Nine-Tails' cheerful revelation froze the smile on Orochimaru's face like ice coating glass.
This little fox isn't a noble ninja beast, Orochimaru thought with bitter realization. He's a chaos demon in fur. A gremlin wearing a tailed beast's skin.
Just moments ago, Orochimaru had been projecting an image of professionalism and expertise. The respected biological consultant, hired with generous compensation, bringing his vast knowledge to improve farm operations.
And Nine-Tails had destroyed that carefully constructed facade in seconds. With gleeful precision. Like a child popping soap bubbles.
"Beat him up and he works for free," the fox had essentially announced. "No salary at all."
Watching Nine-Tails' fluffy tail disappear around a bend in the path, the goat carrying him out of sight, Orochimaru turned back toward Shikamaru. Prepared himself for the inevitable loss of respect, the dismissal that would follow such humiliating exposure.
But surprisingly, Shikamaru's expression hadn't changed at all.
The farm director still wore that same respectful, engaged smile. As if Nine-Tails' words had simply not registered. As if the revelation of Orochimaru's actual employment status—unpaid labor obtained through violence—meant absolutely nothing.
"Consultant Orochimaru," Shikamaru said smoothly, his tone carrying genuine interest, "let's continue our previous discussion. I've had another idea about the reproductive isolation problem. I'm not sure if it's feasible, but I'd like your expert opinion."
The question was posed with such natural professionalism that Orochimaru felt genuine gratitude surge through his chest.
This, Orochimaru thought with appreciation, this is how civilized people behave. Not like that Kirigakure barbarian.
His mind immediately compared Shikamaru's graciousness with Zabuza's cold dismissal. When Orochimaru had mentioned the no-salary detail to Zabuza yesterday, the former assassin's face had immediately turned hostile. His entire demeanor had shifted from mild respect to contemptuous dismissal.
"Just another shit-shoveler like me," Zabuza's expression had clearly communicated. "Nothing special."
Compared with Shikamaru's magnanimous professionalism, Zabuza's narrow-minded pettiness was glaring. His small perspective, his inability to separate professional value from compensation status—these revealed exactly why Zabuza could only ever shovel manure. Why he'd never rise to positions of real authority.
Too small-minded, Orochimaru judged. Too limited in vision. No wonder he ended up doing grunt work.
Snorting softly in his thoughts, dismissing Zabuza from consideration entirely, Orochimaru turned his full attention to Shikamaru.
"If Director Nara has ideas to share, please speak freely," Orochimaru said with renewed enthusiasm. "Innovation requires collision. Only when ideas clash do new sparks appear. I'm eager to hear your thoughts."
The conversation resumed as if nothing had happened. Two professionals discussing complex biological challenges, their collaboration unmarred by something as trivial as compensation status.
Meanwhile, Nine-Tails rode his commandeered goat along the trail winding through the back mountain wilderness.
The path was familiar—worn smooth by repeated journeys to observe Naruto's training. The goat knew the route too, requiring minimal guidance as it picked its way over roots and stones.
Soon enough, the sound of falling water filled the air. The waterfall's roar, that constant percussion, announcing proximity to Naruto's training location.
Nine-Tails' ears perked forward, his sharp eyes scanning the pool's center.
There—Naruto remained on the boulder, still moving through his Iron Body positions with that same impossibly slow precision. Externally, the scene looked identical to yesterday's observation. Same location, same movements, same focused intensity.
But something fundamental had changed.
The aura is different, Nine-Tails recognized immediately. His presence has transformed. The way he exists in space feels... larger. More integrated.
It wasn't a visual difference. It was energetic. Temperamental. The kind of shift that couldn't be measured with eyes but registered clearly in instinctive awareness.
Nine-Tails watched for several minutes, fascinated by the subtle changes. Then suddenly, a thought struck him with enough force to make his ears fold back.
Oh no, the fox realized. I need to bring Naruto fresh clothes!
The memory surfaced clearly—yesterday, during the fight with Orochimaru, Naruto's jacket and shoes had exploded. Destroyed by his Iron Body transformation. He'd returned to the farm shirtless and barefoot, wearing only those mysteriously durable pants.
When he finishes this breakthrough, he'll need something to wear, Nine-Tails thought. Can't have him walking back to the farm half-naked. Not dignified for someone so powerful.
Immediately, Nine-Tails kicked his goat mount into faster movement, guiding it back toward the farm with urgent purpose.
