One year later, in the Forest of Death.
In just one year, Naruto had shot up by more than ten centimeters, leaving his peers far behind in height.
During that year, many major events shook Konoha.
The most shocking of them all—none other than the Uchiha clan massacre! Even the civilians within the clan compound were not spared.
And the one who carried out the slaughter was the Uchiha prodigy himself, the clan head's son—Uchiha Itachi.
The vast Forest of Death housed countless wild beasts. Some Konoha shinobi even came here to seek out their summoning beasts.
At this very moment, Naruto happened to run into one such wild beast.
Just over ten meters in front of him, a bristly boar more than three meters long with curved tusks was glaring at him.
A beast of that size had terrifying defenses—even an average chūnin would struggle to deal with it.
Compared to it, Naruto's small figure looked weak and helpless.
Finally, the boar pawed at the ground with its front hooves and charged forward with a furious snort, aiming to crush the "little speck" in front of it.
It couldn't wait to devour this clueless morsel.
Naruto gripped the black blade in his hand, stepped back into a low stance, and swung!
Second Form – Claw Claw, Kotorikaze!
Four long, blue wind blades, each several meters in length, coiled forward like the claws of a massive dragon, slashing toward the charging boar.
The display was even more dazzling than most Wind Release ninjutsu—
And just as powerful.
Like slicing tofu, the blades neatly cut the thick-skinned, muscular beast into five pieces.
The massive chunks of flesh fell to the ground with heavy thuds.
The thick stench of blood instantly spread.
Naruto spun his sword with a flourish, shaking the blood clean before smoothly sheathing it.
He glanced at the boar meat on the ground.
That should take care of this week's supply of meat.
After a year of practicing every day for two and a half hours, the Breath of Wind's nine forms were already second nature to him, flowing like extensions of his own body.
Three months ago, he had also received his mission rewards for his training.
Name: Uzumaki NarutoAge: 6 → 7Physique: 23 → 25 (average civilian = 1)Chakra: 66.6 → 75.6 KaBloodline Limit: Perfected Uzumaki Sage BodyAbilities: Breath of Wind (Intermediate), Nine Sword Forms, Transparent WorldNinjutsu: Substitution Technique, Clone Technique, Transformation Technique, Illusionary Transformation
Within a year, his physique and chakra had both grown considerably. Breaking past 70 chakra points, at this pace he might even surpass 100 before turning ten.
Among his gains, the Transparent World was a reward for nine months of continuous discipline.
Transparent World: When activated, grants x-ray vision, massively enhances dynamic vision, and with practice allows the user to predict an enemy's next move through observation.
This ability was one of the "Supreme Three" in the world of demon slayers, akin to combining the Byakugan's perception with the Sharingan's motion tracking and predictive abilities.
Just as Naruto was about to haul the meat back, noise came from behind him.
Turning around, he spotted two smaller boars—barely a meter long each—staring at the corpse of the big one with grief in their eyes.
They were clearly its young.
"They really are two pitiful little guys." Naruto sighed softly.
On the way back, he carried a boarlet on each shoulder. Though still young, each weighed nearly a hundred pounds.
Yet Naruto carried them with ease.
"I wonder if baby boar meat will taste more tender?" he muttered to himself, his silhouette shrinking in the glow of the setting sun.
But before he could leave the Forest of Death—shff shff shff—three shinobi wearing cat-faced masks blocked his path in a triangular formation.
A sharp light flickered in Naruto's eyes as the Transparent World opened instantly.
The masked faces were revealed in detail.
They weren't the three normally assigned to watch him.
The leader spoke in a low tone:"Uzumaki Naruto, where did you learn those sword techniques? You will explain yourself to the Root Division."
'So it really is Root… that old bastard Danzō finally couldn't hold back.'
Naruto's heart sank. He dropped the two boarlets, their insides spilling onto the ground, and prepared himself.
'Kurama, get ready for a fight.' he communicated silently with the Nine-Tails, ready to draw his blade at a moment's notice.
After a year together, his relationship with the fox wasn't as deep as in the original timeline, but they had formed a mutual-benefit pact.
Kurama smirked at his words, lazily humming, though his eyes betrayed his anticipation.
Just then—shff shff shff—Kakashi and two others appeared, interposing themselves between Naruto and Root.
For a few tense seconds, ANBU and Root stared each other down. Then the Root shinobi vanished with Body Flicker.
Kakashi glanced at Naruto once before departing with his squad.
Naruto exhaled deeply and hoisted the boarlets again.
No fight broke out—Kurama inside the seal grumbled in disappointment.
This was obviously just one of Danzō's probes.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would likely protect him for now. But ultimately, Naruto knew he had to take control of his own destiny.
With those thoughts, his desire to grow stronger only intensified.
***
The next day, at the Ninja Academy.
The first class was Tracking. Compared to all those "Will of Fire" ideology lectures, this was at least practical, so Naruto paid close attention.
After two theory lessons, Iruka made a proposal.
"Class, let's put the theory into practice. Today's outdoor training ground will be the Forest of Death!"
Hearing that they'd be having class outdoors—and in the mysterious Forest of Death at that—the students erupted with excitement.
Naruto's expression remained calm. To him, the Forest of Death was already like a second home.
For the past year, it had practically been his cafeteria—when he ran out of meat, he'd simply restock there and hone his swordsmanship on the beasts.
All of Class A arrived at the Forest of Death. For safety, two jōnin had joined as escorts, and the students were restricted to the outer perimeter.
Even so, the kids' faces were flushed red with excitement.
Iruka raised his hand to quiet them.
"Now then, we're going to play a game. Nine scrolls are hidden nearby. You must use the clues left behind to find them."
"You'll form groups of three. The team that finds a scroll—I'll treat you to ramen! The ones who fail… will have to search until after school."
"Now, form your teams."
The classroom instantly erupted again, students scanning for reliable teammates.
Ino, hands clasped behind her back, bounded over with energy:"Naruto, can I team up with you?"
Naruto nodded.
Not far away, Hinata was surrounded by students eager to recruit her.
"Hinata! Your Byakugan can see through things, right? Join my team!"
…
"Back off! Hinata's teaming with me!" A chubby boy, looking somewhat like a fatter version of Gian, shoved others aside and reached for Hinata's hand to force her into his team.
Hinata, usually quiet and nearly invisible in class, had never experienced this kind of situation. She froze on the spot, overwhelmed.