Chapter 05: T0 Battle Power! Naruto Growing Up Drinking Healthy Milk!
"501, 502, 503..."
Naruto carried his school bag and moved forward under the weight, as if squeezing out the last bit of strength from his body.
He was already drenched in sweat, his legs feeling completely detached from himself.
He was already mentally and physically exhausted at the Ninja Academy, having undergone torture in both spiritual and physical senses. Now that school was finally over, he actually had to do weighted frog leaps all the way home!
I, Naruto, am truly bearing a burden that shouldn't be on someone of this age!
He complained in his heart, but still dared not slack off in the slightest.
That "Lightning Release Baptism" was really too stimulating...
Once hit by it, one would absolutely never want a second time...
"987, 988, 989..."
His home, usually just a stone's throw away, now seemed as distant as the ends of the earth...
Naruto's muscles all over his body ached to the extreme, and his spirit was on the verge of collapse.
"I can't do it anymore, I must rest for a while..."
[Warning, Lightning Release Baptism countdown, 5... 4... 3...]
"...990, 991, 992..."
Thump—
Thump thump!
On the street, pedestrians seeing Naruto doing weighted frog leaps couldn't help but look sideways.
"Hmm? Is that the demon..."
"Shh! Be careful what you say!"
"Why isn't that guy pulling pranks? Why has he suddenly become so hardworking?"
"Hmph, I bet he's definitely up to some trick again. Maybe this is part of a prank!"
"True, this little bastard has no upbringing to begin with. He only knows how to cause trouble all day long, really unlikable!"
"Let's go quickly, stay away from him!"
It wasn't that Naruto couldn't hear these discussions, but today he didn't even have the mind to sigh about it.
Even...
Seeing other children being picked up by their smiling parents while he remained lonely and desolate, at this moment, he couldn't care less.
There was only one thing in his heart right now...
Hurry up and frog leap home!
Make a big bowl of instant noodles, have two cartons of milk, and enjoy a hearty meal!
Thinking of this, drool involuntarily flowed from the corner of Naruto's mouth. He seemed to have reignited some motivation, shouted out, and continued jumping forward.
"1109, 1110, 1111..."
"1112!"
"Arrived!"
Seeing his own home, Naruto felt an unprecedented intimacy. That house, which didn't look very warm, now seemed as dreamy as heaven...
He hurriedly stood up, pinched his numb thighs hard, then strode up the stairs and ran towards his room.
"Eh?"
"Although it was painful, why does it feel kind of good?"
"Am I a masochist?"
Naruto sensed the changes in his body. Although he had indeed reached his limit, the pain and fatigue were not that intense; instead, his stamina was recovering rapidly.
[Host successfully completed a weighted frog leap home plan. Stamina increased by +3. Current Stamina: 76 points!]
Naruto's heart moved, and he was overjoyed.
"Although my physics and chemistry aren't great, my stamina is pretty strong!"
"Ahaha..."
Of course, this wasn't the system's credit, but Naruto's own Uzumaki bloodline at work.
Huge chakra, robust vitality, plus the unique abilities of being the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, made Naruto's own stamina and recovery ability astonishing!
"Aha, finally I can eat!"
Naruto immediately prepared to boil water for instant noodles.
Just then...
[Detected that the Host is preparing to eat. A healthy diet is an indispensable part of a strong physique and a necessary condition for becoming Hokage!]
[Please immediately prepare a nutritious and balanced dinner containing fresh meat, eggs, milk, vegetables, and fruits!]
Naruto: "...Huh?!"
"Are instant noodles okay?"
[No.]
"...Why! I love instant noodles the most! No, to be precise, it's Uncle Teuchi's ramen..."
[Ramen is okay, instant noodles are not.]
Naruto: "..."
"But where am I going to get meat, eggs, milk, vegetables, and fruits!"
He dragged his feet unhappily to the refrigerator, opened it, and saw nothing but milk inside...
"Forget it, at least there's milk..."
Naruto was exhausted and was about to open a carton of milk to drink to his heart's content.
However...
[Detected that the milk in the Host's hand has expired. For the Host in the growth stage, it does more harm than good. Please replace it with new milk immediately!]
Naruto: "...Huh?!"
Although indignant, he took another look at the production date and expiration date. After calculating mentally for a long time, he finally confirmed...
It was indeed expired.
And it had been expired for a long time...
"Have I been drinking expired milk all this time?"
"No wonder I often get diarrhea..."
Naruto scratched his head and reached out to take another carton, however...
[Detected that the milk in the Host's hand has expired. For the Host in the growth stage, it does more harm than good. Please replace it with new milk immediately!]
"This carton is expired too?!"
"Well, I bought them together..."
"What about this layer up here?!"
Naruto checked from beginning to end and found that almost all the milk had expired.
Only the two or three cartons he just bought were barely within the expiration date.
He picked one up carefully and finally didn't hear the notification sound in his mind. He hurriedly opened the cap and gulped it down...
"Ah—"
With a carton of milk down his stomach, Naruto felt his hunger slightly alleviated.
Soon, he picked up another carton and finished it instantly.
When he picked up the last carton...
[Warning, milk cannot be consumed excessively!]
[Please immediately prepare a nutritious and balanced dinner!]
[And... throw away the milk that has been expired for a long time!]
Naruto: "...But I don't know how to cook!"
[Warning...]
"Ah! Okay, okay! I really give up on you!"
"I'll go buy groceries right now! And by the way, throw away this expired milk..."
Saying that, seeing a fridge full of milk being thrown away like this, Naruto really felt a bit reluctant.
However...
He shook his head and sighed, honestly throwing all the expired milk into the trash bag, then picked up his frog wallet, closed the door, and walked out.
"Goodbye, milk..."
Naruto reluctantly threw boxes of milk into the trash can.
Then, he walked towards the shop selling ingredients.
Naruto's monthly allowance was neither much nor little; it was completely sufficient for his daily expenses at this age.
It was just that Naruto was obviously someone without much planning.
Except for occasionally eating the Ichiraku Ramen he longed for, most of the time he only had instant noodles and milk. Instant noodles were junk food to begin with, not to mention the milk Naruto drank was expired.
He was at the most critical time for growth and development, so his body would naturally be affected to a certain extent.
However...
With the system forcing him to throw away expired milk, stop eating instant noodles frequently, and instead focus on a balanced mix and reasonable diet, it was worth looking forward to how much Naruto's strength would increase after growing up like this.
Naruto bought a large pile of the freshest raw meat, milk, eggs, vegetables, and fruits, stuffing them all into two big bags. He struggled to carry them home and stuffed them into the refrigerator.
Now the refrigerator looked somewhat like a normal family's.
Next, he could only do it himself and prepare a dinner of his own...
Night fell, and lights from thousands of homes lit up.
The liveliness and warmth reflected in other windows did not belong to Naruto.
However...
With the system constantly urging and warning in his mind, although it kept Naruto vigilant and fearful at all times, it also subtly weakened his loneliness and pain.
It was as if he had gained a strict father.
Naruto, being careless with his emotions, didn't realize this, but he also rarely forgot his loneliness for a while.