"Hmph!~"
When the Nine-Tails heard Naruto's words, it lifted its head proudly and snorted.
"I was never an evil being. It's just that you humans are far too wicked."
It recalled the distant past—before humans had discovered the Tailed Beasts.
Back then, it had been a carefree fox. Aside from sleeping most of the time, it would occasionally beat up the other Tailed Beasts to pass the boredom.
Then humans appeared.
They coveted the power of the Tailed Beasts, devised countless schemes to seize it, and eventually created the detestable concept of the Jinchūriki to shackle them.
But the most hateful of all—
Was the Fourth Hokage.
That man had split it in two, leaving it incomplete.
"Are humans really that wicked?"
Naruto tilted his head thoughtfully.
He didn't feel much resistance to the Nine-Tails' words. In fact, he felt a faint sense of empathy. He couldn't clearly distinguish good people from bad yet, and the villagers certainly didn't like him.
Besides—
The Nine-Tails' chakra felt so warm.
A bad fox wouldn't feel like that.
"Oh, right!"
Naruto suddenly remembered something.
"Big Fox, I still don't know your name."
"Hmph!~"
The Nine-Tails lifted its chin, glanced at Naruto sideways, and replied disdainfully,
"You're not qualified to know my name yet, brat."
With that, it retreated back into the darkness deep within the seal, ignoring him completely.
Naruto called out twice, but received no response.
Instead of getting angry, he smiled and waved at the sealing gate.
"Then I'll come chat with you next time."
"Goodbye, Big Fox!~"
"…Hmph. Strange kid."
A soft snort echoed from within the seal, after which silence returned.
The next day.
Naruto woke up early and hurried to the Ninja Academy, brimming with excitement.
Today, the Ninjutsu instructor would officially begin teaching real Ninjutsu.
Even though it was only the basic Three Body Techniques, Naruto was still thrilled. He had been waiting to learn proper Ninjutsu for a long time.
The so-called Three Body Techniques consisted of:
Replacement Technique
Clone Technique
Transformation Technique
The morning class focused on the Replacement Technique.
The instructor first explained its principles and demonstrated the hand seals in detail.
Naruto remembered everything after hearing it once.
When he tried it himself, he succeeded on his very first attempt.
That's… really simple.
Glancing around, Naruto realized that several students had also mastered it on their first try.
But there were others who couldn't even remember the correct hand seal sequence.
That made Naruto's confidence quietly rise.
Am I… kind of amazing?
By the afternoon, almost everyone had managed to perform the Replacement Technique successfully. The instructor then had the students pair up for practical sparring.
Naruto's assigned partner was a boy wearing a high-collared jacket and dark sunglasses.
"Um… who are you?"
Naruto stared at the unfamiliar boy and asked honestly.
He realized he had absolutely no impression of him.
"My name is Shino Aburame."
The boy didn't seem bothered at all. He calmly stated his name, then adjusted his glasses.
"I noticed this morning. You were the first to successfully perform the Replacement Technique."
"Really? I was the first?"
Naruto scratched his head, feeling both proud and embarrassed.
"Well… maybe it's because the hand seals are really simple. I learned it after watching the teacher demonstrate once."
Shino Aburame: "..."
From behind the crowd, a pale-eyed girl blushed furiously, staring at Naruto.
Naruto-kun is amazing…
"Uh… did I say something wrong?"
Naruto sensed the sudden silence and asked confusedly.
The atmosphere only grew heavier.
Several students who had spent the entire morning memorizing the hand seals now felt… slightly irritated.
"Enough."
The instructor cleared his throat and glanced at Naruto.
"Learning quickly isn't something to boast about. What matters is whether you can apply it effectively in combat."
He waved his hand.
"You may begin."
"Oh!~"
Naruto immediately perked up.
Facing Shino, he announced loudly,
"Um… I'm coming!"
"…My name is Shino Aburame."
Shino sighed faintly. He had literally just introduced himself.
"Oh—Shino! I'm coming!"
Naruto shouted and rushed forward, swinging his fists wildly.
The posture clearly showed a complete lack of real combat experience.
Shino shifted slightly, easily dodging the attack. He raised his hand like a blade and struck Naruto's neck.
Bang!
Naruto's body instantly turned into a broom.
"…?!"
Shino froze in shock.
When did—
"I'm here!"
Naruto's cheerful voice rang out from behind.
A hand landed on Shino's shoulder.
"I won!"
"I lost."
Shino sighed, then turned to look at Naruto seriously.
"When did you switch with the replacement?"
He had been watching Naruto the entire time.
He hadn't noticed anything.
"Hmph. Idiot."
An arrogant voice cut in.
"He was making hand seals right in front of you from the beginning."
Uchiha Sasuke stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Naruto.
"You deliberately pretended not to remember his name so he'd overlook your hand seals, didn't you?"
"Sasuke-kun is so cool!"
"I noticed the hand seals at first too, but Naruto distracted me. Sasuke-kun really is amazing!"
The pink-haired and blonde girls immediately swarmed around Sasuke, eyes shining.
"Hmph!~"
Sasuke ignored them completely.
He crossed his arms and stared straight at Naruto.
"I'm right, aren't I?"
"Hehehe!~"
Naruto scratched his head and gave Sasuke a thumbs-up.
"You're amazing. You noticed that right away."
Naruto knew he lacked combat experience. Tricks like this were the only way he could win.
And the real reason it worked—
He could sense Shino's emotions and instinctively knew how to provoke and distract him.
"Hmph!"
Sasuke curled his lips, lifting his chin.
"Even if you learned Replacement Technique faster than me, if I were your opponent, I wouldn't fall for such a cheap trick."
Shino Aburame: Are you being polite…?
"Then you fight me next time!"
For some reason, Sasuke's expression irritated Naruto.
"That's exactly what I was planning."
Sasuke met Naruto's gaze head-on, refusing to yield.
The two stared at each other.
Sparks flew.