Chapter 56
"Alright, alright, I'm really fine now!"
Naruto rubbed the back of his head—still throbbing faintly—while explaining to the circle of worried faces around him.
"Just now… um, there was a small mishap during training. I didn't have experience at first, but everything was under control."
Looking at Yuta—who still had tears and snot on his face and was clinging tightly to him—Naruto could only helplessly coax:
"Don't cry anymore, Yuta. Look, I'm perfectly okay now, right?"
"I was really worried yo…" Yuta sniffled, reached out and pinched Naruto's cheek to make sure.
Soft and bouncy.
Only then did he finally let go, relieved.
"Are you really okay now?" Chōji still looked concerned.
"Of course!" Naruto stood up straight and moved his body around to prove he was fine.
Shikamaru didn't listen to Naruto. Instead he turned to Yuta beside him: "How is it? Can you sense any problem with Naruto now?"
"No more yo, very good yo. Naruto came back, Naruto won't die anymore yo."
Yuta returned to his usual cheerful tone in response to Shikamaru.
"Jeez, don't do something that dangerous again." Shikamaru finally pressed a hand to his forehead, his eyes still showing lingering fear.
Hearing Yuta confirm it too, everyone finally relaxed completely.
The group dispersed and went back to their previous activities.
Only Hinata stayed behind.
She remained by Naruto's side. Her clear white eyes still carried the shock from what she had seen through her Byakugan earlier.
"Naruto-kun…"
Hinata—who had been right beside Naruto—was one of only two people who witnessed the entire transformation process.
Now she was still sitting close to him.
Her clear white eyes still held the image from moments ago.
"Just now… it was really scary."
Hinata lowered her head, her two index fingers nervously twisting together: "It was like… Naruto-kun was about to be swallowed by the world."
Seeing Hinata's worried expression, Naruto dropped his playful grin.
"Mm." He nodded seriously: "It really was a bit dangerous just now."
"Fox Sage told me before—if I ever got fully assimilated by natural energy, I would stop being myself."
"But…"
Naruto clenched his fist, feeling the diluted natural energy inside his body: "Even though it's dangerous, natural energy is really amazing."
"My training isn't good enough yet, but I'll work hard."
As he spoke, Naruto tested what he could now do.
Though he still couldn't amplify himself, he could already slightly influence small-scale weather.
Naruto looked at Hinata and gave her a bright smile.
"Don't worry, Hinata. Fox Sage is always protecting me, and… I know my limits."
Thin rays of sunlight pierced through the leaves, but around Naruto their intensity seemed amplified.
Standing next to him felt like being completely wrapped in warm sunlight.
Hearing the firm conviction in Naruto's voice, Hinata's face flushed slightly: "Mm… I believe in Naruto-kun."
"If it's Naruto-kun…"
She said softly: "It will definitely be fine."
To reassure Hinata and the other little friends, Naruto temporarily stopped practicing sage techniques for the rest of the day.
…
That night, back home.
Naruto sat in meditation in the training room he had cleared out at home, while also talking with Xuanming about the day.
"Fox Sage, earlier today…"
"Do you know where you went wrong?"
Xuanming sat opposite him in the same meditative posture, not even lifting his eyelids. His voice was somewhat serious.
"I know."
Naruto honestly admitted his mistake: "I shouldn't have absorbed so much natural energy all at once."
Xuanming opened one eye and stared at Naruto: "Trying to stuff the entire world into a container—there's only one result: the container explodes."
Xuanming extended one finger and drew a circle in the air.
"What's called sage technique—the important part isn't how much natural energy you can absorb, but whether your own body can perfectly harmonize with it."
"That is balance."
"The physical energy and spiritual energy that make up chakra must remain in absolute one-to-one-to-one proportion with natural energy…"
"If there's too little natural energy, it's still safe—your body can suppress it."
"But if it's like today—unrestrained—and natural energy completely exceeds your body, then you say goodbye to being human."
Naruto nodded half-understandingly. The memory of that light, carefree feeling from earlier surfaced in his mind.
Thinking of how worried everyone had been for him, he couldn't help shivering.
"So that's why… Yuta's clansmen disappeared."
Naruto murmured to himself. Later he had also heard from Hinata what Yuta said when he almost dissipated.
"Yuta's clansmen could also control the weather, but they couldn't control the amount of natural energy they absorbed, so once an accident happened, they couldn't stop the dissipation…"
"Not bad comprehension." Xuanming closed his eyes again. It seemed Naruto had understood the importance of balance.
"But unfortunately, on my own I still can't sense natural energy."
Naruto shook his head, voicing his current limitation.
The conditions for practicing sage techniques during the day had all relied on Yuta's presence activating the natural energy.
Even ordinary chakra ninjutsu required long training to master.
Sage techniques—whose difficulty was countless times higher—naturally couldn't be achieved overnight.
"Superior people hear the Way and diligently practice it! Keep working hard. Sooner or later you'll sense it with your own ability."
Xuanming offered a word of encouragement.
…
A few calm days passed.
After the "cloud-mist transformation" incident, though everyone still felt lingering fear,
shinobi-world children adapt quickly. They soon returned to their usual laughter and chatter.
The treehouse secret base remained their after-school paradise.
Until one afternoon.
"Naruto! Hurry up!"
Kiba—with Akamaru on his head—jogged toward the back mountain: "I brought jerky from home today—Yuta's definitely starving!"
"Coming, coming!" Naruto walked leisurely behind, hands behind his head, a blade of grass in his mouth.
These past few days Itachi had been staying in the Uchiha compound with no missions, so Sasuke still couldn't be dragged along.
However, when they pushed through the bushes and reached the familiar treehouse,
everyone froze.
Yuta—who usually sensed their arrival ahead of time and would come out whistling to welcome them—showed no sign of activity today.
The treehouse was empty. Only the rustling of wind through leaves could be heard.
"Yuta?"
Ino called tentatively: "Come out already—don't hide. It's not hide-and-seek time yet!"
No response. The surroundings were eerily quiet.
"Something's wrong."
Shikamaru frowned and stepped forward.
"Look here." Shikamaru pointed at the grass under the tree.
In several places where branches had snapped, there were muddy footprints—ones that did not belong to a child.
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