The Ninja Academy library occupied a section of the north wing on the second floor. It was not a particularly large or striking place; a single rectangular room housed several wooden shelves packed with books, their scent of aged paper filling the air. At this hour of the afternoon, only a handful of students were reviewing notes under the silent vigilance of the librarian, an elderly chūnin who looked up for a brief moment when Naruto walked through the door.
Their eyes met for just a second. The man seemed to recognize him almost immediately and, after a brief gesture of discomfort, returned his focus to the logbook in front of him. Naruto paid it no mind. The fewer eyes he attracted, the better.
He had decided to visit the library with a very clear goal in mind. After two weeks of attending the Academy, he already understood that the pace of the classes did not meet his expectations. Most of the time was spent on history, regulations, or elementary theory, while shinobi practice was relegated to the background. If he wanted to grow stronger, he would have to seek knowledge on his own.
He began to walk the aisles calmly, reading the titles one by one. Most of the books dealt with the history of Konoha, the Will of Fire, the deeds of past Hokage, or codes of conduct for future shinobi. Naruto flipped through a few volumes out of simple curiosity before placing them back on the shelves. This was not the kind of information he was looking for.
He continued moving between the shelves until he reached a small section dedicated to first-year students. There, he found several basic manuals related to ninja training. None promised spectacular techniques or hidden secrets, but at the very least, they contained the fundamentals that the Academy had not yet begun to teach.
He grabbed three copies and headed to a secluded table away from the rest of the room. The first explained the basic stances of taijutsu; the second introduced the principles of shuriken throwing; the third was a brief pamphlet on elemental chakra control.
Naruto opened the last one first.
The content was surprisingly straightforward. It explained the general pathway of chakra through the body and proposed a basic exercise to learn how to regulate its flow: keeping a leaf adhered to the forehead using a constant amount of chakra. If the flow was insufficient, the leaf would fall; if it was excessive, it would end up breaking.
It did not seem like a complicated exercise, though Naruto suspected it would be different for him, given that the amount of energy inside him was disproportionately large. If controlling a small amount was already difficult for most people, regulating such a massive volume would likely require far more practice.
Far from discouraged, he carefully memorized every page, paying special attention to the illustrations of the chakra circulation system and the explanations of the exercise. Once he was sure he had retained all the information, he set the pamphlet aside and opened the next book.
The taijutsu manual showed the basic guards used by the Academy. Naruto carefully observed the positioning of the feet, the distribution of weight, and the placement of the hands. They were simple details, but enough to realize he had never punched the correct way. With no one around to correct him, a mirror would have to suffice to compare his movements with the book's illustrations.
The final manual was dedicated to weapons throwing. It explained the proper way to hold a shuriken, the motion of the wrist, and the importance of rotation during the release. It was not knowledge he could master solely by reading, but at least he knew where to start once he obtained his own weapons.
When he finished memorizing the content of the three books, Naruto remained silent for a few seconds, organizing his thoughts.
Naruto finally rose from his seat. He had made sure to memorize what he considered important, and he had also taken a few notes.
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He was now clear on what the first step of his training would be when he returned home.
By the time he returned to his apartment, the sun was beginning to set over the rooftops of Konoha. Naruto left his sandals by the door and, before doing anything else, stepped out onto the small balcony overlooking the street. A tree grew alongside the building, its branches swaying gently in the evening wind. He picked a handful of green leaves and went back inside.
The apartment remained as silent as usual. He placed one of the leaves on the table and stood observing it for a few seconds. He remembered the pamphlet's illustrations and each of its explanations perfectly. In theory, the exercise was simple: release a constant amount of chakra to keep the leaf adhered to the forehead.
Naruto took a slow breath and placed the leaf on his head. He closed his eyes for a moment, attempting to replicate the same chakra flow he had felt during his brief meditation exercises at the Academy.
The leaf fell to the floor almost immediately.
The blonde picked it up without showing the slightest reaction. He did not expect to succeed on the first try.
He placed it on his forehead again and slightly increased the chakra flow.
This time, the leaf remained motionless for barely a fraction of a second before snapping into several pieces, which drifted slowly down to the wooden floor.
Naruto shifted his gaze to the small fragments scattered before him. He remained silent for a few seconds before taking another leaf.
The third attempt ended exactly the same way.
After the fifth, he began to notice a pattern.
When he tried to hold back the chakra too much, the leaf simply fell. On the other hand, when he released a bit more energy, he managed to keep it attached for an instant... before destroying it completely.
"Too much..." he muttered to himself.
He did not try again immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and recalled the drawing of the chakra circulatory system he had seen in the library. He was not looking to uncover any hidden secret; he was simply trying to understand what he was doing wrong.
His problem did not seem to be a lack of control, but rather the massive amount of chakra he was trying to channel into an exercise designed for beginners.
He opened his eyes again and took another leaf.
This time, he made sure not to increase or decrease the flow abruptly. He limited himself to keeping it as stable as possible.
The leaf broke again.
However, Naruto managed to notice a difference.
It had remained attached a bit longer than in the previous attempt.
It was an almost imperceptible change, but enough to confirm he was on the right path.
A faint sense of satisfaction crossed his face before vanishing as quickly as it had arrived. He gathered another leaf from the pile and started over.
That night, the floor of his apartment ended up covered in small green fragments. No single attempt had been enough to complete the exercise, but Naruto felt no frustration. For the first time since he had begun training on his own, he had the certainty that progress depended solely on him.
And that was more than enough to keep trying the next day.
End
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I hope you enjoyed it. If so, don't forget to leave your power stones.
I would also like to clarify that English is not my native language, in case you spot any errors.