Within the Mirror World, Uzumaki Naruto was locked in combat against Konoha's infamous gatekeeping duo.
Kamizuki Izumo led the assault head-on, while Hagane Kotetsu circled from behind.
"Water Style: Syrup Trap Jutsu!"
Izumo expelled chakra-infused syrup from his mouth. The thick, viscous liquid surged across the ground like a living tide, spreading rapidly to restrict Naruto's movement.
Naruto sprang backward, then abruptly shifted direction mid-step. He charged straight toward Kotetsu.
Kotetsu had just summoned his signature shell mace when Naruto flicked his wrist, releasing a storm of spinning shuriken from multiple blind angles—thrown with a single hand.
At the same time, Naruto's other hand completed a rapid sequence of seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Kotetsu barely managed to block the shuriken with his mace before a blazing fireball—over three meters in diameter—crashed down and engulfed him in roaring flames.
Sensing Kotetsu's defeat, Naruto turned back toward Izumo.
Before he could follow up—
Kurama's voice echoed lazily in his mind.
"Naruto, your homeroom teacher looks furious. He's already called your name three times. That Nara kid in the front row is signaling you—if you don't snap out of it, the teacher's coming over."
"Got it."
With a single thought, Naruto withdrew his consciousness from the Mirror World and returned to reality—just in time to hear an enraged voice echo through the classroom.
"Uzumaki Naruto! Stand up!"
"Yes, Umino Iruka-sensei?"
Naruto rose calmly, his expression composed and unruffled.
"Uzumaki Naruto, it's your turn to introduce yourself!"
Iruka's voice trembled with barely restrained anger.
When he'd first learned that Naruto would be assigned to his class, Iruka's initial impulse had been to refuse. Only after repeated persuasion from the Sarutobi Hiruzen had he reluctantly accepted.
And yet, on the very first day, Naruto was already blatantly ignoring him.
Memories of his parents—killed during the Nine-Tails attack—rose unbidden, darkening Iruka's expression.
Naruto met Iruka's gaze steadily and said flatly,
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto."
Then he sat back down.
Iruka's anger spiked.
"That's your idea of a self-introduction?!"
"Iruka-sensei," Naruto stood again, his gaze dark and unwavering,
"is there really a need for me to introduce myself?"
"Doesn't everyone in this village already know who I am?"
Iruka faltered.
"Y-You should at least talk about your hobbies… and your dreams."
Something in Naruto's emotionless eyes caused Iruka's voice to soften despite himself.
"I don't really have hobbies," Naruto replied calmly.
"And I've never had dreams."
"So I don't have any pointless ambitions."
The classroom erupted instantly.
"Tch! What kind of nonsense is that?! My dream is to become Hokage!"
"Yeah! I want to be a hero who protects the village!"
"Hmph—someone like him doesn't deserve dreams!"
"Shh… he's the Nine-Tails. Of course he wouldn't have dreams."
As the murmurs spread, Iruka looked at Naruto with conflicted eyes.
"Why would you say something like that?"
Naruto's gaze shifted slowly across the room. As it passed through the rows, he noticed two students watching him intently.
One was Uchiha Sasuke.
The other was Hinata Hyuga.
Both of them looked… intrigued.
"Iruka-sensei," Naruto said evenly,
"I think that if someone doesn't have dreams, then they're no different from a person who lives without desire or worry."
"Is that explanation sufficient?"
The classroom fell into stunned silence.
Iruka was at a loss for words.
As an adult, he understood that dreams represented people's deepest desires.
If someone had no dreams, then they had no desires.
But if a person lived without desire—
Did their life still have meaning?
Iruka couldn't comprehend that worldview.
In the end, he waved his hand weakly.
"…Sit down."
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei."
Naruto returned to his seat and fell into quiet contemplation.
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, an entire year had gone by.
Today was Naruto's first official day at the Ninja Academy.
Ever since that night at the Naka River, when Naruto had placed Flying Thunder God seals beneath all seven waterfalls, he had been constantly monitoring chakra fluctuations for Uchiha Shisui.
But after the New Year, Shisui had left the village on a mission.
Even now, with the academy year beginning, he still hadn't returned.
Naruto had no choice but to wait.
Over the past year, he had spent every day inside the seal space with his father, researching ways to simplify hand seals—or even eliminate them entirely.
Namikaze Minato explained that while simplifying seals was possible, completely seal-less casting depended heavily on the technique.
Not all jutsu could be developed like the Rasengan or the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Jutsu required chakra—a precise blend of physical and spiritual energy.
Before activation, that chakra had to be refined into a specific internal state.
Hand seals existed to guide that refinement.
Each seal corresponded to a particular internal process.
Even bloodline ninja could not fully bypass this system.
While kekkei genkai allowed easier execution of certain techniques, hand seals were still required in most cases.
For ninja without bloodline advantages, reducing hand seals—let alone removing them—was extraordinarily difficult.
Perfect chakra refinement was essential.
Minato explained that even the most optimized techniques usually required at least one hand seal.
Excluding unique jutsu like Rasengan and Flying Thunder God, this was the absolute minimum.
Over the course of the year, Naruto trained relentlessly.
Just moments ago in the Mirror World, he had successfully performed Great Fireball Jutsu using a single-hand seal—the culmination of that year's effort.
Ding—ling—ling!
The dismissal bell rang.
Today had only been registration.
Which meant—
Naruto could go home.
(End of Chapter)
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