Morning came fast.
Too fast.
Naruto's eyes snapped open.
"…Right."
Vision.
Invasion.
One month.
"…No pressure."
He sat up.
Cracked his neck.
"Alright…"
"New plan."
Hands came together instantly.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
POOFPOOFPOOF
The room filled.
Naruto pointed like a commander.
"Okay listen up—"
"You guys are me—so don't be stupid."
A clone raised a hand.
"…Statistically unlikely."
"Shut up."
He started assigning.
"You three—"
He pointed at a group near his sealing supplies.
"Stay here."
"Fuinjutsu training."
"Use the Uzumaki record, experiment, fail, learn—repeat."
A clone picked up a brush.
"…We're about to either become geniuses or explode the apartment."
Naruto nodded.
"…Acceptable losses."
"Next group—"
He pointed again.
"Training grounds."
"Cyclone, Gale Pierce, taijutsu, everything."
"Push it."
A clone grinned.
"…Danger Zone bonus?"
Naruto grinned back.
"…Abuse it."
The remaining clones cracked their knuckles.
"Scouting."
"Find people."
"Information."
"Anything weird—report back."
A beat.
"…And don't die."
A clone tilted his head.
"…Still not helpful."
POOFPOOFPOOF
They dispersed.
Naruto stretched.
"…That should cover growth."
A pause.
"…Now I handle people."
— — —
Konohagakure Streets
Late morning.
Naruto walked through the village.
Cleaner.
Less… forest.
Still a little questionable.
"…Alright…"
"Ino-Shika-Cho…"
He scratched his head.
"…Flowers, food, lazy."
"Got it."
— — —
Yamanaka Flower Shop
The bell above the door chimed.
"Welcome—"
Ino froze mid-sentence.
"…Naruto?"
He raised a hand.
"…Yo."
She blinked.
"…Why are you here?"
Naruto leaned casually against the counter.
"…Looking for you."
Ino raised a brow.
"…If you've somehow moved on from Sakura, let me tell you now. I'm not interested."
Naruto thought for a second.
System nudged him.
Ping
Recommended: Be normal.
"…Nothing like that Ino. I heard most Blondes were inbred anyway."
Ino scoffed, baffled by Naruto's stupidity. "Naruto...you're blonde too."
Naruto sweatdropped, brow scrunched in embarrassment, 'Fuck she got me'
"Anyway, Ino. Team 7 is going to be nominated for the Chunin Exams...I have a funny feeling you guys will be joining us."
"…Figured we should actually train like a team… village… thing."
Ino blinked again.
"…Who are you and what did you do with Naruto?"
Naruto smirked slightly.
"…I leveled up. Somewhere in the next two weeks we'll set up a time."
She huffed.
But—
She smiled.
"…Choji's probably eating."
"…Shikamaru's—"
A beat.
"…Missing."
"Of course he is."
— — —
Akimichi BBQ
"MORE SAUCE!"
Naruto walked in and stopped as he saw the cause of the ruckus.
"...Yo Choji, what you eating there?"
Choji sat surrounded by plates.
A mountain of meat, dumplings, noodles and much more.
"Some Fried Pork."
Naruto watched Choji look up mid-bite.
Naruto pointed. "And then?"
"A little wagyu"
It continued this way for a while, Naruto repeating the "And then?" until Choji finished up
Choji swallowed his last bite.
"…No more and then, I'm done."
Naruto chuckled.
"…You seen Shikamaru, I'm trying to gather everybody for a little...training exercise."
Choji slowly got up from the table, a mischevious glint in his eye.
"…And then?"
Naruto's eyes narrowed. It was actually pretty dumb when his own jokes were turned on him. He didn't respond for quite some time.
"Alright alright, he's around here somewhere, you might have to look a bit though."
— — —
Hours passed.
Naruto searched.
Training grounds.
Parks.
Alleys.
Nothing.
"…This guy…"
Ping
New Thought Registered:
"Tracking lazy people is harder than tracking enemies."
+1 Intelligence
"…I hate how true that is."
He exhaled.
"…Whatever."
"…I tried."
He jumped.
Roof to roof.
Then—
Stopped.
Sat down.
Laid back.
"…Break time."
Clouds drifted above.
"…Huh…"
"…Nice."
"Troublesome, isn't it?"
Naruto didn't move.
"…Found you."
Beside him—
Laying the exact same way—
Shikamaru.
Arms behind his head.
Eyes on the sky.
"…You're loud."
Naruto snorted.
"…You're lazy."
"…Efficient."
A pause.
"…You were looking for me."
Naruto glanced over.
"…Yeah."
Shikamaru sighed.
"…Figured."
"…Why?"
Naruto stared at the clouds.
The vision flickered.
"…Something big's coming."
Shikamaru didn't react immediately.
"…That vague, huh?"
Naruto exhaled.
"…Chunin Exams."
"…But worse."
Silence.
Wind passed softly.
"…What's that have to do with us? You got details?"
"…Not enough."
"…Enemies?"
"…Yeah."
"…Strong?"
Naruto glanced at him.
"…Yeah."
Shikamaru closed his eyes briefly.
"…Troublesome."
A long pause.
"…So you're gathering people."
Naruto nodded slightly.
"…Trying to."
Shikamaru opened one eye.
"…And you came to me first?"
Naruto smirked.
"…No."
"…Rude."
"…You're just the hardest to find."
"…Fair."
Silence again.
Clouds shifted.
"…If something big is coming…"
Shikamaru muttered.
"…You'll need coordination."
"…Not just power."
Naruto didn't respond.
"…You're not smart enough to handle that alone."
"…Wow."
"…I'll help."
Naruto blinked.
"…That was fast."
"…Less work later."
A beat.
"…Also you look like you almost died."
"…I did."
"…Figures."
They both stared at the sky.
"…Gather as much of our class as possible. We'll set up a meeting 12 days from now…In the meantime, I'll think."
Naruto nodded.
"…Thanks."
"…Don't make me regret it."
Naruto stood.
"…Too late."
He jumped off the roof.
Shikamaru watched him go.
"…He's changed…"
Clouds drifted.
"…Still troublesome though."
— — —
Back at the apartment—
POOF
Memories flooded in.
Seals improving.
Combat sharpening.
Wind cutting cleaner.
Naruto steadied himself.
"…Mom...Dad. Would you be proud? Wherever you are..."
Ping
Training Summary:
Stat Gains:
+2 Agility
+1 Endurance
+2 Intelligence
Skill Progression:
Fuinjutsu LVL 1 (9/10) → LVL 2 (5/20)
• Stability greatly improved
• Basic storage seals minor concussive explosive and minor gravity seal tags now viable
Shadow Clone Jutsu LVL 4 (30/40) → LVL 5 (3/50)
• Increased clone durability
• Better chakra distribution
Wind Style: Cyclone LVL 3 (14/30) → LVL 3 (26/30)
Wind Release: Gale Pierce LVL 1 (1/10) → LVL 1 (6/10)
Trap Making LVL 4 (14/40) → LVL 4 (22/40)
Notable Achievements:
+3 stable storage seals
+3 minor concussive explosion tags
+3 minor gravity seals
Reduced seal failure rate significantly
Survived 12 high-risk clone encounters
Discovered 2 new viable training grounds