At Tazuna's house.
MUNCH MUNCH!!
GULP GULP!!
CRUNCH CRUNCH!!
At the dinner table, Goku was devouring the food in front of him like a glutton, one dish after another disappearing into his stomach.
To his left, empty plates and bowls were stacked high like a mountain, forming a spectacular sight.
Everyone stared at him dumbfounded, as if they had seen a starving ghost.
Tazuna's face twitched as he looked at Kakashi,
"About the cost of this food..."
It must be known that he was poor; otherwise, he wouldn't have lied about a B-rank mission being a C-rank mission.
What Goku had just eaten was several months' worth of his family's stored food, which he had spent a lot of money to buy.
Once this food was gone, he had little money left to buy more.
"Don't worry about that, Tazuna-san, I will cover the cost."
Kakashi looked at his wallet with a pained expression, but still made the promise.
After all, it was his idea to invite Goku to eat here, and Goku had saved Naruto earlier. He couldn't just shamelessly let his savior pay for his own meal.
After a long while, Goku finally put down his bowl and chopsticks, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"Ha~ I'm so full!"
"Goku, have you not eaten for a long time?"
Across from him, Naruto swallowed his saliva and asked the question on everyone's mind.
"Yeah, I haven't eaten anything in a long time."
Goku rubbed his bulging stomach and grinned.
Whew!!
Everyone breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Although it still sounded incredible—after all, they'd never seen someone who'd been starving for a long time eat so much in one sitting—it was still easier to accept than the possibility that he ate like this for every meal.
However, none of them realized.
While Goku's usual appetite wasn't this extreme, it was still exaggerated to a degree they would find hard to imagine.
After the meal, Kakashi spoke to Naruto and the others,
"Even though Zabuza retreated, he said he would be back. The next time we meet, there will likely be a fierce battle."
"Therefore, from now on, we must remain vigilant and be careful."
He knew perfectly well that Zabuza retreated because Goku was present, and Goku might leave at any moment.
Once Zabuza discovered Goku was gone, he would definitely come after them again.
When that happened, a fierce battle would be unavoidable.
After all, their opponent was the infamous Demon of the Hidden Mist, whose strength was no less than his own.
Sasuke and Sakura listened attentively, but Naruto was distracted, quietly sidling up to Goku and whispering,
"Hey~ Goku, how did you block that big sword with just one finger earlier? Can you teach me?"
The scene of Goku blocking the sword with a single finger had made a huge impact on him; he thought it was both incredibly cool and powerful.
So now he had the idea of asking Goku for guidance, hoping that after learning this move—
He could defeat the annoying Sasuke!
Shed his title of dead-last!
And turn his life around completely!
"That? I just covered my finger with Ki, and that's how I blocked it."
Goku, who had been lying bored on the floor, perked up upon hearing the question and sat up.
As he spoke, he held up his index finger to demonstrate.
A slightly transparent white gas momentarily flickered around his index finger, causing Naruto's eyes to widen.
Earlier, when Goku blocked Zabuza's sword, it happened too fast, and Naruto was too far away to notice the secret of his finger.
Now, observing it up close, he finally saw this thing.
"This is Ki? What's Ki?"
Naruto scratched his head in confusion.
Ki?
He didn't remember learning about this at the Academy.
They learned about something else.
What was it called?
Having often slept during class, he had completely forgotten that the thing the teacher taught was called Chakra.
"Ki is the energy present within our bodies. You can strengthen it through training."
Goku explained.
"Is that so?"
After hearing the explanation, Naruto looked thoughtful, then suddenly clapped his hands.
"Goku, I want to learn Ki! Can you teach me?"
"I, I can treat you to the best ramen!"
Afraid Goku might refuse, Naruto added what he considered the most sincere form of repayment after his request.
"Sure, no problem."
Goku agreed without a second thought.
In his perception, Naruto had decent potential.
If he trained in Ki, he would likely attain considerable strength.
"YEAH!!"
Hearing Goku's agreement, Naruto jumped three feet high, completely forgetting that Kakashi was still in the middle of giving them instructions.
"Naruto, what are you doing!"
Before Kakashi could say anything, Sakura stood up, walked over to Naruto, and gave him a knock on the head.
"Kakashi-sensei is talking about important matters! It's bad enough you aren't listening properly, but you even have to shout!"
"That hurts, Sakura-chan."
Naruto held his head, grimacing.
"Hmph!"
After knocking his head, Sakura returned to her seat, arms crossed and huffing angrily.
"Ahem, I've basically finished what I needed to say."
Kakashi coughed, then looked at Naruto and asked,
"Naruto, what were you and Mr. Goku talking about earlier?"
While he was speaking, he had been paying a little attention to the conversation between Naruto and Goku.
But because they were speaking quietly, and his own voice was interfering with his hearing,
He only caught fragments.
It seemed like they mentioned something about "Ki"?
"Hehe, Kakashi-sensei, I'm not telling you that yet. You'll find out in a little while."
Naruto held his head and said with a grin.
There's no way he would answer!
He couldn't reveal his plan to learn how to get stronger from Goku so soon.
At the very, very least, he had to wait until he beat Sasuke first.
Once he beat that stuck-up guy, he would ask him right to his face who the real dead-last was.
Just thinking about this scene made him incredibly excited!
Thinking this, he immediately grabbed Goku's hand and, without another word, pulled him out of the house.
'That Naruto...'
Watching their retreating backs, Kakashi narrowed his eye, lost in thought.
In the forest.
In a clearing, Naruto put his hands together, his face full of seriousness.
"Goku, please start teaching me how to train Ki now."
Looking at Naruto's earnest desire to learn martial arts, Goku seemed to see his younger self training under Master Roshi and at the Lookout.
He smiled nostalgically for a moment, then sat down and said to Naruto gravely,
"Are you truly determined?"
"Mhmm!"
Naruto nodded vigorously.
"Really?"
"Really!"
"It will be very boring."
"I'm not afraid!"
Thinking Goku was testing his resolve, Naruto thumped his chest firmly.
"Then sit down and close your eyes."
Naruto did as he was told. After closing his eyes, he asked: "And then?"
"That's it."
"???"
Naruto's eyes snapped open, three question marks slowly appearing above his head.
"That's it?"
"Yep, that's how I trained back in the day."
Goku blinked, his face completely sincere.
Seeing Goku's sincere expression, Naruto closed his eyes again, half-believing, half-doubting.
Caw~~ Caw~~ Caw~~
Some time later, Naruto opened his eyes again, looking frantic.
"There's nothing happening at all!"
Hearing this, Goku frowned, pinched his chin, and fell into deep thought.
After a moment, as if he remembered something, he smacked his left palm hard with his right fist.
"Ah, I remember now! There's one more thing!"
"You need to calm your mind, feel the energy hidden within your body, and then guide it out."