"The amount of chakra just now was a little too much, so now I need to reduce the chakra adhesion slightly, especially paying attention to balance..."
With closed eyes, Naruto recalled the sensation of stepping onto the tree trunk for the first time.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Alright... this time should be just right."
Based on that earlier experience, he fine-tuned the chakra output.
Once again, Naruto took a step toward the large tree before him.
This time, on the first step, Naruto firmly planted his foot on the tree trunk. A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, eyes flashing with joy.
The next moment—
Crack.
On the second step, the bark splintered beneath his foot again.
Naruto's expression shifted slightly. Using his reflexes, he kicked off and flipped midair.
Patter.
He landed softly back on the ground.
"Was that too much chakra again? Maintaining constant output at every moment really is tough... Seems this training won't be finished quickly."
Naruto took a deep breath, shook his head with a small smile, and muttered.
Even if the first step went well, if the chakra output wasn't perfectly balanced during the next steps—whether too much or too little—the result would be falling or breaking through the tree bark entirely.
"This just means more training... I'll gain the experience I need through repetition."
Naruto stretched his arms, then focused once more, gathering chakra in his body and channeling it carefully to the soles of his feet. Then, he took another step toward the massive tree.
Training was tedious.
But this was part of the ninja's journey.
As that pervy sage once said in the original story—
A person who can endure—who truly understands patience—can call themselves a real ninja.
This endurance didn't just mean withstanding harsh environments. It also meant mastering your emotions, suppressing frustration, and committing to years of hardship.
Especially for Naruto.
The next six or seven years would be the most pivotal period of his life.
Whether he could survive this cruel world and achieve his dreams...
It would all be determined by what he accomplished during this time.
Naruto, fully immersed in his training, lost track of time. In his previous life, he had been fascinated by the concept of chakra—a force from another dimension. Now, it wasn't fiction anymore. It was real. And the only way forward was to train and grow stronger.
Despite having the Kyuubi sealed within him, Naruto couldn't yet communicate with it. He had already tried everything he could think of. Until that connection awakened, Naruto had no one to rely on but himself.
And considering his long-term goal was to reach the peak of the shinobi world...
Even the Kyuubi would one day only be a tool—supporting strength, not the core of it.
Look at the true monsters in the Naruto world—they treated tailed beasts like pets.
Naruto understood this well.
Tree climbing, walking on water...
These were the most basic, yet vital, chakra control methods for a ninja.
Getting started was the hardest part.
Especially with the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra constantly interfering inside him. On his first day alone, almost all of his attempts failed—either by applying too much chakra or too little.
Even with prior knowledge, Naruto fell from the tree many times. Without this strong new body, his old self from the previous world probably would've broken bones or worse from the final fall.
He would've been straight off to the afterlife.
"Huff... that's enough for today."
As the sky dimmed and his body grew sore from the accumulated effort, Naruto decided to wrap up training for the day.
He shook his head. His golden hair shimmered in the fading sunset, tinged orange by the forest light.
Then, he reached for the bamboo basket he'd left nearby. Inside were the wild fruits and vegetables he had collected during practice. Naruto sniffed slightly and smiled.
"Nice, I've got enough for an extra meal tonight."
Turning around, Naruto's small figure walked down the forest slope, stretching a long shadow behind him in the sunset glow.
The forest returned to silence, leaving behind only the tree trunks covered in scuff marks—a testament to the effort and persistence of a boy chasing strength.
At that moment, the gears of destiny had truly begun to turn.
Climbing trees, walking on water, and basic physical conditioning—
Naruto, immersed in all of this, didn't feel even a shred of boredom.
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, half a year had flown by.
Naruto was now approaching his sixth birthday.
But in this world, no one remembered Naruto's birthday.
Not even the Third Hokage, who usually wore a kind face. Or perhaps—especially not him. Because Naruto's birthday marked the anniversary of the Nine-Tails' attack.
It symbolized the deaths of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife Kushina Uzumaki.
It also marked the loss of many brave Konoha shinobi and innocent villagers.
No one wanted to be reminded of that day.
Not even Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Third Hokage had never once visited Naruto on his birthday.
To be fair, when Minato had sacrificed himself six years ago during the Nine-Tails' rampage, Konoha had just begun recovering—only to spiral back into instability. Once again burdened with the mantle of Hokage, Hiruzen's workload had become even heavier than before, juggling both external threats and internal unrest.
In the past six years, even taking the time to visit (or rather, inspect and observe) Naruto was rare for Hiruzen.
Of course, for Naruto, these "rare visits" were far from welcome.
They tested his acting skills more than anything.
There were times Naruto thought for sure he'd been found out—but thankfully, certain things (like his sealed Nine-Tails chakra and his "natural" loneliness) made for convenient camouflage.
Even if the Hokage suspected anything, his only real concern was whether Naruto harbored hatred toward the village. Beyond that, the Third's surveillance was fairly superficial—allowing Naruto to fly under the radar.
This was thanks in no small part to the image Naruto carefully crafted.
"I want to be Hokage. I want everyone to acknowledge me."
All the pure-hearted, idealistic lines—Naruto used them all.
After all, that's what the original Naruto said and did.
Learning the performance wasn't hard.
Still, simplicity aside, every solo meeting with the Third Hokage made Naruto nervous.
These were his ultimate tests as an actor.
Fortunately, over the past six years—
Naruto had managed to pass every one.