The breakthrough to the Middle Stage of Body Tempering changed everything.
The sharp pain in his bones vanished, leaving behind a sensation of deep, heavy density. Naruto felt like an anchor firmly planted in the ground. His new, albeit rudimentary, Qi Sensory perception opened a world of vibrations, auras, and hidden movements. He felt a draft before it touched his skin and heard mice scurrying behind the walls.
But the main problem—the Byakugan—remained unsolved.
Naruto stood in the middle of the Sanctuary, clutching the Calligraphy scroll.
I am stronger now. My body should hold. I have to do this.
He returned to the concept of Color Overlay. Before, his body had been too weak to withstand the conflict of energies. Now, his skeleton had become a frame capable of bearing the pressure.
He sat in the lotus position.
Ha! Is the brat really going to torture himself again? the lazy, mocking voice of the Fox sounded in his head. You broke through to a new level, your bones are harder than steel, and instead of finding a way to attack, you're trying to bury yourself even deeper. The most cowardly jailer in history.
I don't want to be studied like a rare bug, Naruto replied calmly, ignoring the provocation. Hinata saw. That means sooner or later, someone else will see. I must be ready.
Closing his eyes, he inhaled.
The white stream of Qi filled his body, bringing coolness and clarity. Then he reached for the other side—for the blue, chaotic, hot Chakra.
This time, he acted more cautiously. Not trying to mix them, he took a tiny portion of Chakra and, using the full power of his Concentration, began to stretch it like a drop of acid into the thinnest possible film.
The Chakra resisted. It hissed, burned, tried to tear its way inside the Qi stream and "pollute" it.
Naruto gritted his teeth. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His bones vibrated, absorbing the shock of the recoil.
Hold it. Don't let it inside. Only on the outside. Like a wrapper.
He pushed, forcing the wild energy to submit to his will. Five minutes of struggle. Ten. His muscles cramped, but his bones held.
And then... it worked.
The two energies stopped conflicting. The unruly Chakra, pressed against the surface of the Qi, solidified into a thin, vibrating film. It "stuck."
Naruto immediately turned his Sensory perception on himself.
He no longer "saw" two colors. He "saw" one.
A blue stream. Strange, thick, incredibly dense, vibrating at a heavy, low frequency.
To an outside observer, it would look like chakra of incredible power, compressed to the limit, but "wrong." Crude.
"Perfect," Naruto exhaled, opening his eyes.
The disguise was a success. A Hyuga would now see not a secret technique, but the "strange chakra of a jinchuriki." An anomaly, but an understandable one.
The real test awaited at the Academy.
…
A few days later, Iruka-sensei led the class to the edge of the forest. Giant trees stretched their crowns into the sky.
"Today we will learn one of the most important techniques!" the teacher announced, adjusting his vest. "The basis of chakra control: Tree Walking!"
Forming a seal, he simply walked up the trunk, stopping on a branch five meters above the ground.
"The essence is," he shouted from above, "to direct a precise, constant amount of chakra into your feet. Too little—you fall. Too much..."
Iruka intentionally increased the flow.
CRACK!
The bark beneath his sandal exploded into splinters. He hopped down lightly.
"...and you will push yourself away from the tree. Your task is to find the balance. You have one hour. Begin!"
The class rushed to the trees. Almost immediately, the sounds of bodies slapping against the ground and frustrated groans filled the air.
Sakura cautiously placed a foot on the trunk. One step. Two. Three. And slipped.
"Almost, Sakura! You have excellent natural control, keep the rhythm!"
Sasuke ran up with a focused face. He made it up three meters but put in too much power—he was thrown back as if by a spring. He landed on his feet, looking annoyed.
Kiba was even worse.
"Watch how it's done!" he yelled, jumping onto the trunk.
The wild chakra didn't stick. He hit the wood, slid down, and landed on his back, knocking the wind out of himself.
"Damn... Harder than it looks!"
Naruto stood aside.
Chakra Control... Iruka said to use Chakra. I should try. Honestly.
He didn't want to use Qi right away. He needed to know what his "official" power was capable of.
Closing his eyes, he reached for the blue ocean inside—the very Chakra he had so diligently learned to use for camouflage. He tried to draw a thin thread into his feet.
But the ocean raged, giving not a thread, but a tsunami. Holding back the pressure was like trying to hold water in his hands.
Fine. Let's try it like this.
Run up. Foot on the trunk.
Control snapped. The Chakra surged into his foot all at once.
BOOM!
A sound like a gunshot.
The bark at the point of contact disintegrated into dust. The trunk of the ancient pine shuddered.
Naruto was hurled backward by the reactive force. Flying five meters backwards through the air, he somersaulted and landed hard in the dirt, plowing the earth with his heels.
Silence.
And then—an explosion of laughter.
"Ah-ha-ha!" Kiba pointed a finger. "Did you see that?! Nearly knocked the tree over! Idiot!"
"All brawn, no brains!"
Sasuke looked down with cold contempt.
And this guy beat Kiba? A bag of chakra. No skill. No control. Worthless.
Naruto sat up slowly, rubbing his bruised side. It hurt. And it was shameful.
He had tried. But his Chakra didn't listen. It was good for explosions, not for walking.
"Naruto! Are you okay?" Iruka ran up, inspecting the crater. "Your chakra volume is immense. But your control... we'll have to work a lot to tame this."
The boy stood up, brushing himself off. His face was inscrutable.
"I understand, sensei."
He walked away from the laughing classmates. Behind the farthest trees.
Leaning his back against a trunk, he exhaled.
Fine. Chakra doesn't work. That means we try it my way.
He closed his eyes. Flipped the switch inside. The blue storm was blocked. The white river flowed through his channels. And immediately—Color Overlay. A thin film of blue camouflage lay on top.
Naruto approached the tree. Directed energy into his feet.
Stick.
No tension. The Qi obeyed his thought.
His foot planted on the vertical surface as if rooted. The second one. Step. Second. Third.
He didn't run—he simply walked up, hands in his pockets. Gravity ceased to exist.
Reaching the top, he flipped over and hung upside down, hooking his legs around a thin branch, arms crossed over his chest. The wind ruffled his hair.
Below, far, far away, he saw the tiny figures.
Sasuke, growling as he assaulted the tree. Kiba, kicking the trunk. Sakura, sitting on the grass.
They were all down there. Fighting their own power. And he was here. Above them all.
Chakra is a sledgehammer. Qi is a kunai. I will learn to use both. But for now... let them laugh.
He hung there for a while, enjoying the solitude and the height. And then he jumped down, landing in the bushes a second before the end of the lesson.
To everyone else, he remained the loser who blew up a tree.
But Naruto knew the truth. And that knowledge warmed him better than any praise.