Chapter 4 Remembering the Past

Naruto suddenly woke up from his sleep, as if a fire was burning in his chest and surging electricity was running through his blood.

He knew that the Nine-Tailed Fox had kept its promise and that it was going to start training him to become a true ninja.

He looked down at his hands, an excited smile appeared on the corners of his mouth, and he clenched his fists.

The Nine-Tailed Fox had warned him that this road would be full of hardships, would require him to make great efforts, and would even make him experience unprecedented pain. But instead of making him retreat, this made him even more excited.

He had always dreamed of becoming a powerful ninja, and now, his dream was finally going to come true.

In order to realize this dream, he is willing to pay any price, including blood, sweat, and even tears.

"Are we going to start training now?" he asked impatiently. He was too excited to sleep.

"Now? It's not even three in the morning." The Nine-Tails' voice was full of dissatisfaction, and Naruto could even feel its sleepiness when it forced its eyes open.

"Please?"

Kyuubi snorted in dissatisfaction, but finally agreed to his request.

"We can start with some simple training," it said.

"Training can be easy?" Naruto couldn't believe it.

"That depends on what kind of training it is." Kyuubi's tone was a little cunning, "For example, some training that tests patience."

"Hey!" Naruto protested unhappily, thinking the Nine-Tails was mocking his lack of patience. However, the Nine-Tails ignored his protest.

"Remember when I told you we had to start with the basics?"

"Remember." Naruto nodded, but he was still a little confused. He originally thought that the Nine-Tailed Fox was referring to those basic ninjutsu.

"Real strength does not come from those fancy ninjutsu, but from the most basic life skills, the things your parents should have taught you."

"life skill?"

Kyuubi was silent for a moment, then said slowly:

"For example, how to cook and how to clean."

"What? Cooking? Cleaning? What does this have to do with being a ninja?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Don't underestimate any seemingly insignificant thing." Jiuwei explained patiently, "Cooking skills can also be used to prepare poisons, and a clean and tidy room can make you more calm in battle."

Naruto was stunned, he had never thought that those seemingly ordinary trivialities in life could contain such profound truths.

"I never thought about that."

"The reason why ninjas are so powerful is that they can turn any skill into their advantage. Oftentimes, whether something is good or bad depends on how you use it."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully as he jumped off the bed and looked around.

"So what do we do now?"

"Clothes, start with your clothes."

"What happened to my clothes?"

"You'll know for yourself when you see it."

Naruto reluctantly walked over to his closet and opened the door, looking at the wrinkled orange tracksuits inside and immediately lowered his head in shame.

The clothes were covered in dirt and blood, and were tattered, as if they had been torn by wild beasts.

"Damn..." He couldn't help complaining. He had no idea how to mend these torn clothes.

"It's hopeless." Kyuubi said mercilessly, "Do you have clothes of other colors?"

"What happened to Orange?"

"Nothing, just too conspicuous."

"Oh I see."

"Replace them all."

"what why?"

Kyuubi sighed helplessly and said:

"You want to be a ninja, right? A ninja's clothes must be able to blend in with the surrounding environment and facilitate movement. The clothes you're wearing now will only make you a sitting duck for your enemies."

Naruto picked up one of his favorite orange tracksuits and looked longingly at the red swirl pattern on the back.

"Ok."

He felt Kyuubi's eyes suddenly fall on the pattern.

"Boy, do you know what that pattern means?"

Naruto shook his head.

"I don't know, I just think it looks nice, and I've seen this pattern on many jonin's clothes, what's wrong?"

"That is the symbol of the Uzumaki clan."

"Uzumaki clan?"

"Yes, the Uzumaki clan. They are a powerful ninja family from the Land of Whirlpools. Your mother is from this family."

"My mother...wait, you said I have a family?!"

Kyuubi's voice suddenly became deeper.

"not quite."

Naruto realized that the Kyuubi had something to say, so he sat cross-legged on the ground and listened quietly.

"The Land of Whirlpools was once an ally of the Land of Fire. The two countries had a very close relationship. Uzumaki Mito married the first Hokage of Konoha Village, Senju Hashirama."

"Is that the man with long hair and sad eyes on the monument?"

"Yes, that's him."

"I once drew a big snot bubble on his face."

Kyuubi couldn't help but laugh.

"Haha! I knew you would like him. That guy is a complete idiot."

Naruto was very happy to hear the Nine-Tails praising him. He even forgot that he had been scolded by Teacher Iruka for two hours because of this.

"What about Mito? Who is she?"

A flash of reminiscence flashed across Kyuubi's eyes.

"She was my first Jinchūriki, and a powerful Uzumaki ninja. Just like you, and like your mother." There was a hint of sadness in its tone, "She was the head of the Uzumaki clan when she was still alive."

"And then what happened? What happened?"

"During the Third Shinobi World War, the Whirlpool Country was destroyed by the enemy, and the Uzumaki Clan perished as well." Kyuubi's voice was low and sad. "Mito was heartbroken when he heard the news, and finally died of depression."

"Then why did she leave the Whirlpool Kingdom?"

"Because she became the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki." The Nine-Tails explained, "The Jinchuriki is the ultimate weapon of each ninja village. In order to maintain the balance of power between the five major ninja villages, each Jinchuriki must stay in his own village. The Sand Village and Konoha Village each have only one Jinchuriki, but the other villages have at least two Jinchuriki."

Naruto suddenly realized a problem, and he silently calculated in his mind. Konoha Village and Sand Village each have one tailed beast, Kumogakure Village, Thunder Village, and Rock Village each have two, adding up to a total of eight... "Wait, then there are only eight tailed beasts?"

Kyuubi snorted.

"Well, technically, it's in Takigakure Village, along with my brother Shigeaki. But don't ask me how it got there, I have no idea either."