Today, Naruto's training focus was on the jutsu Wind Style: Great Breakthrough.
The jutsu itself was only a C-rank, so it wasn't that powerful—once activated, it released a gust of wind from the user's mouth to blow away incoming attacks.
As an entry-level elemental technique, it was actually a great starting point for learning Wind Release.
When Naruto arrived at the training grounds, he first read through the instructions written on the scroll, then began carefully forming hand signs and circulating his chakra to try the jutsu.
Turns out, that "genius" feeling from yesterday wasn't wrong—on his very first try, Naruto successfully pulled off the technique and let out a powerful blast of wind from his mouth.
Immediately, the training grounds erupted in flying dust and swirling debris.
Even the tree in the distance had its leaves ripped into a frenzy by the sudden gale, creaking violently with the sound of branches whipping in the wind.
"I can use it now, but the hand signs are way too slow. Next step is to speed it up so I can actually use it in battle."
With that thought, Naruto jumped straight into spamming Wind Style: Great Breakthrough over and over to build up muscle memory and skill.
Studying nonstop in the learning space might not look like it helped much with actual combat, but it taught Naruto how to think—how to break things down logically and analyze the world through patterns and strategies.
And that was the greatest gift learning had given him.
Chakra drain from jutsu practice wasn't much of a problem for him. His real issue was… his mouth hurt. A lot.
Still, the results spoke for themselves: from taking half a minute to fire the jutsu at first, Naruto had now trimmed that down to just half a second—a near-instant cast.
He'd pushed the technique to its practical limit. Any further gains would be marginal and not worth the effort.
"Guess I'll go ask Grandpa Hokage to teach me a stronger Wind Release technique. He is called the 'Professor of Jutsu,' after all—he's gotta know loads of them."
Naruto remembered something Hiruzen once told him during a casual chat and made up his mind.
He stopped practicing jutsu and switched to strength training.
Once his stamina was completely burned out, Naruto headed into the sealed space.
The moment he entered, Kurama's eyes lit up. The giant fox, sprawled across the couch watching TV, immediately paused the show and grabbed the game controller, waiting expectantly for Naruto to come join him for another round of plumber-powered princess-saving.
Just one night of gaming had already opened Kurama's eyes.
This stuff? This was as addictive as TV—maybe even more so.
Especially since he could play with Naruto. They could actually interact.
TV shows were good, sure—but gaming with Naruto? That was straight-up happiness.
They didn't talk much, but the bond between them had gotten way stronger through the simple joy of playing together.
Two lonely souls—Naruto and Kurama—quietly giving each other warmth through shared moments.
But Naruto's self-discipline was strong. Even though games were fun, he'd never let them interfere with his training.
The second his energy recovered, he'd pause the game and go back out to work out, no hesitation.
Kurama, even though he really wanted to finish the game in one sitting, never once tried to stop him. He respected what mattered most to Naruto.
That's what you call a real friend—a true mentor, too.
This loop of training until exhaustion, then recovering while playing with Kurama, went on until sunset.
Today, Naruto didn't plan to stay out training late. He decided to visit the Hokage to ask about more powerful Wind Release jutsu.
But just as he was about to head out, Kurama called him back into the sealed space.
"Naruto, stop wasting your time with those useless jutsu," Kurama said, pausing the TV and turning to face him on the couch.
"As a Jinchuriki, your most important task is learning how to use my power. Once you master it, you'll easily reach—and even surpass—Kage-level strength."
Naruto blinked.
???
His brain flooded with question marks.
Naruto had gone to the Konoha library and read everything he could about the Nine-Tails. He knew full well that the last time this fox appeared, it tore through the village and left devastation in its wake. The Fourth Hokage had given up his life to seal it.
He couldn't deny it—this fox was powerful.
So the idea of mastering that power and becoming strong enough to match a Kage? Yeah… that sounded somewhat believable.
But surpassing a Kage just like that?
Now that sounded like total BS.
If it was really that strong, why had it ended up sealed inside him?
Kurama could read his expression like a book.
And just like that, it was reminded of the very first time it met Naruto.
Getting flustered, it let out a growl, a little embarrassed.
"I only got sealed because of those damn sealing jutsu. If it came down to raw power, there's no one in the ninja world stronger than me!"
Seeing Naruto still looked unconvinced, Kurama raised a tiny fist.
"Come on. Put your hand out."
Naruto hesitated, then slowly reached out his hand to bump fists with the mini-sized Kurama.
In the blink of an eye, the world spun—
—and suddenly Naruto was standing in the middle of a vast open field.
Only, he wasn't standing. He looked down at himself…
He'd turned into a massive, towering fox with nine tails.
"This… is Kurama's perspective?"
The ground below looked small, almost toy-like. Thick forests barely reached his waist as he crouched.
In the distance, shapes started to appear—dozens, maybe hundreds of Cloud-nin, all with their headbands gleaming in the sun.
They carried giant chains and were led by two powerful shinobi. Their goal? Capture Kurama.
Then Naruto felt his body move—fast.
He leapt through the air, claws slashing and tails whipping in wild arcs, tearing through the ranks of enemy ninja like paper.
The two leaders made a last-ditch effort to dive inside his mouth to avoid being torn apart.
But Kurama simply swallowed them.
Then came a roar that shook the sky.
A massive black sphere formed at his mouth—Tailed Beast Bomb.
And then… he unleashed it on the earth.
An earth-shattering explosion followed.
When the dust finally cleared, the landscape had been transformed. What was once a dense forest had turned into an endless desert of ash.
The forest was gone.
The land itself had changed.