Chapter 154 - 4

Chapter 4: Uzumaki Naruto's DeterminationNaruto walked on the road back to his apartment.But he didn't quicken his pace. He walked very slowly, each step firm before taking the next, as if measuring what was different about this path he had walked countless times.Shops on both sides of the street opened one after another; some people were sweeping snow, others were lighting stoves. A shopkeeper's wife pushed open the door and splashed a basin of water onto the street, which immediately froze into a thin layer of ice on the snowy ground. She looked up and saw Naruto, and the expression on her face froze for a moment—an expression Naruto was all too familiar with. It wasn't disgust or fear, but a deliberate turning of a blind eye. Like seeing a dead crow by the roadside, not wanting to look more, nor wanting to get close.The shopkeeper's wife lowered her head, turned back into the shop, and the door closed behind her.Had it been yesterday, he might have lowered his head and quickened his pace, perhaps feeling a secret pang of pain in his heart. But not today. Not because he had become stronger, but because he finally knew the reason. Knowing the reason didn't make the pain vanish, but at least—he no longer had to think, 'Did I do something wrong?'It wasn't his fault.It never was.He walked up the stairs of the apartment building, each step making a creaking sound. This building was very old; a large section of the wall plaster had peeled off, revealing the gray cement underneath. The lights in the corridor had long been broken and left unrepaired, and the glass on the window had a crack, letting the cold wind howl through.His room was at the very end of the third floor. The paint on the door was almost entirely gone, showing the original wood color underneath. The door handle was loose, requiring a slight lift to catch the latch in the slot. He didn't have the habit of locking the door, but today, as if possessed, he locked it—with a click, the latch snapped into place, and the room fell silent.He stood against the door for a while, then slowly walked to the bedside.The bed was small, the cheapest kind of single bed. The sheets had been washed until their original color was unrecognizable, and the pillow was flat, the cotton inside having long since clumped into hard lumps. A few sets of changed clothes were piled at the head of the bed, un-folded, just sitting there. A thin layer of frost had formed on the window, and through the frost flowers, the sky outside could be seen, gray and hazy, as if it were going to snow again.He sat down on the edge of the bed, and the bedboards let out a groan.It was very cold in the room. The radiator felt ice-cold to the touch, likely having stopped working since last month. Wrapped in his old coat, he unwound his scarf and placed it next to the pillow, then slowly lay down. The pillow was too flat, his head resting almost directly on the bedboards, hard and stiff, but he didn't move.There was a crack on the ceiling, extending from the light fixture to the corner, like a dried-up river. He stared at that crack for a long time, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier—He fell asleep.He didn't dream.Or rather, he dreamed of too many things, so many that he remembered nothing upon waking. Only a blurry fragment—a red-haired woman holding him, smiling and saying something, but he couldn't hear the voice, only seeing her lips moving. He tried to reach out and touch her face, but his fingers passed through the image like passing through a mist.Then he woke up.Sunlight shone through the window, painting a bright spot on the bedsheet. The frost flowers had melted, and the windowpane was covered in water droplets. The sky outside was as blue as if it had been washed.Naruto opened his eyes and stared at the crack on the ceiling.It was dawn.He slowly sat up, his bones letting out a few faint cracks. The wound at the corner of his mouth didn't hurt much anymore, and the swelling on his left cheek had mostly subsided, though it still felt a bit sore when pressed. He looked down at his hands—small, with dirt under the nails and needle marks on the back of his hand from the IV drip.He sat on the bed, back against the wall, knees pulled up, hands resting on his knees.The room was very quiet. So quiet he could hear the gurgling sound in the water pipes."System."He said softly.That translucent panel appeared out of thin air before his eyes, glowing with a faint blue light in the morning sun.[justice execution system]Host: Uzumaki NarutoAge: 6 years oldChakra Nature: WindPoints: 15Mastered Ninjutsu: Multiple Shadow Clone JutsuSpecial Status: Nine-Tails Seal (Eight Trigrams Seal)Beginner's Gift Pack: To be claimedSystem Points: 15His gaze fell on the line "Beginner's Gift Pack: To be claimed."Yesterday in the mental space, he had heard the System prompt saying the beginner's gift pack had been issued, but he had woken up before he could open it. Later in the hospital, his mind was filled with those memory fragments and the Sandaime's face, so he had no heart to care about any gift pack.Now he sat alone in his room, surrounded by four walls, door locked, window closed, the entire world shut out. Moreover, it was impossible for the Anbusurveillance to flip through his consciousness to check."Open the beginner's gift pack."As soon as he finished speaking, a new window popped up on the panel, reading:[Opening beginner's gift pack...][Gift Pack Content: Nine Yang Divine Skill (Inner Core Method)][Nine Yang Divine Skill · Inner Core MethodDescription:This Cultivation Technique does not rely on the Chakra System but directly absorbs Natural Energy from heaven and earth to condense an inner core within the body. After the inner core is formed, the host can improve their Realm by polishing the Core Veins, with a total of nine veins for Perfection. The Natural Energy stored in the inner core can replace Chakra to drive Ninjutsu, and possesses the following characteristics—1. Qi Pervading the Body: Natural Energycontinuously nourishes the internal organs, meridians, and bones, comprehensively improving physical quality. Strength, speed, endurance, and recovery power will all be fundamentally enhanced.2. Unafraid of Seals: The energy stored in the inner core is independent of the