Naruto is aware of the memory return of clones (it was written in the Scroll of Seals). During the Wave mission, Naruto weakened the Eight Symbol Seal, allowing Kurama to communicate with him. Kurama — a vixen.
"Naruto." — Direct speech.
"Naruto." — Thoughts.
*Slurp* - Sounds.
Konoha Forest.
The night forest is quite a beautiful sight. Moonlight piercing through the leaves of trees and the sounds of crickets create a harmony of silence and tranquility. A loud chuckle disrupted this peaceful moment. Under a massive tree sits a guy dressed in an orange jumpsuit with a large scroll in his hands. Unrolling the scroll, he chuckled again:
"Ha, getting hold of this scroll was so easy! Sexy Jutsu - Kage level! Let's see… The first technique is the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Man! My least favorite technique!"
5 minutes later.
"… Important! All knowledge gained by clones is transferred to the user. This knowledge includes muscle memory, but not the muscles themselves. In theory, if you have enough chakra, you can use this technique for training. Such training will significantly accelerate the learning of techniques, but the amount of chakra needed for this is incredible. Author — Tobirama Senju. Wow! Now I definitely want to learn this technique!"
One torn Iruka's jacket, incredibly moving speech, and a thousand Naruto later.
"Heh, I think I got a bit carried away," said Naruto, nervously scratching his head. In front of him lies an unconscious and beaten Mizuki. "Hmm, I remember how I attacked Mizuki from different sides. It's true! The technique transfers the memory of clones! So many possibilities…"
Iruka felt a shiver down his spine when he saw a smile on Naruto's face. "For some reason, I feel that this is not just a happy smile because of his first victory. This smile promises trouble…" After a moment, he sighed tiredly and smiled. "Naruto, come here. I have a gift for you…"
The same day. Naruto's apartment.
"*Yawn* What a day today…" Naruto began his daily routine, lost in thought. "Ninja registration day tomorrow, graduation ceremony the day after tomorrow. Today, I can train." Quickly getting ready and locking the door, Naruto headed to the forest, grabbing a snack at Ichiraku on the way.
Arriving at the forest, Naruto wasted no time looking for a clearing to train. "Taiju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Immediately, around him, with a puff of smoke, about a thousand clones appeared. "Since clones can't train muscles, you'll be practicing techniques we were taught in the academy! Choose the technique you want to try training and try to perfect it, as Iruka showed. Special attention to Bunshin no Jutsu! I don't understand why I can't perform it, but Iruka said it's important to know all three basic techniques, so we keep trying until it works!" A collective "HAI!" could be heard throughout the forest. "I, in the meantime, will be training my muscles. Now that I'm a ninja, I have to train even harder than before!" Thus began Naruto's day.
6 hours later.
"Enough! This is really boring, and I'm tired. That's it for today; we'll continue tomorrow!" shouted Naruto, covered in sweat and dirt. "Let's finish it with a Battle Royale! We fight with everything we've got; for ninjas, there's no such thing as a dirty game!" All the surrounding clones wore a self-satisfied smile after his words. Without any warning, one of the clones slammed another clone's face into the ground, popping him. After that, all the clones began trying to take each other down, even using kunai and shuriken. One Naruto almost got a kunai in his side, but he managed to use Kawarimi just in time, and another clone took kunai that was meant for him. Another Naruto attempted to use Sexy Jutsu when his chakra was almost depleted. It seems the only one unaffected by this legendary technique is Naruto himself, as they quickly dispelled this clone with a kick to the face.
Soon, there were only two Naruto left on the clearing, staring at each other with a gaze that seemed deadly. One of them broke the brief silence that took over the place:
"So, you're the last surviving clone…" This Naruto had two cuts on his face, his clothes were heavily damaged, and traces of blood were visible in places.
"Said the clone. What makes you think you're the original?" This Naruto was also covered in dirt and blood, which was quite strange. There were no scratches on his face, but his jumpsuit lacked the right sleeve, and on his exposed arm, there was a fresh scratch from which blood slowly oozed.
The two Naruto looked at each other for a few more seconds, and without any warning, they rushed into battle. The Naruto with scratches on his face picked up a kunai from the ground, as his own kunai had run out, and tried to strike the other Naruto on the side, who managed to block the kunai with his own. After a few exchanges of blows, the sleeveless Naruto suddenly leaned towards the ground, avoiding another strike with the kunai, and picked up a small handful of dirt, which he immediately threw into the eyes of the other Naruto. "Argh!" Taking advantage of the moment, he delivered a swift kunai strike to the leg, but at that moment, the scratched-faced Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, and a log appeared in his place. Behind him, a voice exclaimed, "Hail to the Log!" and his world darkened.
The sleeveless Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke, and the original sighed in relief. "Phew, I wasn't sure if I was the original. I'll have to set some restrictions for these battles in the future. I could have lost an eye and fingers a few times… Eh, I'll figure it out later." Exhaling once more, he began to collect the scattered kunai and shuriken on the field. "I think I'll visit Hokage-jiji; he said he has an ointment that helps heal scratches." Gathering almost all his belongings, he headed to the Hokage Residence. The sun had long set, and the Hokage should have finished his work. "I'll look for the shuriken I lost tomorrow; in this darkness, almost nothing is visible. I'm so hungry…"
10 minutes later.
