Ayame walked up the stairs to Naruto's apartment, a bag of groceries in her hand and a mix of amusement and exasperation on her face. I wonder if Naruto actually finished that milk I bought him last week. Or if it's still sitting there, curdling, she thought with a sigh.

She and her father, Teuchi, had taken it upon themselves to check on Naruto now and then. It started a few years ago, when the boy proudly bragged about how he had stocked an entire cupboard full of cup ramen. That revelation led to some very concerned glances between Ayame and her father.

Thank you so much, Hokage-sama, Ayame sarcastically thought as she climbed the last few steps. What genius thought giving a kid free pocket money with no guidance was a good idea? Of course, he spent it all on ramen. Not that she was against ramen—she worked at a ramen shop, after all—but even she knew Naruto needed a more balanced diet.

"I swear, if I find nothing but cup ramen again…" she muttered under her breath as she reached his door.

Pausing, she heard the unmistakable sound of chaos coming from inside. Something—or someone—was running around, crashing into things. She frowned, her hand hovering over the spare key she always carried for emergencies.

"Please don't let it be another failed attempt at cleaning…" she murmured, sliding the key into the lock.

She opened the door, and what she saw nearly made her drop the groceries.

The entire apartment was a mess. Furniture was askew, laundry was piled everywhere, and Naruto was running in circles, chasing what looked like a… lizard?

"What the—?"

Naruto spun toward her, the lizard slipping through his fingers as it bolted across the floor and ran straight between Ayame's legs.

A gust of wind later, Ayame blinked and found Naruto standing behind her, holding the wriggling creature aloft like some sort of bizarre trophy.

"Finally caught you, you little bastard."

"Naruto," Ayame said, still trying to process what she was seeing. "What is that?"

"Oh, this?" Naruto grinned wider. "It's my new pet! Isn't it adorable?"

Adorable was not the word Ayame would use. The lizard, which had six spindly legs and a large, jagged crystal growing out of its back, glared at her with its beady eyes as it wriggled in Naruto's grip.

Ayame blinked, then pinched herself. Nope, she wasn't dreaming. This was real. "Is this a… Shinobi thing?" she asked weakly, gesturing at the creature.

"Sure, whatever you say, Neechan," Naruto replied, already walking back into the apartment.

Still in a daze, Ayame stepped inside and put the groceries down, surveying the chaos. "Naruto, what happened in here?"

Naruto shrugged. "Crystal lizard happened. It's fast, and it hides."

Ayame sighed as she started gathering Naruto's clothes from the floor, tossing socks, shirts, and what she hoped weren't month-old boxers into a growing pile. Then, with a resigned groan, she walked into the bathroom and returned with an overflowing laundry basket.

Naruto watched her with wide eyes, still holding the squirming crystal lizard in his hands. "Neechan, what are you doing?"

"Well, Naruto," Ayame said, dropping the basket with a thud, "the lizard in your hands looks like it's about one hiss away from biting your face off. So, I'm making it a safe place to hide."

Naruto tilted his head. "Safe place?"

Without a word, Ayame gestured to the pile of laundry, which now looked more like a small mountain. Naruto frowned but decided to trust her. Gently, he released the lizard, which immediately bolted to the pile, paused for a moment as if inspecting its new home, then burrowed into the clothes like it was digging through dirt.

"Wow, you're a genius!"

Ayame didn't respond, too busy staring at the sheer size of the laundry pile. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Naruto, why do you have so much laundry? Have you even washed any of these?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I was waiting for rain. You know, natural cleaning. It's free!"

"Rain?! Naruto, you can't just leave your clothes outside and hope nature does your chores for you!"

"Why not? It works on my plants."

Ayame sighed, shaking her head. "At least you're taking care of the plants. I'll give you that."

Naruto puffed out his chest, looking smug. "See? I'm doing great!"

"You're doing something," Ayame muttered, tossing another pair of socks into the pile.

"No one is perfect, Neechan."

"It's not about being perfect, Naruto. It's about doing what you can. You're a ninja now—you need to start being more responsible."

"Responsible?" Naruto huffed and raised his hands defensively. "I'm trying!"

Ayame raised her fist threateningly, her eyes narrowing in mock warning. Naruto immediately threw his hands up. "Wait, wait! Mercy! I'm just a clone!"

"A clone?"

Naruto gave her a quick explanation about shadow clones, and Ayame nodded slowly, absorbing the information. "So… how long have you had this pet of yours?"

