Next morning, Naruto woke up. As usual, he went through today's usual routine before heading to the main gate to wait. He warmed up as he waited for Inoichi. As Naruto stretched and jogged in place, Inoichi arrived with Ino. Naruto looked at Ino, then at Inoichi. He had thought Inoichi would come alone, but that wasn't the case.
As if sensing Naruto's glance, Ino spoke up.
"I wanted to go with daddy as well!"
Naruto didn't think much of it and just nodded, then turned and led the way.
They stopped in front of the forest edge. Naruto looked at Inoichi and said,
"Well, Inoichi-san, you should take Ino-chan on your back because there's a lot of weight to traverse,"
pointing toward Ino.
Ino looked at her father, Inoichi then crouched down. He was happy to give his daughter a piggyback and complained with a happy smile. Naruto looked at the forest, calculating, then smiled.
The Yamanaka duo's eyes widened as they sensed the chakra flare up, Naruto's clothes undulating upward slightly.
"Well then, let's go,"
Naruto said. Turning toward the forest, he crouched, then sprinted, ground blasting up.
The speed was overwhelming; Naruto almost crashed into a tree. But he didn't stop. His heart raced, exhilarating him. Energy spread through his body, his smile widening across his face, his eyes gleamed with excitement. Never in his life had he felt so liberated, so free! And he didn't want to stop.
Naruto ran as the grass hissed under his feet. Wind blasting in his ears. His heart hammering inside his cheat and adrenaline pumped through his body. Intoxicating him.
Naruto channeled more chakra throughout his body. He wanted to go even faster. The forest blurred around him. He dodged a tree by inches, hairs wide, but was getting better at maneuvering through the forest. He ran even faster. He ran through the wind like razor-sharp blades.
He didn't know if Inoichi could keep up. He believed he could. After all, Inoichi was a Jounin. There was no way Naruto could outmatch him! But that didn't matter at the moment. Naruto was having the time of his life!
As he ran, he jumped high and fast. One jump, and he almost cleared six to seven meters. When he landed, he ran even faster. Mud floated upward from the pressure of his feet. Naruto pushed as fast as he physically could. After a few minutes, he stopped, slowed down, then navigated a few turns and arrived in front of the flower field. Inoichi followed quickly behind.
His eyes widened, mouth slightly unruly from shock. Looking at Naruto, he was panting heavily and sweating, but his smile didn't disappear. Ino held tightly to her father's back, eyes wide as she looked around in shock. Probably wondering how they had gotten there so fast — did they teleport?
She got down. But before either of them could speak, he said,
"Alright, Inoichi-san, since my job here is done, I'll be on my way."
With that Naruto turned on his heel and spun into a random direction in the forest, leaving the Yamanaka duo behind. Ino watched Naruto's departing back disappear. The speed was absurd. The other day, it had taken fifteen minutes, but now not even five minutes had passed. And Naruto was still going strong.
Even though he used body enchantment, the amount of chakra he expended was nothing to scoff at. To keep up, Inoichi had to use his full strength and slight body enchantment. That's how fast Naruto sprinted.
She couldn't help but think that "dead last" of their year was not a title Naruto deserved at all. If she ever fought him, she was sure she wouldn't have even been able to tell where he was with how fast he moved — and the sheer amount of chakra he had. Absurd!
She looked at her father, expecting shock, but there was only calm acceptance, as if that was how it was supposed to be. It confused her even more, hinting that there was more than meets the eye. But her father didn't elaborate. She turned back to the flower field. Both father and daughter started inspecting the area, trying to map its size.
After Naruto left the Yamanaka duo, he jogged normally, without body enchantment.
Trying to cool his nerves, he felt the exhilarating steam from earlier coursing through his veins.
Once that calmed down, he picked up his pace and ran full speed toward the training ground. He arrived, panting heavily, but not as tired as the first time he had arrived. His stamina had clearly improved.
Naruto rested for a few minutes before summoning clones to begin training. After a short rest, he summoned a shadow clone to help him put the rock he had found near the waterfall on his back.
He had noticed that his usual physical training wasn't as effective as before; it didn't exhaust him like it should. So he added extra weight — not boulders twice his size like some anime shounen protagonist, but a smaller rock that made the training more brutal and effective within a short time frame.
After that, the clone dissolved in a puff of smoke. Naruto ran laps, did push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and other exercises until he was spent. Then he sat under a tree, resting. All the shadow clones dissolved, and he absorbed their memory. The impact hit like a freight train, but he absorbed it all. Twenty minutes later, he had recovered.
He went near the waterfall. The fish were numerous, but wicked fast!! So if they were fast, he had numbers!!
Feast time, baby!!
Naruto gave a crazed smile and summoned 200 shadow clones. Smoke filled the area. The moment he did, he deflated like a balloon — his vision spinning, chakra nearly empty. He slumped back amd fell to ground. Status unknown.
The clones looked at their boss, but let him be. Then, all simultaneously jumped into the river. Water splashed everywhere as 200 Narutos bulldozed through the current.
A few moments later, fishes were tossed onto the riverbank. After a while, the clones returned. A small pile of fish, big and small, had been collected. Almost all clones dissolved, smoke filling the air.
Four clones carried Naruto, dragging him with his full limbs like a dead body. Six clones started cleaning the fish with sharp stones collected for the task.
Time passed.
Naruto recovered while breathing in the smell of cooked fish in the air. He looked to the side at the campfire, mouth watering, stomach growling.
He sat up, headache still there but bearable. A clone handed him cooked fish, and he started eating, feeling alive.
Naruto couldn't help but think it might be a good idea to bring household stuff here, since he barely stayed home, and sneak into some shops using transformation to buy groceries. He considered the idea as he ate.
Naruto finished most of the fish and was full. He would eat the left overs before going home.
He bulurped, rested a few minutes under the tree as his clones practiced, then got up. As per afternoon routine, he began sparring with his clone.
Naruto was sparing with his clone, while his other clones practiced their usual routines. He had added a few more clones to practicing wind release. They had gathered many leaves, trying to split them in half.
Progress was minimal. Naruto could not yet keep the leaves from breaking into smithereens — just small pieces. Before, the leaves would simply blow out of existence.
But now, some remnants remained. It was progress, even if that progress came with destruction. Progress nonetheless.
Naruto's Fuinjutsu training was basically done. He couldn't help but notice that Fuinjutsu had become easier to understand than the first time he had started. His clone had finished all the materials the old man had given him.
Even before noon, Naruto had basically learned half on his own yesterday. The clone handled the other half, then joined the Rasengan training. The clone practicing calligraphy continued, and it was going fine.
Naruto could now run on water and jump, though he couldn't yet fight without getting distracted. Most of his clones were focused on that, however.
Naruto could not wait to fight on water, leveraging the terrain to his advantage — fighting on trees, then water, then back to land. That would be wicked cool!!
And every time he thought about it, his heart leapt in excitement. That's why his main focus now was mastering the water-walking technique enough to start fighting perfectly.
Time passed, and evening arrived. Naruto looked at the sky, glowing with an orange hue as the sun dipped behind the forest. Everything grew dark. The waterfall's sound echoed around the area.
There was no wind, nor moon in the sky. Calmness filled the forest. Naruto felt his heart leap for no reason — perhaps from the cold stories he had heard, or more like, from falling into the projection.
He shook his head, looked around, and decided something needed to be done about