Naruto sat by the campfire in his training ground, cooking not just rabbits this time but a pile of fish. He'd been starving lately.
Those two rabbits from before hadn't done a damn thing for his stomach! Even after eating them, he'd feel hungry again after a few hours of training. So today, since he was near the waterfall anyway, he tried something new.
He'd summoned a hundred Shadow Clones and told them to jump into the river and catch fish. With that many clones bulldozing the river, he thought he'd get a mountain of'em.
...But the fish were wicked fast underwater!!
So in the end they only managed to grab a little over six. Still, it wasn't a bad haul. The smell alone was great.
Naruto ate while his clones trained.
He had five extra clones training now. His mental capacity had grown a bit; the memory from ten clones didn't crush him like before.
Now he could handle fifteen clones training without frying his brain. The tree-walking clones had also graduated to water-walking practice. They could stay on the surface for a while before falling in, and every extra clone sped up their growth.
Naruto also finished the basic fuinjutsu theory. There was nothing more he could learn from the book — at least in theory. He couldn't practice because he didn't have any materials.
He tried thinking about how to earn money, but every idea crashed into the same wall: he needed money to make money.
What a brutal cycle!! Naruto's mood plumped and he ate faster no feel better.
So he had a clone practice Wind Release with two others, another kept doing calligraphy for explosive tags, and one clone practiced Rasengan with a bunch of water balloons. No results yet, obviously — it was the first day — but hey, progress is progress.
Naruto's training had become more organized.
Physical exercise until noon, then Taijutsu.
After finishing his food, he rested a bit, then went to the training area and summoned another clone. They sparred on the ground and in the trees, mixing Taijutsu with tree-walking.
Naruto fixed his form fast, even though he had no idea what "real form" even looked like. He just made up his own Taijutsu, fixing whatever felt wrong.
Then he absorbed the memory of the clone that had been with Ino, and that shot his mood straight into the sky. He wanted to break dance on the tree but his clone would break him before that. So he just dodged the pucnhes as he laughed.
The clone was confused as Hell!! What is wrong with the boss?
"BBUAHAHAHA!! HEAVENS HAVE FINALLY LOOKED AT ME!!"
Naruto laughed while staying glued to a tree trunk. The clone stopped letteing Naruto have his moment.
He'd been worrying about money, and boom — the world threw him a gold mine!
The second thing that thrilled him was body enhancement!
He'd treated running to this training ground as normal exercise, so he never used body enhancement intentionally. But earlier, when he rushed thinking he was late, he felt a burst of speed that almost made him crash! His chakra had stirred from his emotion, and his speed exploded.
Naruto at the moment felt like Flash!! Flashing through the forest but had to calm himself down thinking it was training. But still, the feeling was marveling!
Then, when his clone used body enhancement actively, the results were insane. A one-hour distance turned into fifteen minutes!
Fuck yeah!!
Naruto couldn't stop grinning. He sparred with new energy, almost buzzing. Then he started sparing again.
Tomorrow, he'd go to Ino's place for dinner, as promised. Tomorrow was also mission day. And he planned to visit the old man for sealing materials...only the for theory of course.
Naruto didn't want to be a sucker after all!! And since he had a way to money now, the problem was basically solved! All he needed to worry about is having enough knowledge.
Time passed.
Night fell. Naruto headed back to Konoha. The thought of using body enhancement again was tempting, but he held back.
Physical training would be all for not if he cheated!
So he just ran normally. He was more tired than yesterday — fifteen clones, sparring on trees drained him — but the growth was visible, and that push was enough to keep him going.
He reached his apartment, showered, washed his clothes, hung them to dry, put on a new set, and knocked out. Showering after training felt like a rule now. No matter how tired he was, going to bed sweaty felt wrong.
Next day, Naruto woke up refreshed! Energized!
Mission day.
He got up, brushed, showered, then went to Ichiraku. He ate a few bowls of ramen and left. No mugging today. He was a little disappointed. He really did want to verbally violate the villagers now! That has become a new bream to him after what happened the other day!
Naruto had started to sharpen his sword of internet bullshiting but there was no one to use it one.
But he didn't give up! His time will come!
Naruto clenched his fist with determination burning in his eyes.
He reached the Hokage building. Sakura and Sasuke were already there. He greeted them casually and waited for Kakashi.
He suddenly remembered that he wanted to meet the old man!
Then he headed inside and went straight to the Hokage's office.
Kakashi knocked. A warm voice answered.
Naruto stepped in, shut the door.
"Hey, ji-Chan!! How're you doing!?"
