"Third Hokage!"
An Anbu ninja suddenly burst in, startling Hiruzen Sarutobi, who quickly covered the crystal ball on his desk with both hands.
That was close!
He almost let his subordinate know he was peeping into the women's bathhouse!
Hiruzen Sarutobi suppressed his panic, his old face serene, and said to the rash Anbu ninja, "No rush, speak slowly."
The Anbu ninja looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with admiration. As expected of the Third Hokage, such composure and quality were beyond what a small fry like him could cultivate.
Thinking this, he said, "Third Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki has been doing some strange things in the back mountains for the past two days?"
"Oh, strange things?" A hint of interest appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face. "You can go now. Don't disturb him; continue to observe."
"Yes!"
After the Anbu ninja left, Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face flushed, and he let go of the crystal ball, which was now a mosaic of pixels.
Regarding the Anbu ninja's report, he reluctantly wiped the crystal ball, and the scene of the back mountains appeared. In the crystal ball, a five-year-old boy was doing push-ups, his arms bare and his face flushed.
It was Naruto Uzumaki!
Hiruzen Sarutobi quietly watched Naruto doing push-ups.
"Taijutsu, perhaps?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had complex emotions towards Naruto Uzumaki, inexplicable and unclear, something he himself had not yet understood.
Just a child's play.
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought this about Naruto suddenly stopping in the back mountains to do push-ups.
Besides, with the crystal ball in hand, every move in Konoha could not escape his eyes.
Oh, dear, how did I get so delayed? The bathhouse floor is so slippery. What if a woman bathing there falls?
Wouldn't I be derelict in my duty, unworthy of the title of Third Hokage?!
Thinking this, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly reached out and wiped the crystal ball, which immediately switched to the women's bathhouse scene.
Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief, his face flushing. Good, no one had fallen.
Back mountains.
Naruto was doing push-ups, silently counting in his mind: "Three hundred and ten, three hundred and eleven, three hundred and twelve... three hundred and twelve..."
This was the first exercise.
According to the system, his body was simply too weak.
He had to train hard.
Naruto was speechless. Wasn't it normal for a five-year-old child to be weak?
The system knew his thoughts and immediately showed him a video.
In the video, under a willow tree with only three green shoots, a tiny figure was training intensely. The little one had the strength of a hundred thousand pounds and could easily lift a huge stone cauldron.
Naruto was immediately convinced. As expected, there was always someone better, a higher heaven beyond this one.
He immediately trained himself seriously, without a word of complaint.
"Five hundred!"
After silently counting this number, Naruto stood up and stretched his aching arms.
If he were to sit or collapse on the ground after exercising, the system would scold him. The system said that one should not sit or lie down immediately after strenuous exercise, as it could lead to fainting.
After moving around for a while,
Naruto began his second strengthening exercise.
Running.
A three-kilometer long-distance run.
According to the system, he would even have to run with weights later, and for more than three kilometers.
Naruto was not afraid of hardship or exhaustion. What he feared most was having no friends. Therefore, although these exercises made his small body feel tired, he gritted his teeth and persevered.
After three kilometers, Naruto was drenched in sweat.
His whole body exuded the scent of a little man.
Naruto wanted to dive into the river for a bath, but the system stopped him, spouting words about rheumatism and bone pain that Naruto didn't understand.
However, Naruto was still willing to listen to the system.
Because, strictly speaking, the system was the first "person" to treat him as an equal and talk to him.
Thinking about it this way, Naruto was indeed a pitiful child.
However, thinking that Naruto would soon have many friends, the current difficulties didn't seem so sad. With the system and Naruto working together, it would be even easier to overcome them.
"Crackling!"
Flames produced tiny sparks, and Naruto, holding a roasted rabbit, gnawed at it wildly.
Huge amounts of exercise meant huge appetites. For the past two days, Naruto couldn't even eat expired milk or his favorite ramen; he could only eat meat.
Because meat could quickly replenish the blood and qi he expended.
A true powerhouse could devour a dragon daily.
And a master of body tempering could easily consume three cows a day.
Consume three cows a day?
That would probably cost a lot of money, right?
Poor Naruto, at an age when he shouldn't be worrying about money, had already cruelly realized how poor he was.
After lunch.
After a half-hour rest, Naruto began his strengthening exercises again.
Push-ups, running, pull-ups, high jumps, sit-ups... these exercises filled his day completely.
A healthy body is the capital for all revolutions.
This was another profound saying from the system.
As dusk fell, Naruto's daily exercise tasks were completed. He walked home, feeling sore all over, truly wanting to just lie down on the ground!
No, this is not just training my body, but also tempering my will.
Naruto gritted his teeth and returned home.
After eating and taking a bath, a weary Naruto lay on his bed.
"System, when can I learn the body tempering techniques?"
Naruto recalled the young man in his mind, whose physical body could traverse the void, regenerate from a drop of blood, and shatter stars with a single punch. Naruto wanted to possess such peerless grandeur.
"No rush. With your current physical condition, learning those overbearing body tempering techniques would only harm your body."
"What is body tempering? It is based on the body, on qi and blood, on cells."
"A true body tempering ultimate expert has qi and blood like the universe, every cell like a god or a demon, and even a single strand of hair can cut down the sun, moon, and stars."
The system patiently explained.
"Snore, snore~"
Unfortunately, Naruto didn't hear these explanations. He was too tired and fell into a deep sleep as soon as he closed his eyes.
The next day, as soon as the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn.
Naruto got up and went to the back mountains to train.
Day after day,
Month after month,
Year... after... in the blink of an eye, a year passed.
This year, Naruto turned six!
"Hoo~ breathe... hoo~ breathe..."
On this day, on the mountain path, a slightly dark-skinned boy, with sandbags tied to his legs, was running with weights using a unique breathing method.
Throughout this year, Naruto could feel that he had gained a lot.
Because he didn't drink expired milk and ate meat every day, six-year-old Naruto was already one meter and five centimeters tall.
He was significantly taller than normal children.
Most importantly, with such a fulfilling life, Naruto rarely had time to think about the villagers' indifference towards him.
Everything was developing for the better.