"Ah—so that's how it is."
In the Land of Waves, at Tazuna's house, Naruto Uzumaki yawned loudly and jolted awake from bed.
Looking at the familiar yet changed scenery around him, his speculation about "transmigration" was finally confirmed.
Last night, after receiving the well-maintained Musōkō from Koushirou, they had held a grand banquet in his honor. During the festivities, perhaps as an experiment with transmigration—or maybe just because the sake was too good—he had simply let himself drink freely without restraint.
Sure enough, when Naruto woke up again, he had really returned to the ninja world.
What an unexpected yet perfectly reasonable way of transmigration.
Seeing that his companions weren't at Tazuna's house, Naruto assumed everyone had woken up quite early, and it seemed only he was suffering from a "hangover." So he slowly pushed open the door, wanting to greet the other members of Team 7.
But just as he stepped outside, he encountered a surprised-looking Tazuna.
"Ah! Naruto? You're finally back?"
Tazuna's out-of-the-blue comment first stunned Naruto, then he responded with practiced nonchalance.
"Ahaha... seems like I drank a bit too much, just woke up."
Hearing this, Tazuna didn't show any suspicious expression, just chuckled good-naturedly.
"Ha, you kid really gave your jonin teacher a lot of trouble. Yesterday he spent the whole day looking for you around here."
Hearing this, Naruto's eyes moved slightly.
A whole day?
Tazuna meant... he had actually "disappeared"?
He was genuinely surprised by this revelation. Based on the situation when he "first returned" to the village, during the decades he'd spent in the pirate world, time here hadn't flowed at all. When he returned, his body was still in its original young appearance—well, it had indeed become stronger.
But Naruto had thought that was due to accumulating so much chakra on the other side for so many years, causing energy feedback. Now it seemed he had truly left this place in physical form.
Previously it was just because time between the two worlds wasn't synchronized, but this round trip had created a full day's time difference. Did this mean that future transmigrations would create even longer time gaps?
Not only that, transmigration would make him directly disappear from his original location, so his idea of "staying in Konoha during the day and vacationing in the pirate world at night" wasn't very feasible.
Unless...
Moreover, since his body transmigrated together, why didn't his sword and clothes come back with him? Was there a way to bring things along during transmigration?
In a flash, Naruto's mind raced through countless possibilities, but his face betrayed nothing.
He continued cheerfully along with Tazuna's words.
"Haha, is that so? It looks like I really wandered far when I got drunk this time—I can't drink so much next time."
"Hmph, who says it isn't? You kid, if you can't handle that much, don't drink..."
Tazuna naturally teased Naruto. Actually, during these days of contact with Team 7, Naruto was the one he found most agreeable. Not only because he was the first willing to help him, but also because Naruto's way of speaking suited their taste, never showing that aloof attitude that ninjas often displayed.
Unlike that black-haired kid who always looked unapproachable—really not likeable.
"Hurry over there. Your teacher said he'd wait here for you to return, but still went over there to guide the other two kids' training."
With that, Tazuna pointed toward the forest where Sasuke had been training before.
Naruto nodded and slowly walked over, his mind still processing the implications of his dimensional travel.
Perhaps because he had done some activities beneficial to physical and mental health while "relaxing" in the pirate world, Naruto was no longer as irritated as before. The sea air and adventures had done wonders for his mood.
Now he just hoped to have another face-to-face talk with the Third Hokage to hear how this old man who played such an important role in his life would answer him.
It could be said that the ostracism and cold treatment Naruto received in his first twelve years of life indeed had the Third's involvement. He knew about his identity as the "hero's son" but didn't make it public to the villagers. At the same time, he should have suppressed the demon fox rumors to some extent, but apparently didn't completely eliminate them.
However, undoubtedly, the reason he could survive until now was also inseparable from the Third's care. If the Third truly harbored ill will toward him, Naruto might have died in his cradle.
From a personal perspective, Naruto actually didn't hate the Third Hokage—if there was temporary resentment, much of it had been resolved during these many days of relaxation in another world.
Of course, verbally Naruto still insisted he wouldn't forgive him. As for his true thoughts, perhaps only he himself knew.
Lost in these contemplations, Naruto reached the forest and saw Kakashi-sensei sparring intensely with Sasuke, while Sakura trained her chakra control on the side.
Team 7 was all assembled.
Several shuriken flew out with lightning speed, shooting straight at Sasuke's limbs with seemingly no mercy.
Facing such a lethal attack, Sasuke didn't even activate his Sharingan, dodging with movements so precise they bordered on dangerous. At the same time, he charged forward with explosive speed, much faster than before, making Kakashi sigh inwardly.
Naruto's training method really is effective.
At least in terms of physical fitness, Sasuke's level was completely incomparable to when he first left Konoha Village. Of course, this was also inseparable from Sasuke's own relentless training.
Blocking Sasuke's knee strike with his hand, Kakashi also complained inwardly.
So heavy.
In taijutsu, he specialized in speed rather than raw strength, so after being knee-struck by the improved Sasuke, he felt his palm go numb from the impact.
Breaking through Kakashi's defense was still impossible, but it wasn't like during the bell test where Sasuke had no power to fight back. This was real progress.
Knowing exactly how much force to use, Kakashi showed his teacher's true colors, appearing behind Sasuke at blinding speed, restraining Sasuke's arms behind his back, about to pin him to the ground.
Unexpectedly, Sasuke reacted with lightning reflexes, stomping hard with one foot, then using the back of his head to deliver a vicious headbutt toward Kakashi.
This undignified but devastatingly practical technique was something he'd learned from Naruto.
Eyes, nose, abdomen, groin... the human body had countless weak points. In real combat, practical effectiveness should always be the priority. Blindly pursuing flashy fighting styles really didn't suit Naruto's combat philosophy.
When not deliberately holding back against real enemies, Naruto consistently went for the kill from the very start. The Demon Brothers, Kakuzu, and Arlong should have a deep understanding of this brutal efficiency.
Similarly, under Naruto's subtle influence, Sasuke had also begun fighting more "dirty," mixing quite a few killing moves into his seemingly innocent actions.
Kakashi was forced to lean back by this unexpected headbutt, and his grip involuntarily loosened, allowing Sasuke to break free with fluid grace.
Just as he was about to continue their intense sparring, he saw Kakashi greeting someone behind him.
"Yo, finally sobered up? You really ran quite far when you got drunk yesterday."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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