"Only a few hours," Naruto replied, his voice taking on a defensive tone. "I found it injured, and I healed it. So now it's mine."

"That's nice," Ayame said, placing her hands on her hips, "but you decided that just because you healed it, it's your pet?"

"Well, yeah!" Naruto grumbled. "I always wanted a pet, but Jiji never let me. Something about how I wasn't responsible enough or whatever."

Ayame swept her arm dramatically, motioning to the mess of his apartment. "Gee, I wonder why he thought that?"

"You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I am on your side," Ayame said, rubbing his hair affectionately, "but you have to admit, you're not exactly the poster boy for responsibility."

Naruto looked down, his cheeks puffing out in mild frustration. Ayame softened her tone. "Look, you have a pet now. That means you have to step up. No more excuses, okay?"

Naruto gave a reluctant nod. "Okay…"

"Good," Ayame said. "Now, what's your plan for taking care of it?"

"Plan?" Naruto blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Ayame said, counting on her fingers, "what are you going to feed it? Where's it going to sleep? How are you going to get it to trust you? What happens if it gets sick? Do you even know if it's a boy or a girl?"

Naruto's head spun at the barrage of questions, his brain struggling to keep up. "Uh… uh…"

Ayame sighed and headed to the kitchen.

Naruto watched her, still trying to process everything. "Neechan, you know a lot about this stuff."

"Of course I do!" Ayame called back. "I wanted a pet snake when I was younger, but Dad said no."

"A snake?" Naruto asked, tilting his head. "Why didn't he let you?"

Ayame came back with a bowl of diced vegetables and bits of meat.

"Well… apparently, snakes have a bad reputation. Something about a really strong ninja who used snakes and then turned traitor. Ever since then, snakes are seen as bad omens in the village."

Naruto frowned. "Wait, so people used to keep pet snakes?"

"Oh, yeah. They were super popular because of that ninja, actually. But after what happened… not so much."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Guess that makes sense," Naruto said thoughtfully.

They crouched by the laundry pile, Ayame carefully scooping a spoonful of the food she'd prepared. She made soft, coaxing noises as she held the spoon near the pile.

The crystal lizard poked its head out, tilting it curiously at the food. It inched forward cautiously, sniffing the spoon.

And then it bit Ayame's finger.

"AAAHHH!" Ayame yelped, dropping the spoon as the lizard snatched it up and scurried back into the pile.

Naruto burst out laughing, clutching his sides. "Neechan, you just got bitten by a girl!"

"Wait, it's a girl?" Ayame asked, shaking her hand.

"Yeah! Didn't see any balls, so…"

Ayame gave him a deadpan look. "Naruto… you're a goddamn idiot."

"A responsible idiot," Naruto shot back, grinning.

Ayame sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she muttered under her breath. "The things I put up with for this boy…" Her grumbling trailed off when the distinct crunch of metal being chewed drew her attention to the laundry pile.

"Naruto," she said, "what exactly is that lizard?"

Naruto, who was busily folding a towel in the most haphazard way possible, glanced up. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Nope," Naruto replied cheerfully.

"Naruto, what do you know?"

"That I'm awesome."

----------------------------------------

The original Naruto was facing his greatest challenge yet—a written exam.

For six grueling hours, he sat at the training ground, hunched over a test paper Kakashi had personally designed. The stakes? If Naruto scored higher than Sasuke and Sakura, he'd finally get the jutsu Kakashi promised him. But this wasn't just any test—it was a ninja's nightmare. Questions about physics, biology, geography, and strategy filled every inch of the paper.

Naruto groaned, tapping his pencil against the desk Kakashi had set up just for him. "Why do I even need to calculate the trajectory of a kunai?! I just throw it and hope for the best!"

Kakashi, lounging in the shade with his ever-present orange book, glanced up lazily. "Well, imagine you're on a mission, Naruto. The success of a sneak attack depends entirely on one kunai—one throw. If you don't calculate its trajectory properly, you might miss and fail the mission. Simple enough?"

"I guess that makes sense... but it still sucks."

When the six hours were finally up, Naruto slammed his exam paper down in front of Kakashi, who picked it up with an amused eye crease. "So, feeling confident?"

Naruto crossed his arms and grinned. "I mean... I just need to beat Sasuke and Sakura, right? That's easy."

"You'd need at least a 99% to beat them, though," Kakashi added casually as he pulled out a red pen.

Naruto's confidence faltered. "What?! Wait—uh, can I go to the bathroom real quick?"

