4 Insane training
Shakily placing his foot on the water and feeling a strange state of solidity, Naruto did not lose himself in the excitement and with the same concentrated face, he brought his other foot up.
*Splash*.
Watching his two feet sink as the water splashed around all of his clones, Naruto shook his head and repeated the process.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Four...
Five....
Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours, and just 2 hours later, Naruto's eyes sparkled as he noticed his right foot clinging firmly to the water and with a quick flick of his fingers, he retracted all of his clones.
Wrinkling his face a little at a sudden mental fatigue, Naruto weakly sat up and crossed his legs, then closed his eyes and began to take in everything he had learned in silence.
'This kid...' Opening one of his eyes as his consciousness always knew everything that was going on, Kurama thought 'Was he always so talented?'
Opening his eyes after about 20 minutes, Naruto stood up in one leap and with a serious face, stepped firmly onto the water.
Without hesitating in the slightest, Naruto lifted his second foot and opened his eyes wide as he stood firmly, then took a small step, then the next and no longer holding back his excitement, he happily ran all over the place as happy laughter echoed in the air.
Quickly closing his eye before Naruto saw him, Kurama let out a snort and fell silent.
"Kurama, I made it!" Rushing towards the fox, Naruto lunged at its giant paw and hugged it tightly "I'm an awesome ninja!"
"..."
"I'll be the strongest and protect everyone, just wait!" with conviction while rubbing the fox's fur, Naruto stood up again and formed a large amount of clones again, then scattering them all around the walls of the place and muttering "Chakra in the feet... not too much, not too little!"
Leaning together with their clones one foot on the wall, they all swallowed saliva nervously and raised their other supporting foot.
*Splash* *Splash* *Splash* *Splash*.
"Tsk" Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Naruto quickly stood up again and muttered to himself "I don't have to constantly pour chakra... just enough and necessary..."
*Splash* *Splash* *Splash* *Splash*
"Damn!"
*Splash* *Splash* *Splash* *Splash*
"K-kurama, is this dangerous?" watching in horror as he shattered the cement of the wall, Naruto quickly turned his gaze to the fox and asked.
"..."
"If you say so" Nodding, Naruto gritted his teeth and tried again but this time running.
One step, two steps, three steps.
*Splash*
Like a hive mind, instantly all of his clones copied his movements and for the next few minutes the process was repeated over and over again.
*Splash* *Splash* *Splash* *Splash*
"Tsk"
*Splash* *Splash*
***
"Please Kurama..." Hanging from the ceiling while looking down at the giant fox below, Naruto formed a pout and pleaded.
After an intense basic training, Naruto unfortunately couldn't bear the mental burden of another training assimilation and after a couple of hours falling off the wall, he fell completely unconscious for hours and waking up on the cold forest floor.
But not caring in the least, he ate some ramen and quickly returned home to rest and repeat his routine.
It didn't take more than 20 minutes to prove that the training with the shadow clones really was a brutality because of how fast it progresses, even more if you consider that this boy really has an inherited talent that can be considered monstrous.
But having already learned what Kurama demanded, boredom quickly set in and he began to pester the fox for an answer as he sought to continue his training.
After more than an hour of incessant pleading, Kurama finally opened his eyes and looked up at Naruto, then snorted "Go out and train your body, you're still too weak to devote yourself to the jutsus you stole."
"But that's too slow and boring!"
"Every ninja needs a strong body, you're no different."
"Damn!" cursing in annoyance, Naruto frowned slightly for a few seconds and with a sudden gleam in his eyes he plopped down in front of Kurama, then exclaimed "I have an idea!"
"..."
"Blood clone jutsu!" remembering the jutsu he read from the scroll he stole, Naruto quickly continued "They say that what the clone suffers, the main body suffers!"
"Don't even think about it!" Roaring instantly while shaking his head, Kurama continued "You'll go fucking crazy if you use that jutsu, and even if you use it, it wouldn't work since it only transmits pain!"
"Damn" Frowning slightly, Naruto grumbled.
"The ninja path is difficult, Naruto, it's totally impossible to grow fast without effort" Closing his eyes again, Kurama continued indifferently "But unlike ordinary people, you have me. My chakra already mixed with yours even before you were born, and if you haven't noticed yet, your body has a brutal regeneration capacity."
"..." Remaining silent for a few seconds, Naruto opened his eyes a little wider and exclaimed excitedly "Training the muscles we seek to tear them so that they grow stronger, but regeneration takes time and thus, progress is slow!"
"..."
"And since I have a faster recovery, my strength can grow much faster than ordinary people!" laughing merrily, Naruto exclaimed happily.
"..."
Jumping excitedly on the fox's paw, Naruto rubbed his face with the soft fur as a happy smile formed on his face, then suddenly stood still and spoke seriously "I will train very hard Kurama, I promise!"
"..."
"I will train my body in the daytime, and when I can't anymore, I will train jutsus with you!" Standing up with a jump full of energy, Naruto continued with conviction "I have two months before I return to the academy, I will make the most of every minute!"
***
Leaning back on his paws and gazing with his giant, frightening eyes into nothingness, Kurama carefully watched every second of what Naruto is doing right now with a dignified face.
