CHAPTER 51 + HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

According to his understanding of the original work, if he were not in an emotionally turbulent state, even with the Nine-Tails' chakra coursing through him, it should not disrupt his mental state.

"Really, Master Hu, you're that amazing?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Once you've recovered your stamina, start telling me the story!"

The moment the Nine-Tails' voice faded, a surge of red chakra seeped through the gaps in the iron door. Naruto had experienced the Nine-Tails' chakra multiple times before.

If the previous instances of the Nine-Tails' chakra had been suffocating, scorching, and ominous, then this time, the chakra that extended toward him was noticeably free of that negative energy.

Seeing the Nine-Tails' chakra reach his feet, Naruto exuded absolute confidence.

If his will were affected, then he wouldn't be able to tell the story.

Seeing the Nine-Tails' impatience, he was absolutely certain of the beast's longing.

Gurgle...

The orange-red chakra slowly wrapped around his feet, then gradually spread across Naruto's body.

"Mm... Master Hu, what power is this? It's so comfortable. I didn't expect you to be this strong."

Warm currents continually washed over Naruto's body and spirit. It was far from the searing, scorching sensation described in the original work.

"Hmph, stop talking nonsense. Once you've recovered, start already."

The Nine-Tails, seeing the enjoyment on Naruto's face, gave up on trying to take over Naruto's consciousness at this moment. After all, the current host's emotions and spirit were very stable. If he attempted to act now, there was less than a one percent chance of success before the sealing technique.

"Alright, listen up, Master Hu. The rest of the story... is like this, and like that..."

Indeed, after the first trust had been established between them, Naruto could clearly sense a change in the way the Nine-Tails looked at him.

As the story began to unfold, the Nine-Tails' heart was once again moved by the tale.

Unknowingly, the sky outside had brightened.

With the alarm ringing, Naruto's mental presence faded away from the Nine-Tails' lair.

"Damn it, Naruto, you lied to me! The story isn't finished! Come back here!!"

Though Naruto had left the Nine-Tails feeling frustrated, there was also a sense of relief within that frustration.

Why?

Because the Nine-Tails didn't want the story to end like this either.

Yes, Naruto had told the Nine-Tails that the Three-Tailed Fox in the novel would eventually become the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, and at this point in the story, the Three-Tailed Fox hadn't even grown a single tail yet.

Doesn't that mean the story still has a long way to go?

"Hmph, damn it, Naruto. Can't you just skip school, skip training, and finish telling the story to me?"

Just as Naruto returned to reality, if he had heard the Nine-Tails' grumbling, he probably would have laughed hysterically.

Fifteen minutes later.

Naruto, fully geared up, dashed out of his house with a canvas bag on his back.

"I'm going to become Hokage!"

Ding ding ding...

Once again, he gained 300 negative emotion points and rushed toward the Uchiha clan grounds.

At the front gate of the Uchiha clan.

"Sasuke, I'm here."

"Naruto, you're so slow."

Sasuke, dressed in a black training outfit, with his double ponytails tied into a single ponytail, looked not only elegant but sharp. With his delicate face and overall aura, Naruto couldn't help but be impressed.

"Yo, you're changing your style?" Naruto immediately complimented him. "Looks good, I really like it."

Sasuke, receiving Naruto's approval, felt a blush creep to his face, though he quickly acted disinterested, saying, "None of your business, let's go."

Sasuke pretended not to care, and after speaking, he immediately dashed toward the Uchiha clan's territory.

Naruto, caught off guard, couldn't react in time before Sasuke had vanished.

"Sasuke, don't run too fast! I don't know where your training ground is! Slow down!"

As Sasuke was about to disappear into the forest, he turned back and yelled, "Then come chase me, Naruto! You'll lose!"

Hearing this, Naruto's expression darkened, but he immediately started running.

"Sasuke, that's so unfair! Why didn't you tell me we were racing beforehand?!"

"Hmph!"

Sasuke snorted proudly, then accelerated and disappeared into the forest.

Naruto could only feel helpless, but judging by the route, he figured Sasuke's training ground was probably still the one he and Itachi had used as children.

