The early morning sunlight shone from the east, falling on the slate ground of the rooftop of the Magic Association branch.
Naruto stood by the guardrail at the edge of the rooftop, resting both arms on the stone railing and leaning forward to look down.
The open space downstairs was packed with people, densely crowded, wearing robes and cloaks of various colors.
Several people gathered together, whispering about something, their voices blending together to create a lively commotion.
“So many people…” Naruto muttered.
He pulled back his head and straightened up.
With a flash of white light in his hand, a grimoire with a dark blue cover appeared out of thin air in his palm.
“This magic is truly useful.” Naruto opened the book and murmured softly.
Three months ago, when Serie taught him this spatial storage magic, he had thought it unremarkable and completely unrelated to combat.
Later on, he realized just how convenient this magic was.
Staff, books, food, a change of clothes—he could store whatever he wanted and pull them out at any time.
Master was right; the most basic magic is often the most practical.
Naruto sat cross-legged on the slate, spreading the book across his knees, and lowered his head to look at today’s study material.
He still stumbled while reading Ancient Elven, but after hard-grind studying for the past few months, he could at least understand seventy or eighty percent of it.
“What we are learning today is…
the magic of ‘Desperately Defend the Vault Door’, which should be a pretty good spell.”
Naruto turned the page and was about to continue reading when a low voice suddenly rang in his ears.
“Hey, brat, do you really not plan to go back?”
Naruto was taken aback, raising his head to look left and right.
There was only himself around.
He closed the book, closed his eyes, and replied in his mind: “You’re that Big Fox from that night?”
“Don’t call me Big Fox!”
“Alright, Big Fox.” Naruto said, sighing, “It’s not that I don’t plan to go back, it’s that I can’t find a way back.”
“Master has been helping me flip through books and look up information these past few months, but there’s completely no clue.”
Nine-Tailed fell silent for a moment.
Over the past few months, it had indeed been keeping an eye on Naruto’s side and had also observed Serie.
That elven woman indeed didn’t seem like she was fooling around; the ancient texts she flipped through and the detection magic she used all showed that she truly wanted to help this Jinchuriki find a way home.
A smile instantly bloomed on Naruto’s face: “Of course!
Master is someone standing at the pinnacle of human Mages!”
No matter who praised Serie, he would definitely step out to back her up.
Nine-Tailed snorted: “Brat, do you want to make a deal?”
“Hm?”
“I’m also quite interested in the magic you’re learning.” Nine-Tailed’s tone was leisurely, “How about you teach me?
When necessary, I can lend you my Chakra.”
“Lend me Chakra?” Naruto opened his eyes, staring blankly at the clouds in the distant horizon.
“That’s right.”
“You should have noticed as well…
refined Chakra can be used directly as magic power.
Although the final fluctuations are different, it also shows that there is a certain conversion between the two powers.”
“I have lived for over a thousand years, and the Chakra inside my body is far more than you can imagine.”
“As long as you are willing to teach me magic, I can give you Chakra whenever you need it, and your magic power will be inexhaustible.”
Naruto thought about it; he had indeed encountered times when his magic power wasn’t enough.
Especially after continuously releasing many powerful spells, his body would feel heavy and his head would feel dizzy.
If Nine-Tailed could help replenish his magic power, he wouldn’t need to worry about this problem anymore.
“Deal!
Once I learn this magic, I’ll slowly teach you.”
Nine-Tailed snorted with satisfaction and said nothing more.
Naruto then opened his eyes, even imagining the astonished expressions everyone would wear if he used magic upon returning to Konoha.
Just as he was about to open the book to continue reading that ‘Desperately Defend the Vault Door’ magic, he suddenly felt a blur before his eyes.
As well as a dizzying, spinning sensation.
When his vision stabilized, he discovered the familiar ceiling, windows, and empty room.
Naruto sat up from the bed.
Next to him were the clothes he had changed out of and thrown on the floor three months ago. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
They were still stained with mud and grass clippings, bundled up into a dry lump.
He slowly stood up from the bed, stepped on the floor, and took two steps.
This truly was his home in Konoha.
Naruto opened his mouth, his mind a tangled mess of paste: “How did I get back?”
Could everything from those three months have been a dream?
Without a second thought, Naruto directly raised his hand, and a flash of white light occurred.
That white metal staff appeared in his palm.
The top of the staff was smooth and sharp, resembling the tip of a spear.
Naruto gripped the staff, squeezed it hard, and let out a long sigh of relief: “Good thing it wasn’t a dream…”
The world of swords and magic…
truly exists!
Only then did Naruto raise the staff and point it at that bundle of dirty clothes.
The magic to completely remove stains from clothing!
With a flash of white light, the mud and grass clippings on the clothes instantly vanished completely, becoming as if they had just been washed and dried, even carrying a faint fragrance.
At this moment, Nine-Tailed’s voice rang in his mind again, carrying obvious surprise.
“Hey, brat, why did you suddenly return to Konoha?”
“I don’t know either,” Naruto shook his head gently, “I was just talking to you on the rooftop, and the moment I opened my eyes, I was sitting on this bed.”
Nine-Tailed fell silent for a few seconds, as if pondering this matter as well.
Without waiting for it to speak again, another matter suddenly popped into Naruto’s head.
He had been away from Konoha for a full three months and more.
Grandpa Hokage must have noticed he was missing.
Teacher Iruka must be worried sick as well.
And that cocky bastard Sasuke, who might be gloating and thinking he skipped class.
“Crap…
Crap…” Naruto shoved the staff back into the spatial storage, lifted his feet, and ran toward the door.