“Bang!
Bang!
Bang!”
At night, Naruto stood at the door of Frieren’s room and knocked gently a few times.
He took a deep breath, waiting for a response from inside.
Based on past experience, Frieren would not be asleep at this time.
She would either be studying a grimoire or tinkering with some magical artifact.
Occasionally, she would also study the Jutsu on herself.
She would definitely wake up very late the next morning, and it is said that her sleeping posture is also very…
unique?
Fern had complained about this many times.
Grandpa Heiter would always smile and try to calm Fern down; it was the same way back during their journey to defeat the Demon King.
“Come in.”
Frieren’s voice came from inside, still in that flat tone.
Naruto pushed the door open and walked in.
Frieren was sitting at the desk, holding an open grimoire, with several sheets of paper covered in notes spread out beside her.
She turned her head, and seeing that it was Naruto, there was a hint of surprise in her eyes.
“What’s the matter?”
Naruto stood at the doorway, clutching his hands tightly, and was silent for a moment.
Then he walked in and stood before Frieren.
“Lady Frieren, I have something to say.” He looked up, gazing at her earnestly, “Please don’t tell Grandpa Heiter or Sister Fern; I don’t want them to worry.”
Frieren looked at Naruto for a while, then put down the book in her hand.
“Come over and sit.”
She pointed to the chair beside her, and after Naruto sat down, she spoke, “So, have you made any discoveries about your background?”
In the first few years after arriving, Naruto would often mention things about the Land of Fire and Konoha Village.
Later, he gradually stopped talking about it.
Frieren felt that perhaps he hadn’t figured it out himself either.
Now that he had come to find her on his own initiative, it was most likely related to this matter.
“Yes.” Naruto nodded, “I have already learned how to use Chakra, and I also know the purpose of the Jutsu.”
“Oh?” Frieren wore an interested expression, turning to face him directly, “Tell me about it.”
Over the years, her research on Chakra had made little progress.
She had also examined the Jutsu inside Naruto many times.
She could tell it was some kind of Sealing Jutsu, but she could never figure out exactly how it worked or what principles it was composed of.
If Naruto had figured it out himself, it would save a lot of trouble.
Naruto didn’t answer immediately.
He stood up, stepped back two paces, and formed a cross sign with his hands in front of him.
“Clone Jutsu!”
“Poof!”
A puff of white smoke flashed, and two identical Narutos appeared before Frieren.
She stood up, walked around them, and reached out to poke the arm of one of them.
Her finger went right through.
“An illusion?” She rubbed her chin, “No, it’s not quite the same as the clones in the magic I’m familiar with.”
“This is just the most basic illusion clone.” Naruto released the Ninjutsu, the smoke dissipated, and the two clones disappeared, “I don’t know how to do the more advanced ones.”
He touched the spot on his stomach.
“What I want to talk about is the Jutsu.”
Frieren’s expression became serious, and she sat back down in her chair, “Go ahead.”
“This Jutsu is used to seal a very large Nine-Tailed fox.” Naruto’s voice lowered, “According to what it says, it is not a monster; it is a Tailed Beast.”
“A Nine-Tailed fox?” Frieren’s gaze shifted slightly, “According to it?
It seems it can talk, too.”
She paused, tapping her fingers lightly on the tabletop twice.
It seemed that Naruto had suddenly understood these things because he had communicated with the ‘Tailed Beast’ inside him.
“Is there a difference from a monster?”
For Frieren, both demons and monsters were existences that needed to be exterminated.
Ones that could talk, ones that could deceive, ones that could eat people.
No matter what they were called, they were all the same.
This was also the reason why Naruto had been hesitating about whether or not to tell her.
Frieren never held back when dealing with demons and monsters.
“You said that demons are just beasts that can talk.” Naruto said earnestly, “But I think it’s different.”