Naruto said happily. He was really happy to see his Ji-Chan after a long time.
Hiruzen looked up from behind a mountain of papers, surprised for a second, then smiled warmly.
"Naruto~~What a pleasant surprise! What brings you to this old man?"
Hiruzen asked as he put down his pen and stappled his hands on the table.
Naruto recounted his days and missions. Gesturing dramatically with a bright smile. Progress of his training and his founding of shadow clones usefulness. He also told him about his fuinjutsu training and his progress.
He asked him for fuinjutsu theory. The old man listened, shocked and relieved. Naruto growing stronger was a good thing. He handed Naruto basic theory scrolls that library didn't have, explosive tag practice sheets, and other stuff.
Naruto thanked him and left, joining Sasuke and Sakura outside. He pulled out the scrolls and began reading, marveling at how easy the theory felt.
Three hours later, Kakashi arrived. It was nearing noon.
"Yo."
Kakashi said with a casual smile. His visible eye curved like a crescent moon.
Sakura and Sasuke were furious. Sakura looked ready to explode but held back — no point yelling at Kakashi. She seemed to understand that by now. Naruto just closed his scrolls, tucked them into his pouch, and followed him in.
They accepted the mission — painting a fence.
At the location, Naruto worked fast. The first strokes were sloppy, but he got used to it quickly. Sasuke and Sakura struggled. He gave them a few pointers and moved on. Whether they listened or not wasn't his problem. He was part of the team, so he offered help. Grabbing it was their choice.
They finished, got paid, and Naruto also got his payment from yesterday's job, which he had forgotten about.
Holding the money, Naruto felt flicker of excitement. The kind that one feels when they get paid for their hard work. Naruto couldn't help bu think that chores weren't that bad after all...
After that, Kakashi gave them evaluation about team work.
Then Kakashi dismissed them.
Naruto headed to the Forest of Death — not deep in, just somewhere dense and quiet.
One clone had already gone to his usual training ground. Naruto summoned another clone and sparred again. Today, he made no mistakes. They fought on trees the whole time, and he didn't fall once.
Dusk came. Naruto felt done. Two waves of clone memories hit him, leaving him exhausted. He went home, showered, washed his clothes, and noticed stains on his orange jacket that wouldn't come off. He clicked his tongue and moved on. After resting, he stepped outside.
The night breeze was cool. Peaceful. The chatter from the main street grew louder as he approached. His own area was basically slums, but the main district was busy and bright.
Naruto walked lazily.
Food scents hit him — food he had never tasted. His stomach growled, but he ignored it and walked towards the Yamanaka compound.
He reached the shop, already closed. For some reason, he felt nervous. First proper dinner with someone else's family. First proper dinner… ever.
He took a deep breath and walked in.
Ino was waiting at the counter.
"Naruto, you finally came! Come on, Daddy and Mommy are waiting!!"
Naruto nodded, took off his sandals, and followed her. They reached the dining room. Ino's mother was setting the table, and her father, Yamanaka Inoichi, sat at the head.
Naruto sat across from him. Ino sat to his left, her mother across from her.
Ino's parents looked at Naruto with complicated eyes — guilt, maybe pity. Naruto couldn't tell, and honestly, he didn't care. Their emotions came from the fact that they felt indebt to his parents. Not from knowing how he lived. They probably weren't even awere how the village treated him.
And Naruto wouldn't tell any one. Whats point? People didn't care enough to look after him. So why would he shout to get their attention? He was doing that for years but never succeed. So who is gonna care about him now?
...He didn't know and didn't care enough to care. He was way past those petty thoughts.
Dinner was served.
Naruto took one bite and his eyes widened. The flavor hit his tongue like bomb! He had never tasted food so good before!! Ino's mother asked how does the food tasted.
He gulped down the food and flashed a bright smile with thumbs-up.
"This food is awesome!! Best food I ever tasted!!"
Ino's mother smiled warmly.
"You can have more."
Naruto didn't need to be told twice. He ate until he was full. Pure bliss. Even if he didn't get a share of the flower money, just this meal was worth more!
Then Inoichi cleared his throat.
"Cough! Naruto-kun. Now that we're done, let's discuss the main matter."
Naruto who was slouched on the chair slowly patting his bloated belly straightened up, face serious.
"Naruto-kun. As you know the value of Silvermist Bloom through my daughter which is 60 tp 70,000 ryō. And you, who discovered it will naturally get your fair share of profit from this. I would like to offer 20% of the net profit from this and let me explain why only 20 it.
...