Naruto's life gradually settled into a stable rhythm. Every morning, Naruto's figure would already be seen running on the streets of Konoha Village, practicing his taijutsu with a clear goal in mind.
"Today, I'll definitely meet Youth... Guy-sensei."
Naruto would anticipate this every day. He imagined the scene of the thick-browed man in a green jumpsuit suddenly leaping out from a corner, enthusiastically shouting, "This is youth!"
However, after several days, not only did he not see Guy himself, but he couldn't even hear his iconic shout.
It seems he's out on a mission... Naruto reached this conclusion with a hint of disappointment.
In the afternoon, Naruto would always appear punctually at the clearing on the outskirts of the Konoha forest. This had become the training ground he and Satsuki had agreed upon.
To his surprise, he had initially thought that as the young mistress of the Uchiha Clan, Satsuki would be doing well to sneak out two or three times a week. But the reality was—she could be seen there at least five days out of the entire seven-day week.
It seems she successfully convinced the Third Hokage.
Satsuki had similar confusion on her end. After she and Naruto parted ways and went home that day, her usually stern father, Uchiha Fugaku, uncharacteristically called her into his study.
"Satsuki, you've made a very good friend." Fugaku's voice was much softer than usual. "You can train with him more often from now on."
Just as Satsuki was delighted by her father's approval, Fugaku added a strange condition. "But remember, don't mention this to any other clan members." He emphasized, "Including your sister, Itachi."
Satsuki's small face was filled with confusion. She had originally planned to find an opportunity to introduce her sister to Naruto. But seeing her father's solemn expression, she still nodded obediently.
This was the first time her usually unsmiling father had so clearly instructed her about something. Although she didn't understand why, she decided to abide by this agreement.
But... her sister was spending less and less time at home. The sister who used to practice shuriken with her and occasionally took her to eat dango could now only be seen briefly in the early morning.
Sometimes Satsuki would purposely wake up early just to catch a short moment of breakfast with her sister. "Is sister very busy lately?" Satsuki asked Itachi one morning, as she was tying her forehead protector.
Itachi turned around, knelt down, and gently poked her sister's forehead as usual. "Sorry, Satsuki. I've had a lot of missions recently." Her voice was still gentle, but her eyes held a complex emotion that Satsuki couldn't decipher. "Once this busy period is over, I'll train with you again, okay?"
Satsuki nodded obediently, unaware that her sister—Uchiha Itachi, who was only seven years old—had already become a Chunin and begun to undertake real Ninja missions. Those figures rushing out of the house in the early mornings were heading to mission rendezvous points.
However, strangely, Satsuki didn't feel as disappointed as she used to. Because every afternoon, when she arrived at the clearing in the forest, she would always see the golden-haired boy. Naruto seemed to always be there, either practicing hand signs or researching new Ninjutsu techniques.
"Yo, you're earlier today than yesterday!" Naruto would always greet her with such boundless energy.
In her time with Naruto, Satsuki discovered a sense of comfort she had never experienced before. Within the Uchiha Clan, children her age either hadn't started formal training yet or were simply untalented.
And those clan members who had already begun training were either arrogant and flaunting their talent, or they were constantly putting on a mature, stern face.
Dealing with those people was exhausting...
Satsuki had thought this more than once. But it was completely different when she was with Naruto—he would listen to her intently, genuinely rejoice in her progress, and most importantly, he never looked at her with that "Uchiha should be like this or that" gaze.
If Naruto knew Satsuki's thoughts, he would surely be unable to resist complaining. Letting two tsunderes interact is not a good idea.
It was Naruto's combination of exceptional talent and caring nature that made Satsuki enjoy her time with him more and more.
After their afternoon training, they would put away their Ninja tools and sit by the lake, sharing the bento Naruto had prepared. Satsuki loved this time the most—the fatigue from training gradually faded, replaced by the satisfaction brought by good food.
"Hey, Satsuki, what's your dream?" Naruto asked casually one day, while biting into a rice ball.
