In the end, Kiba became Naruto's friend.
When Naruto invited him to dinner at the farm, however, Kiba politely declined.
Naruto generally didn't force his friends to do anything. When he learned that Kiba needed to take Akamaru to see his sister immediately, he understood completely. Hana Inuzuka was a well-known veterinarian in Konoha—the puppy clearly needed medical attention.
Naruto couldn't argue with that logic, so he had to stop flexing his pectorals invitingly.
Watching his new friend carry the whimpering Akamaru away, Naruto felt genuine regret that they couldn't share a meal. He looked down at Nine-Tails. "Nine-Tails, you went a bit overboard. You beat Akamaru pretty badly."
"If I hadn't, how would Kiba and Akamaru's bond have deepened?" Nine-Tails countered smoothly.
Naruto nodded, his expression brightening. "You're right! We did a good deed today. So this is what helping people feels like—it's really satisfying. We should keep doing good deeds like this, Nine-Tails."
"Agreed." Nine-Tails felt equally pleased with himself.
On the walk back to the farm, Naruto mentally reviewed his classmates, cataloging who he'd befriended and who remained.
"Shikamaru, Choji, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Hinata... and now Kiba..."
Young faces flashed through his mind. He frowned. "There's still Shino Aburame. And wait—why do I feel like there are more students than this? I remember having more classmates..."
The puzzle nagged at him briefly before he shrugged it off. Even the students whose names he couldn't recall deserved friendship.
Back at the farm, Sasuke practically ambushed him at the door. "Naruto! You're finally back!"
"Yeah, I'm home." Naruto set Nine-Tails on the ground. "Go make lunch. And I left clothes that need washing from last night."
Nine-Tails had a busy schedule. No point wasting his time.
After the fox padded away toward the kitchen, Naruto turned to Sasuke with an excited grin. "Guess what? I became friends with Inuzuka Kiba today!"
Sasuke's eye twitched. Another victim. He'll definitely show up to class tomorrow with a swollen face.
A thought struck him. "Wait—didn't Kiba have that dog, Akamaru? You didn't beat up the dog too, did you?"
Naruto immediately shook his head, looking offended. "Kiba, Akamaru, Nine-Tails and I had a fair and just sparring match. How could there be any two-on-one situation? That's exactly why I brought Nine-Tails along."
That makes it even MORE unfair, Sasuke thought but didn't say.
He had nowhere to direct his complaints about Naruto's logic. Of course, he didn't dare complain openly anymore—not without getting beaten for his trouble.
Once he mastered Naruto's father's Rasengan, though? Then Sasuke would have the power to complain as much as he wanted.
With that goal in mind, Sasuke retrieved a training cane and held it out. "Come on, Naruto. I'm ready."
Over the past several days, Sasuke had witnessed Naruto's body conditioning method firsthand. To his delight, he'd already noticed improvements—his physical fitness had increased, and even his chakra refinement speed had accelerated.
This meant he could pursue revenge against that man much faster.
So Sasuke couldn't wait to continue, eager to start the moment Naruto returned.
Naruto felt genuinely proud of Sasuke's dedication. His biggest fear had been that the Uchiha heir, raised in luxury and privilege, wouldn't be able to endure the hardship. Clearly, that concern had been unfounded.
Naruto began helping Sasuke through his conditioning session.
After one full round of strikes, he left Sasuke to apply the medicine himself—Naruto had his own training to maintain. According to the System, once he reached a certain threshold of strength, he'd be allowed to spar against projections of legendary warriors from other worlds at their peak.
Naruto was deeply looking forward to that.
The System frequently reminded him not to limit his ambitions to the small ninja world. There were countless realms beyond this one, filled with powerful beings who could reshape reality itself. Dominating the ninja world was merely the starting point.
His true rivals should be those legendary figures—warriors who could shatter mountains and split seas with casual gestures.
With the prospect of eventually facing such opponents, Naruto's motivation burned hotter than ever. He'd revised his goals upward: originally, he'd planned to reach tremendous strength within five years.
Now? He wanted to achieve that same level in just two years.
Within five years total, he'd dominate this world completely and begin exploring broader horizons.
Legendary warriors of other realms, I'm coming. Wait for me. I'm looking forward to becoming your friend...
With that thought driving him, Naruto activated his full body conditioning. Blood and energy surged through him like a raging river.
His Iron Body technique engaged fully. His transformation activated. Naruto's height shot up, reaching two meters in moments. He threw practice punches, and visible ripples distorted the air.
According to the System, when Naruto perfected his physical cultivation, his transformed state could grow tall enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with mountains. The applications were nearly limitless.
It was overwhelmingly powerful. Traditional ninja arts seemed almost primitive by comparison.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
Maybe I could become friends with Iruka-sensei too. Student and teacher being friends—there's nothing wrong with that, right?
Iruka was a chunin—middle-ranked ninja.
Naruto wasn't concerned. With his current strength, he calculated he could probably defeat ten chunin of Mizuki's level.
And Iruka was maybe 1.1 times as strong as Mizuki.
By that math, Naruto should be able to beat approximately 9.09 Iruka-senseis.
This wasn't arrogance or overconfidence—just basic arithmetic.
Having reached that conclusion, Naruto decided to attend school in person tomorrow and initiate the friendship process with his teacher.
The next morning, Naruto walked to the Academy with his real body instead of sending a shadow clone.
At the school gates, he spotted Shino Aburame and immediately walked over, clapping the boy on the shoulder.
Before Naruto could speak—
"Don't say anything!" Shino turned around with an expression of deep anguish. "We're already friends, Naruto. We don't need all those formalities, right?"
Naruto's face fell into a disapproving frown. How could someone treat friendship so casually? This showed a complete lack of respect for the bonds between people!
"Shino, I didn't expect this from you. Making friends casually like this, without proper process—friendship shouldn't be taken so lightly!"
"No, no, no, Naruto, I take it very seriously!" Panic crept into Shino's voice.
He'd heard about yesterday's "friendship process" between Kiba and Naruto. The story had terrified him.
Last night, unable to sleep, Shino had mentally reviewed their entire class roster. To his horror, he'd realized that every single student Naruto could name had become his friend—and every single one had shown up to school the next day with bruised and swollen faces.
As the only named student left, Shino understood exactly what awaited him.
He was a sensible person. He didn't want to end up like Kiba, who was currently still lying in his sister's veterinary clinic alongside Akamaru.
The moment Naruto's hand touched his shoulder, Shino knew there was no escape.
His fate was sealed.