Reincarnation into the world of Naruto with the system

Receiving a nod from Kiba, Naruto headed for the exit. I quickly fell in step beside him—staying here was definitely not an option for me.

We walked in silence until we reached the edge of the district. I was just about to open my mouth to scold Naruto for his reckless behavior—judging by Hana's face, she was about to back me up—but before we could say a word, two members of the Inuzuka clan intercepted us.

"Please, wait, Uzumaki-san, Yamanaka-san, Hana-dono. We are here to provide assistance. Uzumaki-san, please lay Hana-dono on a flat surface. She needs immediate medical attention. My colleague will tend to you."—spoke a middle-aged man, surprisingly polite for an Inuzuka.

"Tsume-san sent you, didn't she?"—Naruto asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"No."

He was lying—I could tell for sure. And judging by Naruto's eyes, he had realized it too. How, I had no idea. My father had taught me a little about reading people, but Naruto? Where had he learned? As for Hana, there was no telling—her face was contorted with pain from her injuries, drowning out all other emotions.

After a brief pause, Naruto, surprisingly, didn't act stubborn or refuse help. That was unexpected for a clanless kid with no proper upbringing at our age… Honestly, if I had been in his place, I might have let my emotions get the better of me.

Instead, he laid Hana down on the cleared patch of ground the medic-nin had prepared and allowed himself to be examined as well.

"Uzumaki-san, I recommend you go to the hospital. The bone in your left arm is fractured. I'll patch it up as best I can, but you should see more qualified specialists."—the shinobi conducting the diagnosis spoke almost immediately.

Wait—what happened to Naruto?!

"No need. Just set it as best you can and numb the pain if possible. The rest will heal on its own in a couple of days… it always does."—Naruto scoffed, for a moment taking on the tone and expression of Sasuke.

Yeah, at that moment, I wanted to punch him in the face just as much as I did Sasuke! But I'm a girl—I had to restrain myself.

One hour and ten minutes earlier

"And that's about it."—Naruto spread his arms—one of which was completely wrapped in bandages.

Yugao's eye twitched.

Sure, she was glad her student had returned—but not with this much drama and not in this condition.

Hana stood off to the side, avoiding eye contact… looking very much like a mummy. They really hadn't skimped on the bandages for her.

Hitomi didn't care about the situation. Ever since meeting Naruto, she had stopped reacting to external irritants, simply performing her tasks mechanically while staring at the blonde's bandaged arm as if mesmerized. Only her flaring nostrils betrayed the thoughts swirling in the mind of the "single mother."

Kiba… he didn't care about the situation, the awkwardness, or anything else!

He was cursing himself for agreeing to help and praying to every god he could think of that someone—anyone—would take at least some of the luggage he was forced to carry.

No, Naruto himself didn't have many belongings, and Hitomi carried all of hers on her own.

But the poor guy had also been saddled with carrying his sister's stuff.

After this incident, Naruto would later find an interesting status in Kiba's profile: "Shopping is evil!"—and for a long time, he would keep teasing his friend, saying that Kiba would start walking faster whenever he saw stores selling women's accessories.

Fifty Minutes Before Present Time

Once we had settled everything—though it took quite a while to decide who would sleep where—we finally started organizing our sleeping arrangements. As everyone remembered, there were only three beds. I offered to take the futon instead of a bed, but my suggestion was immediately rejected.

Since I was injured (honestly, they were making a mountain out of a molehill), my bed was given to me without question. The same went for Hana.

Hitomi's attempts to stay in the same room as me were met with outright hostility from Hana, who looked at her like she was some kind of pervert.

Interesting. Was there something I didn't know?

Hana then suggested squeezing in with me instead, but Hitomi fiercely rejected the idea. Yugao wasn't even considered an option—they simply refused to let her in. Not that she insisted. In the end, though, she became the compromise… and my shield against this weird duo.

And the moment I lay down on the bed, I found myself here… in my subconscious.

At least my arm was fine here, so that was a relief.

After wandering around for what felt like two hours (subjective time) through these damn and endlessly confusing tunnels that all looked the same, I came to a conclusion—I would never take on a mission outside the village without a sensor-type ninja as a partner!

I didn't need this kind of wandering!