"Nervous about your results? Don't worry, Naruto. Even if you don't beat them, what really matters is how much you've improved since the academy—"

"Kakashi-sensei, bathroom," Naruto cut him off, looking increasingly desperate.

"Fine, fine, go ahead."

The moment Kakashi gave the green light, Naruto vanished in a blur of Shunshin.

Naruto arrived at his apartment in record time, practically bursting through the door. Inside, Ayame and one of his clones were standing over the pile of laundry, which was now shifting and making strange crunching noises.

Ayame blinked at him.

"Hi, Neechan. Bye, Neechan!" Naruto shouted as he slammed the bathroom door shut.

Once inside, he quickly grabbed the Darksign from his pocket and activated it. A rush of heat washed over him, and in the blink of an eye, he found himself in Lordran once again, sitting at the bonfire.

"Alright," Naruto said, standing up and cracking his knuckles. "Time to grind."

He summoned a dozen clones. "Go out there and kill every hollow in the Undead Burg. We're leveling up."

The clones saluted and dashed off in all directions, cutting through hollows with brutal efficiency. Meanwhile, Naruto sat back at the bonfire, mentally tallying the souls they were collecting. After a few minutes, the clones dispelled, sending a flood of memories and a sizable pile of souls back to him.

[Souls: 3,203]

"Finally!" Naruto grinned as he opened his stats menu. He navigated to his intelligence stat and dumped the necessary points.

[Name: Naruto Uzumaki]

[Level: 19 → 20]

[Attributes:]

[INT: 10 → 11]

Naruto frowned, tilting his head in thought. I don't feel any smarter… he muttered, his voice laced with confusion. He glanced at the bonfire's gentle flicker, its light casting long, shifting shadows across the ground. For a moment, he stood still, his mind oddly quiet yet brimming with something he couldn't quite name.

"Whatever, let's just get back to Kakashi."

----------------------------------------

Back at the training ground, Naruto arrived just as Kakashi was finishing grading the papers. He slid into his seat, hands behind his head in a casual pose, though his leg tapped rhythmically under the desk.

"So? What's the verdict? Did I blow Sasuke and Sakura out of the water?"

Kakashi turned the paper around, revealing the grade: 100%.

Naruto blinked, then stared. "No way. A perfect score?!" He broke into a wide grin. "Guess I really am a genius! Believe it!"

"You earned it, Naruto. And, as promised, I'll teach you a new jutsu."

"Yes! Finally! So, what's it gonna be? Something epic like—"

"Patience," Kakashi interrupted, pulling a small piece of paper from his pouch.

"What's that? A coupon for free ramen?"

"This," Kakashi said, ignoring the joke, "is chakra paper. It reacts to your chakra and shows your chakra nature."

"Chakra nature?" Naruto frowned slightly, his eyes narrowing in thought. "You mean like… an affinity for certain kinds of jutsu?"

"Exactly. Everyone's chakra leans toward one of the five basic elements: fire, wind, water, earth, or lightning. Knowing your nature helps you focus on techniques suited for you."

Kakashi held the paper between his fingers and channeled his chakra into it. Instantly, the paper crinkled and shriveled.

"Whoa! What was that?"

"It wrinkled because my chakra nature is lightning," Kakashi explained. "Each nature reacts differently: fire burns the paper, water soaks it, earth crumbles it, and wind tears it. This test will reveal yours. Go ahead."

Naruto stared at the paper in his hand. Hey, Kakashi-sensei, what about shadow clones? What nature are they?

"Shadow clones don't come from the five elements. They're part of Yin and Yang Release."

"Yin and Yang? Like… opposites? Dark and light?"

"Close enough," Kakashi said. "Chakra comes from two sources: the mind and the body. Yin is spiritual energy—it shapes chakra. Yang is physical energy—it fills that shape. Together, they're the foundation of ninjutsu."

Naruto nodded slowly, absorbing the explanation like he was mapping out a new path in his head. So... Yin and Yang work with the five elements, but they're not the same thing.

"Exactly. Now, focus your chakra into the paper."

Naruto took a breath, channeled his chakra, and watched as the paper split cleanly down the middle.

Kakashi's expression shifted slightly, his brows knitting together.

"What's wrong, sensei?"

"Wind chakra nature," Kakashi said thoughtfully. "It's rare in Konoha. There aren't many shinobi here who specialize in it."

Naruto frowned. "So… does that mean you can't teach me anything?"

"Not at all. I'll just need to find someone who knows wind chakra well enough to help guide you through the basics."

