The night was quiet and still.
Inside a room at the Magic Association branch, Naruto lay on the bed, holding a grimoire in Ancient Elven script that he couldn’t read a single word of.
He originally wanted to read it a bit longer, but after flipping through a few pages, his head began to feel heavy.
After all, back at the Ninja Academy, he was never good at theoretical knowledge.
Naruto rubbed his eyes and yawned again.
“Forget it, I’ll study it tomorrow.”
He placed the book beside his pillow, turned over, and closed his eyes.
…
“Beep, beep, beep…”
Naruto opened his eyes groggily and found himself standing in a dim space.
There was a shallow layer of water beneath his feet, making a slight sound when stepped on.
The surroundings were very dark, with only a faint glimmer of light visible ahead.
“What is this place…” Naruto muttered, walking forward a few steps.
The sound of water echoed through the empty space.
After walking about a dozen steps, his vision gradually brightened, and he could see a huge iron gate ahead, extending from the ground up into the unclear height of darkness.
Behind the iron bars was an orange-red shadow.
That shadow moved slightly.
Naruto stopped in his tracks and blinked hard.
The orange-red thing behind the iron bars slowly raised up, revealing a huge head.
Two ears stood straight on top of the head, and a pair of crimson vertical pupils were staring right at him.
It was a giant Nine-Tailed fox.
“Brat.” A deep voice came from behind the iron bars, making Naruto’s chest feel stuffy, “Where did you run off to?”
Naruto instinctively took a step back, his heel stepping into the water and splashing up a bit.
Nine-Tailed leaned its head forward and slammed a paw against the iron bars with a clanging sound.
“In the time it took me to take a nap, you ran off to a completely unfamiliar place.
Is this still Konoha Village?”
Naruto swallowed hard and said in a low voice, “This is Äußerst.”
“Never heard of this place.
Which country is this in?” Nine-Tailed snorted a puff of hot air from its nose.
Naruto scratched his head: “I don’t know.
This is a magic city.
I became the student of a very powerful big sister here, and she taught me a lot of knowledge and magic.”
Nine-Tailed narrowed its eyes: “Magic?”
“Yeah, it’s something really awesome, a bit different from Ninjutsu,” Naruto said.
“My master is amazing.
With a single move, she can make flowers grow all over the ground and conjure all sorts of things…”
He paused there, his voice dropping a bit: “But it seems she has already lived for over a thousand years, so she should be an old hag…”
“However, I didn’t dare say it, afraid she would get angry.”
“I just want to know…
can you still go back to Konoha?”
Although it didn’t like humans, as its Jinchuriki, staying in Konoha was undoubtedly relatively safe for Naruto.
Naruto froze for a moment and looked down at the water beneath his feet.
“Speak,” Nine-Tailed’s voice grew deeper.
“I…
I don’t know either,” Naruto looked up at it.
“I’m also looking for a way back.”
“Master said that if I become a very powerful Mage, maybe I can find the connection between the two worlds.”
Nine-Tailed said indifferently: “If you die, I will die too.
In this unfamiliar world, be careful.”
“I don’t want to die either,” Naruto shrank his shoulders.
“That’s for the best.”
Nine-Tailed shrank back a bit and lay down again, but those red eyes were still staring at him.
After a while, Naruto asked, “Are you the Nine-Tailed demon fox that destroyed the Village back then?”
Nine-Tailed’s mouth split open a bit, revealing sharp teeth, and it sneered: “What do you think?”
“I think you are.”
Nine-Tailed glanced at him with an indifferent expression: “I have no obligation to inform you, and…”
“You know nothing about everything around you.”
“Let me go see the situation of this world myself.”
As the voice fell.
Naruto’s vision went dark, and he suddenly sat up, gasping heavily for breath.
The sky outside the window was still dark.
The room was very quiet, with only the sound of his own heavily beating heart.
It was a dream.
It felt as if he had truly experienced it.
Naruto leaned against the head of the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling for a long time.
Finally, he moved his shoulders, and his gaze fell on the book near the bed not far away.
No matter what, I must start learning Ancient Elven tomorrow.
Just like Master said, if you want to be an excellent Mage, you must be able to read books.
Naruto closed his eyes.
This time, he slept soundly and didn’t dream again.
…
Time flew, and three months passed in a flash.
Naruto received almost all-day one-on-one teaching from Serie, and from all aspects, he achieved comprehensive progress.
Although he learned Ancient Elven haltingly, his talent in magic was surprisingly astonishing.
Serie usually only taught once, and he could skillfully apply it after imitating two or three times.
Therefore, Naruto learned many magic spells, ranging from magic that conjured delicious food, magic that kept clothes clean, to combat magic like gaze oppression, and so on.
After finishing his cultivation with Serie during the day, Naruto would occasionally stroll around the city of Äußerst, and accidentally ran into a young warrior.
Although Naruto felt the other party’s enthusiasm was a bit strange, he didn’t refuse.
So every night, he also began following him to learn the martial arts of a warrior.
Naruto didn’t know if he could be considered a genius.
Yet whenever he met Master’s gaze, he felt that his talent should be alright.
…
The day before the First-Class Mage exam.
A small garden was newly built behind the Magic Association branch, which was requested by Serie.
The garden was very exquisite.
In the middle was a small round pond with very shallow water, allowing smooth pebbles paved at the bottom to be seen.
The pond was surrounded by flowers, which Serie personally conjured using flower field magic.
A faint floral fragrance drifted in the air.
When Naruto walked to the entrance of the garden, he couldn’t help exclaiming: “This place is so pretty.”
He walked forward along the stone-paved path, bypassing the pond.
“After I become Hokage in the future, I’ll also build a similar place next to the Hokage’s Office,” he muttered softly.
As soon as his voice fell, an indifferent voice came from the other side of the pond: “What?
You’re still thinking about that Village?”
Naruto raised his head.
Master Serie was sitting across the pond, with her feet soaked in the water, tilting her head to look at him, her facial expression seeming a bit angry.
Naruto opened his mouth, not yet thinking of how to reply.
Serie had already lifted her feet from the pond, stepped onto the stone slab beside it, and slowly stood up.
She walked over barefoot, stepping across the stone slabs, and finally stopped in front of Naruto, saying in a stern tone: “What’s wrong with the world of magic?”
Naruto shrank his neck, lowered his head, and said in a low voice: “No matter what, that’s the place where I grew up since I was little.”
“Foolish disciple,” Serie grinned, then reached out and gently tapped Naruto’s forehead.
“I was just joking.”
Naruto raised his head.
Serie withdrew her hand, her gaze falling toward the pond, as if looking at those flowers, or as if looking at nothing at all: “But I still want to say…”
“If one day you can return to Konoha, you don’t need to fear those ungrateful commoners or Ninja, and…
if you find that place hasn’t given you equal feedback, don’t stay.”
Naruto was stunned.
Serie’s voice was very soft, so soft it was about to be blown away by the wind: “In the Magic Association, there will always be a place for you.”
Naruto stood in place, feeling his nose a bit sour, squeezed a smile on his face, and patted his chest.
“Master, I will become stronger.”
“Strong enough to both go back to Konoha to be Hokage and come back to see you anytime!”
Serie was stunned for a long time, and then chuckled softly.
“Not to see me.”
Naruto tilted his head, somewhat uncomprehending.
“The Magic Association is also your home.” After saying this, Serie turned around and walked toward the exit of the garden.
Naruto stood by the pond, watching Master’s distant retreating figure.
He always felt she had an inexplicable sense of loneliness.