Night, Training Ground Three.
Thud.
A dull impact; Naruto tumbled from the trunk again.
Though he landed in a cloud of dust, the glasses still sat squarely on his nose.
Instead of discouragement, his eyes burned brighter.
"Still too much Chakra... I know I'm one step away, but rushing only pushes it farther."
He didn't climb again; he folded his legs and regulated his breathing.
With fresh oxygen flooding in, fatigue was forced back.
Through Aizen's lenses he could clearly replay every failed flow of Chakra.
"Again!"
After a short rest he snapped his eyes open and strode back to the pock-marked tree.
One step, two, three this time he didn't hesitate.
Chakra clung steadily to the bark as he advanced.
Higher and faster along the trunk he went.
Five metres, ten, twenty... until he stood atop the tree.
Copying the Third, he hooked his knees over a branch and hung upside-down.
Peering at the ground below, he adjusted his glasses and smiled.
"I did it!"
Clap, clap, clap.
Nearby, the Third Hokage sat on a boulder, his pipe forgotten.
When Naruto reached the crown he instinctively applauded.
He had meant to offer a few pointers and leave.
Let the boy practise three or four days, and come to the office if questions arose.
After all, he was the Hokage; sparing even this much time was a luxury.
But he had never imagined Naruto's progress would be so explosive.
Had he not watched the boy start from zero and reach the top in a bare three hours he would never have believed it.
That was the Nine-Tails' Chakra!
Under its constant interference Naruto had still mastered tree-climbing in three hours?
This was no dead last this was a buried genius!
"No, more than Chakra control."
The man once hailed as the Professor of Ninjutsu noted the rhythmic pattern of Naruto's breathing.
"The boy's found his own unique tempo, one that calms the turmoil inside... one day it might even become a Secret Technique."
"Haa..."
The Third exhaled a ring of smoke, his wrinkles smoothing with pride.
Under the light of the Will of Fire, Konoha's sapling was about to become a great tree.
Naruto leapt down and landed lightly before him.
"Grandpa Third! I did it can I start learning that Wind Release jutsu now?"
he asked eagerly.
The Third hid his amazement and nodded with a smile.
"Well done, Naruto."
"Since you've mastered Chakra adhesion, you're qualified to begin that technique."
Seeing Naruto's excitement, he shifted tone. "But jutsu training isn't accomplished in a day."
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough is only C-rank, yet mastering it is no small feat."
He paused. "Still, the monthly exam is coming; if you score well..."
Teasing Naruto, he watched the boy's eyes gleam electric blue, then finished.
"...if you show clear improvement, I'll give you a mysterious reward!"
the Third said, smiling.
[Ding!]
[Suggestion recorded: score well on the monthly exam]
[Requirement: place in the top ten of the class]
[Reward: c-rank treasure chest x1]
"A mysterious reward? What is it?"
Naruto buzzed with excitement.
A reward from Grandpa Third plus one from the system double the joy!
"Saying would spoil the mystery, so keep at it, Naruto."
The Third drew on his pipe.
"It's a deal!"
Naruto clenched his fist.
"Just watch, Grandpa Third I'll amaze you in the exam!"
"Haha, I look forward to it."
Laughing, the Third stood and ruffled Naruto's hair.
"It's late; go rest. A Ninja's greatest asset is his body."
...After seeing the Third off, Naruto returned home.
His muscles ached from the tree training, yet his mind was crystal-clear.
He sat at his desk and opened a notebook.
"Time to finish Aizen-sensei's assignment."
[Task: create a 'character file'; analyse the weaknesses and desires of at least ten people around you]
He picked up his pen and replayed the past days at school.
Details he once ignored now surfaced one by one.
1. Uchiha Sasuke: aloof, craves power. Seemingly cold, actually hypersensitive... 2. Sakura Haruno: love-obsessed, almost dual personality... 10. Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen: kindly elder, but likes to peek... for some reason feels guilty toward me.
After the tenth entry he set the pen down.
He knew the analyses were shallow, still skin-deep.
Yet this careful observation was already light-years beyond his old self.
The instant he capped the pen, the system spoke.
[Ding!]
[Task: character file – completed]
[Acquiring D-rank treasure chest... opening]
[Reward: Turtle School weighted wristbands]
Naruto stared at the orange cloth bands that appeared in mid-air.
[Item: ordinary-looking wristbands woven from ultra-dense fibre, 20 kg each, 40 kg total]
[Effect: constant body training while worn, highly concealable, minor defensive value]
"Forty kilos?"
He tried lifting them and nearly wrenched his back.
"Heavy!"
A gleam flashed in his eyes.
With these and the Breathing Technique he could train every second eating, walking, sleeping.
Without hesitation he strapped the bands to his wrists.
Instantly his body felt leaden; even raising an arm was a battle.
"Hah... hah..."
He adjusted his breathing, forcing his muscles to accept the load.
Then he opened the forum and uploaded the ten profiles to Aizen for review.
Moments later Aizen's ID blinked with a new message.
[The One Who Stands Above The Heavens]:
"Read it. Congratulations."
"You've evolved from a mere monkey into a thinking monkey but it's still not enough."
"Any non-blind observer could spot these surface facts; you only scratched the veneer."
"True understanding requires finding the cracks deep inside them."
[Ding!]
[Suggestion recorded: deep analysis]
[Requirement: choose three of the ten and perform in-depth psychological profiling and weakness mapping]
[Reward: c-rank treasure chest x1]
"Deep analysis..."
Naruto read the new task and pushed up his glasses, lenses glinting.
"Meaning I can't watch from afar any more I have to move in close."
The first image that flashed through his mind was Sasuke.
In Naruto's eyes, Sasuke bore the biggest psychological flaws and therefore the easiest cracks to find.