Arriving at the farmhouse residence, Nine-Tails found Sasuke just emerging from his room. The young Uchiha pushed open his sliding door, stretching slightly, his movements showing lingering exhaustion from recent events.
Itachi's death remained a fresh wound. The kind of grief that sapped energy, made everything feel heavier, turned simple tasks into monumental efforts.
Seeing Nine-Tails in the hallway, Sasuke's expression brightened slightly. Habit and hunger combined to trigger his automatic question.
"Nine-Tails, is breakfast ready?"
The question was casual, expectant. The same inquiry he'd posed countless mornings over the months of living at Naruto's farm.
Nine-Tails shook his head, his fox features arranging into something apologetic.
"I didn't make breakfast today," the tailed beast explained. "Naruto is still training, so he doesn't need to eat. And since he doesn't need breakfast, I decided not to prepare any."
The fox's tone took on an edge of moral superiority.
"Cooking when no one needs food would be wasteful. And waste is shameful behavior. We should be advocating thrift, conservation, responsible resource management. These are important values."
Hearing this explanation—delivered with such earnest conviction—Sasuke's eyes widened incrementally.
"Nine-Tails," he said slowly, his voice carefully controlled, "your remarks are indeed extremely correct. Absolutely true. Conservation is important."
A pause.
"But did you forget that I still need breakfast?"
"I haven't forgotten!" Nine-Tails looked at Sasuke with a strange expression, as if confused by the question.
Sasuke felt his eye twitch. His jaw worked slightly, grinding teeth together.
"Then... then you haven't forgotten, so why didn't you make breakfast?"
The logic seemed obvious. If you remembered someone needed food, and you were the designated cook, you made food. Simple cause and effect.
Nine-Tails glanced at Sasuke with an expression that clearly communicated why are you asking such an obvious question?
"Do it yourself," the fox said simply. "I'm busy."
With that declaration, Nine-Tails dismissed Sasuke entirely and padded into Naruto's room, leaving the young Uchiha standing in the hallway with an expression of profound disbelief.
How old are you? Nine-Tails thought as he entered Naruto's space. A grown man needing someone else to cook breakfast. Pathetic.
Standing in the hallway, processing this casual dismissal, Sasuke felt a complex mix of emotions.
The family treatment really is different, he thought with resignation. Naruto gets three-cow feasts prepared lovingly. I get told to cook for myself.
But then curiosity overrode annoyance. Why was Nine-Tails going into Naruto's room? Had Naruto returned from training without anyone noticing?
Maybe he finished his breakthrough? Sasuke's mood lifted with sudden hope.
"Nine-Tails," he called out, moving toward the doorway. "I'm coming in!"
The fox's indifferent voice drifted out. "If you want to come in, come in. No need to announce it."
Sasuke slid open the door, expecting to see Naruto sitting on his bed, tired but successful.
Instead, he found only Nine-Tails. The tailed beast was carefully folding clothing—selecting items from Naruto's sparse wardrobe, arranging them into a neat bundle.
"Nine-Tails," Sasuke asked, genuinely curious now, "what are you doing?"
The fox continued his task without looking up, paws moving with surprising dexterity for someone without opposable thumbs.
"Didn't Naruto's shoes and jacket explode yesterday when he came back from fighting Orochimaru?" Nine-Tails said matter-of-factly. "I'm taking a fresh set of clothes to the waterfall. That way, when he finishes practicing, he'll have something proper to wear."
The explanation was so simple, so obviously thoughtful, that Sasuke felt a pang of guilt.
Why didn't I think of that? he wondered. I should have been the one to bring clothes. I'm his best friend. But I was so wrapped up in my own grief, my own problems, that I didn't think about practical concerns.
I'm not really taking care of Naruto the way he takes care of me.
The realization was uncomfortable but honest.
While Sasuke processed this small failure of friendship, Nine-Tails finished bundling the clothing. He gathered the set carefully—jacket, shirt, pants, and shoes—holding everything with practiced ease.
"Make your own breakfast," Nine-Tails said, heading toward the door. "I'm going to deliver these clothes to Naruto."
"Wait, I'll—" Sasuke began, but Nine-Tails was already gone, padding quickly down the hallway with his bundle.
Sasuke stood alone in Naruto's room, surrounded by evidence of his friend's simple life. Sparse furnishings, minimal possessions, everything maintained with care despite obvious poverty.
