Naruto: I, Naruto, don't want to try anymore.

Chapter 7 Progress and Challenges

"Damn it, I'll take your kidney!"

"Damn it, I'll take your kidney!"

"I'll fucking take your kidney and fucking kill you!!!"

Another year has passed quietly, and in the forest, Naruto's number of clones has reached eighty.

The progress in ninjutsu is encouraging. In addition to successfully casting the Rasengan with one hand, the Flying Thunder God Seal has also spread all over the world with some foreign merchant caravans.

Because Naruto's Flying Thunder God Seal was only a short line, the act of leaving the mark went unnoticed by anyone.

It is worth mentioning that through the experiments of the wooden clone in the sealed space, he discovered that this technique is essentially similar to the spirit summoning in the original work. The difference is that it requires the perception of the mark to reverse the spirit summoning back to the past.

Contrary to what some people in the past speculated, there was no spatial distortion after failure; insufficient chakra would only result in failure.

However, it makes sense when you think about it. After all, if that were the case, let alone how to apply it in practice, how to learn it would be a problem in itself.

Overall, the biggest challenge of this technique, besides the demanding prerequisites of spatial perception and reflexes, lies in the requirement for chakra control, namely the instantaneous release of chakra without hand seals.

Because it neither violates the laws of nature nor harms the user, it is not considered a forbidden technique.

It is ranked as S-class purely because it is difficult to learn and has strategic value. Naruto even thinks that the former may be more important.

Perhaps due to the skill replication, Naruto truly possesses spatial talent and has excellent sensory abilities.

As for reflexes, although there was no comparison, he felt they shouldn't be too bad. At least, if he didn't rely on the Flying Thunder God Technique as his main offensive method, Naruto felt they should be sufficient.

Having mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, the next step is naturally the Rasengan.

For some reason, the nature transformation of wind-style chakra was much more difficult than Naruto had imagined.

Even with dozens of shadow clones using their overpowered abilities, they're only barely good enough to slice through leaves. Successfully integrating nature transformation into the Rasengan is a long shot indeed.

In the original story, Naruto developed a half-finished Rasengan in just a few days, but this transmigrator with cheat codes made no progress for a whole year.

That shouldn't be happening!

Judging from his progress in climbing trees and wading through water, Naruto felt that his talent was no less than that of the original Naruto, but the slow pace of his development left him baffled...

While Naruto was dissatisfied with his training speed, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been observing Naruto's training progress, became increasingly alarmed.

He discovered that Naruto was growing at a speed he couldn't comprehend!

Kakashi was already incredibly powerful back then, but he only became a Jonin at the age of twelve.

Naruto... learned the Rasengan at the age of four and mastered the Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation at the age of five.

This shows that, aside from combat experience, Naruto's combat strength is already no less than that of an ordinary Jonin. Considering his enormous chakra reserves, he might even be weaker than a typical Jonin...

The age limit for entering the Ninja Academy is six!

Looking at Naruto's true form chopping down a tree inside the crystal ball, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed heavily again.

He had sighed countless times that year. Every time he saw Naruto's amazing talent, he regretted his decision to hide Naruto's identity.

However, with the Uchiha clan meeting more frequently and friction with the village escalating, it's too late for him to make it public now.

"Naruto~"

In the crystal ball scene, Ino, as always, is carrying a lunchbox and comes to the river where Naruto is training.

"Time to eat! I brought watermelon today."

Ino took the tablecloth folded on the box and spread it on the grass, then sat down gracefully.

Naruto, who was chopping down a tree, stopped what he was doing, went to the river to wash the blood off his hands, and then sat down next to the girl without any hesitation.

"Mom made tuna rice balls today and also cut up a watermelon, which she had already chilled in the well beforehand!"

Ino said, handing a slice of watermelon to Naruto.

"Thanks."

Naruto took the watermelon and took a bite. It wasn't very sweet, but he hadn't eaten watermelon in a long time.

Naruto's favorite fruit is watermelon, followed by oranges and pineapples. However, because it's troublesome to prepare, he eats watermelon the most.

"Honestly, Naruto, you're still so formal..."

Ino cupped her face in her hands, watching Naruto eat watermelon with a lovesick expression.