“Perhaps you have just been deceived by its language.” Frieren’s tone was calm, “That is the nature of demons; they can talk, they can display emotions, but at their core, they are just beasts.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Naruto felt someone in his Mental Space becoming dissatisfied.
“Don’t you dare compare me to those talking beasts you speak of!”
The Nine-Tailed’s voice came into his mind, carrying obvious displeasure.
Naruto frowned slightly and comforted it in his mind, “Don’t get excited, I will explain it clearly.”
He looked up at Frieren.
“In short, I know a lot of things now.”
“When I was in Konoha Village, they used a certain Sealing Jutsu to seal the Nine-Tailed inside my body.” His voice became a bit low, “They treated me as a weapon of war.”
“Once the Nine-Tailed leaves my body, I will die.”
Frieren’s eyes widened slightly.
She leaned back in her chair, her fingers stopping on the tabletop, no longer tapping.
The room was quiet for a moment.
“So,” Frieren spoke, her voice a little softer than usual, “you want to shoulder all of this alone?”
“Yes.” Naruto nodded, “I want you to stop that research; I will find a solution myself.”
Magic and Chakra are inherently different; if Frieren were to research and analyze Chakra…
Even if she could succeed, who knows how many years it would take.
It would be better to become stronger myself and then find other solutions in the Ninja World.
Naruto paused and added, “But there are two more things I want to ask of you.”
Frieren looked at him, not agreeing immediately.
“Tell me first, then I will decide whether to agree or not.”
Naruto showed a gentle expression, “The first thing is to keep these matters hidden from Sister Fern and Grandpa Heiter; I don’t want them to worry.” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“Especially Grandpa Heiter; his health is getting worse and worse.”
Frieren was silent for a moment, “I can do that.”
“But as for Fern, you will have to explain it to her eventually; that child is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and hiding it for too long will be counterproductive.”
Naruto nodded, “I will tell her when the time is right.”
“The second thing is, I hope you can teach me more magic.”
“I want to become stronger.” His tone was very serious, without a hint of hesitation, “Not just because I want to protect Sister Fern, but I also want to rely on this power to find a way to solve the Jutsu.”
Frieren looked at him for a long time.
“During the time you stay at Heiter’s house,” she finally spoke, “I will try to teach you some combat techniques of a Mage.”
She stood up, walked to the window, and turned her back to Naruto.
“How much you can learn will be up to you.”
“However…” Frieren turned her head, “You must teach me some knowledge about Chakra and Ninjutsu.”
“Of course!” Naruto agreed immediately, a smile appearing on his face.
For the next period of time, Naruto explained almost everything he had learned at the Ninja Academy.
The composition of Chakra, the methods of refining it, and the principles of hand seals.
And the key points of those basic Ninjutsu.
Frieren listened very attentively, occasionally asking a few questions.
Some questions were very detailed, so detailed that even Naruto couldn’t answer them.
But he could explain most of them clearly.
By the time Naruto returned to his room, the night was already very deep.
…
The next morning.
Fern stood in the hallway, hands on her hips, her expression somewhat unhappy.
Frieren’s room door was closed.
Naruto’s room door was also closed.
Neither of them had come out.
She glanced at the clock on the wall and waited a while longer.
Still no movement.
“Lady Frieren, I can understand,” Fern muttered softly, “but why is Naruto also sleeping in today?”
It had never been like this before.
Fern stood in the hallway, hesitating whether to go knock on the doors.
At this moment, Heiter slowly walked out of his room.
His movements were very slow, leaning on his cane with both hands.
Seeing Fern’s expression, Heiter smiled and said in a gentle voice, “Fern, let them both sleep in today.”
“After all, they have been tired for a long time.”
Fern was stunned for a moment, looked at Heiter’s smile, and finally nodded.
“I understand, Master Heiter.”
She turned and walked away, her expression returning to her usual indifference.
Heiter stood in the hallway, glancing at the direction of Frieren’s room, and then at the direction of Naruto’s room.
He smiled and slowly walked back to his own room.