Chapter 9: Insane Training Speed
After dropping those two sentences, Naruto didn't wait for the Nine-Tails to respond.
He left the recently absorbed Nine-Tails chakra inside the sealing space, ready to be used at any moment, then returned his consciousness to his body.
He continued refining his own chakra.
Without the Nine-Tails interfering this time, the process went extremely smoothly.
Roughly half an hour later, an incredibly dense and powerful surge of chakra roared inside Naruto like a turbulent sea.
On the rooftop, among the three Anbu tasked with monitoring him, one was a sensory-type jonin from the Yamanaka clan named Yamanaka I.
The moment Naruto successfully refined chakra, Yamanaka I's expression stiffened beneath his mask.
He immediately activated his sensory ninjutsu and scanned the interior of the apartment.
When he sensed the ocean-like volume of chakra inside Naruto, his pupils contracted sharply.
"This… how is this possible!"
The white-haired Anbu noticed his usually calm teammate's reaction and asked in confusion.
"I, what's going on?"
Yamanaka I's focus remained on Naruto for a long moment before he finally turned to the other two.
"The jinchuriki just erupted with an unbelievably massive amount of chakra! I've never seen anything like this volume before…"
The white-haired Anbu and the third Anbu were instantly alarmed.
"What?! You mean the Nine-Tails has gone out of control?"
The white-haired Anbu exclaimed and immediately began forming hand seals, preparing to burst into Naruto's apartment using the Body Flicker Technique.
Yamanaka I quickly raised a hand and pressed down on the white-haired Anbu's shoulder.
"No. The jinchuriki isn't out of control. The chakra inside him… doesn't belong to the Nine-Tails!"
"It doesn't belong to the Nine-Tails?"
Hearing this, the white-haired Anbu breathed a sigh of relief.
After calming down, he asked urgently, "So you're saying that right after learning how to refine chakra, Naruto produced a massive amount that even you've never seen before?"
Yamanaka I nodded heavily.
The white-haired Anbu pressed further, "If we measure it using me as the unit, how many of me is that?"
Yamanaka I glanced at him with a strange look and didn't answer right away.
Driven by intense curiosity and worry, the white-haired Anbu frowned, vanished from his spot, and reappeared on a utility pole across from Naruto's apartment.
He lifted the Konoha headband covering his left eye, revealing a scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan.
Through the window, his gaze locked onto Naruto, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa.
Although the Sharingan lacked the Byakugan's penetrating vision, it could clearly see the flow and movement of chakra inside a person's body.
When the white-haired Anbu saw the chakra swirling inside Naruto, even his Sharingan trembled. The three tomoe nearly spun together from the shock.
He finally understood why Yamanaka I hadn't given him a direct number.
The sheer volume of chakra inside Naruto nearly blinded his Sharingan.
[Rough estimate… this is about 50 to 80 times my own chakra… And he's only six years old. What kind of monster will he become once he grows up…?]
After the shock passed, a look of relief appeared in the white-haired Anbu's eyes.
Hokage's Office.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi received Yamanaka I's report and learned of Naruto's situation, he took a deep drag from his pipe and said gravely:
"I, from now on, keep an even closer eye on Naruto's chakra condition. Report to me immediately if anything changes!"
"Yes!"
After Yamanaka I returned to his post, Hiruzen fell into deep thought and murmured to himself:
"Physique far surpassing ordinary Uzumaki clan members, extraordinary taijutsu talent, and now even his chakra is extraordinary… Minato, you truly left Konoha an incredible seedling."
In Naruto, the Third even saw shadows of the First Hokage.
Yet for some reason, despite how outstanding Naruto was, instead of pure joy, he felt a lingering trace of unease in his heart.
He regretted more and more listening to Danzo's suggestion back then.
With that thought, the Third summoned an Anbu.
"Any recent news about Jiraiya?"
The cat-masked Anbu knelt on one knee and reported, "Three days ago, someone reportedly saw Lord Jiraiya at a hot spring resort in the Land of Hot Springs."
The Third nodded. "Lead a team yourself. Find Jiraiya and tell him that due to Uzumaki Naruto, he needs to return to Konoha immediately!"
"Yes!"
The Anbu asked no questions. He vanished instantly with the Body Flicker Technique.
Naruto felt the vast, surging sea of chakra inside his body and felt a surge of delight.
"System, open the status panel."
The next second, a semi-transparent window only he could see appeared before him.
Name: Uzumaki Naruto Age: 6 years old Physique: 9.9 [Growth Period] (Average person = 1) Chakra: 66.6 cards Bloodline: Perfect Uzumaki Sage Body Special: Constant Stage Wind Breathing, Nine-Tails (Sealed) Ninjutsu: None
PS: Physique includes strength, spirit, agility, constitution, etc.
Looking at the simple yet extremely promising panel, Naruto nodded in satisfaction.
66.6 cards. With this much chakra, he was finally qualified to have his face carved on the Hokage Rock… even if it was just a dog head for now.
The next morning — weekend.
The sky was overcast but there was no rain.
With no school today, Naruto ate a simple breakfast and headed out early toward Training Ground 3.
As he neared the training ground, a voice called out from behind him.
"Naruto! Good morning! Judging by the direction you're heading, you're going to the training ground too?"
He turned around and saw a pleasantly surprised Ino. Standing beside her were Shikamaru and Choji.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio was complete.
Naruto turned and gave the three of them a nod.
Several months had passed since the start of the school year, and he had already become fairly familiar with several members of the Konoha 12 from Class A.
Except for Sakura.
Shikamaru looked half-asleep and lazily greeted him with a weak "Yo."
Choji also smiled and waved, unusually not eating for once.
Ino jogged up close and stared straight at Naruto's face, her eyes sparkling brightly.