Naruto is so handsome! His calm yet slightly aloof demeanor is irresistible!

The little girl screamed inwardly, but on the surface she forced herself to remain calm and put on a ladylike demeanor, her gaze fixed on the shadow clones on the river who were trying to use wind attribute transformation to cut off the river's flow.

"Speaking of which, I've always been curious about what those clones on the water's surface are doing?"

Ino looked at Naruto and asked, though she wasn't very interested in training and was just making conversation.

"Develop ninjutsu to use wind-style chakra nature transformation to cut off river water."

Naruto casually explained, "Incorporating wind-style nature transformation into the Rasengan will further enhance its power, but that's very difficult. Optimistically, it will take at least a year, and to release it with one hand, it will probably take at least three to five years..."

"That's amazing!"

Ino's beautiful big eyes sparkled, filled with admiration.

She had witnessed Naruto's training firsthand and was well aware of the power of the Rasengan. In her opinion, Naruto was definitely the strongest among his peers!

"It's only been three years, but it's been quite tough."

Ino rested her chin on her hand, somewhat puzzled: "You're already this strong, why don't you take a break?"

"I need this technique to make up for the fact that I don't have a killer ninjutsu."

In Naruto, his favorite lethal ninjutsu is the Rasengan.

Although its power is not comparable to the massively destructive ninjutsu such as the Tailed Beast Ball or the True Several Thousand Hands, it has the advantage of a short wind-up time and high mobility. With Naruto's chakra reserves, it can be used as a normal attack.

(The Spiral Shuriken can be thrown once it reaches 100% completion. The Sage Technique is just a way to perfect this technique ahead of time. This is not official lore.)

However, it seems that the development of this technique may take a long time, and it can only be advanced little by little by using clones.

Naruto didn't hide anything from Ino's question, after all, he felt obligated to help her.

He really liked Ino; she was strong-willed yet gentle and sensitive.

However, given Ino's current age, which makes her too old to be imprisoned, Naruto felt it was inappropriate to pursue her directly, so he never reciprocated Ino's feelings.

"Does that mean that once this technique is completed, Naruto will have no weaknesses?"

Ino looked at him with adoration. As the little princess of the mountain clan, she knew very well the concept of having no weaknesses.

"Yeah, basically."

Naruto nodded: "Then I can leave Konoha."

"Huh?"

Ino paused for a moment, then her smile froze as she came to her senses: "Leaving... Konoha? Naruto, do you... have somewhere you're going?"

"I plan to travel around, go on trips, and then find a livable place to settle down."

Naruto picked up a tuna rice ball, took a bite, and said, "I understand Ino's feelings, but we're both still too young, so it's better to make things clear beforehand."

Ino bit her lip, a vague unease creeping into her heart: "Naruto, when are you... coming back?"

"I can't say for sure what the future holds."

Naruto spoke calmly, but Ino still understood what he meant.

Looking intently at Naruto, tears streamed down Ino's cheeks.

Seeing this, Naruto felt helpless. He raised his hand to wipe away Ino's tears and gently comforted her, "Don't cry. I have mastered space-time ninjutsu. Even if I have to cross the ninja world, it won't take much time. We can still meet often."

Ino stopped sobbing: "Really?"

Naruto laughed: "What, are you doubting my strength?"

"No, then... it's settled then."

Ino wiped away her tears and held out her hand: "Pinky promise, liars will have to swallow a thousand needles!"

"Okay, it's a deal."

Naruto reached out and gently hooked Ino's delicate little finger, and Ino finally smiled.

Ino had actually had a premonition that Naruto was leaving, but Naruto brought it up too early and too suddenly, catching her off guard.

She didn't ask Naruto if he could stay in Konoha; the girl's sensitive and perceptive mind had already made her aware of Naruto's awkward situation in the village.

Therefore, she would not, and was unwilling to, say something foolish like asking Naruto to stay, and instead calmly accepted the outcome.

After all, it's not like we'll never see each other again.

However, compared to Ino's calmness, Hiruzen Sarutobi was clearly finding it hard to accept...

This is the first update today. There has been a power outage at home since this morning, so the computer is temporarily unavailable. The second chapter may be released tonight, so please wait patiently!

(End of this chapter)