I spent the first day like that, and from the second day, I renovated the house a bit. I only fixed up the bathroom and the washroom, but it didn't take much time.
Afterward, I went outside to get a sense of the geography and information. I headed to the main street to check the market prices and see if I could make and sell anything else from my forge. While I was there, the owner of a ninja tool shop recognized me and greeted me warmly.
"Cassian! Long time no see. I heard you were sick—are you all better now?"
It seemed my back-story for this world was that I had been ill.
"I'm fine now."
"See? What did I tell you? I told you to just focus on your blacksmithing. You wasted your energy trying to write some strange novel at night instead of resting, and it took a toll on your health."
As I listened to the tool shop owner, I was able to glean a lot of information. Roughly speaking, I was a blacksmith by trade, but I had been treated like the village eccentric because I was making a fuss about writing some weird novel.
"Anyway, since you were sick, we've run low on shuriken and kunai. I'd like to place an order. Two hundred of each, please. Oh, and while I'm at it, we're short on kitchen knives too, so I'll order a few of those as well."
"Understood."
It seemed the structure was that I made the goods and the tool shop sold them for me. Since I didn't have to handle the sales myself, it saved me time—not a bad deal at all.
After taking the order, I walked around the main street, talking with the villagers and gathering more information. Although I was treated as an eccentric, it wasn't a negative image, and people spoke to me with smiles. The young women of the village especially seemed to like me; it appeared this face still worked here.
Having gathered enough information, I returned home and began making the kunai for the new order. Using the same method as yesterday, I made five, selected the highest-quality one, and continuously duplicated it using [Material Duplication].
"This is way too convenient."
Worrying that delivering the goods too soon after receiving the order might look suspicious, I stayed home for about two days. To stay in character, I even built a sturdy typewriter to write my novel. In the world of Naruto, I wasn't going to dig underground to make a laboratory. This world was full of cheat-like 'eyes' that could see through things, and the space was too narrow for training anyway.
"Hmm... I should head out eventually to find a proper training ground."
After two days, I loaded the finished goods onto a cart and went to the main street to deliver them. The shop owner looked quite surprised.
"You finished them remarkably fast. I expected it to take at least two weeks."
"I had some parts pre-made."
"That's a relief. We were in trouble because our stock was so low."
Fortunately, my excuse worked, and everything went smoothly. The owner inspected the items, stepped into the back for a moment, and returned to hand over the payment.
"Here you go. I noticed the quality has improved, so I added a little extra. I look forward to more business with you."
"Thank you."
I took the money and, since I was there, browsed the shop to check out various ninja tools. I carefully observed the explosive tags in particular. They were similar to the [Talisman Arts] ability I had acquired, so I felt like I could make them myself.
After checking the tags, I left and headed to a bookstore. I wanted to see the quality of novels published in this world and check if there were any books on basic techniques. Knowing nothing about jutsu, I had to start from the basics.
Luckily, I found a basic jutsu manual used at the Ninja Academy. I immediately bought the manual along with a few popular novels and started heading home. On the way, I saw a group of village kids throwing stones and bullying a small child, so I quickly intervened.
"You kids!"
"Whoa! It's an adult, run!"
The children scrambled away when I shouted. I helped the child who had been hit by stones to his feet and brushed off his clothes. Looking closely, it was Naruto. With the blonde hair and those whisker marks, there was no mistaking it.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, this happens all the time, so I'm fine."
Naruto said it was a common occurrence and that he was okay—and he said it with a smile, despite being only six years old.
'Good grief... what a petty village.'
I was appalled. Just then, Naruto's stomach made a loud noise.
Grumble.
"Are you hungry?"
"Uh... a little."
"Is that so? Then wait here for a moment."
I left Naruto by a nearby tree and moved quickly to a lunchbox shop, buying two bento boxes. Since I knew the original story, I knew that taking Naruto with me would only result in us being turned away at the door.
"Here, eat this."
When I handed him the bento, Naruto began eating ravenously. He must have been starving. Seeing him like that made me feel pity.
After finishing the meal, Naruto thanked me.
