Near evening
"Naruto, do not rush. When someone first refines chakra it is always unstable. You already understand the basics. Practice step by step. You have only just learned about chakra and ninjutsu."
Seeing Naruto try again and again, the Third Hokage watched him finally form the Tiger seal to attempt the Transformation Technique, only to freeze. Thinking repeated failure had discouraged the boy, he offered comfort.
"I understand, Hokage sama. Thank you for your patient guidance."
After a brief thought, Naruto released the technique he had been about to perform, then bowed deeply to the Third Hokage.
"Hehe. Little Naruto, remember what you said. Work hard. I will come see you whenever I can."
The Third Hokage smiled with his usual kindness.
"Of course. I will work hard." Naruto knew the home visit was ending.
The Third Hokage left.
As he stepped out the door, a trace of guilt flashed in his eyes. In Naruto's words and actions there was none of the innocence a child should have. At first, he had wanted to place Naruto in the orphanage.
But the orphanage was in the hands of Root.
And Root would never surrender control of it. That was the foundation of their recruitment. Even as Hokage, he had no right to intervene at will. Konoha's political order was not decided by the Hokage alone.
Who was the leader of Root
Shimura Danzo.
His childhood friend had fully entered the shadows. His methods grew ever more ruthless. The Hokage knew he bore some blame for indulging him in the past. Yet the jinchuriki must never fall under Danzo's control.
The Nine Tails had to remain under the Hokage's hand. It concerned the peace of the ninja world and the safety of Konoha.
His eyes firmed at the thought. He lifted his Hokage hat from his waist and set it upon his head. The office still held a mountain of affairs to handle, and today had already cost much time.
From the upstairs window, Naruto watched an ANBU at the doorway hurry to shut the front door the moment the Hokage stepped out.
The sight left him faintly displeased. It looked exactly like the scenes in the costume dramas he had watched in his previous life, where a jailer could not wait to bolt the gate the moment a visitor left, terrified the prisoner might flee.
But today he had obtained the method to refine chakra, the formal key to cultivation. That was excellent.
A moment later, a sharp light flashed in his eyes. He closed the window gently, walked to the bedroom, sat on the bed, and began to refine chakra again exactly as he had learned.
Minimum energy threshold met. Activate Mirror World
As he felt energy stir within him, a prompt sounded in his mind.
So it was not an illusion. The invitation is still here.
He had heard that same voice the instant he first succeeded in refining chakra and was about to perform the Transformation Technique. He had frozen on the spot.
Even while the Third Hokage tried to console him, the voice chimed again every ten seconds. He realized only he could hear it.
Unsure what would happen if he accepted and activated this Mirror World, and afraid of exposing a flaw, he bowed to the Hokage while replying no in his heart. The voice fell silent.
As soon as the Third Hokage went downstairs, Naruto tried to summon the invitation again, but nothing responded. Once he felt safe, he guessed the invitation was linked to chakra.
Sure enough, after refining enough chakra, the invitation returned.
Activate Mirror World
After a few seconds of thought, Naruto chose to activate it.
A window floated before him. Lines of text flowed across it while a mechanical voice sounded in his mind.
Mirror World activation started
User guide transmission started
Transmission complete. Current bound user Uzumaki Naruto. Current authority Level One World Master
Beginning data collection for current world. Current data integrity 1 percent. Please complete data as soon as possible
Activation complete. Welcome to the Mirror World
At the last word, Naruto felt his heart jolt. With no time to prepare, he found himself in another space.
He stood at the entrance to Konoha's main gate.
Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki stood to either side of the gate, one left and one right. They looked no different from living men, yet there was no trace of life in their eyes.
From the user guide he learned that they were puppets, constructs formed from data copied from the real world. The Konoha before his eyes was just a copied scene.
Here, he could challenge any puppet inside the scene. Win or lose, he would receive a rating and a reward. He could obtain a puppet's training experience and ninjutsu, and with high ratings the harvest would be greater.
There were rules that limited what he could challenge.
He had entered with a projection of his soul and consciousness, supported by his chakra. Because the world data was incomplete, each entry consumed a certain amount of chakra. When chakra ran out, he would be forced to exit.
He could also choose to leave at any time.
Damage taken here would not harm his real body, but it would consume his mental strength. Time flowed differently here than in the outside world.
To hold such a world was nothing short of a cheat.
He had tiptoed through this life to reach age four. Now he finally had a foundation to survive and a path to strength.
Excited, Naruto walked up to Izumo Kamizuki. A prompt popped up at once.
Initiate challenge
Naruto chose yes.
The flat voice sounded again.
Attention. In current projection state, available chakra allows ten minutes of challenge time.
At once the scene shifted. Naruto and Izumo stood upon a duel platform.
Across from him, Izumo seemed fully alive now. Naruto had barely formed a thought about how real the space looked when Izumo drew a deep breath, hands already forming a seal.
Fire Style Great Fireball Technique
A storm of panic flashed through his mind. Before he could speak a second word, a fireball about a meter across roared toward him.
He froze.
The first battle ended right there.
A heartbeat later he found himself back at the village gate where he had issued the challenge. The whole thing had lasted three seconds.
I was truly one shot.
Naruto mocked himself, then reviewed. He had watched the anime to the end. Kotetsu and Izumo were both chunin. He had learned to refine chakra only today. Losing was normal.
But the guide had said there would be rewards win or lose. Why had he received nothing
Was the loss too lopsided
After almost two minutes of thought, he decided to try again. He still had some time left.
The scene shifted. The two appeared again on the platform. This time Naruto was ready. Before Izumo could move, Naruto opened distance and sprinted in circles around the arena.
No matter what, I have to struggle this time. I will not be one shot again.
Blue eyes shining, he kept Izumo in his sightline, prepared to dodge any sudden attack like before.
Izumo's gaze tracked him like a hunter. In the moment Naruto's steps slowed, Izumo vanished.
Body Flicker. Not good.
Naruto had just turned. There was no time to change direction again.
A chill rose in his heart as Izumo reappeared before him, closing the distance in a blink.
Water Style Syrup Capture Field
Izumo spat a stream of liquid.
The spit spread with the wind, swelling across the floor into a wide slick that surged toward Naruto. Unable to stop in time, he stepped straight into it.
The syrup clung like glue and pinned him in place.
There was no suspense. The battle ended again.
Under Naruto's aggrieved stare, Izumo finished it with another Great Fireball.
This time, the emotionless prompt finally sounded.
Congratulations. You have gained training experience for Izumo Kamizuki's Great Fireball Technique
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