Chapter 80
In the back mountains of Konoha Village, a clearing hidden by dense forest.
This was Naruto's secret base where he had spent many years.
Having grown accustomed to training in the back mountains, meditating here felt more effective.
Of course, it was likely just a psychological effect, but mindset alone could enhance the training experience.
At twelve years old, Uzumaki Naruto had shed much of his childishness and shot up in height.
His golden short hair looked especially bright under the sunlight that appeared around him.
This wasn't sunlight filtering through green leaves—it was a small, localized patch of clear sky circling Naruto.
"Huuu…"
Naruto sat cross-legged on a bluestone slab covered with a mat.
His hands formed a loose hollow sphere in front of him, palms facing each other.
With each breath and exhalation, the air around him seemed to distort slightly.
Faint golden mist flowed from the center of his palms, circulated around his body, then returned to his hands.
Countless cycles.
"Alright—end practice."
A voice suddenly spoke from the side.
Naruto immediately gathered and dispersed the golden flowing mist.
Xuanming, still clad in red robes with fox ears twitching, floated in mid-air.
The dazzling circulation technique just now was a small method Xuanming had created specifically to teach Naruto how to control natural energy.
Remain motionless in meditation, restrain the attracted weather-type natural energy, and let it circle around the body.
Repeated over and over.
While it didn't produce breakthroughs or level-ups, it excellently trained Naruto's control.
And it wasn't just about natural energy—his internally refined chakra also gained much finer mastery.
Nowadays it was very different from when he was small. As Naruto grew older,
the Uzumaki clan's powerful vitality allowed him to refine far more chakra.
On top of that, Xuanming's true body inside the seal had continuously had Nine-Tails chakra drawn out by the Eight Trigrams seal and converted into Naruto's own.
So after Naruto grew up, the difficulty in controlling his chakra wasn't caused by Xuanming withholding cooperation anymore.
It was simply because Naruto himself wasn't yet proficient—such a massive chakra pool passively interfered with his precise technique release.
For ordinary ninja, releasing ninjutsu was like a small pipe spraying a small stream.
But when Naruto did the same thing, it was like mobilizing an entire lake to surge—ninjutsu couldn't be stably output just by dumping chakra all at once.
Releasing chakra in a chaotic flood made fine control extremely difficult under such heavy burden.
If he only planned to learn sealing techniques, it wouldn't matter.
Like the ancient Uzumaki clan—whatever, just take my forced seal and shut up!
But Naruto's future path definitely wouldn't be limited to one set of sealing techniques.
Therefore, training him until he mastered control would solve the problem.
A vast chakra reserve would allow him to use multiple ninjutsu in succession.
Precise control would enable him to perform far more complex techniques.
Naruto opened his eyes. A sharp glint flashed through his clear blue pupils before quickly returning to their usual calm clarity.
"Fox Sage, I feel my perception of natural energy getting clearer and clearer. Can I try… Sage Mode now?"
Naruto stood up, stretched lazily, and cracked his joints with popping sounds.
"Though the conditions are roughly there, it's still too early. Try again when you have free time."
Xuanming floated down and lightly tapped Naruto on the forehead.
"The most important thing is—this afternoon is your academy graduation exam. Even though it's basically a freebie, if you don't show up, they definitely won't let you graduate."
"Right!" Naruto, now fully back to normal, remembered the important day.
"Gotta hurry! Otherwise Iruka-sensei will nag me again."
Naruto quickly packed his things and dashed toward the village.
His toes lightly tapped the ground; his whole body shot forward like an intangible arrow through the trees.
So light and graceful he didn't seem human—more like an orange phantom flickering through the forest.
It was a fusion of Taiji Bagua footwork techniques integrated into ninja Body Flicker.
With Naruto's stamina, he could use it as his normal movement speed.
…
Ninja Academy—corridors inside the campus buzzed with excitement.
For the sixth-year students, today was the day that would decide their fate.
Pass the exam, receive a Konoha forehead protector, and become a full-fledged ninja.
Of course, for some outstanding students, it was just a formality.
For example—the certain Uchiha now walking down the corridor.
"Sasuke! Look over here!"
"Kyaa! Sasuke-kun, does my hairstyle look good today?!"
"Sasuke-kun, do your best today too!"
"Big Forehead, get lost! Sasuke-kun is mine!"
"Ino-pig, you're the one who should get lost!"
Somewhere in the middle came the voices of Sakura and Ino—the former best friends.
Over the years, teenage crushes had finally driven a wedge between them, turning them into rivals.
Love was love. In the early-maturing shinobi world, children's personalities were usually bolder and more direct.
Uchiha Sasuke wore his signature high-collared dark blue shirt, the red-and-white Uchiha fan crest on his back.
Listening to the surrounding girls' squeals, the corners of his mouth curved up in a perfectly measured arc.
Maintaining his cool expression, he naturally raised one hand and gave a small wave toward the group of starry-eyed girls.
"Aaah—! Sasuke looked at me!"
"No way! He was clearly looking at me."
The girls instantly erupted.
Having never experienced the bloody trauma of the Uchiha Massacre, there was no lonely past.
Uchiha Sasuke had grown up under his parents' love and his brother Itachi's companionship into the person he was now…
A very self-loving guy.
This confidence wasn't arrogance—it came from mindset.
As a pure-blooded Uchiha, excellence was inevitable; praise was deserved.
Coolness was just his habitual mask; tsundere was his true nature.
Different environments bred different personalities, and this was most clearly reflected in character.
So it was impossible for him to have that bitter, brooding look.
At most, when he lost to Naruto, he'd feel a bit strange inside and become extremely stubborn and contrary.
"Ugh… enough already…"
From the back of the crowd, a boy wearing sunglasses and a high collar that covered half his face let out a quiet sigh.
Aburame Shino pushed up his sunglasses, trying to find a path through the fanatical girls to reach the classroom.
But unfortunately, he was still completely overshadowed by Sasuke's cheers, erased from existence at the root.
Inuzuka Kiba stood with Akamaru on his head.
Compared to his earlier "tiny puppy" form, Akamaru had now grown into a proper "medium dog."
He looked like an adorable little animal, but in reality he could solo dozens of bandits or thugs without much pressure.
"So extra! Sasuke still loves showing off like this!"
Though he complained verbally, they had all known each other since childhood.
Over the years they'd long gotten used to Sasuke's spotlight. There wasn't really much to be jealous of.
He just couldn't help wondering—after passing the exam and entering ninja life,
would one of these crazy fangirls end up becoming his future teammate?
In the classroom on the other side, Iruka had already set up the exam site.
Meanwhile, Naruto was still rushing over at full speed.
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