"Big brother, that was really delicious, ya know! Thanks!"
I handed him the second bento and said, "Take this with you and eat it for dinner."
"Whoa~ Thanks, Blacksmith Brother!"
Naruto seemed to know who I was. Seeing as even he knew me, it seemed most of the villagers were aware of me—either because of my looks or my reputation as an eccentric. Or maybe both.
"And if you're ever hungry, just come to the forge. I'll make you a meal."
"R-really? Is that okay?" Naruto asked again, as if he couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, do you know where it is?"
"Yeah, I know it, ya know!"
From 그날부터, Naruto came to the forge regularly at lunchtime to get a meal. Without any complaints, I prepared food for him and even packed a bento for his dinner.
One day, while eating together, Naruto asked me, "Brother, don't you hate me?"
"I don't hate you at all. Why do you say that?"
Naruto hesitated for a moment before replying. "The people in the village... they don't really like me."
"Well, I moved here from another region, so I don't feel that way at all."
"I see. That's a relief. It's nice to know there's someone who doesn't hate me."
Naruto smiled brightly at my words. His innocent smile felt healing in a way. I reached out and patted his head.
'Well, this isn't so bad.'
Honestly, it was a miracle Naruto hadn't developed a mental illness. Most people would have been psychologically broken if they were raised under such treatment. No matter how much they might resent him, they shouldn't treat a Jinchuriki—the village's vital military power—like this. If Naruto had harbored hostility toward the village, grew strong, and then defected or fled to another country, I have no idea how they planned to handle that.
'If it were me, I would have defected immediately and fired off a few Tailed Beast Bombs.'
However, Naruto coming for meals every day created a problem for me too. Naruto was being monitored by the Anbu, which meant someone was always following him whenever he came to eat. Because of that, I couldn't do much during the day. So, I spent my days working at the forge and, once they left in the evening, I would secretly head far away from the village to practice jutsu. In between, I read the novels I had bought.
In time, I managed to acquire [(D) Ninjutsu]. The ninjutsu I used was definitely different from what other ninjas used, primarily because I don't have chakra. Instead, I used the abundant mana in my body. The firepower was significantly higher than ordinary ninjutsu. If I had practiced near my house, I would have definitely been caught. My mana was clearly a higher form of energy than chakra.
'Phew... I'm going to need to control this a bit.'
Moreover, I didn't need to weave hand signs. This was because I had [No Chant]. Since [No Chant] had reached EX-rank, it applied not just to magic but to all abilities. Since I only needed to learn the flow of energy, my acquisition speed was incredibly fast. I seemed to have mastered the basics within just two days of training.
'Now that I roughly know the principles of this power, shall I go collect the jutsu I need?'
Naturally, I intended to steal looks at them. Under the cover of night, I used stealth and moved secretly toward the Hokage Tower where the Hokage conducted his business. Walls were no obstacle for me, thanks to Vision's [Physical Density Manipulation] from the Marvel world.
I roamed around until I found the storage area for jutsu scrolls. I located a place guarded by ninjas with significant amounts of chakra. Sensing they were inside, I passed through the wall. Inside the room, various jutsu scrolls were visible, confirming I was in the right place.
Thinking there might be traps, I checked with [Naked Eye]. There weren't any specific jutsu-based traps in the room, but there were dummy scrolls. As long as I didn't touch those, I would be fine.
I immediately bypassed the fakes, unrolled all the scrolls, quickly input them into [Nano], and returned them to their places. Then, I headed back home.
'The one I need to master fastest is the "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu".'
There was a reason I wanted to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu quickly. I planned to send clones to each of the clans in the Hidden Leaf to learn their unique techniques. This was because clones created by the Shadow Clone Jutsu could transmit their experiences and memories back to the original body.
That was why, in the later parts of the original story, even Naruto—who wasn't particularly gifted at jutsu—was able to learn high-difficulty techniques rapidly. Also, if I had to be away from home for a long time, I could use a clone as a substitute. Thus, from the evening of the second day, I began practicing the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Shadow Clone Jutsu required the user to divide their mana equally among the clones. For example, if I created two clones, the original and the two clones would each have one-third of the total mana. In short, the mana amount became 1/n.