"Hey-ya, Jiji!" Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, God of Shinobi, smiled upon seeing his surrogate grandson who stood at his doorstep, but quickly lost his smile when he took notice of his condition.
"What happened, Naruto?"
"Training got a bit out of control…" Naruto rubbed his head nervously with a sheepish smile. "Jiji, you said you have an ointment that helps heal scratches?"
"Yes, of course, come in. But next time something like this happens, go straight to the hospital."
"You know I don't like hospitals. I don't like their smell." Now Naruto had a pout on his face.
Hiruzen, seeing the pout on Naruto's face, smiled gently. "Wait a second; I'll bring the ointment."
A minute later, Hiruzen applied the healing ointment to Naruto's face. "Well, Naruto, spill the beans. How did you get these injuries?"
"These are just scratches! I told you it's from training; I found a cool new training method!"
"And do these scratches involve this new method?"
"No… My clones got a bit carried away," Naruto said with a sheepish smile.
"Clones?" Hiruzen applied band-aids to the scratches, put the ointment aside, and listened attentively to Naruto's story.
*Urrrrgh* A growl sounded from Naruto's stomach.
"He-he, maybe we should go to Ichiraku? I was so busy in training that I missed lunch…"
"Well, I haven't had dinner yet; ramen sounds like a good idea."
"Of course! It's the food of the gods!" Naruto's shout made Hiruzen release a small chuckle.
Ichiraku Ramen. 10 minutes later.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…" the old Hokage stretched out words, pondering. "This is a dangerous training method. But with his enormous reserves and reserves of…" Hiruzen stopped his thought at this point and began stroking his beard.
Meanwhile, Naruto had already eaten half of his ramen. "Teuchi-ojisan… your ramen… as always… amazing!" Naruto said between slurps.
"Ho-ho, of course! We must maintain our reputation," Teuchi replied with pride in his voice and a smug smile on his face.
After a minute of silence, Hiruzen spoke again, "Naruto… I have a few questions for you, give me an honest answer, please."
"Sure!"
"How many clones did you create for training?"
"A thousand." Hiruzen thought for a few seconds. "But probably more, as the clones also created clones."
"When all the clones dispersed, did you feel discomfort, headache, or disorientation?"
"Hmm… No."
"All right, now tell me how you got these injuries." At these words, Ayame approached them and began to stare at Naruto intently without blinking.
"Um… well, after my clones finished training with techniques, and I finished physical training, we decided to have a battle." Naruto was profusely sweating under Ayame's stare.
"Like a tournament?" Hiruzen asked with a mix of amusement and worry.
"More like a war, last standing is the winner. We didn't set any restrictions, and within moments, shuriken and kunai were flying all over the clearing."
Hiruzen and Ayame frowned. Ayame opened her mouth to say words of wisdom first. "Baka." Naruto sweat dropped.
"Naruto, your training method is extremely dangerous. For your own safety, I will set some restrictions to prevent you from crippling yourself," the Hokage said with a serious and authoritative tone. Naruto nodded. "Firstly, no full-scale wars with clones. Although you can make them fight each other, under no circumstances should you intervene in the battle." Naruto made a 'Eureka!' face and pounded his fist into his palm. "Secondly, don't create more than a thousand clones. While unused chakra, from clone dispersing, returns to you, you can still die from chakra exhaustion if you create more clones than you have chakra for." Another nod from Naruto. "That's all for now. Try not to exhaust yourself to death, Naruto."
"Hai, Hokage-jiji!" Naruto exclaimed with a serious tone. Hiruzen, Ayame, and Teuchi chuckled at Naruto's display of seriousness.
Finishing his ramen, the Hokage sweat dropped at the number of empty bowls piled up in front of Naruto, and he continued to eat!
"Naruto, what techniques did your clones practice?"
"*Sluuuurp* Ha-a… Henge, Kawarimi, and standard Bunshin. Those are all the techniques I know, except for Sexy Jutsu and Kage Bunshin, though I have an idea to improve Sexy Jutsu…" Naruto pondered with his hand on his chin until he felt a chill down his spine and noticed Ayame's cold stare.
"What did you just say?" Ayame could make water freeze with her mere presence.
"N-Nothing…"
"*Cough* I recommend you improve your chakra control. Leaf concentration, Tree Walking, and Water Walking. Your Jonin-sensei will teach you the last two, and you learned the first one in the academy."
"Mouuu... It's so boring..." Naruto had a pout on his face, which made Ayame smile again.
"Naruto, while you were in the academy, you were a child and could do everything ordinary children do. After the graduation ceremony, you will officially become an adult shinobi, obtaining the rights and responsibilities of an adult. I expect professionalism and respect from my shinobi. As a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, you will represent Konoha to the world. What will the world think of our village when one of our shinobi is lazy, ignores the rules, or shows no respect to their leadership?"
Naruto lowered his eyes to his ramen bowl. Hiruzen's eyes softened at the sight, and he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, forcing him to raise his eyes. "Despite everything, I believe in you, Naruto. You can achieve your dreams."
Naruto's eyes ignited with a fire he couldn't control. "Of course! I, Uzumaki Naruto, will become the greatest Hokage, better than all the past and future ones, believe me!"