At Ino's invitation, the four of them headed to Training Ground 3 together.
Perhaps because he was used to catching fish, Naruto chose a spot by the river again.
Ever since running into Naruto, Ino had completely ignored Shikamaru and Choji.
She stuck close to his side and smiled brightly. "Naruto, what are you planning to practice today? Shuriken throwing again? Can you teach me?"
As she spoke, Ino couldn't help recalling the previous shuriken test class and Naruto's stunning performance.
Naruto shook his head. "Maybe next time. Today I'm practicing the Three Basic Jutsu."
"The Three Basic Jutsu?" Ino looked surprised.
Although they were only foundational ninjutsu, they were still quite difficult for new academy students.
Many civilian students couldn't perform them properly even after two and a half years — sometimes not even by the graduation exam.
The first technique Naruto wanted to practice was the Substitution Jutsu.
It looked simple on the surface, but when mastered to its limit, it could play a major role in real combat.
This was perfectly shown in the Naruto mobile games.
To practice Substitution Jutsu, he needed a partner. Naruto looked at Ino and asked:
"Ino, I want to practice Substitution Jutsu first. Can you be my sparring partner?"
Ino nodded without hesitation. "Of course!"
Behind them, Shikamaru muttered lazily, "Waking me up so early just to practice combo secret techniques… What a guy who values beauty over friendship."
With that, he and Choji walked over to a tree, leaned against the trunk, and prepared to take another nap.
Naruto opened the scroll the Third had given him earlier, which recorded the Three Basic Jutsu.
Performing them required three hand seals: Tiger → Serpent → Hare.
However, with enough proficiency, the seals could be simplified or even cast instantly.
After quickly familiarizing himself with the hand seals and movements, Naruto found a wooden post and nodded at Ino.
"Ino, let's start."
Seeing Naruto's serious expression, Ino also became focused.
"Naruto, be careful. I'm pretty fast."
The next second, Ino charged straight at him.
Since it was her first attack, she deliberately slowed down and swung her fair palm toward Naruto's abdomen.
Naruto raised his hands, rapidly formed the seals, and mobilized his chakra.
Ino, being from the Yamanaka clan, had decent sensory ability. When she felt the massive surge of chakra exploding inside Naruto, her heart skipped a beat.
The moment her palm touched his abdomen, his body turned into a puff of smoke. A wooden post replaced his original position.
Naruto's real body appeared several meters away, standing steadily.
He had succeeded on his very first attempt. Even he felt that this body's talent was a bit too overpowered.
However, after using the Substitution Jutsu once, Naruto realized it wasn't as practically useful as he had imagined.
It might look impressive when bullying weak opponents, but against someone stronger, it was easy for the enemy to predict the landing point and deliver a fatal strike.
Still, to complete the self-discipline task, he needed to grind the proficiency to max as quickly as possible.
Ino stared at Naruto in the distance and opened her mouth in shock. "Naruto… was that really your first time? How are you so skilled? You're even better than me."
Naruto nodded and checked the progress.
Substitution Jutsu (10/10000)
One use gave 10 proficiency points. That meant he needed a thousand uses to max it out.
To speed things up, Naruto had Ino use props.
They gathered a large pile of stones from the riverbank and had her throw them at him.
The practice resumed.
Ino threw the stones using proper shuriken technique.
Every time a stone struck him, Naruto would turn into a wooden post and repeat the process.
Shikamaru and Choji watched while munching on potato chips.
At first, Naruto's repetitive Substitution Jutsu made them yawn.
But as time went on, Shikamaru gradually frowned, sensing something was wrong.
"Is this guy's chakra a bottomless pit? How many times has he done it now? Ino is about to collapse from exhaustion, but he still looks completely energetic."
"Hehe, I just counted — it's 108 times. I've also eaten exactly 108 chips," Choji replied, holding an extra-large bag of potato chips.
108 Substitution Jutsu in less than half an hour? Was he serious?
Not just Shikamaru — even the three Anbu monitoring Naruto exchanged glances in stunned silence.
"Ino, you can go faster," Naruto said.
"Huh? O-okay…" Ino was stunned for a moment, then increased her speed.
Naruto's hand seal speed became faster and faster. The Substitution Jutsu flowed more and more smoothly.
Eventually, Ino, Shikamaru, and the others could barely see his hand seals clearly anymore.
Every time, he activated it at the exact instant the stone hit him.
The three seals were completed in less than a second.
This visible rate of improvement, combined with what seemed like infinite chakra, made Shikamaru's eyelids twitch nonstop.
"This guy… isn't he being a bit too exaggerated?"
The white-haired Anbu also stared fixedly at Naruto, who kept using the technique without pause. This kind of training method was something he had never seen before.
For someone who had to split even a single unit of chakra in half, it was simply incomprehensible.
"Naruto, can we take a break…? I can't do this anymore…"
Ino, who had been throwing stones the whole time, was the first to give up. Both her arms were sore and aching.
In contrast, Naruto only had slightly dirty clothes. He looked completely fine. The small amount of chakra consumed by the Substitution Jutsu recovered faster than he used it.
"Alright, take a rest."
Naruto handed Ino his own water bottle, causing her face to flush red with joy.
Ino quickly took the bottle. After hesitating for a moment, she drank from it with a blushing face, putting her mouth where his had been.
Naruto checked the progress again.
Substitution Jutsu (7330/10000)
Seeing the two of them stop, Shikamaru under the tree breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Naruto had finally run out of chakra.
However, Naruto turned straight to him and said:
"Shikamaru, come help me train for a bit."
"What?!"
Shikamaru jolted in shock, his body tilting sideways. If not for Choji's large frame blocking him, he would have fallen over.