The next day.
Early in the morning, Naruto finished washing up, carefully arranged his student uniform, and walked out of the study room.
He glanced at the room next door.
It seemed that Senior Brother and the others had not woken up yet.
"Forget it."
"I'll go for a walk by myself."
Naruto raised his head and looked toward the sky.
The night had just faded.
In the east, a faint fish-belly white glow appeared, announcing the arrival of dawn.
"What beautiful weather…"
He couldn't help but sigh softly.
Back in Konoha, when he was a child, Naruto loved sleeping in.
Getting up early was something he hated the most.
But later, as he grew older, he gradually began to enjoy mornings.
On days like this—
Standing near the top of the mountain…
Looking into the distance…
Surrounded by clouds and mist…
Everything looked peaceful and magnificent.
It made people feel happy from the bottom of their hearts.
Naruto walked slowly around the area.
He didn't dare go too far.
He was afraid that when his senior brothers woke up, they wouldn't be able to find him.
After strolling for more than ten minutes, Chuigen Tianlang and the others finally got up.
They had just walked out of their rooms and were about to go to the study to call Naruto—
When Naruto returned from outside.
"Big Brother!"
Naruto greeted them with a smile.
Then he looked at Tianxing and Tianjian and said politely,
"Good morning, Second Senior Brother."
"Good morning, Third Senior Brother."
"Morning!"
"Morning!"
Tianjian responded enthusiastically.
Tianxing, however, still looked half-asleep and uninterested.
Tianlang looked at Naruto in surprise.
"You got up so early?"
Naruto smiled.
"It's not that early."
"Just a little earlier than you."
"I only walked around for a bit and saw you coming out."
"Oh, right."
"How did you feel about the book you read last night?"
Naruto replied happily,
"It was very good."
"But there are still some parts I don't quite understand."
"I was planning to ask you today, Senior Brother."
"No problem."
"Let's eat first."
With that, Tianlang led everyone to the cafeteria on the mountainside.
After breakfast, Tianlang brought Naruto, Tianxing, and Tianjian back to their training ground.
"Alright, Naruto."
"Today, we'll start practical training."
Naruto was surprised.
"Actual combat already?"
Tianlang nodded.
"What?"
"Are you scared?"
Naruto thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"No."
"Let's do it!"
Tianlang then turned to Tianxing.
"Tianxing."
"You'll spar with Naruto."
"Remember—no advanced fire techniques."
"Only basic fire magic is allowed."
"And no other special skills."
"Understood?"
Tianxing cracked his knuckles.
"No problem, Senior Brother."
"I'll be very gentle with him."
Naruto swallowed nervously.
To be honest, he knew Tianxing still looked down on him.
This sparring might not be easy.
Tianjian glanced at Naruto and gave him an encouraging look.
"Be careful."
Then Tianlang and Tianjian stepped back to watch.
Battle did not distinguish between planets.
Naruto assumed a standard ninja fighting stance.
No matter where he was—
Taijutsu was always based on the body.
It was engraved into muscle memory.
It was an instinct forged through years of training.
Seeing Naruto's posture, Tianxing sneered slightly.
"Be careful!"
The next second, he rushed forward.
Naruto's eyes sharpened.
The relaxed expression on his face disappeared instantly.
It was replaced by cold focus.
"Perfect timing!"
Tianxing swung his leg like a whip.
Naruto blocked with both arms.
However, his current body was still weak.
The impact sent him sliding backward.
Fortunately, he barely held his ground.
"Not bad!"
"You can take a kick!"
Tianxing became even more aggressive.
He dashed forward and threw a punch.
Naruto's pupils shrank.
It was too fast.
His current reaction speed was far inferior to his peak.
But his combat instincts were still there.
He barely blocked it.
Before he could stabilize himself, Tianxing slipped behind him and launched another kick.
"Damn it!"
Naruto remembered the techniques from the book.
He jumped into the air and quickly formed hand seals.
Then he thrust his palms forward.
"Fire Magic — Fireball Technique!"
Boom!
A massive fireball burst forward at close range.
Tianxing froze for a moment.
He hadn't expected Naruto to already master fire magic.
"You brat!!!"
In panic, Tianxing raised his hands.
"Fire Magic — Flame Wall!"
A blazing wall of fire appeared instantly.
Naruto's fireball crashed into it and dispersed.
Because of the close distance, Naruto was hit by the backlash.
"Crap—!"
At the critical moment, Tianlang made his move.
A dark matter tendril shot out and pulled Naruto back.
"Thank you, Senior Brother!"
Naruto said gratefully.
Tianxing became angry.
"Hey!"
"Senior Brother!"
"What are you doing?"
"This is real combat!"
Tianlang rolled his eyes.
Then he stepped forward and laughed.
"Hahaha, Second Brother."
"I told you."
"No advanced fire magic."
"Your Flame Wall broke the rules."
Tianxing shrugged.
"Isn't that his fault?"
Tianlang's expression became serious.
He walked up to Tianxing.
"In that exchange…"
"You lost."
Tianxing looked unconvinced.
Tianlang continued,
"I set the rules."
"But when Naruto attacked at close range…"
"You panicked and used advanced magic."
"You could have retreated."
"But you didn't."
"Because you wanted to save face."
Tianxing fell silent.
Tianlang sighed.
"If you hadn't underestimated Naruto…"
"This wouldn't have happened."
Tianxing opened his mouth.
"Senior Brother, I—"
"No need to explain."
Tianlang raised his hand.
"From today on…"
"You'll teach Naruto seriously."
"In terms of combat skills, you'll guide him."
"I'll show you what kind of genius he is."
"If you still can't accept him after that…"
"I won't interfere anymore."
Tianxing hesitated, then forced a smile.
"Fine."
"I'll teach him."
"I want to see if he's really as good as you say."
Tianlang knew Tianxing's personality.
He respected strength.
Only by witnessing Naruto's talent firsthand would he truly change his attitude.
That was why he arranged this.
Tianjian walked over excitedly.
"Naruto, you're amazing!"
"Only one day, and you already mastered dark matter and fire magic!"
Naruto scratched his head.
"It's all thanks to Senior Brother's teaching."
Tianxing stepped forward and looked at Naruto.
"Hey."
"From now on, I'll teach you real combat."
Naruto cupped his hands respectfully.
"Thank you, Second Senior Brother!"
Tianxing nodded.
To be honest—
Naruto had shocked him.
Back then, it took him two days to successfully activate fire magic.
Naruto had done it in one.
Was this kid really that talented?
For the first time—
Tianxing began to take Naruto seriously.