Nine-Tails headed off to check if any cattle had suffered heatstroke. If so, they'd become lunch.
Meanwhile, Sasuke looked at Naruto. "Naruto, let's go train."
Now Sasuke wanted nothing more than to become stronger quickly and defeat Itachi. Whenever he had time, training was all he could think about.
Naruto also needed practice. The Heavenly Ascension Fist, Heavenly Steps, and Iron Body techniques were all still at beginner levels. He might be able to crush a low level ninja, but the gap between him and someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi remained enormous.
On the way to their training spots, Naruto spoke to Sasuke. "Don't take it personally. It's not that Nine-Tails dislikes you specifically. He was once controlled by an Uchiha, so he's still a bit wary of the clan."
So that explained it. Sasuke had felt Nine-Tails' coolness toward him. He understood now. "I see. We'll take it slow. One day Nine-Tails will change his opinion of me."
After this brief exchange, the two separated to find their own practice areas and immediately entered training mode.
Sasuke formed hand seals and created three shadow clones. They began practicing Fire Style techniques while his real body sat cross-legged on the ground, refining chakra.
Naruto made his way to a waterfall on the back mountain.
Like a horse made of water, it plunged from a cliff hundreds of meters high, exploding into countless droplets.
After achieving the entry level of Iron Body, it was time to temper his ki and blood. The stronger his vital energy, the greater his strength. After more than a month of tempering, Naruto could now deliver punches with massive force—far beyond what any normal person could achieve.
The System had told him recently
[Naruto, keep going. Your physical development is exceptional for your age.]
Hearing the System's praise naturally motivated Naruto further. He wouldn't stop training until completely exhausted.
In fact, this is a gentle encouragement from the System, mainly to maintain Naruto's fighting spirit. While his physical abilities are extraordinary for this world, the System knows there are still heights to reach. But there's no need to discourage him now—in this world, Naruto's physical strength is already at an elite level, and his self-healing ability continues to improve with training.
The future remains unwritten. If Naruto continues practicing steadily, who knows what heights he might reach?
Of course, these are distant concerns. For now, let Naruto master this world first.
Naruto removed his shirt, revealing his strong, well-developed physique. He stepped forward and positioned himself under the waterfall. Instantly, tremendous force crashed down on him. His body nearly buckled.
Immediately, he activated the Iron Body method. The blood in his body surged, and he felt power rushing through him like a dragon's roar. He resisted the massive force bearing down on his back, straightening bit by bit.
Using the waterfall's tremendous impact, Naruto practiced punches while running his conditioning technique.
The punches were, naturally, the Heavenly Ascension Fist.
When his fists entered the water curtain, loud crashing sounds erupted, enough to make eardrums vibrate.
Naruto had set himself a goal: by the time he graduated from the Ninja Academy, he needed to complete the first stage of blood tempering—achieving even greater strength.
In other words, he had a bit more than four years.
This was foundation building. No need to rush.
An hour later, Naruto felt exhausted. His body cultivation method was demanding, and exercising vital energy drained him considerably. He emerged from beneath the waterfall.
The remarkable thing was that when Naruto stepped out, his back showed no redness or swelling whatsoever.
Despite such a powerful battering from the water, there wasn't a single mark.
On the other side, Sasuke kept practicing until the chakra in his body was completely depleted and his shadow clones vanished. He wiped sweat from his face and stood up.
The results were significant—a large pile of charcoal had accumulated on the ground from his Fire Style practice.
He looked toward the waterfall, thinking about checking on Naruto. But remembering what Naruto had said earlier, he decided against going to the waterfall. Instead, he'd return to the wooden house and see Nine-Tails.
When he reached the cabin, he didn't see the fox immediately. But he heard the sound of a spatula from the kitchen, accompanied by the smell of cooking meat.
Sasuke approached the kitchen. The scene that greeted him was surreal.
Nine-Tails wore an apron, stood on a small stool, and wielded a spatula bigger than himself. He was vigorously stir-frying beef in a large pot.
Sasuke stood dumbfounded.
Nine-Tails. Cooking.
This was the first time he'd witnessed it. Watching Nine-Tails' skilled technique, he could tell the fox was clearly an accomplished chef.
Sasuke noticed the vegetable basket still had some ingredients left unprocessed. "Nine-Tails, is there anything I can help with?"
Nine-Tails had actually noticed Sasuke's arrival, but hadn't turned around to greet him. Deep down, he still felt a bit guarded. However, hearing Sasuke's offer, he thought that some people didn't need to be pushed away entirely. "Fine. Help me sort and wash those vegetables over there."
So Sasuke found a small stool, sat in the kitchen, and carefully prepared the ingredients.
Naruto sat on a large rock to rest. His thoughts drifted back to the Uchiha household. After listening to Sasuke's story that morning, he felt deeply sympathetic. Their family could have lived happily together.
Instead, such a tragedy had occurred.
If only I could see my parents too.
But I'm an orphan. I don't even know who they were.
Thinking this, Naruto's expression grew melancholy.
[Naruto, do you miss your parents?]
The System's voice sounded in his mind.
"Of course I do. But there's no point in dwelling on it." Naruto shook his head. "They're probably dead."
[So, Naruto... do you want to meet them?] the System asked.
"I..." Hearing the System's words, Naruto's breathing suddenly quickened. With the System's abilities, maybe— "Can I... can I really see them?"
[Of course.] The System's answer came easily.
[Actually, when I broke the Nine-Tails seal previously, I discovered someone had left something behind within it. I was cautious at the time. Later, when repairing the seal to maintain your external status quo, I studied it more carefully. I found that your parents' chakra existed within the seal. Originally, I didn't want you to meet them so soon—I worried it might disturb your training focus. But considering how hard you've been working, I think it's time for you to meet.]
Naruto stared straight ahead. The moment the System finished speaking, two illusory figures formed from chakra appeared before him—a man and a woman.
The man had yellow hair and blue eyes, wore a green vest over blue shinobi garments. The woman had brilliant red hair and was strikingly beautiful. Both stared at Naruto with wide eyes.
"Dad... Mom..." Naruto's voice caught with emotion as he called out loudly.
The couple looked at the person calling them parents. They saw what appeared to be a child—with a young, handsome face. But he was over 1.6 meters tall with a powerful build. His exposed upper body showed bulging muscles.
"This... is our son?"
Minato and Kushina looked at each other, both clearly bewildered.