"Ultimate Rookie" — this was clearly an introductory title. Just looking at the "upgradeable" tag marked right after the title's name, Naruto already understood it thoroughly. Even though it was only an introductory title, the performance boost it gave Naruto was already quite substantial.
Optimizing the release method and casting speed of the Rasengan went without saying; this would greatly enhance Naruto's flexibility and mobility in combat. As for the attributes of reducing Chakra consumption and boosting power, they significantly improved Naruto's endurance.
Although Naruto's own Chakra reserve could be called massive, a 50% reduction in Chakra consumption directly halved the amount of Chakra Naruto used when casting the Rasengan. Coupled with a simultaneous 50% boost in power, this instantly turned Naruto into a mobile artillery platform. Paired with the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, it was simply a Rasengan bomber even more terrifying than the one in the original story!
Just a primary title alone could give Naruto such a huge boost. Although this title only optimized a single Ninjutsu—the Rasengan—it had already filled Naruto with boundless anticipation for the Supreme Title System he had acquired.
Just thinking about the strength boosts that potentially powerful titles in the future might bring him made Naruto's blood boil with excitement. But for now, he needed to calm down and carefully study his newly acquired system.
After all, Naruto still had no idea how to upgrade titles or unlock and acquire new ones from this point forward.
***
And just like that, three days passed.
Unlike three days ago, Naruto had been moved to a new hospital room. As for his original room, repairing the hole in the wall would still take some time...
As the three days passed, Naruto became a bit more familiar with the Supreme Title System he had acquired. However, actually wanting to grow stronger by unlocking and upgrading titles through the system would have to wait until he was completely recovered from all his injuries.
"Thud, thud, thud." On this day, as Naruto was lying bored on his hospital bed, the door to his room was suddenly knocked.
"Come in." Not knowing who it was, Naruto subconsciously called out.
The next moment, the door was pushed open, and an uncle wearing white clothes and a hat with the word "Ichiraku" written on it walked in, carrying a wooden food box in his hand.
"Teuchi (Uncle Ichiraku)?" Seeing this middle-aged uncle, Naruto was stunned at first, and then a somewhat hypnotic voice inexplicably surfaced in his mind:
"Hello, delivering takeout."
While Naruto was still in a daze, Teuchi (Uncle Ichiraku) had already walked over. He placed the wooden food box in his hand onto the bedside table and smiled, saying, "Naruto, how are your injuries recovering these days? I specifically brought your favorite ramen to come see you. As a side note, today's ramen is a deluxe supreme edition, oh!"
As a regular customer of Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto and Teuchi (Uncle Ichiraku) were old acquaintances. Learning that Naruto was seriously injured, Teuchi (Uncle Ichiraku) had deliberately brought ramen to visit him.
Just yesterday, the person who brought Naruto his meal was Umino Iruka.
And the day before that, the person who came to visit Naruto was Hinata. But that little girl had been very shy; she simply put down the bento she brought for Naruto and ran away.
Looking at Teuchi (Uncle Ichiraku) now, Naruto snapped out of his brief daze. He looked at the ramen Teuchi (Uncle Ichiraku) had brought him, not knowing what to say. Since his stomach happened to be a little empty, he simply dug right in.
After a whirlwind of devouring, Naruto patted his belly with satisfaction and said to Teuchi (Uncle Ichiraku), "Thank you, Teuchi (Uncle Ichiraku), you really are a good guy."
"Remember to come eat ramen a few more times after you heal up. I'll make sure to add extra toppings for you specially then." Seeing that Naruto was in such good spirits, Teuchi (Uncle Ichiraku) set his mind at ease, picked up the empty food box, and prepared to leave. But as he reached the door, Teuchi (Uncle Ichiraku) suddenly turned back, looked at Naruto, and said, "Naruto, you must make sure to recover quickly."
Hearing this, Naruto nodded, gave Teuchi (Uncle Ichiraku) a thumbs-up, and flashed a confident and powerful smile: "Don't worry, Uncle, dattebayo!"
***
Days recuperating in the hospital were dry and tedious. Fortunately, thanks to Naruto's own formidable healing ability, within just a few days most of his injuries were more or less healed. When he finally bid farewell to the Village Hidden in the Leaves Hospital and stepped out onto the streets of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Naruto couldn't help but greedily take a deep breath. Ah... the outside air really was fresher.
Today was sunny and cloudless—truly a good day for discharge.
With his hands behind his back, Naruto began to stroll leisurely down the street. However, before he had walked more than a few steps, a short figure came running over and blocked his path.
"Big Brother Naruto, so you've already been discharged! I was actually thinking of coming to the hospital to see you," Konohamaru said brashly, blocking Naruto's path while wearing goggles and flashing a smile missing an upper tooth.
"Oh, it's Konohamaru." Naruto looked up and down at the Konohamaru before him and nodded.
This kid seemed even shorter than he looked in the anime.
Previously, he could only experience the charm of the Hokage through a screen, but now he could personally experience everything around him. This feeling was impossible to describe with simple words. One could say that Naruto was filled with endless, boundless novelty toward everything he saw before him in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
As for Konohamaru right in front of him, Naruto chose to selectively ignore him.
Seeing that Naruto didn't seem to be paying attention to him, Konohamaru didn't mind at all and continued on his own, saying, "Big Brother Naruto, to celebrate your discharge, let me treat you to ramen today!"
"Yeah," Naruto replied symbolically.
Then, after falling silent for a moment, Konohamaru suddenly spoke up with some excitement: "Hey, Big Brother Naruto, can you still teach me Ninjutsu? I want to learn some even more powerful Ninjutsu, koleh!"
Konohamaru's words suddenly drew Naruto's attention back. For some reason, Naruto gave a sudden shudder as the terrifying memory of being dominated by Konohamaru in the duel arena flashed inexplicably through his mind.
After a long while, shaking those cursed mental images of Konohamaru out of his head, Naruto suddenly reached out and patted Konohamaru's shoulder, saying earnestly, "Konohamaru, you can't rely too much on others. If you want to become stronger, you ultimately have to rely on yourself. Only then can you figure out your own Ninja Way."
After delivering this ambiguous speech, Naruto withdrew his encouraging gaze from Konohamaru, turned around, and walked away, leaving Konohamaru standing all alone to ponder the "way to become stronger" that Naruto had imparted to him.
"Big Brother Naruto is truly powerful; even the things he says are so profound and unfathomable."
Listening to Konohamaru's muttered words gradually fade away from behind him, Naruto thought to himself, "Sorry, Konohamaru, so you don't turn out so cursed, I simply cannot teach you the Rasengan."