After entering the bathroom and taking off all his clothes, Naruto lay comfortably in the bathtub, enjoying the warm water.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and calmly whispered,
“Kurama…
you wouldn’t want to become fuel for reviving the Ten-Tails, would you?”
“What did you just say, brat?!”
A shocked voice suddenly echoed inside Naruto’s mind.
Naruto frowned.
“Huh?
You can’t pull me into that sewer yet?”
“What?!
How do you know my name?
And where did you hear about the Ten-Tails?”
Kurama demanded angrily.
“How do you know this place is a sewer?”
Inside the sealed mental world, Kurama stared upward in disbelief.
Naruto sighed.
“So the seal is still too strong…
Fine.
If you want answers, wait until you’re capable of pulling me into the mindscape.
Don’t forget—I’m under surveillance every moment of the day.
I’m not interested in getting myself killed.”
After saying that, Naruto fell silent.
No matter how Kurama raged inside the seal, Naruto ignored him completely.
The Eight Trigrams Seal was still far too sturdy.
Now that Naruto had learned to refine his own chakra, Kurama’s chakra could barely influence him anymore, let alone drag him into the mental world.
________________
To be honest, the original Naruto was hardworking, determined, and never gave up.
But this reincarnated Naruto wasn’t.
He was a modern man from a peaceful world—a genuine slacker.
If Kurama weren’t so thoroughly sealed away, Naruto would have happily used his knowledge of the future to pressure the fox into helping him grow stronger.
For example…
Making Kurama use Yang Release every day to strengthen his body.
After all, Kurama possessed the Yang half of the Nine-Tails.
That was why Naruto had revealed his secrets immediately after learning chakra refinement.
Since he and Kurama shared one body, their fates were tied together.
There was no need to hide everything forever.
Unfortunately…
The fox turned out to be completely powerless under the seal.
So Naruto had no choice but to rely on himself.
________________
From then on, Naruto quietly incorporated chakra training into his daily routine.
He picked up discarded shoes and secretly used chakra to support their worn-out soles, making them appear normal.
Naturally, he never wore those shoes outside.
Instead, he often sat at his desk reading books while secretly practicing chakra control with his feet hidden beneath the table.
In the bathroom, he coated the floor with oil and practiced chakra control to avoid slipping.
Fortunately, he only attempted this after reaching a decent level of control.
Otherwise, repeatedly falling would have attracted suspicion.
Even while sleeping, he continued training.
To anyone watching, he simply looked like he was pressed against the bed.
In reality…
His feet were attached to the wall using chakra, leaving his body hovering less than a centimeter above the mattress beneath the blanket.
________________
By training this way every single day, Naruto completely mastered tree-climbing and water-walking.
Even in his sleep, he could maintain a perfectly stable flow of chakra.
Of course, this was only possible because Kurama remained tightly sealed and couldn’t interfere with Naruto’s own chakra.
As his chakra control improved, so did his chakra reserves.
Naruto estimated that his chakra was now on par with Kakashi’s.
His precise chakra control also allowed him to glimpse the principles behind Tsunade’s monstrous strength.
He could already sense how to concentrate massive amounts of chakra into a single explosive strike.
Because the resulting destruction would surely alert the ANBU watching him, he never tested it.
Still, he could clearly feel that both his physical strength and explosive power had increased dramatically.
________________
Since practicing monstrous strength openly was impossible, Naruto decided to continue advancing in another direction.
Every night beneath his blanket, he quietly trained Wind Release chakra nature transformation.
There was no need to test his chakra affinity.
He already knew from the original story that his chakra nature was Wind.
No one would imagine that a child his age had already reached the level required to train chakra nature transformation.
Yet with his enormous chakra reserves, exceptional control, Uzumaki vitality, status as a Jinchūriki, and an adult’s disciplined mindset…
He had more than enough qualifications.
Training secretly consumed an incredible amount of time.
Fortunately…
Time was the one thing Naruto had in abundance.
No friends.
Very little money.
No entertainment.
After taking care of food and daily necessities, every remaining moment belonged to training.
________________
Two years passed.
Naruto could now effortlessly coat a kitchen knife with Wind chakra.
By ordinary ninja standards, his mastery of Wind nature transformation had already reached at least the level of a Special Jōnin.
Completing this stage of training caused his chakra reserves to surge once again.
He could also feel his physical strength and chakra-enhanced strikes growing stronger every day.
Many times, he was tempted to smash a giant boulder just to test himself.
But in the end…
He restrained himself.
________________
At last, the annual Ninja Academy enrollment day arrived.
“Grandpa Third!”
Naruto greeted the Third Hokage warmly.
The old man smiled.
“Naruto, Grandpa has brought you another gift.”
“What is it?”
Naruto asked excitedly.
“The Ninja Academy admission notice.”
“That’s amazing!
Grandpa Third, I love you!”
Naruto exclaimed enthusiastically, suppressing the disgust he truly felt inside.
The Third Hokage laughed.
“I knew you’d like it.
I’m sure you’ll make many friends at the Academy.”
Naruto nodded eagerly.
“Mm!”
After three years, his acting skills had become almost flawless under the Third Hokage’s constant observation.
The Third Hokage then handed him another package.
“To celebrate your enrollment, here’s another present.”
Naruto opened it.
“A ninja pouch?
Wooden kunai and shuriken!
Awesome!”
The Third Hokage smiled.
“They’re training weapons.
They’re made of wood, but their weight matches real ones exactly.
Once you’re at the Academy, study hard and become a strong ninja.”
Naruto nodded firmly.
“I will!”
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