After returning home, Naruto sat down at the small table and began eating the meal his Shadow Clone had already prepared.
It must be said that although it was a Shadow Clone, its cooking skill was only mediocre; the taste was far inferior to Naruto's own culinary abilities.
After finishing his meal, Naruto took a carton of milk from the refrigerator and chugged a large mouthful.
He didn't linger in the living room and went straight back to the bedroom.
He found a clean glass bottle, filled it with fresh water, and carefully placed the light purple bellflower Ino had given him inside, letting it lean against the bottle wall.
Having done this, Naruto did not immediately start his evening training.
Instead, he extended a finger and gently touched the delicate petals, then quietly mobilized the Wood Release Chakra within his body—still unfamiliar, yet full of vitality—attempting to inject some gentle life force into this bellflower that had been separated from the soil.
A faint, almost imperceptible pale green light flashed across his fingertip, and the bellflower seemed to straighten slightly, its petals appearing a little brighter in color.
"Hehe..."
Inside the Sealing Space, the Nine-Tailed's low voice, tinged with sarcasm, rang out.
"A little girl casually gave you a wildflower, and you, kid, are already smitten?"
Naruto's consciousness sank into the space. He looked at the pair of massive scarlet eyes behind the cage, which held a teasing intent, and shook his head. His tone was calm but held a complex sigh of emotion: "This isn't about being smitten, Kurama."
He said softly, "I'm just... feeling a bit emotional.
I never thought that in my lifetime, someone like me would receive flowers from another person."
Hearing this, the Nine-Tailed's originally playful expression faded. It fell silent, slowly closing its mouth.
Because it knew very well.
It thought of the rejection, cold stares, and curses Naruto had suffered since childhood—that unfortunate, lonely youth.
And the root of all this... it could be said that Naruto's unfortunate childhood was, to a large extent, brought about by Kurama itself.
It was he who killed Minato and Kushina.
His existence was what turned Naruto into a Jinchuriki.
Seeing the Nine-Tailed fall silent, Naruto chuckled softly.
"I don't blame you. I will personally kill the guy who controlled you back then."
Obito must die, and Naruto also wants to play around with those eyes that possess Kamui.
Before that, he should first temper his body into a Sage Body of Hashirama's caliber.
Perhaps in the future, an S-rank item in the Naruto world, 'Naruto cells,' will appear, just like Hashirama cells!
After his consciousness returned from the Sealing Space, Naruto lay down on the bed but did not immediately fall asleep. With a thought, he dismissed the four Shadow Clones that had been active all day long.
In an instant, like four torrents of information rushing out simultaneously, all the memories and fatigue from the four Shadow Clones' day-long experiences—their learning, thinking, attempts, and even failures regarding Sealing Techniques—poured into Naruto's original mind.
If it were an ordinary Ninja, they would likely have been overwhelmed by this massive influx of information, suffering from splitting headaches or even mental disorientation.
But Naruto merely frowned slightly before regaining his composure, systematically beginning to receive the scattered knowledge the Shadow Clones had learned, the rune patterns they had drawn, and the lessons gained from their detours.
He closed his eyes and concentrated, then, like the most patient librarian, slowly and systematically categorized, integrated, and digested these complex pieces of knowledge.
He filed failed attempts as experience and solidified successful insights into his own accumulation of skill.
This process lasted for quite some time. Only when the last bit of information had been organized did Naruto let out a long sigh of relief, fine beads of sweat forming on his temples.
Although mentally exhausted, his understanding of Sealing Techniques had undoubtedly advanced another step.
At this point, he got up and switched on the not-so-bright lamp in his room.
After sorting through the Shadow Clones' memories, he felt his understanding of the basic concepts was much clearer, though some more profound areas remained vague.
Thus, he personally began to pore over the scroll that recorded the Sealing Techniques.
Sure enough, many of the basic rune structures and Chakra flow principles that had baffled him when he first received the scroll yesterday now seemed to click into place when combined with the Shadow Clones' practical memories, and many questions were instantly resolved.
However, when his gaze fell upon the latter half of the scroll—the advanced Sealing Jutsu formulas involving space, contracts, and even the soul level—he still felt like he was reading an indecipherable heavenly script; he couldn't understand any of it.
Those complex patterns and principles far exceeded his current scope of understanding.
Looking at those headache-inducing complex formulas, Naruto couldn't help but recall a saying he had heard in his previous life. He shook his head with a wry smile and grumbled internally: Sealing Techniques really are just like mathematics.
Math will never betray you, because if you don't know it, you just don't know it.
Similarly, these advanced Sealing Techniques on the scroll—if you don't know them, you just don't know them. No matter how wide you stare, you still won't understand.
The next day, just as dawn broke, the morning light had not yet fully dispelled the night's chill.
Inside the Sealing Space, the Nine-Tailed slowly opened its pair of massive scarlet eyes. It sensed the time outside and then used a slight fluctuation of Chakra to wake the sleeping Naruto.
Naruto woke from his sleep, rubbed his eyes, and looked out the window.
Outside, the sky was in that state between dark and light; in the distant eastern horizon, the sun was slowly peeking out with golden rays, signaling the start of a new day.
He didn't linger in bed and got up quickly.
After washing up, he tied on an apron and began bustling around the kitchen, preparing breakfast for himself and lunch to take to school.
Rhythmic chopping sounds soon echoed in the morning kitchen, and the aroma of food gradually spread.
Unlike the Shadow Clone's makeshift dinner last night, the main body cooking personally meant that both the breakfast miso soup and fried eggs, as well as the carefully arranged dishes in the lunch box, were prepared with more care and skill.
After finishing breakfast, Naruto did not leave immediately.
He stood in the center of the living room, formed hand seals, and once again created four Shadow Clones.
Unlike yesterday's rough approach, where all Clones rushed into learning Sealing Techniques, today he made a more detailed plan:
One Shadow Clone was specifically tasked with continuing to study the Sealing Techniques scroll, focusing on solidifying the fundamentals.
Another Shadow Clone began practicing Chakra nature transformation.
The remaining two Shadow Clones began repeatedly attempting and exploring the proportional fusion of Chakra that would make Wood Release more stable and powerful.
The reason for this adjustment was that Naruto, through yesterday's practice, profoundly realized that Sealing Techniques truly depend on talent and comprehension, and one must proceed step by step, first mastering the most basic knowledge and principles.
It cannot be won by sheer volume.
He reflected: Letting all four Shadow Clones blindly cram the fundamental knowledge of Sealing Techniques, which is currently very difficult for them, is inefficient and yields minimal results for maximum effort.
It is better to let one Shadow Clone focus intently on establishing the theoretical foundation first; this way, the thought process is clearer, and the learning effect is actually better.
Conveniently, this frees up three Shadow Clones to undertake other equally important training projects, such as Chakra control and the development of Wood Release.