Chapter 7: Natural Energy
Although he wasn't clear on the difficulty of the system-produced dog food recipe, even without thinking, he knew that dog food capable of increasing Yang Release would definitely not be simple.
For a period of time after that, Naruto never saw Inuzuka Hana again.
He did, however, occasionally see her younger brother, Kiba.
He was very interested in Naruto's sports equipment, but it was limited to just that.
As a prominent clan in Konoha, they had their own long-standing set of training methods.
This was also the reason why Naruto hadn't asked Hinata to exercise with him.
If Hyuga Hiashi found out, he feared their future meetings would be restricted.
He didn't want to be the victim of a forced separation between lovers.
At the very least, he wanted to be the one holding the big stick.
A week passed.
Naruto yawned and woke up in the Treehouse.
He had swapped his clones four or five times, and the construction of the house was basically complete.
But it was very crude.
This Treehouse was just a structure similar to a rain shelter built between the branches.
It could be described as a large-scale bird's nest.
He had slept for one night, and it was very uncomfortable.
Besides the wooden bed that was so hard it poked him, various buzzing mosquitoes and insects severely affected his sleep quality.
As it turned out, returning to the embrace of nature sounded beautiful, but in reality, it came with a price.
Perhaps those ancient heroes who slept in caves and trees looked cool, but under their clothes, they were covered in mosquito bites.
Naruto finished eating his bread while his thoughts wandered.
He pushed open the door, and the fresh morning air rushed in.
Gazing at the lush green expanse in the distance, his mood also became wonderful.
Naruto jumped down from the Treehouse.
The first thing he did was check his rice field.
"Who did this?!"
His eyes widened.
His 'crystal' had been stolen after just one night?
The rice plants that had been neatly sprouting were now all covered in a layer of gray, stony material.
It felt to him like the petrification effect of a Gorgon or Medusa.
But where would a beautiful snake woman come from in the Ninja World?
Oh, wait, there's also Orochimaru.
Naruto crouched down in confusion and grabbed a stalk of rice.
It was as hard as a rock.
He gradually applied force with his right hand, but the rice stalk showed no sign of cracking.
This was simply incredible.
Although he was currently six years old, the human physiology in the Ninja World was different from his previous life—it was much more powerful.
After another week of training, his grip strength already exceeded the 'Kirin arms' of an ordinary adult who had trained for twenty or thirty years.
"Why?"
Naruto stared at the petrified rice.
After a moment, he suddenly remembered Sage Mode.
In the original work, when Naruto trained in Sage Mode at Mount Myōboku, he would suffer petrification if he absorbed an excessive amount of Natural Energy.
In other words, the only thing in the Ninja Worldthat could turn rice into stone was Natural Energy.
Of course, Earth Release was also possible.
But Naruto hadn't sensed any Chakra fluctuations.
Plus, he had been in the Treehouse all last night.
If someone had approached... wait, the Big Foxwould definitely know.
Thinking of this, Naruto sank into the Sealing Space.
"Big Fox, tell me quickly, did anyone come here last night?"
He shouted loudly.
A piercing sound rang out.
Claws larger than his body scraped against the iron gate, sending sparks flying.
"Brat, don't be so noisy!"
Naruto hastily covered his ears.
It was like dozens of people blowing suona horns right at him; it could send a person to heaven.
"Do you know the answer to my question?!"
In such an environment surrounded by demonic sounds, Naruto involuntarily raised his volume.
"Brat, why should this old man answer your question?"
The Nine-Tailed raised its eyelids, its face full of disdain, the corners of its mouth curled high.
Naruto felt like he could see its crooked smirk.
He thought for a moment, took out seven bags of dog food, and said, "We can make a deal. I'll exchange these seven bags of dog... snacks for your answer."
He almost said the words 'dog food'.
If the Nine-Tailed knew he was feeding it dog food, it would probably be furious.
Although it would be useless, a sort of 'impotent rage', if their relationship soured and its favorability dropped, it would be quite troublesome.
The Nine-Tailed's large, doll-like eyes stared at the dog food, recalling that overly wonderful taste from last time.
Its body couldn't help but radiate desire.
In its entire past life, it had never eaten anything so delicious.
"Since you are serving me so sincerely, this old man will show mercy and tell you the answer."
The Nine-Tailed tilted its head back, looking very arrogant.
This brat feared nothing in heaven or earth, but he finally had a time when he needed to ask for its help.
Naruto watched its tail wagging unconsciously.
You really are a Husky, aren't you?
He threw the dog food directly to the Nine-Tailed, not worried that it would go back on its word.
"Aside from the Anbu protecting you in the distance, no one came here last night."
The Nine-Tailed chewed the dog food and answered the question straightforwardly.
Naruto got the answer he expected. After a brief contemplation, he roughly guessed the reason for the petrification.
He waved his hand and said, "See ya, Big Fox. I'll definitely feed you your fill next time."
Relying solely on the one bag a day from the system was naturally not enough.
But once Inuzuka Hana's research results came out, the Nine-Tailed would be able to have a feast.
"This brat is completely different from his mother."
The Nine-Tailed closed its eyes and started sleeping again.
In the Sealing Space, there was nothing else to do besides sleep.
Naruto turned his gaze toward the Mysterious Seed he had buried.
This was the only possible reason.
The Mysterious Seed was absorbing Natural Energy.
The surrounding rice was caught in the crossfire.
After all, rice was just an ordinary crop.
Although Naruto had been watering it with Chakrato shorten its growth time, its essence had not been changed.
Encountering Natural Energy, there was only one outcome: turning into stone.
Naruto thought of the God Tree.
As the guarantee for the Ōtsutsuki Clan's conquests of outer realms, the God Tree could absorb Natural Energy.
This seed was only a silver card; it should be far inferior to the God Tree.
But by absorbing Natural Energy, what kind of fruit could it eventually bear?
The God Tree bore the Chakra Fruit, which Ōtsutsuki Kaguya ate to obtain the Rinnegan.
What about his own?
Would he obtain a Bloodline Limit, or something else?
He only hoped it wouldn't taste as bad as a Devil Fruit.
After all, even Luffy couldn't stand that taste.
Naruto snapped back to reality and prepared to deal with the rice field.
The Mysterious Seed was a matter for the future.
He didn't know when it would flower and bear fruit.
Looking at the rice field, he couldn't help but shake his head.
The past few days of work were essentially for nothing.
Everything within a five or six-meter radius centered on the Mysterious Seed was petrified, which was equivalent to two-thirds of his rice field being ruined.
He had to start another plot of land.
Naruto didn't know if the range of its influence would expand as the Mysterious Seed grew, but just to be safe, he would stay further away this time.
With a 'bang'...
Two clones appeared.
Naruto ordered them to go farm.
As for the remaining petrified rice, he spent two hours digging a pit on the spot and burying it.
After finishing all this, he began his daily physical training.
It wasn't until noon that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, arrived.
He watched Naruto doing high jumps, a complex expression on his face.
While the boy's diligence gratified him, he didn't recall telling him to farm.
Did this look right?
Was this reasonable?
The son of the Fourth Hokage, Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was actually hunkered down in a field every day.
He feared the boy was being raised the wrong way.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his beard and fell into deep thought.
Things couldn't continue like this.