"What a coincidence!" Kakashi's tone remained perfectly level as he chewed, though his visible eye twitched slightly.
Naruto offered the last spoonful of eel and rice, then set down the bento box. He settled into the chair across from Kakashi and reached into his pocket, pulling out the kunai from earlier. He placed it on the table and slid it across to his teacher.
"What's this?" Kakashi's instincts screamed warning, but he maintained his facade of confusion.
"I'm returning it to you, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto's smile was almost innocent. Almost.
"Returning it to me?" Kakashi's expression showed bewilderment. "This isn't mine. You should give it back to the actual owner."
"The owner is you, sensei." Naruto's smile turned sharp. "Stop pretending. Your disguise skills are terrible. You didn't change your clothes, didn't alter your appearance—just threw on a black mask and called yourself a robber?"
He leaned forward slightly, voice taking on a lecturing quality. "Konoha has plenty of people your height and build. But silver hair? One visible eye? That narrows it down considerably. And most importantly..." He gestured at Kakashi's immobilized arms. "Your plastered fingers sold you out completely."
Naruto's expression grew more serious. "Actually, Kakashi-sensei, you should be grateful I recognized you."
The implication hung heavy in the air. If I'd thought you were a real threat, you'd be a red smear on the pavement right now.
Exposed so thoroughly, Kakashi could only manage a weak smile. "So you knew all along." He sighed. "The test was to see if you'd abandon your teammates. Obviously, you passed with flying colors. Under pressure, you protected your partner without hesitation."
"So it was just a test?" Naruto's voice dropped to a murmur. Then, louder: "Sakura is my friend. I would never abandon any of my friends."
He stood abruptly, planting both hands on the table. His long golden hair spilled across the surface as he leaned forward, bringing his face within inches of Kakashi's. His blue eyes locked onto the scar over Kakashi's covered left eye.
"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said softly, each word deliberate. "I actually know everything."
Then he straightened, turned on his heel, and headed for the door. "Thanks for letting me visit. I should get back to training. See you tomorrow, sensei."
The door clicked shut behind him.
Kakashi sat frozen at the table, Naruto's final words echoing through his mind.
'I actually know everything.'
What did he know? How much?
Kakashi's gaze drifted to the mask lying on the table—he'd removed it to eat. He stared at it for a long time, thoughts spiraling.
The next morning, as Sasuke prepared to leave for the Academy, Naruto stopped him.
"Let's send shadow clones today. We should train at the mountain instead."
Sasuke didn't ask questions. He simply nodded, formed the hand seal, and created two clones. One transformed into Naruto's likeness. Both headed off toward the designated meeting point.
The real Naruto and Sasuke remained at the farm.
At the Academy gates, the shadow clones arrived to find Sakura already waiting. She greeted them with her usual enthusiasm, completely oblivious to the deception.
An hour later, Kakashi appeared with both arms still suspended from his neck in slings.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura's eyes went wide. "What happened to your hands?"
"Fell," Kakashi said flatly. "Just a clumsy accident."
Sakura didn't believe that for a second. A jonin didn't break both arms from a simple fall. But she kept her skepticism to herself.
Kakashi's single eye swept across 'Naruto' and 'Sasuke,' and he immediately knew something was off. The energy felt wrong, hollow. Shadow clones.
He didn't call them out. Instead, he announced, "Today's mission is simple. We're weeding the community gardens and cleaning debris from the river."
As Kakashi led Sakura toward their assigned work area, he filed away the information. So Naruto was avoiding him. Interesting.
At the back mountain, Sasuke practiced his combat forms while Naruto trained beneath the waterfall.
"Uchiha boy!" Nine-Tails' voice carried from the kitchen. "We're out of charcoal! Make more! I'm roasting a whole lamb later!"
Sasuke paused mid-technique and gave Nine-Tails an acknowledging gesture. He gathered broken tree trunks from Naruto's destructive training sessions and began the process.
Since inheriting Minato and Kushina's techniques, Sasuke rarely practiced Fire Style anymore. The only times he used it these days were for practical purposes—like producing charcoal for Nine-Tails' cooking.
His chakra reserves had grown immense. Within minutes, a substantial pile of charcoal sat at his feet.
He wiped sweat from his brow. "Nine-Tails! Is this enough?"
The fox poked his head out of the kitchen doorway, assessed the pile, and nodded approvingly. "Perfect. Get back to training."
Nine-Tails trotted toward the flock to select a goat for dinner. As he passed the waterfall, he glanced at Naruto training beneath the cascading water. His tongue clicked against his teeth.
The kid's getting terrifyingly strong. At this rate, he'll be able to beat me in a straight fight without needing any system assistance.
The thought was sobering.
Clutching a bleating goat, Nine-Tails hurried back to his kitchen without looking back.
Beneath the waterfall, Naruto released his Iron Body transformation and returned to normal size. He stood before a massive boulder and took a deep, centering breath.
Every muscle in his body tensed.
He mobilized the force multiplication technique the System had taught him, channeling power through his entire frame.
"Double force," he whispered.
His muscles trembled. The punch launched forward.
The sound was explosive—like thunder rolling across open plains. His fist created friction sparks as it moved through the air. Space itself seemed to ripple from the impact.
The boulder shattered.
Not cracked. Not damaged. Shattered. The entire structure disintegrated into gravel in less than a tenth of a second, the destruction starting at the impact point and radiating outward instantaneously.
Naruto pulled his fist back, breathing hard. His entire body ached—a long-forgotten sensation. Since completing his Iron Body foundation, his muscles and skin had become tough as steel. He hadn't experienced genuine muscle soreness in years.
"Doubling my force brought me to six hundred thousand pounds," he murmured, examining his trembling hand. "And that's already making my body hurt?"
He ran calculations in his mind. Tripling his force—nine hundred thousand pounds—was probably his current limit. Anything beyond that would cause serious internal damage.
His body couldn't handle more. Not yet.
Perhaps when he achieved true body/energy/spirit unity, when his internal organs completed their tempering, then he could safely triple or even quadruple his base strength.
But unity of body, energy, and spirit was different from simply having all three developed. True unity required perfect synchronization—the three elements flowing together as one seamless whole.
When he reached that level, when his Iron Body achieved true perfection, then he could break through to the next realm. That would lay the foundation for everything that followed.
The path stretched long before him, but he could see its shape now.
One step at a time.