It was the 53rd year of Konoha.
Three years had passed since the Nine-Tailed incident that broke countless hearts.
Three years were not enough to heal everyone's wounds; everyone deeply detested the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox! Although no one knew where the information came from, ever since it was revealed that the Demon Fox was a blonde kid, everyone was eager to teach the Demon Fox a harsh lesson!
But the problem was, after three years, where exactly was the Demon Fox?
While everyone was clueless, in the great forest behind the mountain, Uzumaki Naruto had already caught another big fish and was preparing to call it a day!
Uzumaki Naruto, a transmigrator, his previous life's name didn't matter. While playing an idle game featuring Naruto, he was hit by a mud truck and transported to this world.
Growing from an embryo into a baby, he was born just in time to hear the famous scene of Minato and Kushina bidding farewell to Naruto!
Naruto was so moved that he cried loudly, and then became an orphan again.
Fortunately, that idle game also transmigrated with Naruto, becoming his cheat.
This cheat was very powerful; bloodlines, skills, and the like could all be leveled up through idling. The only drawback was that it required energy to operate.
Luckily, Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and just by utilizing the leaked Nine-Tails Chakra, he leveled up rapidly through idling!
Kakashi once said that if Naruto didn't suppress the Nine-Tailed's Chakra, then Naruto's Chakra reserves would be a hundred times Kakashi's; if suppressed, it would be four times Kakashi's.
One can imagine how much Chakra the Nine-Tailed leaked!
Now, Naruto was using this Chakra to idle frantically, taking very good care of himself!
Knowing he wasn't welcome, Naruto, once he could live independently, consciously made his home in the back mountains.
Of course, he also lived in the house Hiruzen allocated to him. This was property, after all. Naruto, who had rented all his life in his previous world, still had a tiny bit of obsession with houses!
You know, that was Konoha property! Later, even Sakura had to take out a loan to buy a house, which shows how valuable Konoha's property would be in the future!
In these three years, Naruto had basically maxed out everything he could idle!
Life skills like [Fishing] and [Cooking]... were basically at LV5, just one step away from the max level LV6.
This step was like a chasm; no matter how much he idled, he couldn't advance. The idling levels referenced the 'A Certain Magical Index,' with LV6 being the divine level. Naruto guessed it was a matter of Chakra quality, requiring Six Paths level Chakra to max out skills.
Currently, Naruto was using all his Chakra to idle [Uzumaki Bloodline]. This bloodline was already LV3 and had awakened the unique special abilities of the Uzumaki Bloodline.
However, this bloodline was also becoming harder to level up now; higher levels required more Chakra. While those low-level life skills could reach LV5, bloodline-type skills were stuck!
By relying on the idling system and using the Nine-Tailed Chakra for so many years, Naruto had mastered a skill called [Nine-Tails Chakra Control Technique], which allowed him to freely control the leaked Chakra from the Nine-Tails.
So now, Naruto needed a Chakra refining method to refine Chakra, so he could enter the Sealing Space and entice the Fox Spirit a bit, making it leak more Chakra, which would allow Naruto to idle more!
But fortunately, the old Hiruzen had already agreed to teach him how to refine Chakra, so for now, he would continue fishing!
Naruto weighed the large fish in his hand, its scales shimmering in the sunlight filtering through the forest canopy. The fish struggled with far more strength than usual, the fishing line taut to the point of breaking, clearly not an ordinary catch, likely an elite creature nourished by Chakra.
"Tsk, quite a lot of strength, it almost dragged the rod away," Naruto muttered, skillfully threading a grass rope through the fish's gills and tying a knot. "But, it's enough for two meals, I'll stop here for today."
He hoisted the fishing rod, carrying his trophy, and walked briskly along the familiar path towards his secret base — a clearing in the forest, surrounded by giant trees and close to a stream.
There, Naruto had built a simple but sturdy lean-to with logs and large leaves, and next to it was a stove he had built with stones.
He skillfully scaled, gutted, and cleaned the fish, his movements fluid. This was the muscle memory brought by [Cooking] LV5. He gathered some dry firewood and piled it under the stove.
After starting the fire, he threaded the prepared fish onto a sharpened branch and slowly roasted it over the flames. A rich aroma began to spread through the forest.
While turning the bake fish, Naruto checked his system panel.
[Uzumaki Bloodline]: LV3
[Nine-Tails Chakra Control Technique]: LV3
[Fishing]: LV5
[Cooking]: LV5
[Basic Taijutsu]: LV3
[Wilderness Survival]: LV5
"Sigh..."
Naruto sighed, looking at the almost stagnant progress bar of [Uzumaki Bloodline].
The LV3 bloodline brought significant changes; Naruto's physical abilities far surpassed his peers, his stamina recovered extremely quickly, his vitality was unusually tenacious, and minor injuries healed in a blink of an eye.
More importantly, he had awakened the special ability of the bloodline, Adamantine Sealing Chains, and all that was missing was his own Chakra to activate it!
"This Fox Spirit, the Chakra it leaks is still not enough," Naruto grumbled about the huge tsundere in the Sealing Space.
"The amount needed from LV3 to LV4 is simply a bottomless pit. How long will it take to idle with just this much leaked Chakra? I have to go in and entice it a bit, make it leak more."
And to enter the Sealing Space, he needed his own Chakra. Refining Chakra had become an urgent necessity.
"Hiruzen, you old man, don't stand me up..."
Naruto muttered, tearing off a piece of golden-brown, crispy, and fragrant fish meat, blowing on it, and satisfyingly putting it into his mouth. The delicious taste exploded on his tongue; LV5 cooking combined with top-grade ingredients nourished by Chakra, this flavor was enough to drive any gourmet wild.
"Mmm... so fragrant! Looks like my luck is good today."
Just as Naruto was concentrating on his second piece of fish, his keen senses, brought by his LV3 Uzumaki Bloodline, subtly trembled.
A familiar Chakra fluctuation was slowly approaching his small lean-to, and several more concealed, cautious shadows stopped in the trees a little further away.
"Tsk, speak of the devil."
Naruto licked the grease from his fingers, not getting up, but raising his voice and shouting, "Grandpa Hiruzen! Over here! The grilled fish just came off the fire, it smells great!"
The leaves rustled softly, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, wearing the Hokage's ceremonial robe and a straw hat, holding a pipe, chuckled as he pushed aside the bushes and walked out.
Behind him followed several Anbu wearing masks, who silently remained on alert at the edge of the forest like shadows.