The following morning, Naruto was up before the sun even rose. He didn't waste time brushing his teeth or fixing his hair like a typical Academy brat. No, he had a mission. He threw on a dark tank top and jogged down to the park, where a simple outdoor gym setup sat—nothing fancy, just a few pull-up bars, uneven bars, and a couple of resistance logs.
It didn't matter.
'This place doesn't have everything, but it has enough. All I need is here.'
He gripped the bar and jumped up for his first exercise.
'Alright… pull-ups. How many?' He smirked. 'Until I can't feel my arms anymore.'
He wasn't here to look tough. He was here to measure his limit. Push-ups, sit-ups, planks—everything was about data. Knowing where he stood physically gave him a baseline to grow. No point in mindlessly pushing himself to death if he didn't even know where he started.
He grunted through pull-up after pull-up, counting silently, arms trembling by the fiftieth rep. He dropped down with a groan and wiped the sweat from his brow, breathing hard. After a few seconds' rest, he dropped to the grass and began sit-ups. His abs burned after the first hundred, but he didn't stop. When he finished, he rolled onto his stomach and held a plank, timing himself using the sun's position. After that, it was push-ups until his elbows begged for mercy.
Every stat—reps, time, max burn—he locked into memory.
'I'll write it all down when I get home.'
By the end of the circuit, Naruto was drenched in sweat, shirt clinging to his body like a second skin. His muscles screamed, but in a good way. In a satisfying way. The kind of soreness that told you growth had been forced into your bones.
Still, he wasn't done.
Now came the run.
Naruto started jogging laps around the perimeter of the gym area. His legs were already burning, thighs tight and calves aching with each step, but he didn't slow down.
'I'm not aiming to be shredded, just lean and strong. I want a body that can move—fast, flexible, efficient.'
His mind wandered as he ran.
'Wait… swordsmanship. How the hell am I gonna learn that? There's gotta be a dojo or something, right? Oh wait… right. Nine Tails Jinchūriki. People avoid me like the plague.'
He sighed but didn't let the thought kill his motivation.
'Fine. I'll put it on hold for now. I'll find a way—later.'
Then, as if summoned by some cosmic joke, he heard them.
Two booming voices shouting "YOUTH!" over and over in rhythm with heavy footfalls.
He turned—and there they were.
Might Guy and Rock Lee, jogging together with fiery intensity, sweat glistening on their brows and matching green jumpsuits shining in the morning sun.
Naruto stopped running, eyebrows raised.
'Well damn, it's really them. That's a hell of a coincidence.'
Guy noticed him first and pointed dramatically. "You see that, Lee! It's never too late to follow your dreams!"
"Yes, GUY SENSEI!"
"Especially when you are filled with the spirit of youth!!" Guy beamed, a sparkle flashing from his gleaming teeth.
Naruto blinked.
'That sparkle… it's real. Not anime dramatization. What the hell.'
He walked over, grinning despite his sore body. "Hey, you must be Guy-sensei."
"And you must be a youthful warrior like Lee and me!" Guy said, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder like they'd known each other for years. "Care to exercise with us? The power of youth grows stronger in numbers!"
Naruto chuckled. "I'd like that, but maybe tomorrow. I already went all out this morning."
"No problem, my energetic friend! This is Lee, my beloved student, whose youthful fire burns brighter than the Hokage Monument itself!"
Lee bowed with passion. "YES, GUY SENSEI!"
Naruto nodded, amused and impressed. 'Man, I love these two. They were always my favorites. Gai-sensei was taken way too early. Dude was too strong—they had to nerf him. No one else could drop Madara like that.'
He smiled wide. "Cool. I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"
Guy clenched a fist. "Excellent! Now Lee! Let us finish our youthful jog! Last one to the edge of the village doesn't eat breakfast!"
"YES, GUY SENSEI!"
With that, they vanished in a blur, dust kicking up in their wake.
Naruto stood there, mouth open. 'Damn they're fast. That's the kind of speed I want. No—faster. I wanna be able to sprint to Suna and back before someone finishes a sentence.'
He didn't linger long after that. Back home, he filled the tub and soaked his aching body in warm water, letting the burn ease. By the time he finished and got dressed, the sun had fully risen. Still an hour before class.
He sat in the center of his room, cross-legged, and meditated. Slowly, steadily, he circulated his chakra, smoothing out its flow, pushing it through each tenketsu point. He wasn't just training his body—he was refining his internal energy.
Naruto meditated for a while, slipping deeper and deeper into focus—until, without warning, he found himself pulled into his subconscious.
He landed in a vast, dimly lit space that resembled a sewer. Shallow water covered the floor, rippling around his sandals, and the entire area seemed to stretch on forever in every direction. The air was thick, damp, and eerily silent, broken only by the faint sound of dripping water. Then, a cold breeze swept past him from behind, carrying with it a heavy presence that made the hairs on his neck stand up.
Naruto turned slowly—and froze.
Towering behind an immense set of black iron bars were two burning, blood-red eyes, each larger than his head. The eyes stared directly into him, unblinking and filled with ancient fury. He tilted his head up and saw the massive seal tag pinned at the center of the gate, the lock that kept the monster caged.
As his gaze dropped, the shadows receded, and the beast came into focus.
A colossal fox, covered in thick, rust-colored fur that seemed to shimmer with malevolence, crouched low behind the bars. Its nine tails, each like a living storm, curled and swayed lazily behind it, brushing the ground with deadly grace. Its fangs were like ivory daggers, bared in a grimace that hovered between amusement and contempt.
"I never thought I'd see you, Foxxy," Naruto muttered with a smirk, his voice echoing through the chamber.
Kurama's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, the corners of his mouth curling up in a snarl—or was it a grin?
TO BE CONTINUED