-Ichiraku ramen-
"Another bowl" Naruto called out
"Jeez, how many bowls are you going to eat? My allowance won't be able to cover it at this rate" Ino said with a helpless look
Naruto received the bowl with glee as he replied
"Can't be helped, you'll only treat me to this place due to that favour, so I'll need to eat to the best of my ability! Shiki, time me!" Naruto said as he began slurping up the noodles are an incredible speed.
Choji was also eating with him, and the two were competing. Of course, Choji was paying for his own, otherwise, Ino would be crying at this point.
"Last bowl, I promise" Naruto said as he ordered another
"Urgh, it was my fault for pushing you anyway" Ino sighed
"Hahaha"
'She must never know I tripped her' He gulped in his heart
"But don't you ever get bored of ramen?" Ino asked as she watched him finish another bowl
"Nope, not to mention, this is one of the few places I can eat at" Naruto said as he rubbed his round belly with a satisfied expression.
At the mention of that, Shikamaru got an idea and sighed faintly.
"Huh? Why?" Ino asked
"Why else? Cause no one would even want me near their shop" Naruto replied
When he said this, even Choji's eating paused for a moment, not to mention Ino, who was the one asking. It was only now that she remembered, Naruto was practically an outcast in this village, with eyes of hatred directed at him wherever he walks.
On the way here, she also felt those eyes, and it made her feel uncomfortable.
"S-Sorry..." She apologised for mentioning this, but Naruto shrugged it off.
In his previous life, he was practically a public enemy after he bombed the government headquarters, so such gazes were more than normal to him.
"It's annoying, but I got used to it...man, I kinda don't want to become a Shinobi anymore" Naruto said with a sigh
!!!!!!
Everyone in the shop froze when they heard this. They could still remember how Naruto would always proclaim to be the next Hokage, so to hear this from someone like him, they were utterly shocked. But it was then overshadowed by pity.
Did Naruto do anything wrong? Nothing at all! It was his title, being called a demon fox child, which is why the villagers treat him with such disdain, he didn't deserve any of this hate.
"A Shinobi isn't allowed to hurt villagers...maybe I should just drop out so I can go punch some of those f**kers" He added soon after, which made their minds blank out...
Huh!? Is that why he wants to drop out now!? Damn, even for them, that reasoning is absurd!
"Just kidding" Naruto grinned
"Jeez Naruto, don't joke about something like that" Ino sighed
"Hehe"
...
As they waited for Choji to finish, they began chatting about other things.
"Hey Naruto, why did you transform into Ino during the test? I don't remember you ever turning into her before" Shikamaru asked
"Oh, I chose the person I felt I could visualise best" He replied
"Ino? But I don't think you two spoke to one another except today" Shikamaru said in confusion
Naruto didn't reply to that, he shifted his eyes away in response. His silence gave Shikamaru an idea, and Ino's eyes widened. She covered her mouth with one hand as...
*Puff*
*Pfft*
She let out a faint snicker as she flicked her hair back
"Heh, were you enchanted by me? Sorry, but I like Sasuke" She said proudly
Naruto leaned on one hand as she stared at the empty bowl of ramen in front of him, not looking at Ino's eyes.
"Mn..." He sounded out casually
"..." No one expected him to be this direct, especially Ino who suddenly felt a little embarrassed
*Pat*
"Wow, you're actually adorable" Ino slapped his back and laughed, her eyes drifted to his serious, but nervous eyes that couldn't meet her own.
It was like staring at a baby tiger, proud, yet nervous in front of bigger foes. Shikamaru rolled his eyes when he saw this development, whilst Choji was still focused on the ramen in front of him.
"We should eat out more often" Ino said
"Huh? Just us two?" Naruto uttered quickly
"Pfft, hahaha, no, all four of us" Ino replied with a laugh
"Too bothersome" Shikamaru said
The group chatted for a while, and after Choji finished, they split up.
Naruto looked towards his house, and his figure suddenly vanished with a golden flash of light. If anyone saw this, they'd immediately know it as his father's signature move, the flying raijin.
He appeared back in his house, and held the kunai in his hand.
"The old man was a b*tch for sealing the nine tails in his son, but damn, is his technique convenient"
-The next day-
"Ino, I'm hungry, treat me to ramen again" Naruto opened up his arm and ran over to the trio as they headed to school.
"What? No, you'll eat through my wallet if I treat you again" Ino shot down his request in an instant.
The group realised that Naruto has grown to be more thick-skinned after the head injury.
"Why don't you treat me to a meal? Then I'll treat you next time" Ino crossed her arms and smiled
"Huh? Does spoiled milk and cup ramen count?" Naruto replied with a blank expression
"Hah!? Of course not, why do you even have spoiled milk!?" Ino gasped
"My fridge is broken for years now, so everything inside is already spoiled" He replied as he walked with his hands behind his head.
Ino sighed
"I'll treat you another time" Feeling a bit bad for him, she decided to treat him once in a while
"F**k yeah!" His monthly allowance only allowed for the bare minimum, so having Ino treat him every now and then is a massive plus!
[Mission, bed her]
'Mister officer, this person right here'
[It's just a joke...*bang*...huh? Wait, officers, it's not what it looks like!]
[On your knees! That girl is only twelve!]
[Officer, it was just a joke!]
'...wow, that one man role play you have going on is very convincing'
[Thanks]
The trio watched Naruto's expression change from shock, to serious, then to a casual smile, wondering what was happening in his head for him to show this many changes in such short time.
[Real mission this time, make the mood awkward, so awkward no one can reply]
[Reward: Slightly better physique (in short, strength, stamina, speed up)]
Naruto didn't know how much that 'slightly' meant, but something was better than nothing.
