"Maybe… I'm just naturally gifted?"
After thinking about it for a bit, Naruto rubbed his chin and came to a conclusion.
Chakra was, after all, a fusion of physical and mental energy. His physical strength was excellent—he could easily sneak around the shopping district and grab what he needed without breaking a sweat.
If his body wasn't tough enough, he wouldn't have been able to act as the cage for that big fox in his gut.
And mental energy came from one's mind and life experience.
Reading sharpened the mind.
Even though he was still a kid, Naruto's mentality was clearly far more mature than other kids his age. He also had way more knowledge stored up. When he added it all together, it made sense that his chakra grew so fast.
With this realization, Naruto felt more confident than ever about his dream of becoming a great ninja.
Feeling good, he went to wash up and cooked himself a giant bowl of braised beef noodles, with two sunny-side-up eggs on top.
After breakfast, he walked around to help digest, then pulled out one of the books that ANBU had delivered yesterday—The Three Basic Jutsu—and started reading.
First, the book explained what the Three Basic Jutsu were.
They were the Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, and Substitution Jutsu—foundational to every ninja, and even in high-level combat, the Substitution Jutsu could still save your life.
After explaining their importance, the book laid out the twelve basic hand seals. Only after that did it dive into the specific techniques, including the chakra flow and seal sequences required for each jutsu.
Naruto read through the book and before he knew it, it was noon.
For lunch, he made mapo tofu with stir-fried greens over rice.
He really liked noodles—in fact, he could eat them three times a day without getting tired of them. But he also understood the importance of a balanced diet, so he went with a good mix of protein and veggies.
After cleaning up, Naruto decided to try practicing the jutsu.
He started with the simplest one—Transformation.
Carefully channeling his chakra, he performed the unfamiliar hand signs, then shouted just like the kids he'd seen playing ninja games downstairs:
"Transformation Jutsu!"
A puff of smoke.
...Nothing happened.
He tried the Clone and Substitution Jutsu next. The results? Still nothing.
Three jutsu, three failures.
But Naruto didn't get discouraged.
Sure, he did think he was naturally talented, but even so, he was just starting out. A few failures weren't the end of the world.
After all, failure is the mother of success, right?
Shaking off his doubts, Naruto decided to focus on just one jutsu for now: the Transformation Jutsu. Once he mastered that, he'd move on to the others.
Hand signs. Chakra control. Transformation.
Failure. Analyze the mistake. Adjust. Try again.
Each attempt drained a little chakra, but Naruto didn't mind. Honestly, his chakra was regenerating faster than he could spend it.
He barely even felt the chakra loss before it refilled itself.
After three hours of training, Naruto completed his latest attempt—his chakra flow and hand signs had synced perfectly this time.
Confident, he believed he would finally nail it—transforming into none other than the person he admired most: the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Transformation Jutsu!"
He shouted, a puff of smoke erupted—
And when he looked at his clothes, he had transformed into the Third's robes.
Success?
Just as a grin crept across his face, he caught sight of himself in the mirror—his "Third Hokage" reflection was cross-eyed, lopsided, and frankly terrifying.
"Wait, what? It was textbook perfect! Why did it still fail?" Naruto muttered, puzzled.
He thought for a moment… but couldn't figure it out.
So, he tried again. This time, he swore he'd be even more precise, even more careful.
Once again, textbook-perfect Transformation Jutsu.
And the mirror greeted him with a bald, sausage-lipped, awkwardly grinning version of the Third Hokage, like it was mocking his life choices.
"Again!"
He repeated the jutsu a dozen more times, each with perfect form.
Each one failed.
At this point, Naruto was starting to doubt everything.
Maybe I'm not gifted after all...
Maybe I don't have talent for jutsu…
Maybe that's why I can't even pull off a simple Transformation…
Unintentionally, he began to feel discouraged.
But it didn't last long.
Naruto shook it off and fired himself up again. He could solve complex math problems. He could read Chinese history and master chakra refinement in just one night. There was no way he couldn't learn a basic jutsu.
With that in mind, Naruto poured all his focus into his next attempt.
And failed.
But this time, something was different.
Because he was concentrating so hard, he felt it—a strange, unfamiliar chakra inside his body interfering just as he cast the jutsu.
It wasn't strong. But jutsu were delicate. Even the slightest chakra disruption—especially from within—could mess them up.
And just like that, the deformed transformations made perfect sense.
Naruto clenched his jaw.
He'd found the culprit.
Cancelling the jutsu, he sat down and scowled. That last try had been flawless. If not for the interference, he was sure it would've worked.
He knew most people would just blame themselves—think they lacked talent. But he had seen that fox last night.
"Stupid fox…"
Naruto slammed down into his chair, closed his eyes, and began focusing his mind on the seal space inside him.
Moments later, he was back at the giant iron gate.
There, lying down and seemingly asleep, was the giant fox.
It looked peaceful. No snarl, no bared teeth. Almost… cute.
But Naruto didn't care how cute it looked. He stomped forward and shouted angrily:
"Big Fox! Why are you messing with my jutsu training?! You live inside me—I didn't even ask for rent—but now you're sabotaging me?!"