As the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki—and the orphan of the Fourth Hokage—
the ANBU around Naruto weren't just watching him. Their presence was, more often than not, for protection.A
If the Jinchuriki died, the Nine-Tails sealed within him would also vanish. Never mind the time required for it to resurrect—just the manpower, resources, and danger of hunting the beast down again would be unacceptable. Not to mention the covetous eyes of other villages.
For these reasons, both the Third Hokage and that venomous snake Danzo Shimura would never allow any "accidents" to befall Naruto.
That was, after all, one of the reasons Danzo had once proposed taking Naruto into Root for "training." Of course, his true motive was to brainwash and control the boy. If successful, Danzo believed it would pave his way straight to the Hokage's seat.
But since he was already under ANBU protection, Naruto knew—
forget ordinary beasts in this forest. Even if he wandered into the Forest of Death itself, nothing would truly endanger him.
And today, with his first successful refinement of chakra—
this forest would no longer just be his source of food.
It would become the most important training ground of his early years.
As for the ANBU observing his practice and reporting it to the Third Hokage? Naruto wasn't concerned in the least. Hiruzen Sarutobi might not dote on him, but so long as Naruto didn't cross any real lines, the old man wouldn't interfere.
Refining chakra. Practicing on his own.
These were hardly matters worth attention.
In fact, the moment Naruto had first drawn out chakra, the Third had already been informed by ANBU. But once he confirmed that no outsider had been involved, he hadn't acted at all.
After all, learning to refine chakra was the most basic of basics.
Almost anyone who lived in the shinobi world and had any contact with shinobi knew how to do it. The true difference was simply whether one could.
That was the decisive line.
No village had any reason to hide the method. Quite the opposite—even the weakest genin added to a village's strength, if only a little. Knowledge of chakra refinement was widespread. Without it, rogue shinobi wouldn't exist in such numbers.
So Naruto knowing how to refine chakra—and managing it on his own—wasn't particularly strange. It was unusual, yes, but not suspicious.
And above all—he was still the Fourth Hokage's son.
So long as he didn't touch on matters that endangered the village itself, Hiruzen Sarutobi's nature meant he would turn a blind eye.
Naruto didn't know all of this, but he could roughly guess.
"Alright. Today, I'll start with tree-climbing."
In the familiar forest, Naruto quickly found a towering tree. He looked up, a small but determined smile tugging at his face, and nodded in satisfaction.
Refining chakra.
Controlling chakra.
Increasing chakra.
This was the most fundamental path for a shinobi seeking strength.
From his past life, Naruto remembered the original story—even if not in full detail. And he remembered the basics of chakra control training: tree-walking and water-walking.
By channeling chakra into the soles of the feet, adjusting its amount and stability, one could hone control.
The original Naruto had demonstrated this before millions of fans.
For this Naruto, the benefits were twofold: it would solidify his foundation, and make daily survival far easier. Foraging fruit and vegetables, fishing, gathering—it would all become more efficient.
He also knew that, with the Nine-Tails' chakra stirring inside him, his training would be more difficult than most. But precisely for that reason, he believed his control could become all the more refined.
And when the time came to face the Nine-Tails—
once that interference was stripped away—
his strength would leap forward in visible strides.
Recalling what he remembered from the story, Naruto reviewed the key points of chakra control. Forming a seal, he cautiously guided his chakra, channeling it into his feet. Not too much, not too little.
Too little, and he would slip.
Too much, and he'd shred the tree.
"Alright then—first step."
When he judged the balance just about right—
Huuuh…
Naruto drew in a deep breath. Determination flashed across his young features as he stepped toward the tree.
Crack!
As expected, with no experience and the Nine-Tails' chakra constantly disrupting his control, his first attempt ended with the tree trunk splintering underfoot.
The sudden loss of balance sent his body tilting—
but Naruto reacted instantly, pushing off and flipping lightly back onto the ground.
"…Too heavy?"
Wary of slipping with too little chakra, he had deliberately erred on the side of excess. And excess had shattered the bark.
But failure didn't discourage him in the least.
He had anticipated this.
Naruto knew well how grueling shinobi training could be.
Even with a protagonist's "plot armor," those in the original story had still endured endless practice. Even later, when it came to his own chakra nature transformation, Naruto would never have managed without the "bug" that was the Shadow Clone Technique.
Every step required sweat and patience.
One footprint at a time.