Sure, I hoped this issue was only happening in these cloned, monotonous, maze-like tunnels, but I had to be prepared for anything! Including the possibility of getting lost in a forest!

What if I wandered off and only then realized I had the Bad Sense of Direction skill?

Speaking of the system… After what happened, I was genuinely afraid to check my reputation with the Inuzuka clan—especially with Tsume and Hana. No way. After my heroic stunt, I didn't even want to think about it.

Damn, I really lost control there. The Kyūbi's chakra penalties to intelligence were no joke!

Reaching the cage, I still couldn't see the Fox in the darkness. Not even a glimpse of its glowing eyes or anything else.

Was it even there?

Maybe it was just a mass of chakra with pre-recorded lines, and my father had sealed everything else away?

Well, it wouldn't be the first time canon was inaccurate here. Not all my knowledge was completely reliable… or maybe I just remembered it poorly.

Either way, I had already caused enough changes.

With my heart pounding, I stepped past the bars and… nothing happened.

Walking forward a little, I bumped into one of the Nine-Tails' massive paws.

I barely managed to stop my heart from escaping my chest before it ran somewhere indecent.

Taking a few slow steps, I circled the Fox, who was curled up and lightly snoring.

I couldn't help but notice that, despite its massive size, the cage was definitely too small for it.

I didn't dare touch the Fox itself, but I did test the bars—solid. Then I dipped my hand into the water on the floor.

"It's warm. Well, at least that's some comfort."—I shrugged.

And then, with growing horror, I realized—I had said that out loud.

"Mm-hm, for Mito, it was ice-cold…"

KYAA!

Have you ever seen a giant fox jump back in shock?

I have.

"What are you doing here?!"—the Fox growled, still shaken.

"I've been here from the very start!"—the response slipped out automatically.

And at that moment, something clicked in the Fox's mind.

"DIE!"

Now I'm lying outside the cage, quietly laughing nervously and trying to forget the last ninety seconds of my life.

And the eleven times I almost died.

Instead, I just stared blankly at the message in front of me.

New Training Method Unlocked!

Agility Training.

Difficulty Level: Nine-Tailed Fox!

You were such an idiot (only 12 more dumb actions until you unlock the "Oh, Idiot" title) that you thought it was a good idea to enter your tenant's cage.

Training develops the player. Greater development comes from more difficult training.

Combat increases stats even more.

This type of training is classified as one of the hardest, even more difficult than most battles.

It would count as a fight… if you had any way of attacking besides annoying your opponent to death.

Your agility growth when dodging the Fox's attacks is 6 times faster than in the hardest normal training!

But remember—if you get hit, you won't just die.

Your soul will take damage—damage that even reincarnation cannot fully repair!

Agility increase when dodging Kyūbi's paws: 1 ×6 +5

Agility increase when dodging Kyūbi's tails: 1 ×6 +10

Agility increase when dodging Kyūbi's fangs: 1 ×6 +5

Agility increase when dodging Kyūbi's Bijūdama: 10 ×6 +10

Agility increase when dodging Kyūbi's fire breath: 1 ×6 +15

Trolling during this process: Priceless.

"Yeah, yeah, that's all amazing, but I'd rather not experience that kind of fun again!"—I groaned.

"Almost died… eleven times!

"But I could use some chakra to heal up…"

Sighing, I started experimenting for half an hour, trying to siphon some chakra from the bars.

The smug bastard grinning at me from inside the cage was not helping.

And in the end?

Nothing.

I couldn't pull so much as a drop from the seal.

Frustrating.

I didn't want to beg for chakra, either.

And besides, that wouldn't help me build a proper relationship with the Fox.

"Ha-ha! You look pathetic!"—came a mocking voice from inside the cage.

…Did I say I wanted to get along with this arrogant prick?

Screw that!

"Says the creature that gets enslaved by every second Mangekyō Sharingan user!"—I shot back in the same tone.

"GO TO HELL!"—the Fox snapped and turned its nine-tailed backside to me.

"Fine. I will."

Present Time

Sigh. Yeah, I really messed up.

Even the system agreed—just 12 more dumb actions unt

il I unlocked the "Oh, Idiot" title.

At the start of the day, it was 16!

Screw it.

Right now, I just needed to sleep.

I'd deal with my problems as they came.