However, while practicing, I discovered an interesting fact. Thanks to my [Mana Efficiency] ability, which reduced mana consumption by 90%, summoning a clone didn't leave me with 50%; instead, I still had 95% of my mana remaining.
On top of that, because the [S2 Engine] rapidly replenished any lost mana, even creating a massive number of clones didn't drain me. It was a jutsu that matched me perfectly.
"This is fantastic."
Once I mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu, I created a massive number of clones and organized them into training teams and acquisition teams. Meanwhile, I stayed at the forge, doing my blacksmithing work and feeding Naruto. Then, Naruto spoke up.
"Brother, listen. Today, the old man (Hiruzen Sarutobi) came and told me to enroll in the Ninja Academy."
Looking at Naruto's expression, it didn't look like he wanted to go at all.
"Is that so? Judging by your face, it seems you don't really want to go?"
I asked for the reason, and Naruto dropped a bombshell.
"Yeah... I just want to live here and work as a part-timer at your forge, Brother."
"Why do you think that?"
"Actually, I'm scared of people. I don't know if I'll do well at the Academy. So I thought it'd be better just to help you with your work."
For the mentally strong Naruto to say something like this, I could tell just how hard it had been for him all this time.
"Naruto, this is an opportunity. If you get stronger at the Academy and can protect the villagers, everyone will see you in a different light."
Naruto's expression brightened slightly at my words.
"Do you really think so?"
"But you'll have to work hard. Give it some thought."
"Got it."
I made Naruto some delicious food to cheer him up. After he left, a sudden guest arrived. It was Hiruzen.
"Lord Hokage, what brings you here?"
Hiruzen sat on the wooden bench in front of my house without a word. I handed him a cup of tea. Finally, Hiruzen spoke.
"I heard Naruto has grown quite attached to you."
It seemed Hiruzen had been briefed about Naruto and me by the Anbu.
"I simply felt pity for a child with no parents at home who was catching fish in the river and drinking spoiled milk. I just set an extra plate while I was making my own meals. I don't think he's 'attached' to me specifically."
When I told him the blunt truth, Hiruzen seemed a bit taken aback.
"Catching fish in the river? Is that true? I was sure I provided for his living expenses..."
This guy... it seemed he really didn't know anything. Or perhaps he just didn't care.
"A while back, I went to the main street with Naruto because he wanted to buy me candy to thank me for the meals. However, the villagers were price-gouging him—they charged him ten times the normal price. So I told him not to spend the money he received and to save it instead. I don't know why the villagers hate him so much."
I actually knew the reason, but I played dumb.
"Hmm... I see... Since you came here to provide support under the Daimyo's orders, you might not know. Well, let's do this: you look after Naruto from now on. I will provide support that exceeds his food costs. How does that sound?"
'This guy, he's trying to pass the responsibility onto me because he finds it too difficult to handle himself.'
Apparently, he thought that I, a blacksmith who didn't know any jutsu and didn't hate Naruto despite being ignorant of the village's internal affairs, was the perfect candidate. After considering it, I figured it would be better for Naruto anyway, so I simply agreed.
"Hmm... very well. I was feeling a bit lonely living by myself anyway, so I'll do it."
"Then, I'll tell you my real reason for coming."
He was finally getting to the point.
"Since Naruto seems to listen to you, please persuade him to enroll in the Academy."
"Why must I do that?"
"I cannot go into detail, but Naruto is a vital person for this village. Therefore, he needs to become strong."
Hiruzen did not reveal Naruto's secret.
"A vital person whom the villagers hate... what an incredibly ironic situation."
"I apologize for not being able to tell you. You will find out in time. In any case, I'm counting on you regarding Naruto."
Hiruzen handed me an envelope of money.
"This is Naruto's living expenses for this month."
"I see. Understood."
Hiruzen left after that. I stood up and headed toward Naruto's house. Naruto seemed surprised by my sudden visit.
"Huh? Brother, what are you doing at my place?"
"Pack your bags. The Hokage gave his permission. You're living at my place from now on."