Naruto's face lit up again. "Yes! Wind powers!" Then he hesitated. "Wait, Kakashi-sensei, during the bell test, you used water jutsu. But you said your nature was lightning. How does that work?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Good question. Through training, you can learn to use multiple elements. In fact, mastering at least two is required to become a jonin."

"How many do you have?"

Kakashi raised a hand, outstretching his fingers. "All five."

"All five?! Then why can't you just teach me wind jutsu?"

"The wind jutsu I know are all A-rank or higher. Teaching you those would be like handing you a blueprint for a house before teaching you how to hold a hammer. You need to build a foundation first."

Naruto considered this for a moment. "So… you're saying I need to learn the basics before I can tackle the big stuff."

Kakashi gave him a thumbs-up. "Exactly. You're sharper than people give you credit for."

Naruto blinked, feeling pleased—until he caught the implication. "Hey, that's not a compliment!"

"It is if you think about it," Kakashi replied, already turning to leave. "Good work today, Naruto."

"Wait, sensei!" Naruto called after him. "Can I have some extra chakra paper? I want to test something."

Kakashi tilted his head curiously but handed him a few sheets. "Don't do anything crazy," he warned before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

----------------------------------------

Naruto Shunshined to the Hokage Monument, a quiet spot where he could think and experiment without distraction.

Ever since his intelligence had spiked—something he still wasn't entirely used to—Naruto had noticed his thoughts taking new turns, approaching problems from angles he hadn't considered before. It wasn't like he'd become a different person, but he could see paths branching where he used to see just a straight road. Questions he'd never asked now burned in his mind.

For example, why wasn't his chakra nature fire? It seemed obvious, considering his ability to wield pyromancy. Wasn't the flame just another form of chakra? But the more he thought about it, the more cracks formed in that theory.

"Maybe," Naruto murmured, staring at the flame flickering in his hand, "pyromancy isn't chakra at all. Maybe it's... something else."

The thought made his chest tighten. If that was true, then the powers from Lordran weren't just jutsu waiting to be discovered by the shinobi of his world. They were something entirely different.

And that begged the real question: What happens when you combine chakra and pyromancy?

Naruto unrolled a fresh piece of chakra paper, holding it carefully in his free hand. He'd tested his chakra nature earlier with Kakashi and knew what to expect. But this experiment wasn't about chakra alone. It was about finding the edges of the two forces and seeing what happened when they overlapped.

He activated the pyromancy flame, feeling its strange, almost alien warmth crawl across his skin. Slowly, he channeled the fire energy from the flame into the chakra paper.

At first, nothing happened. Then the paper began to twist unnaturally, its surface warping as it shifted colors. What came next made Naruto's breath catch in his throat.

The paper didn't burn like he expected. Instead, its texture turned pale and leathery, like stretched, diseased skin. Veins, thin and pulsing, began spreading across it, branching out as though they were alive. Coarse, black hair erupted violently from its edges, curling and writhing like parasitic tendrils seeking something to latch onto.

Naruto's heart pounded as he watched a grotesque transformation take shape in the center of the paper. A bulbous, bloodshot eye bulged outward, twitching as it looked around, darting frantically like it could see him. The veins feeding into it throbbed grotesquely, and Naruto felt his stomach churn as the entire thing let out a faint, wet squelch.

Before he could react, the paper burst into flames, spewing ash and the nauseating stench of burnt flesh into the air.

Naruto recoiled, dropping the smoldering remains. His stomach twisted in revulsion as he stared at the pile of ash left behind. "What the hell was that?"

The pyromancy flame flickered in his palm, its glow calm and steady, as though it hadn't been part of whatever horror he'd just witnessed. But Naruto wasn't so sure anymore.

His mind raced, connecting dots that had never seemed important before.

"Pyromancy," he murmured. "It's not fire. Not really. It's... alive. It's connected to something else. Maybe even... demons?"

The thought sent a chill down his spine, but it also lit a spark in his mind. He wasn't scared—not exactly. The experiment had shown him something incredible, even if it made his stomach turn.

Pyromancy and chakra weren't the same thing. They weren't even part of the same system. But now Naruto knew they could interact—just not in a way he could control yet.

"Guess I've got a lot more to figure out, huh?" He smirked faintly, though the unease in his chest hadn't gone away. "Can't just punch my way through this one. Gotta think about it first."

Standing up, Naruto unequipped the pyromancy flame.

"Different paths," he muttered, staring at the ash blowing away in the wind. "Guess it's up to me to figure out where they lead."