"Hey" He said
"Yeah?" The three looked over
"Sasuke's lips tasted pretty sweet" He said
"..." Utterly speechless, where did that even come from!?
[Wow, you really have no bottom line, you perv]
'As the saying goes, twenty dollars is twenty dollars' Naruto chuckled in his heart, sure, his reputation probably sunk, but he never had much of it in the first place.
[You win, mission complete]
In that instant, Naruto felt his body change, he felt a lot more energetic, and his body felt a bit lighter as well.
'Not bad'
But as he was celebrating, he also felt the strange gaze from the trio, who wondered if he swung that way...
"Y-You're serious?" Choji asked with a shaky voice
"Huh? No, I just wanted to see how Ino would react, she likes him, so she must be curious about how his lips tasted like, right?" Naruto glanced at her with a cheeky grin
"...not through a guy though, I'd rather find out myself" Ino covered her face and said with a depressed tone
"How about you stare him in the eye, and I push you, worked for me, could work out for you" Naruto shrugged and said
"Hah!? No, how can I do that? Not to mention, I thought you said you liked me, where's the dedication?" Ino huffed, trying her best to not get flustered
But Naruto revealed a warm smile as he replied
"Seeing you smile makes it worth the while"
"H-Huh?" She turned to him in shock, but then he stuck out his tongue
"I said it because I know he'll definitely avoid it, so you'll probably just fall to the ground" He said playfully
Ino suddenly had the urge to punch him, but held it in.
"Naruto, are you prepared for today's test?" Choji asked
"Yep, one hundred percent confident" Naruto grinned
"Really?" Ino asked
"Yep, but if I don't pass, I'll live off you forever" Naruto replied
Pfft
Ino laughed, but poked his forehead and said
"Nope~ I won't raise a failure" She stuck her tongue out after, which looked quite cute
[Perv, officer, it's him]
[FBI open up!]
Naruto rolled his eyes at that and just ignored it
-In class-
"Alright, the final test for your graduation, first up..." Like yesterday, he read through the names, and everyone did the substitution jutsu one after another.
When it got to Naruto's turn, no one made any point of mockeries like yesterday. His transformation jutsu was perfect, so if they made fun of him now, and he does it perfect again, then they're just asking for it.
*Puff*
Naruto instantly vanished, and in his place was a piece of log. It was done instantly, without even making any hand signs, so even Iruka was impressed.
"Naruto, pass, congratulations" He smiled
"Hehehe, one bowl of ramen for that" Naruto said
"Sure, sure" Iruka chuckled
Naruto turned his focus to Shikamaru and his group
"Shiki, Choji, Ino, let's go eat out again, to celebrate"
Iruka was a bit surprised when he saw Naruto call out to Shikamaru and his group, as he was usually quite unsocial when it comes to talking to others in the class. But he was glad that Naruto was much more open now.
"Sure, but I'm not treating you today" Ino huffed
"Ah, dang, I was really banking on you treating me today" Naruto grumbled
"Mn, just one bowl then" Ino raised a finger and said
"F**K YEAH!" Naruto yelled, causing all eyes to fall on him, as well as Iruka's furious gaze for swearing so loudly...
Sakura glanced at Ino and gave her a nudge
"When did you two get so close?" She asked
"None of your business you hussy" Ino snorted
"Ptui, who gives a damn, you blonde bimbo" Sakura growled
The two quickly butted heads and began arguing up a storm.
Amongst this argument, Naruto got an update...
[Mission, disrupt their argument, and turn their anger to you, the angrier, the better the reward]
[Reward: Physique boost, amount depends on their anger metre]
Naruto suddenly appeared next to them and placed a hand in front of both of them.
"Naruto?" The two glared at him, having had their argument disrupted, they weren't in a good mood
"It doesn't matter how much you two argue...Sasuke's first kiss was me" He pointed at himself and said with a straight face
"..."
Fire burned in their eyes as they gnashed their teeth.
"If you didn't bring it up, I'd have forgotten, you b*stard!" Sakura roared
Ino was glaring at him fiercely as she prepared to throw punches at him.
'That crazy b*stard' Shikamaru pinched between his brows and groaned, this was getting out of hand.
As for Sasuke, he was staring at Naruto with a cold glare, as if he was prepared to murder him in cold blood.
"Hey now, don't get angry, let's sit down, and talk about the good points of Sasuke, let me start, his lips tasted sweet" Naruto said seriously
"..."
*Bang*
Sakura finally couldn't take it anymore, and threw a punch.
*Poof*
But the moment she made contact, Naruto exploded into a puff of smoke, replaced with a log...
"NARUTO!" The girls in the class all screamed his name
No one realised, but under Sasuke's desk, he was holding a shuriken. Had Naruto not vanished, he'd have seriously decided to throw it at him.
[Okay, first off, wow, you're impressive! Second, Holy f**k you're good at angering people, I am very much so entertained]
[Mission complete, top reward, massive boost to physical stats]
Naruto, who has escaped onto the roof, felt his physique improve by a large margin. He felt that he was nearly twice his previous level of strength!
He did a rough calculation, the initial 'slightly' increase has brought around 10% increase to his overall physique. This massively, it gave him roughly 70% boost, meaning, he is working at 180% his initial state!
Plus, the one tail demon fox cloak, he can be considered equal to a high level Chunin at least...maybe...
It was all so vague in the anime and manga, he honestly doesn't even know how their power is scaled.
"Phew, that felt good" He peaked his head down the window to see what was happening in the class, and saw Iruka sensei calming everyone down.
Once everything was settling down, Naruto jumped back in through the window
"Don't cause any more trouble" Iruka warned
"Yes sensei"