"Could it be a problem of chakra control? Or maybe chakra volume?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head, grumbling in frustration.
He just couldn't make sense of it.
If it was a control issue—
that didn't hold up either.
All three were the so-called three basic techniques.
Why on earth would Clone Technique be harder to control
than Substitution or Transformation?
If anything, Naruto felt Substitution should be the toughest:
choosing the right object,
timing the swap—
a shinobi had to think through all that in the heat of battle.
Clone Technique, by comparison, was just an intangible illusion.
It shouldn't be more complicated.
Especially since Naruto had already finished
tree-climbing and water-walking training,
both advanced chakra control exercises.
So chakra control?
Didn't add up.
Chakra volume?
Even less logical.
In either his past life or this one,
Naruto had never heard of the Three Basics being affected by chakra reserves.
It wasn't like some high-levelTechniquesthat failed if you lacked energy.
This was just a beginner's technique.
And he'd already tried everything—
adjusting chakra output,
altering flow rates,
pushing too much, using too little.
He'd experimented with every possibility,
even asked Iruka for advice.
And still—
this ugly, humiliating result was all he got.
Iruka had seen it with his own eyes,
and he'd been just as baffled.
Transformation? Perfectly fine.
Substitution? Smooth.
Clone Technique? Disaster.
Even Iruka, whose knowledge wasn't that broad,
couldn't give him a reason.
He could only pat Naruto's shoulder,
telling him to keep working at it.
"Don't rush. You're only in your second year.
There's still more than four years until graduation."
Naruto let out a long sigh.
"Well… at least it's better than when they didn't even look human.
Now, you can sort of tell it's me.
Guess that counts as progress."
He released the technique,
watching his half-formed clone dissolve into smoke.
He couldn't find the cause.
So he chalked it up to a "bug."
"Forget it. That's enough for today."
The sky was dimming.
Naruto stretched his neck,
then stood, gathering his tools and the wild vegetables and fruit he had picked.
With a weary stretch,
he started toward the forest's edge.
"Guess I need to adjust my training plan…
I'll still spend a little time on Clone,
but I can't waste too much on it.
The real focus should be strengthening my body.
And my kunai are almost worn down…
I'll ask Iruka-sensei for some more tomorrow.
Ugh… I'm exhausted…"
The setting sun cast its final golden light,
stretching Naruto's shadow long across the ground.
Back home that night,
he ate a simple dinner, rested briefly,
then sat at his desk and opened his textbooks.
Training by day.
Studying by night.
That had been Naruto's routine for the past year.
Not just classwork.
He also planned to borrow and read through the Academy's stock of books—
on ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu—
one by one.
Thanks to Iruka, he had more access than most.
Though, because of his age and short time in school,
Iruka still held him back a little.
Not forbidding,
but cautioning:
"Don't bite off more than you can chew."
A line Iruka had repeated to him countless times this past year.
Naruto's eagerness to learn made Iruka genuinely happy.
Spending so much time with Naruto,
he had gradually lowered his guard.
He hadn't forgotten his parents' tragic deaths.
But he was learning to see Naruto as Naruto,
and the Nine-Tails as something separate.
If anything, Naruto being shunned by nearly everyone in the village
only made Iruka feel greater pity and protectiveness toward him.
Their bond grew stronger by the day.
And Iruka cared more and more about Naruto's future.
He hoped the boy really would
become a great shinobi—
recognized by all.
Though Naruto's progress far exceeded his expectations,
Naruto himself held back just enough
that Iruka sometimes misjudged his level.
Naruto didn't mind.
Repetition only strengthened memory.
It was a habit carried over from his previous life.
"Eh… it's this late already?"
Naruto straightened his back,
neck sore from hunching over.
The clock on his desk confirmed it was well past bedtime.
With a yawn, eyes heavy with drowsiness, he muttered:
"Better wash up and sleep. Gotta wake up early tomorrow."
He closed his book,
stretched,
and went to wash up.
Not even a minute after crawling into bed,
his fatigue dragged him into deep sleep.
Normally, he would have slept peacefully until dawn.
But tonight—
tonight was different.
"BOOM!!!"
A deafening explosion split the night sky over Konoha.
Flames roared upward,
turning the heavens red as fireclouds spread.
The quiet village instantly erupted in chaos.
Naruto jolted awake,
heart pounding from the noise—
from the distant screams and clash of steel.
He leapt from bed,
ran to the window,
and saw, far in the northwest,
a sea of fire engulfing the Uchiha compound.
Ninja flitted through the streets, rushing toward the blaze.
Naruto's pupils contracted sharply.
"That direction… if I'm not mistaken,
it's the Uchiha clan's district, right?
This kind of fire…
Could it be—
the night of the Uchiha Massacre?"
He murmured, almost to himself,
a chill running down his spine.
The timing…
it matched.
Right after Sasuke entered the Academy,
the Uchiha clan had been wiped out.
But something still felt off.
The details—
he couldn't quite remember clearly.