Chapter 72: New Neighbors
Thunk!
Another heavy strike landed.
Naruto woke once more with a painful yelp.
This time, however, Hinata already had experience.
The moment Naruto woke up, she immediately grabbed the ice towel she had prepared beforehand and gently pressed it against the swollen bump on his head, carefully rubbing it.
"Thanks, Hinata."
Naruto sighed as the stars spinning before his eyes gradually disappeared.
"This is way harder than I imagined…"
"Seriously not easy…"
"Naruto-kun, can your legs move this time?"
Hinata carefully massaged the bump she personally created while asking worriedly.
"Hmm…"
Naruto experimentally moved his legs.
"Feels like they still need a little time…"
"Oh…"
The two sat quietly together for a while.
Unlike Hinata—whose thoughts constantly wandered—Naruto's expression looked completely blank.
His eyes unfocused.
He sat there motionlessly like a statue.
"Sorry, Hinata…"
Suddenly Naruto grimaced.
"Can you help lay me down for a bit? I think my legs really went numb this time…"
"And my head feels dizzy too."
"I kinda wanna throw up."
"Ah!"
Hinata immediately panicked.
"Did I hit too hard just now?!"
"No, it probably isn't because of you."
Naruto's expression visibly worsened.
"I think something's wrong with my mental state…"
The next moment, Naruto's spirit visibly deflated.
He looked almost soulless sitting there, frightening Hinata so badly she hurriedly helped him lie down on the bed.
Yet after lying there only briefly, Naruto suddenly regained focus again and curiously examined his own body.
"Naruto-kun…"
Hinata's voice softened with concern.
"Stay here and rest for a while. I'll go get you some water."
"If you still feel bad afterward, I'll immediately go find a doctor."
"Mm, thank you, Hinata."
Naruto nodded gratefully.
"But it's fine. I just need a little rest."
Then he closed his eyes once more and sank back into thought.
Seeing Naruto appear again, Kurama instinctively prepared to throw another mass of natural energy toward him.
Naruto hurriedly waved both hands to stop him and explained his condition.
"Hm…"
Kurama narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"This old man overlooked that."
"Looks like remaining petrified mentally for too long affects your developing brain."
"Although there's no actual danger to your life within the mental world, your mental strength is still too immature due to your age."
"So these side effects can still become dangerous."
"Yeah, it felt really serious."
Naruto hugged his arms while shaking his head.
"For a moment, my brain completely turned blank."
"And both my mind and body stopped belonging to me."
"It felt like my real-world body turned into stone too."
"I couldn't control my thoughts at all."
"And I couldn't control my body either."
"I see."
Kurama thought quietly for a moment before flicking his tails.
"Then that does sound genuinely dangerous."
"Looks like we can't rush things."
"Fine. We'll stop here for today."
"From now on, just train for a short period each day."
"Right now we still haven't even determined how much natural energy your body can safely absorb."
"So there's no point discussing the next stage yet."
Kurama waved his paw dismissively.
"Alright, go back now."
"Don't keep that little girl worrying."
With a flick of Kurama's claw, Naruto's mental form vanished from before him.
"Hm…"
Kurama glanced upward toward Minato's sleeping chakra sphere and muttered quietly.
"Maybe teaching people really isn't that easy after all…"
Thinking about it carefully, Kurama realized he never truly taught Naruto much in the previous timeline.
Most of the time, he simply condensed chakra and handed it over.
Even Baryon Mode just involved burning himself directly…
Don't tell me this old man genuinely has no teaching talent?
Impossible!
Kurama immediately shook his tails violently, tossing that thought completely out of his head.
There was no way he'd admit to having such a flaw.
Meanwhile—
When Naruto reopened his eyes, the familiar ceiling of his room greeted him once more.
After testing his limbs and confirming they had mostly recovered, Naruto finally jumped off the bed.
"Naruto-kun, how are you feeling now?"
"Nothing serious."
Naruto waved casually.
"Just side effects from training."
"I'm mostly fine now."
"Come on, I'll walk you home."
Then he grabbed Hinata's hand and headed toward the door.
"Eh?"
Hinata looked completely bewildered.
"Right now?!"
"Yeah."
Naruto blinked.
"What's wrong? It's already dark— huh?"
Suddenly Naruto sniffed the air.
"Smells amazing!"
His gaze immediately locked onto the two steaming bowls of instant ramen sitting on the table.
Clearly freshly prepared.
"I…"
Hinata shyly looked away.
"I thought you might still be hungry…"
"But we just ate earlier."
Naruto scratched his head.
Still, he quickly stopped caring.
"Then again, this training burns a ton of energy."
"One extra bowl is fine!"
"Can you still finish yours too, Hinata?"
"Mm…"
Hinata answered softly, nearly inaudible.
Night had already deepened.
As pedestrians gradually disappeared from the streets, only the streetlamps still flickered quietly in the darkness.
Beneath one of those lamps stood Neji Hyūga.
He impatiently stomped his feet while staring toward the apartment building ahead.
Naruto and Hinata entered that tiny second-floor room long ago.
Yet neither had come out until now.
The clan isn't reacting at all…
Don't tell me…
Then…
Is there even any point continuing to monitor this place anymore?
Just as Neji's mind wandered into the confusing territory unique to teenage boys—
He suddenly noticed a familiar figure appear beside him.
"Eh?"
The newcomer also noticed him.
The two stared silently at each other.
Eventually, Neji broke the silence first.
"Why are you here?"
"None of your business."
"..."
Neji narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You planning to investigate the secret behind Naruto's strength?"
"Hmph."
Silence fell once more.
After a long while, Neji coughed awkwardly.
Then quietly asked:
"Can I join you?"
"I'm full…"
Naruto rubbed his round stomach while sighing happily.
"If you hadn't made extra ramen, Hinata, I never would've realized how hungry my body actually was."
"This training makes me lose all awareness of my body."
"It's terrifying!"
"I even completely forgot hunger existed!"
"Such dangerous training…"
Hinata handed him tea after the meal while naturally cleaning up the empty ramen containers into a trash bag.
"Naruto-kun, are you still going to continue?"
"Oh, definitely!"
Naruto grinned brightly.
"This is my ultimate trump card!"
"If I master it, it'll be insanely amazing!"
Seeing Naruto's enthusiasm, Hinata also became encouraged.
She picked up the thick wooden club again and declared determinedly:
"Then I'll do my best too!"
The moment Naruto looked at the club, his confident smile instantly became slightly awkward.
"Come on."
"Let's get you home first."
However—
The moment Naruto and Hinata stepped outside—
They both froze upon seeing two completely unexpected figures.
"Sasuke?!"
"Neji-niisan?!"
Naruto and Hinata shouted simultaneously with widened eyes.
Standing before them were Sasuke and Neji.
The two held keys awkwardly while standing outside another apartment room nearby with the expressions of guilty thieves caught red-handed.
Meanwhile, Sasuke and Neji also stared back at Naruto and Hinata with extremely complicated expressions.
"You guys…"
Naruto pointed toward them suspiciously.
Then suddenly a brilliant realization flashed through his mind.
"Wait…"
"Are you two breaking in and picking locks?!"
"What kind of stupid conclusion is that?!"
Sasuke's face instantly darkened.
Clearly prepared beforehand, he coldly explained:
"The village arranged it."
"I'm temporarily staying here for now."
"Eh?"
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