After Kakashi spoke about the test, everyone in Team 7 wanted to practice. Sakura and Sasuke were no different.
Naruto, however, returned to his father's residence hidden deep within the forest. There, he continued his usual body exercises, using the methods he had learned from the library scrolls while also practicing the body techniques from his previous life.
He already knew this body had many limits, so he had started training it seriously from the beginning. Now, that effort was slowly bearing fruit.
After spending hours cultivating and pushing his body inside the training room, Naruto stood shirtless before a large mirror. His eyes calmly studied the faint but noticeable changes in his body. His once feeble and bony frame now carried traces of toned muscle. It was still far from enough, but at least it was progress.
For the current Naruto, even a small improvement had value.
After observing his condition for a while, he finally went to sleep.
As the night deepened, Naruto lay down and closed his eyes. Slowly, he guided his consciousness inward and entered his inner world.
When he opened his eyes there, he found himself standing before the massive gate that imprisoned the Nine-Tails once more.
The oppressive air of demonic energy thickened around him.
"You're here," the fox's deep voice echoed.
Behind the bars, the giant fox was lying down with its front paws crossed on the ground, its head raised as it stared at Naruto with burning red eyes. Its lips curled into a sneer, and without warning, it released a wave of demonic chakra.
The chakra rushed toward Naruto like a violent storm, but he stood unmoved. The pressure kept crashing over him, yet his calm expression did not change.
Seeing Naruto remain unflinching, the Nine-Tails slowly pulled back its chakra.
"What do you want, brat?" Kurama growled.
"Why do you dare stand before me?"
"I need your help," Naruto stated plainly, his voice steady.
Kurama's eyes sharpened.
"You dare ask me for help?"
Its chakra surged again, heavier than before. The force pushed Naruto back a few steps, but he quickly regained his footing and met the fox's gaze with a cold look.
"There's going to be a reasonable trade for your cooperation," Naruto said. "I'll let you go free."
"Hahahahaaaaa!"
Kurama's laughter boomed through the sealed space, shaking the air around them.
"Let me go free? I don't need your help for that. If I want to, I can kill you myself right now and escape on my own!"
Naruto smirked.
"If that were true, you'd have done it a long time ago while you and I were sealed together. The seal binds you to me. You're trapped here. No matter how much you try, you can't escape. You said you will kill me. Well, that can happen when the seal weakens. But are you sure you can wait until it weakens over time? How long would it take? Maybe decades? Maybe centuries? Meanwhile, you're stuck in here. If not inside me, then inside someone else."
Kurama narrowed his eyes.
"So what's your offer, boy?"
"Simple," Naruto said. "Help me for ten years. In return, I'll learn how to unseal you and let you go free. No tricks."
Kurama became silent for a few seconds.
Then the beast rumbled.
"Fine. I'll play along. But betray me, and I'll make sure you suffer a heavy price for it."
After a brief pause, Kurama continued.
"I will help you by providing my chakra, but my chakra is very corrosive. You have to pay a huge price for accepting it. Do you dare take that gamble?"
Naruto's lips curled into a sly grin.
'I, Xuan Tian, a pure demonic cultivator who mastered demonic qi, being afraid of corrosive demonic chakra? What possible threat can this chakra be to me?'
Naruto nodded with a smirk.
"Deal."
The next morning, warm sunlight entered Naruto's room.
Naruto slowly woke up and immediately felt a strange pain spread throughout his body. His muscles ached, and even his inner pathways felt strained, but he ignored it. Pain was nothing new to him.
After completing his usual intense workout, he disregarded Kakashi's warning about not eating breakfast. He went to Ichiraku, grabbed a quick meal, and then headed toward the clear grassland near the academy.
The area was peaceful and calm.
At the center stood a diamond-shaped stone tablet, and nearby were three upright wooden logs. A few names had been carved into the stone tablet.
Sakura and Sasuke were already there.
Sasuke stood near one of the logs with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. Sakura was pacing impatiently, occasionally throwing glances at him. She was already frustrated. She had arrived first, waited for a long time, and had not eaten dinner last night or breakfast that morning.
To forget all of that, she tried to start a conversation with Sasuke.
"Sa..."
Before she could continue, the sound of footsteps reached her ears.
Naruto arrived last and lazily leaned against one of the wooden posts beside them. His cool and unbothered attitude immediately irritated Sakura. In her eyes, he always seemed to appear whenever she tried to have private time with Sasuke.
"You're late again!" she snapped, glaring at Naruto. "And you always seem to show up right when I'm trying to talk to Sasuke. What's your problem? Oh, right—an orphan wouldn't know anything about basic manners."
Naruto's eyes darkened for a moment, but the smirk on his face remained.
He responded calmly, "When I come is my business. Coming early, getting frustrated, and blaming others for your anger—is that what you enjoy doing, S..A..K..U..R..A?"
Sasuke had a faint smirk on his face when Naruto said this.
Naruto's words struck the mark to Sakura.
Sakura felt embarrassed in front of Sasuke. Her face turned red as she clenched her fists.
"You little.....!"
She charged at Naruto, her fist aimed directly at his face.
As her clenched fist came close, Naruto's hand shot up and caught it effortlessly, stopping it only an inch away from his face.
Sakura froze.
Her eyes widened with shock.
'He's never stopped my punches before... why now?'
Naruto slowly moved her hand away from his face while still holding it. Then he applied pressure.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Sakura screamed.
Naruto looked at her coldly.
"First, know your opponent. Second, know yourself. Only then you should act."
His words were sharp and direct.
Then he pushed Sakura slightly, making her fall to the ground. Even then, her hand was still trapped in his grip.
Looking down at her in the ground, Naruto said, "I hope you understand it."
Sakura immediately nodded, her eyes wide with pain and fear.
Only then did Naruto release her hand.
The place fell silent.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto, his eyes narrowing slightly. He had not expected Naruto to do something like this to Sakura, especially when everyone knew she used to be Naruto's crush.
'Even if he has memory loss, he can't do something like that to the one he loved.'
Sakura sat stunned on the ground, clutching her hand.
Meanwhile, Kakashi had been watching everything from a nearby tree. He did not interfere because the situation had not escalated into a serious fight.
Still, he was surprised.
He never thought Naruto would confront Sakura like that. In all his years in Konoha, he had rarely seen a man handle a woman so directly, especially with that kind of cold control.
Not even Jiraiya with Tsunade.
Finally, Kakashi revealed himself.
"Yo," he greeted, raising a hand lazily. "Sorry, I got lost on the path of life."
Naruto's sharp eyes turned toward the masked man, while Sasuke and Sakura looked at him with mixed emotions.
Kakashi walked into the clearing, holding a small timer in one hand and two small bells in the other.
"Let's not waste time. I hope you're all in high spirits because today's test is simple. All you have to do is take these bells from me before the timer runs out."
He attached the bells to his belt.
Sakura frowned.
"Wait, there are only two bells. But there are three of us."
Kakashi nodded, his visible eye curving into a smile.
"Exactly. That's the test. The one who doesn't get a bell will be sent back to the academy."
The three of them stiffened. The meaning was clear now—only two could pass, and none of them wanted to be the one sent back.
Sensing their nervousness, Kakashi chuckled and placed two lunchboxes on a nearby rock.
"Those who succeed can eat these. Those who fail? Well, better luck next time."
Kakashi set the timer, and the easygoing air around him faded at once. His visible eye sharpened slightly.
"Your test begins... now."
Kakashi declared.
(To Be Continued...)
......
A/N: I am having a little health issue, I am going for a checkup tomorrow....I will try to write whenever it's possible...