Satsuki answered without hesitation: "Of course, it's to surpass my sister and become a Ninja that the Uchiha Clan can be proud of!" This was the belief she had been instilled with since childhood, and it was the motivation for her diligent daily training.
Naruto nodded thoughtfully and continued to ask. "Then what? What will you do after you surpass your sister?"
Satsuki was stunned. She had never considered this question. In her simple worldview, becoming stronger was the end goal, it was everything.
"Your turn." She changed the subject somewhat flustered. "What's your dream?"
Naruto looked at the shimmering lake. "Me... I guess I hope to be able to protect the things I want to protect in future moments of danger."
This answer confused Satsuki. In her opinion, a dream should be concrete and clear, like "becoming Hokage."
But when she turned to look at Naruto, she found his profile looked particularly serious in the setting sun, and her own reflection was visible in his blue eyes.
For some reason, Satsuki felt her cheeks suddenly flush. She didn't understand where this strange feeling came from, only that her heart would always beat faster whenever she was alone with Naruto.
Naruto was completely unaware that he had inadvertently stirred the little girl's heartstrings. For him, interacting with Satsuki was initially just to earn system points. But gradually, this tsundere Uchiha girl was simple and cute, and the time spent with her also became enjoyable.
Until one evening, as they parted ways, the familiar system prompt suddenly sounded in Naruto's mind.
[Congratulations, Host: You have established a bond (Level 5) with the original character "Uchiha Sasuke"!]
[Points obtained: 500 points!]
Naruto was startled for a moment, not expecting that Satsuki could be slowly 'conquered' through interaction. According to the original plot, he and Satsuki would only establish such a bond after graduating from the Ninja Academy. But now, a close relationship, like that of childhood friends, had already formed between them.
As for the other one, every night, Naruto would sit on his bed, close his eyes, and his consciousness would sink into the sealing space. A damp, cold aura would wash over him, but Naruto had long grown accustomed to it.
"Kurama, I'm here!" Naruto walked cheerfully towards the giant iron bars.
Kurama lazily lifted his eyelids, his nine tails swaying casually: "What boring story did you bring today?" Although his tone was indifferent, his beast eyes involuntarily glanced at the papers in Naruto's hand.
"Today is the exciting part!" Naruto held up the latest handwritten chapter like a treasure, "Xiao Huohuo is finally going to attack the Yunlan Sect!"
And so, every night, Naruto would punctually come to chat with Kurama. Sometimes he would recount interesting events from the day, and sometimes he would continue writing his handwritten ""battle through the heavens"."
Until one evening, Naruto, too tired from researching a newly acquired Water Release Ninjutsu, forgot to go to the sealing space. The next evening, when he appeared as usual, he was greeted by Kurama's cold back.
"Kurama?" Naruto called out tentatively.
The large fox remained motionless, only the tip of his tail flicking impatiently.
"That Ninjutsu was too complicated yesterday, I practiced very late..." Naruto explained, scratching his head.
"Hmph, this old man doesn't care if you come or not." Kurama finally spoke, his voice clearly sulking. "It's just as well, I enjoy the peace and quiet."
Naruto was about to continue coaxing the tsundere Tailed Beast when the system prompt suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Congratulations, Host: You have established a bond (Level 3) with the original character "Kurama"!]
[Reward: 400 points obtained!]
Naruto almost burst out laughing. It turned out the big fox wasn't really angry, just sulking. He wisely didn't expose him, but instead sat down as usual and began to tell the new story chapter.
Just like that, Naruto's points increased by another 1600. He eagerly performed a ten-pull, and although he didn't get his coveted purple or gold rewards, he still gained a lot.
Earth Release Chakra Adaptability and Nature Transformation Mastery—this increased his Chakra nature to four types.
Chakra reserves equivalent to half of Kakashi's—he gained an astonishing "half-Kakashi" amount of Chakra.
There was also a 20% increase in Sealing Jutsu talent, and a large pile of universal currency from the world of Naruto.