The warmth and information from Ichiraku Ramen were vital for survival, but Uzumaki Naruto knew very well that in this perilous Konoha, a true talisman was never found in a bowl of soup. Power! The power to control this body, the power to control the turbulent energy within him! That was the only key to tearing apart this infant's cage.
Cultivation had to begin, even if this body was still battling with milk bottles, diapers, and a sphincter that could lose control at any moment.
The environment was the biggest limitation. "Crow" and "Harrier" took turns, like two cold door gods, and even when I was "asleep," the subtle sense of surveillance was like a cold spiderweb, entangling the small room. The cradle was my only fortress.
So, when I was the only one left in the room, or when "Harrier" held me, and she herself fell into a brief daze due to fatigue or boredom (such opportunities were extremely rare), that was my moment to launch a secret assault.
Goal: Perceive Chakra!
Sounds simple? For an adult with a mature Soul who theoretically understands the concept of energy? Try to practice it with an infant's body that might poop his pants at any moment, can only concentrate for three seconds, and has nerve conduction speed comparable to a snail!
*Step One: Calm the mind.
I tried to imitate meditation from my memories, attempting to clear my mind of distracting thoughts. The result?
"Grrrr..." My stomach churned, and a strong urge to defecate surged. My small face instantly turned red, my body involuntarily tensed, and I struggled to "suppress" this untimely physiological reaction. Damn it! I hadn't found my Dantian yet, but the urge to poop came first! Endure! Endure for me! * I finally managed to hold back that torrent with willpower (or perhaps luck), but the pitiful Mental Energy I had mustered was long gone.
*Inner Monologue: How did those powerful cultivators in xianxia novels who meditated for centuries deal with eating, drinking, and defecating?! They're lying!
*Step Two: Inner vision.
I closed my eyes, trying to sink my consciousness into my body. Darkness... Chaos... Then?
"Eee... yah..." Saliva uncontrollably drooled from the corner of my mouth, sliding down my chin. The itchy sensation instantly extinguished the nascent sense of inner vision. I irritably twisted my neck, wanting to rub off the slippery feeling, but my movements were too large, and my small head hit the wooden rail of the cradle with a "thud."
"Waaah—!" The pain and frustration instantly triggered the infant's crying instinct. Tears and snot flew everywhere. Cultivate? Go to hell!
*Inner Monologue: Inner vision my ass! I can't even control my own fingers right now!
*Step Three: Perceive energy.
After countless failures, I learned my "lesson." I no longer pursued lofty meditation, but instead utilized the "blank" nature of an infant's body. I aimed for that extremely brief, extremely subtle state window when I was well-fed (specifically Ichiraku mush), my diaper was dry, and I was just sleepy but not yet fully asleep. My consciousness, like the lightest feather, slowly sank into the Chaos sea of my body, not deliberately searching, but just... feeling.
The faint roar of blood flowing? The dull throb of my heartbeat? The gurgling of my intestines? And... that relentless, burning, stinging, turbulent torrent lurking deeper within, like maggots clinging to bone? That was the Nine-Tailed's Chakra, like a dormant active volcano, every unconscious tremor making my Soul tremble.
*What about mine? Where is my own Chakra?
It was like fumbling for a speck of dust in an endless, dark swamp.
Day after day. Failure, failure, still failure. Frustration, like a cold tide, almost extinguished that faint flicker of hope. An infant's energy is extremely limited; each attempt was like running a marathon, followed by a profound, dark sleep. Waking up meant a new round of eating, drinking, defecating, and being monitored.
Until one deep night.
"Harrier" let out a slight, even snore from the chair in the corner, a rare moment of relaxation. Moonlight streamed through the window like water, and the room was silent. Once again, I entered that critical point between fatigue and wakefulness. My consciousness floated, no longer deliberately forcing anything, just tiredly, vaguely "drifting" in the Chaos of my body.
Suddenly!
A glimmer of light!