Knowing the way, Naruto wasn't in a hurry anymore.

About ten minutes later.

Panting slightly, Naruto arrived at Sasuke's training ground.

As expected, just as Naruto had anticipated, Sasuke had been using the same training ground he and Itachi had used in their younger days.

At this moment, Sasuke was sitting cross-legged on the grass, eyes closed as he focused on refining his chakra. Upon noticing Naruto's arrival, he opened his eyes with a smug look and said, "Naruto, you lost."

Upon hearing this, Naruto's forehead was covered in black lines. "Lost? Stop joking! I'm not done yet, you're cheating!"

"Hmph."

Sasuke closed his eyes again and entered his "silent mode."

Seeing Sasuke like this, Naruto could only feel speechless, and he casually found a comfortable spot to sit down and refine his chakra.

About half an hour later, both of them slowly stood up.

Shuriken throwing techniques, taijutsu, close-combat fighting techniques... the training seemed almost identical.

Watching Sasuke tirelessly practice shuriken throwing, Naruto understood that Sasuke was trying to regain his face through these efforts.

"Sasuke, stop practicing shuriken throwing. You need to understand that before becoming a Genin, taijutsu and close-combat fighting techniques are the core focus."

"Hmph, what do you know? I'm preparing to develop new ninjutsu."

Seeing that Sasuke didn't plan on fighting him for now, Naruto simply continued to practice on his own.

Time ticked by, and in the blink of an eye, an hour and a half had passed.

In the last half hour, both were drenched in sweat, gasping for breath.

"Naruto, let's fight!"

Hearing Sasuke's challenge, Naruto twisted his neck and stood up. "I've been waiting for you."

The training ground soon rang with the sound of weapons clashing.

Half an hour passed in a flash.

When the small timer in Sasuke's ninja tool pouch rang, their intense sparring session came to an end.

"That's enough for today," Sasuke said, wiping the sweat off his forehead, his voice sounding a bit tired.

"Mm, let's go. I'll go back with you. And I'll borrow your bath to take a shower."

Hearing this, Sasuke immediately refused. "No way. The bath at my house is only for me, everyone else is locked out. You... can't use it."

Upon hearing this, Naruto responded, "Look, from here back to the Uchiha clan's grounds will take about ten minutes. Then from the Uchiha clan back to my house is another fifteen minutes. If I take a shower and change clothes, it'll take at least another fifteen minutes. By then, I'll be late for school."

Upon hearing this, Sasuke was momentarily stunned.

Looking at Naruto's wet clothes, she muttered with dissatisfaction, "What's the point? Look at how your clothes are soaked in sweat. Even if you go to my house to take a shower, what's the use? You might as well skip it. You always sleep during class anyway. You can just go home and shower after school."

However, before Sasuke could finish, Naruto casually pulled out a spare set of clothes from his canvas bag.

"Not a problem. I was prepared."

Seeing the spare clothes in Naruto's hand, Sasuke's face turned red, and she glared at him. "You had this planned all along, didn't you?"

"Huh? What do you mean, planned? You told me to come find you to train. When I calculated the round-trip time, it was obviously not enough. So I naturally prepared in advance."

This explanation made sense, and Sasuke was at a loss for words.

"Hmph, just follow me."

Seeing Sasuke in a bad mood, Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "If you don't like this, then tomorrow you come find me. After training, you can come over to my house to shower and change clothes."

Sasuke's body froze slightly, and she turned back to glare at Naruto. "You wish. I'm not going to your house to change clothes."

"Oh, is that so? Then I'll just go to your house to shower and change clothes."

"You..." Sasuke almost choked on her words, feeling like she was about to pass out from anger. She wanted to say, "Let's just train separately," but the words just wouldn't come out.

In fact, after the night of the clan massacre, Sasuke had become increasingly unaccustomed to the loneliness of the late hours due to Naruto entering her life. Over time, she found herself involuntarily thinking of Naruto in the quiet of the night.

"Come on, Sasuke. We're going to be late for school."

---

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