I'll make breakfast, Sasuke decided. And I'll make enough for Nine-Tails too. Even if he doesn't ask for it.
It was a small gesture. But sometimes small gestures mattered most.
Returning to the waterfall for the second time that morning, Nine-Tails found Naruto still training on the boulder. Still moving with that glacial slowness, still deeply absorbed in whatever internal process drove his breakthrough.
Naruto could perceive Nine-Tails' arrival—his expanded awareness registered the fox's presence immediately. He noted the clothing bundle, understood its purpose, felt gratitude bloom warmly in his chest.
Thank you, Naruto thought toward the fox, though he didn't speak aloud or break his concentration.
Nine-Tails placed the clothes carefully on a flat stone near the pool's edge. Somewhere dry, protected from spray. Then the fox squatted on the stone itself, settling into a comfortable position to watch Naruto train for a while.
On a normal day, Naruto might have paused to greet Nine-Tails properly. Would have called out a hello, maybe asked about farm operations, engaged in casual conversation.
But not today. Today was critical. The breakthrough balanced on a knife's edge—any distraction could disrupt the delicate process of achieving complete unity.
So Naruto simply continued his practice, acknowledging Nine-Tails' presence with warm awareness but maintaining his meditative focus.
After watching for perhaps twenty minutes, seeing nothing obviously change, Nine-Tails departed. Hopped back onto his patient goat and returned to the farm, leaving Naruto alone with his training.
Time continued its inexorable flow.
Morning became afternoon. Afternoon approached evening. The sun tracked its arc across the sky, painting shadows that lengthened and shifted, marking hours with silent precision.
On the boulder, Naruto moved through position after position. The 81 stances of the Iron Body Technique, performed with such deliberate slowness that each one took nearly an hour to complete properly.
His awareness remained split—half focused on physical execution, half diving deeper into the mysteries of unity. Spirit, energy, and body converging. Individual streams becoming a single river. Boundaries dissolving until nothing remained separate.
Then, as the sun touched the western horizon, as dusk began painting the world in shades of gold and amber, something shifted.
Naruto suddenly exhaled. Not a normal breath—this was a long, powerful exhalation that carried physical force. The air in front of his face rippled visibly, disturbed by the sheer volume and pressure of expelled breath.
The sound was like wind rushing through canyon walls. Sustained, resonant, carrying weight beyond mere air movement.
When his lungs finally emptied completely, when the last trace of breath had been expelled, Naruto stood perfectly still. Lowered his arms from their raised position. Assumed a natural standing posture.
Complete stillness descended.
[Congratulations, Naruto,] the System's voice manifested in his mind, carrying warmth and genuine pride. [You've finally achieved spirit, energy, and body unity. Well done.]
Naruto's eyes opened fully—they'd been half-lidded throughout the training, maintaining minimal visual awareness while focusing internally.
Those blue eyes appeared round and deep now. Profound, like looking into clear ocean water that descended to impossible depths. But they showed no sharpness, no aggressive edge. Just calm awareness, infinite and patient.
This was the manifestation of complete unity. When spirit, energy, and body aligned perfectly, the eyes reflected that integration. Became windows showing internal harmony.
Hearing the System's congratulations, Naruto's face arranged itself into a smile. Genuine, grateful, carrying traces of the exhaustion he'd been suppressing.
"Thank you, System," he said aloud, his voice slightly rough from disuse. "My success today wouldn't have been possible without your guidance. Everything I've achieved, I owe to your teachings."
The gratitude was sincere. Naruto had never forgotten that without the System's appearance five years ago, he'd still be that weak, rejected child. Still be suffering in ignorance, with no path toward strength.
[That's correct,] the System replied, its tone taking on a slightly smug quality. [Without my guidance, you would have taken a detour of at least several years. Possibly decades. The path to unity isn't obvious—most people who discover it do so through accident and blind persistence.]
A brief pause, then the System's voice became more instructional.
[Naruto, now you should carefully examine your body. Understand the benefits that unity has granted you. The changes run deeper than you might initially perceive.]
Unity of spirit, energy, and body—Naruto understood now—was laying the foundation for something even greater. The next stage, the ultimate goal of the Iron Body Technique: Prime Unison.
When Prime Unison was achieved, when the Indestructible Golden Body reached completion, only the outside world would be able to accommodate Naruto's existence. He would transcend the limitations of his current realm entirely.
But for now, he'd only achieved spirit, energy, and body unity. And even this partial achievement brought a strange sense of melancholy.
