Konoha was healing, its streets bustling with repairs, but Naruto felt like a stranger. He helped carry supplies, his grin wide as he joked with kids—"Future world's greatest ninja, right here!"—but his heart was elsewhere. The village was a stepping stone, a place to grow strong before he left its lies behind. Sasuke's defection, the Sound Four's power, Orochimaru's taunts—they all showed him the world was vast, dangerous, and full of secrets Konoha couldn't hide. He'd roam it, find the truth about the Fourth, about himself, but only with power.Training with Jiraiya was grueling: mornings refining the Rasengan, afternoons summoning toads, evenings sparring with clones. "You've got the Fourth's spirit," Jiraiya said, his tone heavy. Naruto's grin stayed—"Yeah, I'm awesome like him!"—but his distrust spiked. Jiraiya knew why the Fourth chose him, but he wasn't talking. Naruto didn't ask, keeping his facade tight. Questions were weakness; power was strength.At night, he studied the Scroll of Sealing, its notes on Tailed Beast seals maddeningly complex. He summoned clones to test theories, their numbers growing to four thousand, a force no one could ignore. The Nine-Tails' chakra was steadier now, a red pulse he could hold for minutes. "I'm close," he whispered, his grin gone in the dark. Sasuke's Chidori had nearly killed him, but it had also shown him what he needed: more power, more control, to stand alone in a world that saw him as a monster.Tsunade called him to a mission briefing, her eyes sharp. "Konoha needs you, Naruto. Stay focused." He laughed—"I'm always focused, Granny!"—but her words meant nothing. Konoha didn't own him. He'd stay, train, grow, but only until he was strong enough to leave. The world was waiting, and he'd walk it alone, a ninja with no village, no bonds, only the power to demand the truth.
