Civil Engineering
Naruto was staying in the hospital. Although the medical-nin had already used medical ninjutsu to treat the wound, Naruto insisted on staying for ten days.
He remembered reading about the "ten-day observation period" for rabies in his past life. Better safe than sorry—he set himself a small goal: stay for ten days, just in case.
He even tried going back to look for the dog that bit him, hoping it might be found and checked for rabies. But he couldn't find it. So Naruto began leaving food—grilled fish, buns, and meat pies—at the spot every day, hoping to lure the dog out.
Naruto treated these ten days as a vacation. After all, Boss Kurama (the Nine-Tails) had promised him hellish training once he was discharged.
Kurama, still sealed inside him, felt utterly humiliated. His Jinchuriki, the container of the fearsome Nine-Tails, had been bitten by a stray dog—how disgraceful! If Naruto hadn't gone to the hospital, he might have died from something so trivial. Kurama's pride was wounded beyond measure.
In the fox's mind, if Naruto wasn't dead, he should train until he was half-dead. Almost killed by a dog? Better to die training and get a new host worthy of him!
So Naruto's "vacation" mostly involved kicking trees, but he did it in the hospital courtyard.
He couldn't help it—he felt uneasy if he didn't train every day, like someone used to work who suddenly had a day off.
Oh, and he also returned Hinata's book, which he'd borrowed earlier.
On the seventh day, Naruto got a new hospital roommate: Sasuke Uchiha.
The Uchiha clan had just been massacred by Itachi, leaving Sasuke as the clan's only known survivor. When Naruto returned from his morning training, he found Sasuke lying unresponsive on the bed next to his.
Naruto was shocked by how cruel the ninja world was. Just like that, Konoha's most powerful clan was wiped out.
Sasuke woke up the next day, staring blankly at the ceiling, unmoving.
Naruto didn't know how to comfort him. He couldn't understand the pain of losing one's entire family. They were from completely different worlds; Naruto had no memories of family at all. And compared to the peaceful China of his past life, the shinobi world was like a living hell.
All he could do was place two apples on Sasuke's bedside table before going about his day.
In his past life, he remembered apples symbolizing peace.
After Naruto's ten-day observation period ended, both he and Sasuke were discharged from the hospital on the same day—by sheer coincidence.
At the hospital entrance, the two looked at each other wordlessly. Sasuke walked off to the right. Naruto didn't bother taking the left—he just opened a portal and disappeared.
Sasuke still held a bag of apples Naruto had given him. Neither said a single word; Sasuke was in no mood to talk, and Naruto wasn't the type to chat with people he didn't know well—except maybe cab drivers and barbers.
When Naruto returned to class three days later, the Uchiha massacre was still the main topic of discussion. He thought only something as ridiculous as the death of the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki from rabies could overshadow the Uchiha news.
"Na-Naruto-kun, are you okay?" Hinata asked worriedly. He'd told her before returning the book that he was sick and hospitalized.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you, Hinata-chan," Naruto replied.
Hinata wasn't concerned about the Uchiha clan; she only cared about Naruto's health.
Then she noticed Naruto staring absentmindedly at Sasuke across the room, his head slowly turning in Sasuke's direction.
"Na-Naruto-kun!"
"Oh—oh, sorry," Naruto snapped out of his thoughts. He couldn't help it; whenever Hinata called him like that, his mind went blank.
Naruto wanted to shout in his head: Ashura, did you see that? MMP. Just wait until I teach your father's mother a lesson someday.
"Why is Naruto-kun staring at Sasuke?" Hinata wondered aloud.
In the past year, the seating arrangements had changed several times, but Naruto's gaze never wavered—he always looked in Sasuke's direction. Even Hinata could tell.
"Uh…" Naruto's mind spun frantically. How could he explain the reincarnation feud between Indra and Ashura or the Otsutsuki clan?
"I've heard the Uchiha clan is very strong. I wanted to see the gap between us," he finally blurted out—a weak excuse even he didn't buy.
"Oh, is that so?" Hinata accepted his explanation without question. Challenges among peers were normal in the Academy.
Naruto thought to himself bitterly: Challenge him? More like he should challenge me. He was confident he could beat the entire class alone if it wasn't a fight to the death. Even if they took turns, he'd be the last one standing.
His massive chakra reserves and regenerative abilities gave him overwhelming confidence.
That afternoon, with no classes, Naruto headed straight to the forest for his "hellish" training.
He found a tree he'd shattered before, fixed it up, tied one end of a rope to it and the other to himself, then started dragging it while running laps.
He didn't know much about training, but he remembered Kakarot (Goku) dragging weights, so he decided to imitate him. Someday, he dreamed of getting a weighted boulder from the Tsuchikage to create his own "gravity room."
Meanwhile, the Third Hokage, using his crystal ball to watch Naruto's training, sighed deeply. He pulled out a bottle of painkillers from his robes, popped two, and swallowed them.
In all his years, Hiruzen had seen people striving for strength—for their families, their villages, power, revenge, or simply the thrill of challenging the strong.
But it was the first time he'd seen someone train like a madman because he was bitten by a dog. And Naruto wasn't just trying—he crawled back up every time he collapsed from exhaustion. Was this ridiculous reason really giving him such determination?
"Kid, don't lie there like a dead dog—get up and keep going!" Kurama barked in his head like a demonic drill sergeant.
"Yes," Naruto gasped, dragging himself upright. He swore he'd make Kurama regret these insults one day, especially if Kurama didn't slim down a bit.
Dragging a tree turned out to be far more exhausting than kicking one, especially since the branches kept catching in the dirt like a crude plow. Naruto felt like an old draft ox dragging a plow through a rice field.
Though he called it running, his pace barely beat a walk.
Maybe I should sign up to plow farmers' fields, Naruto thought deliriously. I'm definitely stronger than an ox, eco-friendly too. Earn money while training—perfect.
Exhaustion made his thoughts increasingly nonsensical.
He didn't stop to wonder if the Third Hokage would have a heart attack, or if Hinata would rethink liking a boy who volunteered to plow fields like a cow. He only thought about his next step.
Every night he stumbled home like a dead dog, only to wake up the next morning like a wild dog.
There was no helping it—his healing was too fast.
He kicked trees every morning, then dragged trees every afternoon.
Naruto reflected wryly that in all his years since arriving in the Naruto world, he'd spent the first few laying the groundwork and the rest chopping down trees. Before long, he felt he might have to build a fortress to fend off a zombie apocalypse.
One evening he collapsed in the dirt, spent. How had the exciting ninja world of Naruto turned into this? Why did he even choose this "game"? He should've stuck to watching One Punch Man.
"Kid, keep going," Kurama ordered coldly.
Naruto forced himself up. Only when he entered Sage Mode someday, he thought, might he finally quiet his mind.
No wonder he hadn't achieved Sage Mode despite years of trying. How could a shut-in like him attain mental stillness? He had enough fantasies about future wives to keep himself distracted for years.
And the worst part? I never even studied civil engineering. No wonder I can't master Sage Mode.