Chapter 2: Spirit Machinery Energy, Naruto's Gift to the Ninja World

“Hey, Naruto, what are you digging up these mushrooms for?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi wiped the sweat from his brow.
Naruto pouted. “Because I have nothing to eat!”
Hiruzen looked surprised. “How could that be? Don’t I give you a living allowance regularly? Is the money not enough?”
Naruto glanced at Hiruzen with a touch of helplessness.
This old man might make a decent foreman, but as a caretaker, he was sorely lacking.
Who just hands money directly to a three-year-old?
To be fair, Naruto had to admit that Hiruzen’s allowance was not a small sum.
He had a rough idea of what others in the village earned.
The amount Hiruzen gave him each month was equivalent to the income of an average able-bodied villager, comparable to the pay of a skilled genin.
For a child like Naruto, or even for a typical villager, that money would be enough to support a family without much difficulty.
The sum was generous, but the problem was—
He couldn’t spend it.
Naruto understood he was the village’s strategic weapon, the vessel of the Nine-Tailed Fox.
That same fox had brought immense suffering to both ninja and civilians alike.
The villagers dared not lay a hand on Naruto, the living weapon, but they were more than willing to do nothing for him.
They wouldn’t openly bully him, but refusing to sell him goods was another matter.
So far, Naruto had only found a handful of vendors willing to sell him anything, and even then, he had to sneak out at night to collect the supplies.
Realizing he’d asked a foolish question, Hiruzen slapped his forehead and puffed anxiously on his pipe.
“Sorry, Naruto, I didn’t think that through. Let me see what I can do about it.”
Muttering to himself, Hiruzen walked away, perhaps to avoid Naruto’s gaze.
Naruto, for his part, wasn’t too bothered.
Not being able to spend money wasn’t a huge problem; he had plenty of ways to keep himself nourished.
Besides, there were other things he needed to do.

For example, crafting some basic equipment for himself as a combat engineer.
Naruto rubbed his chin, surprised by its smoothness, only to remember that he was nowhere near the age to grow a beard.
“The first thing I need to do is lay the foundation for the future. For instance, I should start by making a universal mechanical hand.”
He mused to himself,
“I still remember the blueprints for the universal hand and the steam core. I even passed the advanced technician’s certification. Building it from scratch won’t be an issue.”
“The first version might be a bit rough, but that’s fine. Once I have proper tools, I can refine and upgrade it.”
“The first real problem is the power source—especially the core unit.”
“I know how to prospect for coal and oil, and I can handle the refining process. The only issue is how to extract them.”
“Maybe I could try utilizing the chakra that ninjas use? But how exactly do I extract chakra?”
“Or perhaps I should just make do with some charcoal for now? Never mind, I’ll start by making a few simple gadgets for self-defense.”
Dusting himself off, Naruto left the Hokage Rock.
He wandered around the village, collecting discarded metal parts, then set about crafting some personal protection tools.
In the forest near the village, he picked a quiet corner and got to work.
The masked man assigned to guard him didn’t approach, instead finding a tree nearby to perch on and read a book.
Naruto had long known that his protectors worked in shifts.
Only the white-haired man was different from the rest.
He appeared the least often, always shrouded in a fierce, bloody aura, as if he’d just come straight from the battlefield.
He was also the only one who operated alone, never in a team.
Perhaps this white-haired man was the strongest of them all—Naruto could sense that his coordination was unmatched.
Moreover, the white-haired man was the most relaxed in his watch over Naruto.
Others would try to influence or even directly interfere with Naruto’s actions,
but this man ignored Naruto unless he did something truly reckless, usually acting as if he didn’t even see him.
In Naruto’s eyes, this white-haired guardian showed him more goodwill than anyone else.
That was the reason Naruto chose today for his experiment.
He wanted to determine whether this man’s lax surveillance was due to laziness or something else.

More importantly, he wanted to find out if this white-haired man could be won over.
Naruto didn’t really understand the true nature of chakra, but to him, spiritual mechanical energy was a cheat-like power.
In the world he’d traveled from, there had been two industrial revolutions.
The first brought steam engines and difference engines; the second, thanks to miraculous advances in alchemy, led to the discovery of spiritual mechanical energy.
This power, present in all things and within the human body,
was initially dismissed as superstition.
But when scientific research hit a bottleneck and alchemy came under the scrutiny of scientists, everything changed.
Through countless experiments and studies, they found that spiritual mechanical energy had a profound impact on mechanical engineering.
It could fill microscopic gaps and reduce steam leakage, thus lowering the precision required in manufacturing.
This made machines simpler and more efficient to produce.
It also enhanced the strength and durability of materials, allowing for the creation of lighter yet stronger components.
Not only did this improve performance, it made machines more agile and efficient.
Most importantly, spiritual mechanical energy created a special link, enabling operators to control machines with greater finesse and intuition.
This mental connection made operation more human-like, drawing machines and their users ever closer.
Before retiring, Naruto had been a combat engineer—part of a group well-versed in wielding spiritual mechanical energy.
Some specialized in intricate combat machinery; others, in engineering feats.
Naruto himself was a versatile combat engineer, mastering every skill in the field.
After scanning the area with his senses to ensure Hiruzen wasn’t using any secret methods to watch him, and that no one else was spying, Naruto got to work.
Soon, the rust on the scavenged metal parts faded away under the influence of spiritual mechanical energy.
The parts themselves began to shift and merge, quietly assembling.
Before long, the scattered pieces had transformed into a delicate dagger bristling with gears, as well as several oddly-shaped throwing spindles.