just as he said that, he realized his legs had gone completely numb. It felt like a swarm of ants was biting at his legs. Grimacing, he stood up, supporting himself with the tree, limping as he tried to walk off the pins and needles.
"Kid, your position was cutting off your blood circulation. No wonder you can't refine chakra!" the Nine-Tails growled.
"Huh?"
Naruto blinked in confusion. Wasn't that the correct posture for refining chakra?
Maybe not...?
Too many cultivation novels from his previous life had influenced him. He instinctively thought that this was the right way to cultivate.
"So, what's the correct posture then?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious, hoping for some advice from the beast sealed within him.
"I've never heard of any specific posture needed to refine chakra! Just do it however you want!" The Nine-Tails was exasperated. This kid's logic was impossible to understand.
"Oh... is that so?" Naruto muttered, still feeling like something was off. Chakra refinement without any special postures just didn't sit right with him. It didn't fit the image of training he had in his head. If conditions permitted, he'd probably be out there with a sword, trying to fly.
Feeling a bit dejected, Naruto reluctantly leaned against the tree and, in a much more relaxed pose, resumed his attempt to refine chakra.
The Nine-Tails finally relaxed a little, glad the kid was at least being sensible now.
But that relief didn't last long. Before the Nine-Tails could enjoy a moment of peace, it heard the faint sound of Naruto snoring...
"KID!!!"
"WAKE UP!!!"
Just when the Nine-Tails thought everything was going well, this brat fell asleep! Furious, the beast used a small pulse of its chakra to jolt Naruto awake.
Naruto, feeling like he had just been hit, jumped up with a yelp, looking around in confusion.
"What the heck, Fox?!"
"What the heck are you doing?!" the Nine-Tails shot back.
'Huh?'
Naruto blinked, realizing he was still in the forest. Right... he was supposed to be refining chakra. And then he fell asleep?
"My bad, my bad," Naruto said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Shut up! Just get back to it!" the Nine-Tails snapped, cutting him off mid-apology, clearly not in the mood for excuses.
Naruto scratched his head, gave a sheepish grin, and focused again, this time determined not to doze off. With his full concentration, he finally felt something—a warm current rising from his belly.
He had done it! He had sensed his chakra!
"Hey, Fox! I did it! I can feel it!" Naruto shouted excitedly.
"Shut up and focus!" the Nine-Tails barked, cutting him off before he could lose focus again.
'This kid... He barely refined a drop of chakra, and he's already acting like he's invincible!'
'When I was his age, I wasn't half as arrogant!'
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