'Waking up to birdsong is quite a nice way to start the day,' Naruto sighed contentedly as he stretched in the morning sun just outside his cabin. He had been living in the forest for about a year already.
He then headed over to the stream for his morning bath. Naruto had no problem with bathing in the cold water, by the time it was his turn to bath at the orphanage it was often not much warmer than this forest stream after all. Cold water baths were a norm to him even when he eventually moved into his apartment, as the hot water system to his rooms mysteriously broke on the first day and so he had never experienced a hot bath in his youth. He had only observed people bathing in hot water at the local public baths but had assumed this to be a luxury reserved for onsens to which he was not welcome to enter. It wasn't till his first trip outside the village that he had realised that this was not the case.
'I'll have to buy a couple of large pots to heat water in when I get my apartment,' Naruto thought as he bathed in the cold, clear water.
"Right! Time for morning training!" he cheered as he pumped his small fist in the air. To build up his strength and stamina, had decided to do his entire workout twice a day.
Even though Naruto wanted to quickly acquire his apartment once more as it would serve as a safe and secure place to train, he realised just how stressed he had been feeling over the past year as he had tried to get stronger all whilst trying not to get noticed and being unable to talk to anyone. The few months in the forest with nothing but nature, eating and exercise was needed to recharge his mental reserves before he once again headed back into the village.
After finishing his morning physical exercises, Naruto wiped the sweat from his body with his blue shirt and then settled down with his back against the middle training post to perform his Chakra breathing exercise.
He closed his eyes and breathed in, taking in the world around him. He felt his Chakra flowing with the wind, feeling the trees first, to the breeze ruffling the leaves overhead. Then he became aware of the animals in the area, the rabbit to his left at the edge of the field, the birds flying overhead, and the deer further into the forest itself moving along their rambling pathways.
Breathing out a puff of wind Chakra, he became aware of the life force around him, the Nature Chakra present in everything from the animals to the plants, to even the ground beneath him. It was this Nature Chakra that he had learnt to utilise in his Sage Mode, though he knew it was much too dangerous for him to attempt to manipulate with his underdeveloped six year old chakra network. He did not want to turn into stone.
Naruto breathed in again and turned his focus from the external world to his Chakra flow and focused on the warm glow of his own chakra swirling just beneath his skin. After 2 years of daily chakra meditation Naruto had managed to manipulate his chakra in such a way that it now not only ran smoothly through his chakra network but also constantly saturated his bones, muscles and internal organs, in such a way that it was easily accessible and amplified his strength.
After two years of utilising the breathing technique, Naruto now had a complete grasp of the natural flow of his Chakra. Naruto breathed in and his expression became determined as he expelled his chakra pulse into the air, causing a strong breeze to blow through the forest.
Standing up Naruto stretched and got ready to head into the village. Over the last two weeks or so, Naruto had made his way through the village, mostly moving through the alleyways, trying to make his presence known. He had scavenged through the village's dumpsters looking for anything useable for his survival and thus hinting at his homeless state.
The reason Naruto was unobtrusively making his presence known, was that he was never sure if the Ichiraku's charity had been extended as his homeless status was widely known or if it was because of a momentary whim but it was better to be safe than sorry. Today, though, his patience should have its reward as it was time to implement his plan and reacquaint himself with his first family, the Ichiraku's, and his first love, Ramen. Naruto's love of ramen was legendary amongst those that knew him and was a product of genetics and the fact that it was the first meal served to him both warm and with genuine kindness.
By moving from alleyway to alleyway, Naruto navigated his way across the village to just behind the Ichiraku ramen stand, which was situated between the main training grounds and the academy. The Ichiraku dumpsters had never been a good source of food as the old man was very careful not to waste supplies and the customers very rarely left anything to be thrown out. But that was not the point of today's raid.
Naruto raised up the lid of the dumpster with a lack of his usual caution, allowing the lid to clang against the back wall of the ramen stand. He leaned half his body into the bin and began to root around as he waited.
"Who's there?" called out the deep, gruff voice of Teuchi Ichiraku from the back doorway. Naruto raised his head and assumed an expression of fright as he looked up to see old man Ichiraku. "What are you doing?" the man asked as he walked towards the dumpster.
Naruto jumped back in seeming panic and whimpered, "I meant no harm, I was only looking for something to eat. I'm sorry." He had turned to dash away when a large hand clamped down on his shoulder causing him to flinch and freeze in place.
"No need for that," said the old man kindly taking in Naruto's small size and ragged clothing. "Come inside, I'll make you something better than what can be found in there." Gently turning the small boy to face him.
"But I have no money," disclaimed Naruto.
"No problem," said the old man as he led Naruto through the backdoor. "I've got plenty of bowls in the back in need of a good scrub in exchange." Naruto smiled warmly as he walked inside, already anticipating the first slippery mouthful. His first taste of his true love in over a year.