Outside Konoha.
Along the winding dirt road, crooked trees stretched their twisted branches on both sides. Jade-like leaves swayed in the wind, casting scale-like patches of light and shadow across the ground.
Smack.
Naruto, who had just left Training Ground Three with his jacket draped over his shoulders, kicked a pebble far down the road, clearly in a bad mood.
He was still brooding over being "excluded" by Sasuke and Konome.
Ever since he was little, he had often been bullied, isolated, and pushed away by children his age, so he was extremely sensitive to this kind of thing. Even though he knew Konome and Sasuke were not like that, he still could not help feeling a tight knot in his chest.
Everyone should have their own privacy and secrets. He understood that.
After all, the Nine-Tails inside him and his own small feelings toward Konome were also things he had never told anyone.
But what he could not accept was this: what secret did Konome have that she could not tell him, yet could tell Sasuke?
"Sasuke, you'll regret this!"
The six whisker-like marks on Naruto's face twitched as he muttered angrily. He had clearly heard Sasuke call Konome over first and say a bunch of things he did not understand, which led to Konome sending him away.
So in the end, it was all Sasuke's fault.
Those naturally evil Uchiha.
Grumbling to himself, Naruto mentally punched Sasuke a hundred times as he walked along the steep yellow dirt road and soon entered the town. The moment he stepped into town, he felt the temperature rise noticeably.
Wooden houses stood tall, blocking the forest and also cutting off the cool spring breeze. The midday sun was at its fiercest, making it hard to open his eyes, while the windows along the road reflected blinding white light.
Naruto squinted to avoid the glare. His tight black outfit absorbed heat like a furnace, so he spread the jacket from his shoulder and draped it over his head. Instantly he felt much cooler, and so he continued walking toward Konoha's central street with the jacket covering his head.
The number of people gradually increased, and the distant noise of conversation mixed with the bustling sounds of the marketplace reached Naruto's ears.
"Hey, it's that kid."
"Stay away from him."
"How can someone like that become a Konoha ninja…"
The voices were low and indistinct, but Naruto could clearly hear what they were saying. After so many years, he was already used to those cold stares.
Soon.
This kind of life would soon end.
With his jacket over his head, Naruto did not feel heavy-hearted. Instead, he felt a faint sense of anticipation.
For others, the upcoming Chunin Exams were a harsh trial.
But for him, they were the best stage to escape this life.
All he had to do was prove himself in the exams, and the word "monster" would be replaced with "genius."
Naruto rubbed his calloused hands together and walked under the cold gazes of the crowd toward the busiest commercial street.
When he passed the women's bathhouse with the big "Hot Water" sign, he saw a silver-haired perverted man lying on the roof, craning his neck to peek inside.
"Someone's peeping!"
Without even a second of hesitation, Naruto shouted out in the name of justice with his naturally loud voice.
"Ahhhhh!"
A piercing scream erupted from inside the bathhouse. The silver-haired pervert on the roof trembled and turned around, only to see a blond kid with a jacket over his head making a face at him.
"Damn it!"
He slammed the roof angrily. Seeing that people inside the bathhouse were already getting dressed and rushing out, he glanced at the Uzumaki crest on Naruto's jacket, quickly formed hand seals, and vanished in a puff of smoke.
What a fast Body Flicker Technique.
That guy was actually a skilled ninja.
Naruto, who had been planning to watch the show, clicked his tongue in disdain. He had no respect for someone strong enough to be a ninja but still sneaking around peeking into women's baths.
Disgusting.
"Where is he?"
The bathhouse victims finally rushed out. They wore jackets and had towels wrapped around their heads, holding mops and other improvised weapons, looking extremely fierce.
The curly-haired middle-aged woman at the front looked around for a long time and eventually only saw a blond teenager with a jacket over his head standing there casually.
"It's him!"
The moment she saw Naruto's face, she pointed at him without hesitation. The speed with which she identified the culprit was like a police officer spotting a suspect in a crowd.
Naruto's eyes widened immediately, and he pointed at his own nose in disbelief.
"Catch him!"
"At such a young age and already doing things like this. He needs to be taught a lesson."
More women rushed forward with all sorts of weapons.