I feel lonely, Naruto realized with surprise. Because with my current strength, the ninja world can no longer properly contain me. Can no longer provide adequate challenges.
Invincible loneliness. Invincible emptiness.
He couldn't find worthy opponents. Couldn't find anyone capable of pushing him to his limits, of testing his abilities meaningfully.
The loneliness of standing at the summit, Naruto thought. Looking down at the world below, seeing no one at your level.
It was an odd feeling. He'd spent years desperately seeking strength to overcome loneliness. And now that strength itself created a new form of isolation—the solitude of being unreachably powerful.
But lonely or not, Naruto still needed to understand his transformed condition. Following the System's suggestion, he raised his right hand, examining it carefully.
Immediately, he noticed something extraordinary.
On his knuckles, barely visible but definitely present, faint golden marks had appeared. Like someone had traced his bones with gilt ink, leaving shimmering lines beneath the skin.
"These are the signs of the Indestructible Golden Body," the System explained, its voice carrying instructional patience. "When you've condensed twelve complete golden marks, your entire body will be covered with them—inside and outside, bones and organs, every structure transformed. At that point, you'll have achieved Golden Body completion. This is also the state of Prime Unison—body, spirit, energy, and essence merged into perfect whole."
"Twelve marks?" Hearing the number, Naruto couldn't help feeling stunned.
Currently, his right fist showed only one mark. Just one out of twelve required.
And if this depends on eating, Naruto calculated grimly, on transforming food into training progress, how many years will it take? How many tons of meat must I consume?
The prospect was daunting. His appetite was already enormous—three whole cows per meal. Maintaining that intake strained the farm's resources to their limits. And this was just to sustain his current state, not to fuel advancement toward the next milestone.
Decades, Naruto estimated. Maybe centuries if I only rely on food.
Sensing Naruto's thoughts, detecting the discouragement, the System's voice took on a reassuring quality.
[Don't worry, Naruto. Training is a long journey. Years become meaningless when you're pursuing immortality. Some practitioners enter seclusion measured in units of ten thousand years. Time ceases to matter when you have eternity ahead.]
A gentle pause.
[Therefore, maintaining proper state of mind is equally important as physical training. Impatience is the enemy of progress. Acceptance of the journey's duration is necessary.]
Naruto nodded slowly, understanding the wisdom even if accepting it felt difficult.
[However,] the System continued, its tone brightening, [to condense the twelve golden marks, you truly cannot rely on food alone. That method would be inefficient beyond practicality.]
[But now that you've achieved spirit, energy, and body unity, you possess new capabilities. You can fit yourself to magnetic fields within certain ranges. You can exercise delicate control over your body at the cellular level. And most importantly—you can now practice the Nature Attunement.]
[Use both approaches simultaneously—food transformation AND Natural Energy—and the golden marks will condense at reasonable pace.]
Hearing that an alternative method existed, that food wasn't his only option, Naruto's face brightened with relief.
Then he noticed something else—new information had appeared in his mind. Knowledge that hadn't been there moments ago, downloaded directly by the System.
The Nature Attunement. Thousands of characters describing techniques, principles, and applications. Instructions for drawing ambient energy from the environment and refining it into training progress.
Normally, absorbing such dense information would take days of study. Reading, rereading, practicing, reviewing, gradually internalizing complex concepts.
But with spirit, energy, and body unity achieved, Naruto's mental capabilities had exploded to superhuman levels. His thoughts moved with lightning speed. His comprehension and memory had reached truly terrifying heights.
The tens of thousands of characters comprising the Nature Attunement were understood completely in minutes. Not just memorized—genuinely comprehended, integrated, made ready for practical application.
"Excellent," the System said approvingly. "Now then, Naruto, you should try practicing it immediately. Test your new abilities."
"Understood." Naruto nodded, closing his eyes again.
He began relaxing his mind and body, releasing conscious control, allowing himself to sink into meditative state. His awareness expanded outward, seeking connection with the surrounding magnetic field.
The alignment happened smoothly, naturally. Like a key sliding into a perfectly matched lock. Naruto felt himself merge with the farm's energetic environment, becoming indistinguishable from the landscape itself.
Don't rely on eyes now, he reminded himself. Perceive through thought. Through awareness. See without seeing.
His consciousness expanded, pressing outward in all directions.
[Do you perceive them?] the System asked quietly. [Those elements floating in the air around you?]
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