The sheep's bleating stopped abruptly.
Naruto exhaled slowly and pulled out a small mirror to examine his face. Bruises bloomed across his cheeks, nose swollen, the clear imprint of hooves visible on his skin.
Well, spicy lamb sounds good right about now.
He'd have to ask Nine-Tails to make some later.
Soon enough, the Nine-Tails appeared at the doorway, paws on his hips. "Food's ready!"
Naruto surveyed the spread of dishes and couldn't help the satisfied smile that crossed his face. Nine-Tails's cooking had evolved from passable to genuinely impressive.
"Spicy lamb, I want the spicy lamb!" Naruto called out.
"Hmm." The Nine-Tails brought out a dish. Four lamb shanks lay arranged on the plate, their aroma rich and inviting. They no longer possessed the fierce energy they'd used to kick Naruto's face with such enthusiasm.
After eating the spicy lamb, Naruto noticed his facial injuries seemed to hurt less. Probably just the endorphins.
After the meal, Naruto headed to school. He'd made a promise to Iruka-sensei about attending class, and he intended to keep it.
When he arrived at the Academy, no one seemed particularly surprised by his battered appearance. The children here were more restrained than those on the streets. They never expressed direct malice toward Naruto.
Just indifference. Silent avoidance.
Sitting at his desk, Naruto's gaze drifted to the front row. A black-haired boy sat there, flanked by two girls. One was Haruno Sakura, the other Yamanaka Ino. The girls chattered constantly at each other, but the dark-haired boy in the middle remained completely detached, as if their entire existence meant nothing to him.
Naruto could tell both girls liked the boy named Sasuke.
Not only them, either. With Sasuke's popularity, there were probably others who harbored secret crushes.
None of that mattered to Naruto. He just wanted to befriend Sasuke. And eventually, everyone else in the class too.
One by one.
RING RING RING.
The class bell sounded. The slightly noisy classroom fell silent instantly. Everyone sat up straight, waiting for their teacher.
A moment later, Iruka opened the door and entered. He greeted the class cheerfully, then walked between the rows, checking attendance.
He froze when he saw Naruto's face.
Did he get into a fight?
That was Iruka's first thought. He knew Naruto's situation well. Walking through the village, the boy faced constant verbal abuse. It would be natural for Naruto to eventually snap and fight back.
I'll need to talk to him after class.
During the lesson, Naruto stared at the blackboard the entire time. Iruka felt relieved seeing his student apparently paying attention.
He didn't realize Naruto's eyes held no focus whatsoever. The boy's thoughts were miles away.
After school, Naruto headed for the mountain when Iruka called out to stop him.
"Iruka-sensei, are you going to treat me to ramen?" Naruto's face lit up with a bright smile.
"Uh..." The question caught Iruka off-guard. He immediately regretted approaching Naruto and changed the subject with an awkward chuckle. "Naruto, what happened to your face?"
"Oh, this?" Naruto clasped his hands behind his head. "I fell. Really spectacular fall, too. The kind that's hard to pull off. Have you ever seen anything like it, sensei?"
"No..." Iruka sounded skeptical.
"You don't believe me? I can demonstrate..."
Naruto's body tipped forward. Iruka's reflexes kicked in and he caught the boy before he hit the ground. They ended up face-to-face, Naruto cradled in his teacher's arms.
Iruka's face flushed. He quickly released Naruto and cleared his throat. "I believe you, Naruto. No need for a live demonstration."
"Okay! Thanks, Iruka-sensei." Naruto grinned.
After a pause, Iruka pulled a small container from his pocket. "This ointment will help with the swelling. Use it."
"Really? Thanks!" Naruto accepted it happily, then added, "You should treat me to ramen sometime, sensei. I can't let Teuchi-san see me looking like this."
He waved goodbye and headed off.
Iruka stood there watching Naruto's retreating back, the corner of his mouth twitching. I never actually offered to buy you ramen.
Passing through the market on his way home, Naruto spotted the uncle who ran the pork stall. The man sat shirtless, fanning himself with a palm leaf, looking bored. Half a pig still sat on his cutting board with few buyers in sight.
The prices had gone up again.
Naruto frowned. Why does pork keep getting more expensive when clearly no one's buying?
Economics confused him.
Still, if pork was so expensive, maybe he could raise pigs too.
Back at the mountain, Naruto found the Nine-Tails and announced excitedly, "Nine-Tails, let's fence off some land for pigs! We'll fatten them up and have fresh pork whenever we need it."
The Nine-Tails looked puzzled. "Why pigs? Just because pork is expensive?"
Naruto nodded. "That's one reason. But also, pigs are easy to raise. They don't overthink things. Their whole routine is simple: eat, sleep, eat, sleep, get fat fast. When it's time for slaughter, they don't even resist. They probably think, 'Well, I've eaten my fill, so if that's how it is, that's how it is.'"
"Makes sense."
The Nine-Tails pulled out his cookbook and flipped to the pork section. He paused, finding an issue. "But that only applies to full-grown pigs. What about suckling pigs? They're too small to have eaten their fill. That doesn't seem fair to them."
"Suckling pigs are so small it doesn't matter if they complain," Naruto said cheerfully. "No matter how much fuss they make, they'll still end up as a delicious dish on our table."
The Nine-Tails' eyes lit up. This explanation clearly satisfied him. "Very well. I'll fence off land for a pig farm. When pork prices stabilize, we'll stop raising them and focus on the cattle again."
"Great! You handle the setup. I'm going to train."
The Nine-Tails worked quickly, enclosing a circular area about a kilometer in radius. His business plan took shape as he worked.
The first batch of pigs will get premium treatment. Good food, plenty of it, rapid growth.
When they're grown and ready for slaughter, pork prices will probably drop.
The second batch will get reduced rations since we won't be able to charge as much.
Once prices fully stabilize and people accept the new normal, we'll dismantle the pen and return to cattle.
The Nine-Tails felt rather proud of himself. Not only was he a culinary genius, but apparently a business genius as well.
Naturally, Naruto had no idea about these elaborate plans. He was already deep in training, focused on rapidly increasing his strength.
Soon, he'd be strong enough.
Strong enough to make friends.
People have to work hard for what they want.
The System had said that, and Naruto believed it completely.