Naruto did not even try to explain. He immediately turned and ran. He ran so fast that the jacket on his head flew behind him like a cape fluttering when a hero makes an entrance.
The wind roared in his ears as Naruto quickly escaped the pursuit and ran into the bustling central commercial street.
"Newly released Genius Brand Chakra Test Paper. The packaging includes Miss Konome's portrait and her handwritten autograph. Limited edition of one hundred copies."
A specially made loudspeaker shouted outside the Ninja Tools Shop. Naruto, who had been running, suddenly stopped when he heard Konome's name. Many ninja wearing forehead protectors and academy students also stopped at the same time.
"Miss Konome's autograph? Is it real?"
"It's a limited collaboration edition. Look, it even has the goddess's portrait. So cute. I want one."
"Haven't you already tested your chakra nature?"
"So what?"
A young female ninja with a forehead protector dragged her companion into the shop with sparkling eyes. In just a moment, a crowd had already gathered in front of the shop.
Konome's popularity was terrifying.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Naruto squeezed through the crowd that almost knocked him over.
Three years ago, the fat owner of the shop had approached Konome for a collaboration. He offered her a share of the shop in exchange for endorsing chakra test papers, and he even wanted to print her face on the packaging.
According to Konome, that shop owner must have hired some kind of genius advisor.
Back then, Naruto did not understand any of it. He was just jealous that Konome could make so much money just by taking a few photos. He thought the fat boss was stupid and had too much money.
Only later, when the shop next door that had once belonged to the Uchiha clan was also bought by the same boss and the store kept expanding, did Naruto realize that the stupid one had actually been himself.
Later he overheard the boss talking with Konome about things he did not understand at all. Words like genius marketing, fan economy, storytelling, gifts, cards, merchandise.
Since then, even though Konome had not done anything shocking again, her reputation as a genius in Konoha had grown louder and louder. The story of her killing a Cloud Village jonin was known by everyone, even children and elderly people.
With her stunning appearance and incredible talent, her number of fans kept increasing. Every time new merchandise was released, it sold out instantly. For a while, girls in the village even started copying her style.
Some covered their eyes with semi-transparent black cloth, dyed their hair silver, or drew mysterious symbols on their foreheads. All kinds of strange trends appeared.
During class, Naruto often heard Shikamaru muttering that the future Hokage had already been decided and that they only needed to wait for the right time.
Naruto did not understand what he meant.
But he knew one thing.
Konome was living exactly what she had once said. The difference between a hated monster and a praised genius was sometimes just a single thought.
Avoiding the growing crowd, Naruto walked into the food street.
The smells of dango and fried food filled the air, and the aroma of grilled meat from the barbecue restaurant stood out even more.
Naruto had trained for a long time and was already starving. When he smelled the grilled meat, his mouth watered uncontrollably. He touched the frog wallet at his waist and eventually chose to walk toward Ichiraku Ramen.
The Wave Country mission had paid well, but the Akimichi clan's barbecue restaurant was really expensive.
If he ate there with his appetite, one meal would wipe out more than half a month of living expenses.
For the next month, he needed to prepare for the Chunin Exams and could not take missions. He also needed to update his ninja tools and training equipment. This was exactly the time he needed money.
He absolutely could not waste it now.
"Kid, could you buy me a bowl of ramen?"
Just as Naruto was about to enter the ramen shop as usual, he suddenly heard a weak male voice beside him.
That voice sounded familiar.
He turned his head instinctively and saw a ragged man sitting on the roadside. His clothes were torn and dirty, his hair messy. Most noticeable were the empty sleeves hanging where his arms should have been.
"Teacher Kazama!"
Seeing the dirty face and those poisonous-looking green eyes, Naruto could not believe what he was seeing.
The strict instructor from the Ninja Academy, the admissions teacher, the man who had lost both arms during the Cloud Village attack and retired, Teacher Kazama, was now begging on the street.
Naruto immediately crouched down and helped Kazama Kazu up.
"Thank you, Naruto."
Kazama Kazu forced out a few words. His cheeks were sunken from hunger, his body filthy, and his chin covered in rough stubble. The once proud Konoha jonin now looked like a beggar.
"How did you end up like this?"
