Shrouded beneath a faint blue aura of chakra, Naruto gently channeled his own chakra—rich with vibrant life force—into Shikamaru and Ino's drained bodies.
Acting as external support, he replenished their chakra slowly and steadily, all while retracting his own mental focus inward.
Even as he maintained a consistent output, he split his attention to exert meticulous control over the process, ensuring every bit of chakra was regulated with utmost precision.
With both of them completely unconscious and utterly vulnerable, Hmm? Something feels off here', Naruto subtly used the opportunity to enhance their core physical attributes without alerting them.
This process didn't last long. After four or five minutes, Naruto cut off the chakra infusion and the physical enhancement.
"Phew… alright. This should be just about the limit of what their bodies can handle. I'll stop here for now."
Letting out a sigh, Naruto muttered to himself while retracting his hands from their shoulders, wiping the thin sheen of sweat from his brow in the same motion.
A small smirk played at his lips as he lightly shook his head.
"What a shame… If the two of them trained their bodies like Lee, I could've extended the enhancement a good deal longer. The effects might have improved by another two or even three levels… Well, even this much should be enough to make these two little guys pretty happy."
Although both Shikamaru and Ino were still in the formative stage of youth—an ideal age for receiving chakra-based reinforcement, their earlier exertion had completely drained their stamina and chakra, giving Naruto an ideal window of opportunity… But advantages come with drawbacks.
Their tender age, coupled with a pampered upbringing, meant their bodies couldn't fully withstand the infusion.
As a result, the effects were significantly reduced, especially for Shikamaru, who, being notoriously lazy, showed a particularly clear gap.
If Ino's enhancements had raised her base by nearly two levels, then Shikamaru's had risen by exactly one level, no more, no less.
Of course, this so-called "welcome gift" Naruto gave them wasn't just limited to that.
The reason he didn't awaken them immediately after the healing wasn't because he couldn't, but because he needed just a bit more time…
Before cutting off the chakra supply completely, Naruto had embedded a pair of highly purified, compressed chakra bundles into Shikamaru and Ino.
Like seeds planted silently within, these hidden reserves were intended to be gradually assimilated over time, absorbed subconsciously through daily activity.
More than that, they were meant to serve as a last-resort self-preservation tool, to be passively triggered in a crisis, like after extreme exertion or when the user's survival instinct senses imminent death.
In such cases, the hidden chakra would automatically detonate all at once, releasing its full energy in one go!
In game terms, Naruto had gifted them a passive buff, a one-time bonus that, when triggered, would grant a large burst of HP and MP.
Sure, the chakra wouldn't last long, and regardless of whether they used all of it, it would eventually dissipate over time and become unrecoverable.
But in a life-or-death emergency, it might just be enough to give them another shot at turning the tide.
For this to work, their bodies had to fully accept and integrate the planted chakra. Rather than risk rejection or mental conflict upon waking, Naruto opted to keep them unconscious for a little longer.
During this short window, their innate chakra—guided by instinct—would meld with the seed energy naturally.
"Looks like the fusion's going well… By the time they wake up on their own, the process should already be complete."
Narrowing his eyes, Naruto extended his perception to monitor Shikamaru and Ino's vitals. After confirming everything was proceeding as planned, he finally relaxed.
Murmuring to himself, he glanced down at the hands that had just finished transferring chakra. After a brief pause, he bent his eyes into a warm smile and continued:
"Hehe… This is the power my mom left me."
Born a hybrid, Naruto had, in truth, perfectly inherited the bloodline of his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, a member of the Uzumaki Clan.
The unique genetic traits of that lineage granted Naruto a natural healing ability embedded within his chakra, without requiring special training.
Much like Sasuke's Sharingan, Hinata's Byakugan, or Haku's Ice Release kekkei genkai, this too was a bloodline ability, one that Naruto had possessed since birth.
Of course, Naruto knew full well that the healing power granted by the Uzumaki bloodline didn't offer the same explosive combat potential as other kekkei genkai. But in terms of practical utility, it was a priceless gift.
Think about it. Among Naruto's hidden aces:
Offense? He had the Rasengan, a massively destructive and still-evolving technique, not to mention the Tailed Beast power of Kurama.
Defense? His father's legacy, the Flying Thunder God Technique, gave him unmatched mobility and escape potential. If Naruto really wanted to run, there were few in the current ninja world who could catch him.
Supplementary resources? He had access to a treasure trove of jutsu scrolls from Fugaku, the Third Hokage, and more. Everything from basic C-rank techniques to forbidden S-rank jutsu was at his fingertips.
Then there was the year-long special training with Jiraiya, which honed his taijutsu and battle instincts significantly.
All in all, Naruto had become a balanced fighter. With dozens of elemental techniques at his disposal, his offense was anything but predictable.
This allowed him to de-emphasize brute-force kekkei genkai or flashy secret techniques in favor of developing rare support abilities, like chakra sensing, healing, and stealth. These were harder to come by and thus far more valuable.
And let's not forget the signature trait of the Uzumaki clan: a massive chakra pool, far exceeding the average shinobi.
The healing effect was basically a bonus. A free gift. Who wouldn't want that?
That's why, when Naruto discovered that his chakra had inherited the same healing trait as Karin Uzumaki, he had been thrilled. It felt no less exciting than learning a brand new A-rank technique.
To Naruto, this innate advantage meant he had the potential to excel in medical ninjutsu as well.
Given his ability to spam Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, he could gain tens, or even hundreds, of times more experience in the same training period as a normal shinobi.
So rather than hyper-focusing on one specialty and ending up with glaring weaknesses, Naruto chose to patch his flaws.
His goal was to become an all-rounder: a ninja who could face any scenario without getting caught off guard.
After all, as the saying goes, a barrel can only hold as much water as its shortest plank.
Of course, the most obvious downside was that Naruto would have to work much harder than anyone else.
But for him, it was worth it.
Because no matter what changed, his original goal had never wavered: to rewrite the fates of his friends.
After all… if the original Naruto had possessed healing abilities equal to, or greater than, Karin's, then maybe…
Maybe he wouldn't have had to watch Neji die, powerless to save him, just because the plot demanded it.