Iruka, finally shaking off his shock, announced that the winner of the spar was Naruto. He stood there for a moment, contemplating how Naruto could have improved so dramatically in such a short time, especially since he hadn't seemed to use any standard ninja techniques.
Naruto walked back to stand with Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Shino. There were still a few more spar matches scheduled. While the initial shock rippled through the students, it began to subside somewhat as the next matches started, drawing their attention. Sasuke, meanwhile, was escorted to the Academy infirmary to be treated.
Sasuke's fangirls were left in stunned silence. If the last match could be dismissed as a stroke of luck, what was this crushing defeat? Could they still argue that Naruto had won by chance this time?
The other students were obviously shocked. Kiba and Shikamaru, however, were even more so. They had braced themselves to witness Naruto receive a thorough beating from Sasuke, who was already fuming from their previous spar.
But instead, Naruto had defeated Sasuke with surprising ease, making it look almost effortless. Their eyes were wide as they looked at Naruto, who stood right beside them, seeing him in an entirely new light.
Kiba was the first to approach Naruto directly. "Hey, Naruto," he asked, his voice filled with surprise and urgency. "tell me what kind of training were doing for last 2 weeks that you improve this much?" He leaned in conspiratorially. "And don't say like last time that it was just Chakra Control training and you won Spar against Sasuke with strock of luck."
Kiba pressed the point. "Because this is obviously not a strock of luck, with the speed you move, it's too fast for us to capture."
Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino all nodded in agreement, their gazes fixed on Naruto, waiting intently for his response. These were the children of prominent or important clans within the village. Their training within their clans was extensive, often sufficient for early graduation if they chose, having been taught basic chakra control, fundamental Ninjutsu, and their clan's Taijutsu even before entering the Academy.
However, even with their privileged training, they knew they couldn't defeat Sasuke in a one-on-one match. Sasuke himself belonged to the now-extinct Uchiha Clan, a clan that, along with the equally lost Senju Clan, had been the co-founders of Konoha. Sasuke's strength, while formidable, wasn't entirely inexplicable given his heritage. But Naruto was different. He was an orphan who had consistently been the 'dead last' of their batch for the past five years of the Academy. For him to suddenly achieve this level of strength, seemingly from just two weeks of personal training, was unfathomable.
Their intense curiosity was entirely justified. Naruto looked at their questioning gazes, unsure how to answer honestly. He had, after all, truly only been practicing chakra control exercises – Tree Walking and Water Walking. He chuckled internally at the irony.
He cleared his throat. "Well.." he began. The moment Naruto opened his mouth, the gazes of Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Shino, the intensity of Shino's visible even behind his black glasses seemed to become even more focused with anticipation. Naruto slightly flinched under their collective stare and chuckled dryly again.
He genuinely couldn't find the right words to explain. He knew telling them he'd only been doing chakra control training would sound like an obvious lie; chakra control alone didn't grant this kind of physical boost. Telling them about the System was, of course, impossible. He coughed lightly again. "Ahem," he said. He decided on a vague, dismissive answer. "I really didn't do anything special aside from basic training, maybe my potential too great and I never knew." he claimed.
Their curious looks quickly morphed into expressions of doubt. Kiba voiced their skepticism. "Ugh, If you don't want tell us just say so," Kiba grumbled. "no need to lie like that, afterall we also do basic training regularly and about potential, i can assure you that I have more potential then you."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at Kiba's confident assertion. 'Just where did he gets the confidence to say that,' he thought, a hint of amusement in his mind. 'maybe it's because he doesn't know about my lineage.'
He recalled information from his anime memories. The Uzumaki clan was once feared by nations, so much so that it required the combined efforts of three great nations just to destroy a single clan. Even the Uchiha and Senju clans, despite their formidable reputations, hadn't inspired that level of existential threat to other nations.
After considering this, he decided to give Kiba a hint. "You should ask your mother or someone in your Clan about it," he suggested calmly, "just how much natural potential an Uzumaki can possess then you will know what I said isn't a complete lie."
Kiba looked at him, then scoffed. "Hah, What is Uzumaki even," he said dismissively. "was there even a Clan with that name?!"