Looking at the thin and exhausted Kazama Kazu, Naruto felt both sadness and anger.
It was this man who had blocked Yotsuki during the Cloud Village attack at the cost of his own arms, buying them enough time to survive. A hero like that had ended up begging on the street. Had Konoha really failed to pay his compensation properly?
Pain filled Kazama's eyes as he looked at the distant sky and spoke in a low voice.
"I was deceived by Risa."
"Risa?"
Naruto helped Kazama into Ichiraku Ramen. As usual, the customers quickly paid and left when they saw Naruto, and the two of them sat in the empty seats.
"She was my girlfriend," Kazama said with a bitter smile, lowering his eyes so he would not look weak in front of his student. "She said she would help treat my arms, and while I trusted her, she took all my savings and the compensation Konoha gave me."
"What a terrible person!"
Naruto clenched his teeth in anger.
"Oh, Naruto is here. What would you like to eat?"
Ayame stuffed the money left by the previous customers into her apron and smiled brightly when she saw Naruto, clearly happy to see him after so long.
"Two extra-large pork ramen."
"Got it."
Naruto raised two fingers and ordered like he always did. Watching Ayame walk into the kitchen with a smile, he turned to Kazama and said,
"Teacher Kazama, I can treat you to ramen."
"Thank you, Naruto."
Kazama showed a slightly embarrassed smile, but before he could continue, Naruto suddenly interrupted him.
"But…"
Looking at Kazama's dirty and exhausted face, Naruto sighed. His blue eyes were filled with helplessness.
"I've already graduated from the Academy and become a genin. Next month I'm going to take the Chunin Exams. Could you please stop treating me like an idiot?"
"I…"
Kazama licked his dry lips and looked at Naruto's sincere face. All the lies he had prepared for three days got stuck in his throat.
He had prepared this test for three full days, and yet it had been exposed before it even began.
Naruto took the jacket off his head and placed it on the chair beside him, smoothing his flattened hair and revealing his forehead.
"If I remember correctly, Konome learned Wind Release from you, right? If you were really cheated and left with nothing, you could just go ask Konome for help. There's no way you'd end up begging on the street."
"I…"
Kazama had not expected Naruto to know about his relationship with Konome. He tried to explain.
"Please don't tell me you couldn't find her," Naruto said, pointing at the crowd outside buying Konome merchandise. "If you ask anyone on the street, there's a high chance they can tell you where Konome lives."
Seeing that he could not keep lying, Kazama immediately dropped the weak act. His green eyes became sharp again.
"Alright. I didn't expect Konome to tell you about this."
His lie had been exposed in one second, and the test of Naruto's character had failed before it even began. He felt quite depressed.
"Teacher Kazama, why did you lie to me?" Naruto asked, completely confused. Was he really sitting on the street just to trick Naruto into buying him ramen?
"Forget it. I don't feel like explaining. Kid, do you want to learn a super powerful ninjutsu?"
Kazama had spent days preparing the test only for it to fail, so he went straight to his real purpose.
Super powerful. Ninjutsu.
Hearing those two words, Naruto's eyes immediately lit up.
He was worrying about how to prepare for the upcoming Chunin Exams.
Kakashi was too lazy to train them, and Guy's training methods were just endless physical conditioning, which would not produce major improvement in just one month. If Teacher Kazama trained him for a while, he would definitely have a better chance in the Chunin Exams.
"What ninjutsu?"
"My self-created S-rank Wind Release forbidden technique: Wind Release, Thunder Breaker Spear."
When he mentioned his own technique, a hint of pride appeared in Kazama's eyes.
Originally, he had wanted to pass Thunder Breaker Spear to Konome, but she had refused. Since then, he had been trying to perfect this unfinished secret technique.
For five years, he kept revising and improving it, but without arms he could not test it. All his improvements were theoretical.
Until three days ago.
He had finally completed all the theory behind Thunder Breaker Spear. He went to see the Third Hokage to help find a suitable successor.
That was when he received shocking news.
The Five Nations Joint Chunin Exams would be held in Konoha. All genin were currently preparing special training for the upcoming exams.
And among the talented genin participating, the Third Hokage recommended the only Wind Release user besides Konome.
Naruto Uzumaki.
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