"This child... is a monster" Shaking his head while in his gaze a small respect grows, Kurama muttered.
How could he not be surprised?
After a month and a half of the craziest training he witnessed in his entire long life, Kurama had no choice but to simply accept that, in will, he knew no one who surpassed this little boy.
Clutching a hard rock with trembling, bleeding fingers, Naruto clenched his teeth tightly as painful tears escaped down his disheveled face.
Blood dripped down his arms, sweat completely tousled his slightly long hair, while his face was a disgusting mixture of dust and sweat along with his typical orange jumpsuit totally dirty and torn.
Right now Naruto was tenaciously climbing a gigantic ravine with only his hands while his small body dangled in a fall of hundreds of meters.
Naruto knows it, Kurama knows it, and anyone watching would know it. If this child made even one mistake, that fall could not only cause serious damage, but he would most likely not live to tell the tale even with the help of Kurama's regeneration.
"I never thought it would go to such extremes..." Sitting up on his paws while still looking at Naruto, Kurama made a strange face as he muttered to himself "Breaking bones, tearing skin, enduring deadly falls... this kid is crazy."
Eyes misty with tears while even his snot dripped steadily, Naruto clenched his teeth tightly to the point of even making his gums bleed and mustering all the strength in his body, he quickly climbed another five more meters in a single leap.
"Ugh!" Clinging badly to a stone, Naruto was left hanging with only his left hand while his broken nails were completely torn apart and the blood began to flow even more but this time on his face.
-That's enough Naruto!
"N-not enough Kurama *Sniff*" Stubbornly shaking his head while sobbing with difficulty, Naruto again clung with his right hand to another rock and began to climb this time slowly while muttering to himself with extreme difficulty "I-I... I... will... fulfill my p-promise!"
-...-
Breathing shakily as suddenly a glimmer of energy coursed through his body, Naruto's misty eyes instantly became steadier as he growled angrily and began to climb even faster "I WILL BE THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD!!!"
"This chakra..." Quickly lowering his gaze to the water beneath his feet, Kurama frowned deeply and rambled to himself as he watched his level rise "Uzumaki... no... impossible, this kid got more genes from his father than his mother... but then how did he grow up so fast? No... no, impossible"
After another fifteen minutes of a tuorous climb, Naruto dropped heavily onto the cold, hard earth at the top and stared up at the crimson sky above him, then closed his eyes and fell completely unconscious.
"This boy is really looking to get himself killed" Shaking his head at the sight of the boy once again lying unconscious in the middle of the forest, Kurama was silent for a few long minutes and shook his head, then lay back down and closed his eyes.
***
-The most important thing for a ninja, will always be his chakra control, never forget this Naruto-
"Mn" Nodding seriously as he forms a thin layer of chakra around his injured fingers, Naruto continued "Because no matter how much chakra a person has, it's no use if he can't use it properly."
Sitting down while staring at the boy in front of him, Kurama nodded seriously and remained silent for a few seconds, then asked.
"Are you ready boy? In 3 days you go the academy and sooner or later you will have to face reality."
Frowning slightly at once, Naruto looked up at Kurama and his face became complicated for a few seconds, then looked down and nodded silently.
"..." Staring at the boy while easily feeling the hatred, fear and nervousness inside him, Kurama remained silent for a few seconds and spoke "You should rest for these few days, at least your body"
"I don't have time to waste" Shaking his head, Naruto clenched his fists tightly and muttered "All this time I never fully exerted myself in my training and thanks to that not only did Iruka-sensei leave, but I only humiliated myself by not being able to do even a simple illusion of myself"
"You already have your arms broken Naruto, while you can train chakra without any problems in this place, if you don't recover during these days, I seriously doubt you will even be able to attend the academy"
'He's become quite talkative' Smiling from the corner of his lips, Naruto stared at Kurama for a few seconds and nodded "Fine... for now I'll just train my chakra"
"It's for the best" Nodding wisely, Kurama leaned back again and closed his eyes as he continued "Be proud kid, because today's you can easily beat 10 old versions of you with no problem"
"I know" Further blooming his smile as he slowly expands the chakra to the rest of his palm, Naruto was silent for a few seconds and suddenly dissipated his chakra, then looked at Kurama and spoke seriously "Kurama... I think it's time."
"Of what?" Opening one of his eyes, Kurama asked with confusion.
"Let me train with your chakra."
Opening both eyes while frowning deeply, Kurama roared "Nonsense!"
"But why are you yelling?" covering his ears in annoyance, Naruto snorted "I just think it's best for now."
"Do you even know what you'd be up against!?"
"Of course I do" Nodding earnestly, Naruto continued "I know the hatred of your chakra can corrupt my mind, but... I think it's the right thing to do in this situation."
With quivering eyebrows, Kurama narrowed his eyes at Naruto and remained silent for a couple of minutes, then asked "Why do you want to train now?"
"Although my chakra control increased a lot and my physical strength certainly improved a lot, nothing takes away the fact that I have practically no techniques to defend myself other than being able to create hundreds of clones of me... I think that if the worst comes to the worst, being able to control your chakra can be vital to save my life."
