"You brat..." Tsunade shook her head helplessly as she watched Naruto's somewhat absurd antics.
Half an hour later, outside the gates of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
The time had finally come to leave the village and set out on a journey alone.
Because Naruto was keeping a low profile this time, only Jiraiya stood outside the village gates to see him off. Before parting, Jiraiya handed Naruto a palm-sized scroll inscribed with special runes.
"Naruto, keep this scroll safe. I prepared it especially for you when I heard you were going out on your own. If you ever find yourself in danger, channel your chakra into the scroll immediately. Remember that."
Seeing the solemn look on Jiraiya's face, Naruto knew the scroll had to be extraordinary. Without saying much, he nodded and tucked the gift safely inside his tunic.
"Well, that's that, Pervy Sage. I'm off to live by my own ninja way!" Striking a heroic pose and patting his chest, Naruto turned, waved to Jiraiya, and then leaped into the dense forest ahead, vanishing after a few rapid bounds.
"Naruto, I expect great things from you when you return from your training." Jiraiya followed along in the same direction for a short distance until they were completely clear of the village and the surroundings were secure, then watched Naruto go with a proud smile on his face.
As a ninja, one must have the resolve to stand on one's own two feet. Seeing how much Naruto had grown filled Jiraiya with a deep sense of satisfaction.
As for Naruto, after leaving the village, he was fully prepared to travel alone and face potential crises at any moment. Furthermore, he had secured a detailed map of the Shinobi World before his departure, ensuring that with this reference, he would not lose his way in this vast world.
Next on the agenda was to put his plan of using the system to boost his strength into action. At this stage, Naruto already possessed two titles: "Size Control Expert" and "Junior Evasion." Although their attributes differed, both had significantly enhanced his power. In particular, the "Junior Evasion" title directly compensated for his previous weaknesses, more than doubling his evasive reflexes.
Currently, the stats for his two titles were as follows:
Size Control Expert Lv.2 (Upgradeable). Attributes: Increases the size and casting speed of Rasengan-series Ninjutsu. Chakra consumption for Rasengan-series Ninjutsu is reduced by 50%, and power is increased by 100%.
— [Art is all about going big!]
Junior Evasion Lv.1 (Upgradeable). Attributes: Grants a primary enhancement to the host's reflexes and movement speed.
— [Fast, and even faster!]
A mere primary enhancement more than doubled his reflexes and speed, and combined with a Rasengan boosted to stage two, he was practically a low-budget Minato. Naruto was thoroughly pleased.
With this, Naruto's strength had taken a massive leap compared to before, raising his expectations for the attributes of upgraded titles even further. To say the least, simply maxing out the Junior Evasion title would likely allow him to roam the Shinobi World with unmatched speed and dominance—an enhancement that was unquestionably a super qualitative leap.
Moreover, the upgraded "Size Control Expert" title no longer amplified just the standard Rasengan, but rather the entire Rasengan series. It looked like researching the Wind Release: Rasengan and Wind Release: Rasenshuriken needed to be put on the schedule as soon as possible.
Based on his knowledge of the original timeline, Naruto knew the entire training process for the Rasenshuriken, which he could easily draw upon when the time came for practical application.
Why not practice right on the road? That actually sounded like a pretty good idea.
With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Naruto darted and leaped through the forest, quickly disappearing without a trace.
Some time later, Naruto finally crossed the forest and arrived at the Valley of the End, the place where his counterpart in the original story had once fought a massive battle with Sasuke.
Here, Naruto leaped up onto the head of the Uchiha Madara statue and sat cross-legged to rest for a moment.
Pulling out a military ration pill to swallow and recover his stamina, Naruto began to attempt his training.
During his journey here, he had already decided to first try infusing wind-nature chakra into the Rasengan to develop the Wind Release: Rasengan, before moving on to master the Rasenshuriken.
Sitting atop the massive statue of Madara and gazing across at the statue of Senju Hashirama opposite him, Naruto adjusted the chakra within his body for a moment, raised his right hand, and instantly formed a Rasengan.
Looking at the advanced Rasengan in his palm—which was nearly twice the size of a standard one—Naruto had no doubts about its destructive power. Just as he attempted to inject wind-nature chakra into the spinning sphere, a system prompt rang out in his mind without warning:
"Congratulations to the host for making your first attempt at self-developed Ninjutsu. You have unlocked the 'Junior Comprehension' title!"
Here it came! The system was back with another new title! This feeling of sudden, pleasant surprise was truly wonderful, and Naruto sincerely hoped it would happen more often.
For now, he put aside the development of the Wind Release: Rasengan, dismissed the Rasengan in his hand, and opened the system interface to examine the freshly forged "Junior Comprehension" title.
Title: Junior Comprehension Lv.1 (Upgradeable)
Attributes: Grants a primary enhancement to the host's mental fortitude and comprehension, allowing the host to better learn and develop Ninjutsu. When researching and learning Ninjutsu, there is a certain probability of triggering the "Divine Enlightenment" effect.
— (Wisdom and comprehension—neither can do without the other!)
Well, another one of those rather vague attribute descriptions, but Naruto was already used to the system's quirks. Just how much of a boost "Junior Comprehension" would actually provide would have to be tested in practice while developing jutsu.
What caught his attention right now was the "Divine Enlightenment" effect that the title could trigger. It sounded rather remarkable, somewhat akin to a state of sudden insight, though the exact trigger probability remained unknown.
Of course, since it was still an unupgraded junior title, Naruto could only pray that the trigger rate for "Divine Enlightenment" wouldn't be too abysmally low.
Opening the system title log, three titles were now hanging there, looking quite respectable. After basking in a brief moment of self-satisfaction, Naruto reined in his focus and once again attempted to inject wind-nature chakra into the Rasengan.
This time, aided by the system's primary boost to his comprehension, Naruto felt as though his brain had suddenly been enlightened compared to before. A refreshing clarity washed over his entire mind. Although it was only his first attempt at blending wind-nature chakra into the Rasengan—a delicate process requiring precise chakra ratios without the slightest margin of error—it now felt surprisingly natural and effortless to him.
This, he supposed, was what they called being a genius.