No, it wasn't light. It was an extremely subtle, warm "sense of presence." Like touching an incredibly faint stream of water, yet with the warmth of life, in the cold deep sea! It was so small, so weak, mixed in with the rushing blood, the beating heart, and the vast, lava-like background noise of the Nine-Tailed, almost imperceptible. But it was definitely there! Carrying a kind of... faint vitality that belonged to "me"!
*Found it! It's my own Chakra!
A huge surge of ecstasy, like an electric current, shot through me, almost scattering this fragile perception! I desperately suppressed the agitation in my mind, using all my willpower, carefully maintaining that faint connection like nurturing a flickering candle in the wind. It was like a delicate, easily broken thread, connecting my core consciousness to that faint, warm energy.
*Mobilize it! Even a tiny bit!
My intent was like an invisible crochet hook, clumsily and extremely slowly trying to "hook" that faint warm current. The process was more difficult than pushing a mountain. An infant's neural pathways were not yet complete; the commands of my intent were like mud oxen entering the sea, most of them dissipating into the Chaos. Once, twice... countless futile attempts.
Just as my Mental Energy was about to be exhausted, and my consciousness began to blur and sink again—
"Pfft..."
A sudden, incredibly loud, echoing fart erupted from beneath me without warning! It was like a clap of thunder in the silent room!
"Huh?!" Even I was startled by this sudden "loud noise," and my consciousness instantly snapped out of that mysterious connected state! That "thread" I had so painstakingly maintained snapped with a "pop"!
Damn it—!!! * The roar in my heart almost blew the top off my head. At the critical moment! It's you again! This broken body! This damned sphincter! I'll never forgive you!
The immense frustration and the instinctive reaction of my body being startled almost made me cry out again. But amidst this extreme vexation, the sensation from that moment was incredibly clearly imprinted in my consciousness—in the split second before the fart, I seemed... to have... barely... managed to make that extremely faint warm current, with immense difficulty...creeping a tiny bit towards the tip of my right index finger?
I abruptly lowered my head, looking at my open, chubby little right hand. My index finger looked no different from my other chubby fingers.
But... I concentrated all my remaining Mental Energy, staring intently at that index finger. I held my breath (though an infant's breathing is naturally shallow). I used my intent to "summon," to "squeeze."
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds... Just as I thought that feeling was completely an illusion, and frustration was about to engulf me again—
Fingertip! Inside the tiny, pink tip of my index finger, there was an extremely, extremely faint, almost imperceptible... warmth?
It wasn't the constant warmth of body temperature, but a fleeting, extremely brief warmth, as if touched lightly by the weakest candlelight!
It vanished. So quickly it was like an illusion.
But I caught it!
"Eee... yah..." A murmur so faint it was almost inaudible escaped my lips. It wasn't crying, it wasn't silly laughter. It was a complex sound mixed with extreme fatigue, unspeakable ecstasy, and a twisted sense of accomplishment. My tiny body, due to the extreme concentration and Mental Energy expenditure, completely went limp, my eyelids heavy as if filled with lead.
Did I succeed? No, this was still a long, long way from success.
But this pitifully faint warmth was the first ray of light piercing through the darkness of despair!
It proved one thing: within this infant's body, my own Chakra truly existed! And, it could be extremely faintly perceived and... barely influenced!
The cost was enormous. My Mental Energy was completely depleted, and my body felt hollowed out. My eyelids could no longer support themselves and closed heavily. In the second before I plunged into the abyss of sleep, in my blurred vision, was that index finger that had just "heated up," still showing no unusual signs.
*Warm... I... can do it... Dantian... I'll settle with you next time... My consciousness completely sank into darkness, but a hint of a satisfied, almost ferocious curve remained on my lips, completely unlike an infant's peaceful sleep.
In the corner, "Harrier's" snores were still even. Moonlight streamed through the window, silently falling on the small, curled-up figure in the cradle, illuminating his tightly clenched, tiny fist, as if he held all the hope for the future.