Naruto had to admit: the training was brutal. The spirit inside him, Indra, wasn't going to let him catch a breath. Everyday past was another torture to his body. But there was a bright side: thanks to the Transformation jutsu, he managed to buy stuff with a regular human's price. And the Shadow Clones helped him speed up the process. Naruto knew that Indra was a spirit from the past, so he must have known the Forbidden Jutsus. His schedule was simple: wake up, eat breakfast, go to the Training Ground for a brutal torture, light lunch, another torture, passed out, woke up when it was at night, got home, dinner, and bedtime. However, he had to sat down and listen to Indra pointing out his mistakes. Eventually, an year had passed, and Naruto had grown stronger. It was his first day at the Academy, where he had the chance to prove himself to everyone.
He tried to stay low profile during the class. At least, that's what Indra forced him to do after Naruto sensed some mechanical, soulless chakra watching him.
The hidden watchers-the Anbu and Danzo's ROOT agents-were constantly scanning the room, but Naruto's chakra signature remained completely flat and uninteresting. Under Indra's strict instruction, Naruto suppressed his natural reserves, making himself look like just another average, uninspired orphan sitting near the back of the classroom.
"Do not draw their attention," Indra's voice resonated inside Naruto's mind, cold and calculating. "The fools in this village fear what they do not understand, and those watching from the shadows look only for weapons to control. Let them think you are weak."
Naruto suppressed a faint sigh, leaning his chin against his palm as Iruka Umino babbled on at the front of the room about the history of the Will of Fire. Across the room, Naruto noticed Sasuke Uchiha sitting silently by the window, brooding under the admiring gazes of the class.
'He looks so lonely,' Naruto thought, watching Sasuke. 'Just like I was.'
"Do not waste your sympathy on my descendant," Indra's tone sharpened, carrying a hint of old resentment. "The Uchiha of this era are hollow shells of what we once were, blind to true strength. Focus on your own control."
When the practical portion of the day arrived at the outdoor training field, Iruka called the students down for target throwing and basic taijutsu spars. Naruto deliberately threw his shuriken wide, landing them near the outer ring of the targets-just enough to pass without drawing a second glance from the Anbu perched high in the surrounding trees.
Then came the sparring matches.
"Next match: Naruto Uzumaki versus Kiba Inuzuka!" Iruka announced, holding a clipboard.
Kiba stepped forward with Akamaru resting on his head, grinning arrogantly as he cracked his knuckles. "Don't cry if I knock you out right away, dead-last!"
Inside the mindscape, Indra lowered his head slightly, his Sharingan glowing with a quiet, lethal intensity. "Show him a fraction of precision, Naruto. No wasted motion. No flashy tricks."
Naruto stepped into the ring and bowed calmly, his eyes entirely devoid of the hot-headed anger he used to carry.
"Ready, and fight!"
The two kids then clashed at each other. During the fight, Naruto allowed himself to take some hits, and made more sloppy movements. But the sequences of the movements, they were absurdly perfect. The Root Operatives watching from above, their minds were fooled instantly by the act. After all, their minds were too mechanic, lack of any attachment to even notice this. Eventually, Naruto's play was complete when he won in a way that most of the students thought it was luck.
"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka announced as Naruto sat on the ground, pretending to pant heavily. His body was full of bruises from Kiba's hits.
"Consider this your endurance test, Naruto." Indra said coldly in his mind.
"Seriously?" Naruto groaned internally hearing this as he stood up.
Naruto limped back toward the crowd of students, wiping a smear of dust from his cheek. To Kiba, who was sulking nearby while muttering excuses about a slippery footing, it had been an embarrassing fluke. To the ROOT operatives hidden in the foliage above, it was merely an unrefined boy using crude instincts to scramble into a lucky win.
Only Indra, watching through Naruto's eyes from the depths of the mindscape, appreciated the sheer elegance of the performance.
"Pain is an effective teacher," Indra's voice echoed calmly as Naruto sat against the wooden fence. "By allowing his strikes to land, you forced your body to absorb kinetic impact while keeping your internal chakra network entirely guarded. You feigned exhaustion while barely expending a fraction of your reserve. A sloppy victory is far more dangerous to your enemies than a flawless one."
"Yeah, well, my ribs still ache," Naruto muttered under his breath, leaning back and closing his eyes to hide the faint blue glow of Kurama's chakra silently mending his bruises beneath the skin.
Across the field, Sasuke stood with his arms crossed, staring intensely at Naruto. Unlike the ROOT agents whose cold logic sought only obvious threats, Sasuke's sharp Uchiha instincts felt a strange, inexplicable twitch of friction. Something about Naruto's footing during that final counter-thrust hadn't looked like luck at all-it looked terrifyingly familiar, like an ancient stance carved into the foundation of taijutsu itself.
Inside the sewer, Kurama opened one massive eye, letting out a low, rumbling huff that stirred the water.
"The kid plays a convincing fool," the Nine-Tails growled quietly to himself. "He carries your cold patience, Indra... but that soft heart of his is going to get him killed the moment someone sees through the charade."
For the rest of the day, Naruto remained distant from the others. It was another boring day for him. But little did he know, dangerous was about to occur in his life.
In the Root headquarters...
"Report." Danzo shouted as the squad observing Naruto returned to the headquarters.
"Sir, we have the reports on what happened today with Naruto Uzumaki." A Root Anbu said as they handed the recording. Danzo opened the tape and narrowed his eyebrows slightly.
"Interesting." Danzo commented. "That boy is more formidable than I expected."
The moment Danzo observed Naruto's match against Kiba, he quickly noted something that a typical Root Operative didn't. "That boy was pretending to be a fool. That must mean he knows of our existence. But the real question is: how?"
Then, an idea came into his mind.
Danzo: "Contact Sai to me. I have a mission for him."
"Yes, sir." The Root Anbu then disappeared with a swift Shunshin.
Danzo: (in thought) "You might play the fool to my weapons, but you can't fool me, boy. Let's see how far you can play your silly little game."