Upon hearing this exchange, Choji and Shino showed little reaction; they too seemed unaware of the Uzumaki Clan's existence or significance. Shikamaru, however, was different. Hearing Naruto's statement and Kiba's reaction, he remembered that his father, Shikaku Nara, the Jonin Commander of the village, had occasionally mentioned Naruto. A thought began to form in his sharp mind. If his father, someone of Shikaku's position, spoke of Naruto multiple times, it might indeed mean that Naruto possessed something of genuine importance to the village.
Even though he didn't know about the Uzumaki Clan himself, his sharp intellect quickly connected the dots. However he then thought, 'So Troublesome, I shouldn't meddle with Village's affairs.'
Once the Academy day was over, Naruto said goodbye to his four friends. He began walking towards the familiar comfort of the Ichiraku Ramen shop, counting the meager money in his frog-shaped wallet as he walked. He had received his monthly allowance five days ago. He sighed lightly at the thought. While his current allowance was sufficient to prevent starvation, it was far from enough to support his future dreams of living his life to the fullest, enjoying his freedom and traveling the world.
'Only thing that I can think of is stealing large sum of money,' he thought pragmatically, contemplating ways to acquire significant wealth. 'but stealing from village is no go, even if now I can destroy village with Bijuudama only, that would only makes my life more difficult.' He knew that if he did anything that significantly weakened Konoha, other villages wouldn't hesitate to capitalize on it, likely initiating the Fourth Shinobi War much earlier than it occurred in the anime.
An early war meant the Akatsuki would also accelerate their plans. With all villages weakened by conflict, the Akatsuki would find it much easier to capture the tailed beasts. Even with the power he had just gained through the System, Naruto knew he was not yet a match for the full strength of the Akatsuki. Therefore, any action against the village was simply not a viable option at this time.
He reached Ichiraku Ramen. A big, genuine smile spread across his face as he greeted Teuchi. "Old man Teuchi, Two bowls of Miso Ramen.." he said cheerfully.
Teuchi smiled back warmly. "Oh Naruto, wait a few minutes, you order will come," he replied kindly. Naruto's smile at Teuchi, and the way he addressed him, was identical to the original Naruto. Here, the smile didn't feel forced; he genuinely loved Ichiraku's ramen, and the genuine kindness Teuchi showed him was a stark contrast to the calculated facade of Hiruzen.
Upon recalling Hiruzen, Naruto felt a surge of frustration. He cursed inwardly. 'Now that I thinks,' he thought, 'that old shit didn't even give me what's supposed to rightfully mine, House of my parents, Minato and Kushina plus all the wealth they have is supposed to mine not of village.' He felt a sense of injustice. 'I should atleast do something about that,' he decided. Living in that cramped, crappy apartment with such a meager monthly allowance was a thoroughly distasteful experience.
While he was lost in these thoughts, Teuchi, with his eyes closed and a warm smile, placed a steaming bowl of ramen in front of him. Naruto was pulled out of his contemplation by the aroma.
With a big smile, he began digging into the ramen, finishing the bowl quickly. The taste was so good, the flavor so satisfying, that he ended up ordering more than just the initial two bowls.
After finishing his meal and paying, Naruto started walking towards his apartment. With his newly enhanced senses, a benefit of gaining Full Control Over Yang Kurama's Chakra, he could easily sense the ANBU agents still following him. But he no longer cared about their monitoring. With the strength he had gained just the previous day, even though he wasn't arrogant, he genuinely felt that those ANBU were now like ants compared to his power, not worth his attention.
He walked, continuing his thoughts about money and how to reclaim his parents' house and wealth, which should rightfully belong to him and not the village. Another thought surfaced in his mind. He suddenly remembered the Land of Waves mission, which canonically occurred months later from now. However, his thoughts weren't on the mission itself, or even Zabuza and Haku. He was thinking specifically about Gato and his immense wealth. Gato, as a major business tycoon, possessed wealth equivalent to that of a small nation's Daimyo.
Upon recalling this, a big grin spread across Naruto's face. 'When that mission comes,' he planned internally, 'I should make sure to steal all the money of Gato, no matter the course of action I have to do.' That fortune would be more than enough to fund his dreams of living life to the fullest.
***