Time flew by, and in this way, Naruto spent four springs, summers, autumns, and winters with Frieren, Fern, and Heiter.
Nighttime.
Frieren was at her desk, analyzing Chakra.
Heiter slowly walked into the study and asked, “Frieren, how is the research on Naruto progressing?”
Frieren tilted her head slightly, “According to my research over these years, there is almost no possibility of undoing the Jutsu on his stomach, because it does not belong to the magic system.
As for that energy called Chakra, perhaps there is a possibility of analyzing it.”
“Then, is their magic practice going smoothly?”
This was what Heiter cared about most.
“Fern has surpassed the standard that an ordinary person would take ten years to reach in just four years; she is a child who is very obsessed with magic.
As for Naruto…”
Frieren paused, “The magic power within him is too vast, but unfortunately, over these four years, although he has been very diligent, his progress is too slow…”
“Is that so…”
Before Heiter could finish his sentence, he collapsed heavily.
…
Heavy rain poured down.
Frieren looked up from her book and gazed out the window.
The rain was heavy, and the sky was gray.
She remembered the way Heiter had collapsed, and recalled the expressions on Fern and Naruto’s faces at that time.
Heiter had been bedridden for three days.
During these three days, besides gathering ingredients from the wild to cook and taking care of Heiter for a short while, the two children spent all their remaining time at the cliff edge practicing magic.
Frieren sighed and slowly walked out the door.
At the edge of the cliff, the rain was falling even harder.
Two small, thin figures stood in the rain, soaked to the bone.
Fern raised her staff, and the glow of magic power lit up.
A beam of light shot out, dissipating halfway, but it was much closer than the initial distance.
She did not pause because of the failure; instead, she gathered her magic power again.
Naruto stood on the other side, also soaked, raising his staff.
A beam of light shot out, but it was off-target.
He shot again, and it was off-target once more.
Frieren stepped forward, her voice calm yet carrying a sense of authority, “Stop practicing, go back and take care of Heiter.”
Fern did not stop.
“I want to try one more time.”
Naruto did not stop either.
“Me too.”
Frieren looked at them, was silent for a moment, and then said, “You will definitely be able to do it in the future, right?”
Fern’s hand paused, and she turned around, rain streaming down her cheeks, saying in a voice louder than usual, “The future won’t do!”
“Heiter will die in the future.”
Naruto walked over and stood in front of Frieren, “It was Grandpa Heiter who gave Fern and me a home.”
“It was also him who has been looking for help, searching for my hometown, and searching for the abnormality in my body.”
“So, to repay Grandpa Heiter, we must become independent Mages.”
Fern nodded, rain mixed with tears sliding down her face.
“Naruto and I hope that Heiter will have the thought, ‘It’s fortunate that I took them both in, I don’t have to worry anymore.'”
Frieren looked at these two children, was silent for a long time, and then said, “Fern, do you still remember the things I taught you?”
Fern was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.
Frieren looked at Naruto again.
“Naruto, think about the things I taught you before.
You must carefully sense the flow of magic within your body, and then patiently control it.”
“Do not be impatient.”
“Perhaps my deduction was wrong; it is not that you lack talent, but that there is something inside you blocking you from controlling magic.”
Naruto nodded blankly.
After Frieren finished speaking, she turned and left, slowly disappearing into the curtain of rain.
Naruto turned around, gazing through the drizzling rain at the boulder in the distance that he hadn’t been able to hit for many years, gripped his staff, and closed his eyes.
Sense the magic power.
Do not be impatient.
Control it patiently.
Magic power began to surge on the staff.
This time, Naruto did not rush to fire.
Instead, he felt the direction of the magic flowing within his body and slowly guided it.
Suddenly, his consciousness seemed to fall into an abyss.
Everything around him changed.
The sound of rain disappeared.
The sound of Fern’s magic also disappeared.
Naruto opened his eyes and found himself standing in a dimly lit place.
There were walls all around, and water on the ground.
There was a damp, moldy smell in the air.
It was like a sewer.
Naruto was a bit scared, but he gathered his courage and walked forward.
This place seemed to have a very familiar feeling.
Every time he used magic and was interrupted, he seemed to have had a similar perception.
It had just never been this clear before.
He continued to walk forward.
The passage became wider and wider.
A huge iron cage appeared ahead.
A giant red fox was lying inside the cage.
Nine tails were gently swaying behind it.
Naruto subconsciously took a step back and shouted, “A monster?”
“Hey, brat!” The demon fox suddenly raised its head and slammed the cage heavily, “I am not a monster, but a Tailed Beast!”
Naruto frowned, “Tailed Beast?”
Frieren had said that there were only monsters in this world.
Once a monster could speak, it was a Demon.
What was a Tailed Beast?
The Nine-Tailed looked at Naruto’s confused expression, its mouth curling into a sneer, “Good grief, I don’t know what those guys in Konoha have taught you.”
“Or did they redefine the name of the Tailed Beast, calling it a monster?”
Naruto was stunned.
Konoha?
This Demon mentioned Konoha?
He subconsciously pressed, “How do you know about Konoha?
Do you know where the Land of Fire is?”
The Nine-Tailed looked at Naruto’s eager appearance, its eyes becoming somewhat strange, “Aren’t you in Konoha right now?”
Naruto was stunned.
Of course he wasn’t in Konoha.
He was in the Holy Capital.
At Grandpa Heiter’s house.
Practicing magic with Sister Fern.
But Naruto didn’t say these words out loud.
Instead, he looked at the Nine-Tailed and slowly recounted his experiences over these years.
After falling asleep at his home in Konoha Village, he traveled to a strange world.
Met Grandpa Heiter.
Learned magic.
There was no Chakra here, no Ninja.
Only Mages, Heroes, Warriors, Demons, and so on…
After the Nine-Tailed finished listening, its tails moved uneasily behind it, and it narrowed its eyes, “Came to another world?
How is that possible?”
“Brat, your lie is too clumsy.”
“Why don’t you let me see this new world you speak of.”
The Nine-Tailed glanced at the sealing tag on the chain.
It really wanted Naruto to peel it off.
But that man, the Fourth Hokage, couldn’t have left no contingency plans.
Since that was the case…
“You don’t have to fear my Chakra, and I won’t interfere with anything of yours anymore.”
“That’s it.”
As the voice fell, a powerful force surged over.
Naruto only felt his consciousness being violently pushed out.
In reality, Naruto suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for air.
The rain had stopped.
No!
There was no feeling of raindrops falling on his body.
There was no sound of Fern practicing magic nearby either.
Everything had changed.
Naruto slowly got up from the bed.
There were still tear stains on his face.
The surrounding environment was strange yet familiar.
Worn-out walls, a messy table.
A box of cup noodles and milk were placed casually on the floor respectively.
The room was very dirty and messy.
This was…
his room in Konoha from back then?
So many years had passed, and it actually hadn’t changed at all?
Naruto stood in place, looking at everything before him, his heart feeling very complicated.