Chakra System and is not affected by Chakra Sealing Jutsu.3. Endless Vitality: The inner core will automatically absorb surrounding Natural Energyto replenish itself, ensuring it won't be depleted even in battle; only the replenishment speed will be affected by the concentration of Natural Energyin the environment.Directly injected into the host's consciousness: The host has mastered the Nine Yang Divine Skill's Cultivate method and operating principles. Current cultivation progress is "Not Started"]The first step of the Nine Yang Divine Skill is to draw Natural Energy into this room and condense it into an inner core.He closed his eyes and felt for a moment.There was something around him.He tried to follow the method in his mind—deep breaths, relax the body, feel everything around him.Then he felt it.A very subtle, cool sensation seeped in through his skin. Not from a single point, but from every pore of his body simultaneously—as if countless extremely fine threads were passing through the surface of his body at once, slowly and silently converging toward the position of his Dantian.Those threads wandered through his meridians, bringing a slight tingling sensation wherever they passed. It wasn't unpleasant; rather, it was quite comfortable. Like soaking in warm water, where the temperature is just right, neither hot nor cold.The threads converged in the small room of the Dantian and began to rotate. They turned very slowly, one circle, another, and another, like a miniature vortex. With each rotation, more Natural Energy was sucked in, the vortex growing larger and denser—Then, at the very center, a tiny point of light appeared.The point of light was only the size of a needle tip, but it was startlingly bright. It wasn't golden or blue, but a transparent light, like the kind of light a diamond refracts in the sun. It hung quietly in the center of the Dantian, surrounded by rotating Natural Energy, like an infant curled up in a mother's womb.The prototype of the inner core.Naruto opened his eyes.He looked down at his belly—of course, he couldn't see anything. But he could feel that tiny point of light in his Dantian, like a seed that had just been planted, lying there quietly.He tried moving his body.It seemed... there was no change.His legs were still so thin, his arms still so scrawny, and his stomach was still growling with hunger. The point of light was too small, so small it was almost imperceptible, like a drop of water falling onto the bottom of a dried-up lake, not even wetting the mud at the bottom.He leaned back against the wall, tilting his head as he thought.These things did not belong to the world of Ninjas. There was no such thing in those memory fragments in his mind—the memories of that transmigrator only knew Jin Yong's 'Nine Yang Divine Skill.' This was a gift from the System, a gift that did not belong to this world.He could use Natural Energy to drive Ninjutsu. He didn't need Chakra, and Natural Energy would nourish his body.If the Nine Yang Divine Skill really could 'pervade the body with Qi and nourish the physique' as the System claimed, then he could at least grow into a normal child. Not necessarily strong, just normal.No longer would he be pushed over by anyone.He closed his eyes and felt that tiny point of light in his Dantian again. It was still there, rotating quietly like a miniature star."System, close."The panel disappeared.The room returned to its original state—the walls were grayish-white, the curtains were old, and there was a thin layer of dust on the floor. Sunlight shone on the bedsheets, on his crossed hands, and on his bare ankles, where there was a bruise from being beaten yesterday, purplish-blue like an ugly stamp.Naruto pulled his legs back, wrapped his hands around his knees, and rested his chin on them.He stared blankly at the wall opposite him.There was nothing on the wall. No posters, no photos, no decorations. This wall had looked at him for six years, and he had looked at this wall for six years; there was nothing to say between them.He was thinking.Thinking very slowly and seriously, like a child picking up seashells on the beach, picking up each one to look at and touch before deciding whether to put it in a pocket or throw it back into the sea.He knew the future.He knew that the Nine-Tailed was not just a monster, but a legacy left to him by his father; he knew that the last face on the Hokage Rock was his father's face.He also knew how the Uzumaki Naruto in that story had come this far.Spurned, isolated, called a demon fox. Then desperately causing trouble in the Ninja Academy, desperately trying to attract attention, desperately wanting to gain even one person's recognition. He helped the villagers find cats and dogs, painted graffiti on walls, and caused trouble in class—all of it just so someone would look at him.Then he met Iruka, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke. Bit by bit, he built bonds, and bit by bit, he changed the villagers' views of him. He never gave up, he stood up every time, and he broke through all the walls around hearts with his fists and Talk-no-Jutsu.Finally, he stood atop the Hokage Rock with thousands of people cheering below.That was a very beautiful story.But Naruto couldn't smile.Because he knew that the Uzumaki Naruto in that story was not the same as him.Asking himself—who, after being subjected to six years of collective cold violence, could still unswervingly strive for the recognition of this group of people?He couldn't do it.He had the System, the Nine Yang Divine Skill, and all the information about the future from those memory fragments. He didn't need to rely on others' recognition to live—he could live by his own strength.So did he still need to strive for those people's recognition?Did he still need to stand on the Hokage Rock and smile at the whole village?Did he still need to walk the path that the Uzumaki Naruto in the story had walked?Sunlight shone on the back of his head, his golden hair glowing slightly in the light. His shoulders were hunched, and he curled himself into a small ball, like a chick that hadn't yet decided whether to break its shell.No, I am not anyone's Child of Prophecy, nor am I a Savior. I am myself. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I want to be myself!