Chapter 9: Good Times
As he stared out onto the streets that held the large behemoth of grey undead, Naruto found himself fortunate that the boss of this world wasn't the smartest of beings and was merely walking around in a daze. He didn't doubt it was looking for him but knew it had no idea where he was and took this opportunity to plan.
*Smash!*
"Ok, that thing's STR is too damn high to fight head on at the moment," as evident by it destroying and caving in one of the buildings roofs and floors with relatively ease.
Naruto knew that a solid blow from that thing would most likely take a ton of HP away from him, and that was with him blocking it. Once he levelled up a few times and bought better gear he'd give that method a shot and take it from there. He didn't want to chance it at the moment.
Using Futon: Reppusho (Wind Release: Violent Gale Palm) in conjunction with his kunai and shuriken was also a bust because it was very tolerant to bladed weapons. This meant he'd have to combine it with Katon: Hidama (Fire Release: Fireball). Its weakness to fire based techniques plus its slow speed and enormous size made it an easy target.
"Hit and run tactics it is then," Naruto muttered. "Ok, Hotto, I need you to… Hotto?"
"Arf!"
Whipping his head around so fast that one would assume he'd suffer from whiplash, Naruto's eyes bulged out of his head as he saw his ninken barking at the boss. "You stupid god damn mutt!"
The situation as only made worse when the giant zombie spotted the little ninken. It cocked its head in a confused, or dull, manner but proceeded to make his way towards it anyway. "Oh, hell no!"
Leaping into action just as it began raising its arm, Naruto blurred through the hand seals for Hidama, launched the three fireballs and quickly followed up with a Reppusho. With its bulky frame all three enhanced fireballs struck home on its head and torso. The action caused it to stumble backwards as the Burning status effect took hold. Naruto proceeded to make his way towards Hottomaru so they could retreat, only for the ninken pup to use Tsuga on the boss' leg. Its flailing around because of the fire along with the drill like attack forced the leg to slip out from under him, effectively making the boss lose its balance in the process, along with some HP, and come tumbling down.
"That's convenient," Naruto thought, the boss having already lost a little over three hundred of its HP in less than a minute. With the zombie down, Naruto took advantage of its current state by unleashing as many Katon: Hidama as he could on the creature. When the beast finally got up it had lost a little over one thousand of its HP, Naruto had to admit he was expecting more for something with such a high level.
"Is this the best you can do?!" he shouted at the behemoth.
"GGRRRRRRAAAAAARRRRGGGGGGG!"
He'd soon regret those words as the dungeon boss bellowed out loud, forcing both Naruto and Hottomaru to cover their ears as much as possible before it began retreating.
The Legion Zombie has called for help! Defeat the horde of ninja zombies within five minutes to prevent it from regaining its lost HP.
"Oops," a sheepish Naruto chuckled nervously.
Hottomaru merely glared at his partner. His face saying, "You had to ask, didn't you?"
As the first Ninja Zombies appeared within range Naruto decided to let them get as close as possible before striking, "Katon: Enso Kaenjin no Jutsu (Fire Release: Circle Flame Formation Technique).
A wall of deadly red-hot flames encircled both Naruto and Hottomaru. The zombies too close to them were reduced to ash within seconds. Those behind them merely fell victim to their flailing flamed covered comrades before they too were set alight. After a minute, Naruto released the technique, his concentration starting to wane because of his lack of practice and, while improved, still low chakra control. The fact that he noticed the zombies weren't coming at him anymore also played a factor.
Naruto and Hottomaru then began to go at the zombies. Striking them, biting and raking them in Hottomaru's case, sending them to the ground, and beating them senseless until they vanished into particles of light. By the time they were almost done, Naruto was pretty sure they had finished killing the required Ninja Zombies for Anko's quest.
"Mweoooaaaarr!" the sound of the Wailing Cat rang in their ears and both Naruto and Hottomaru were left dazed. The ninja and ninken soon found themselves struck by some NinjaZombies that sent them tumbling. One of them still holding onto Naruto and biting at his arm.
"Fuck off!" Naruto punched at it but suddenly found his other arm being bitten by another Ninja Zombie. "I'm gonna fucking kill that cat," he cursed darkly and knew he was currently being affected by the Impaired Senses status effect. The blond felt stupid for being caught off guard. Had Anko been here she'd tear him a new one for being caught so easily. "Good thing she's not gonna find out."
"Arf!" Hottomaru was sent skidding and Naruto saw he was dealing with two Zombie Ninja that sped towards him.
Having enough of this, Naruto summoned as much strength as possible and threw off one of the zombies. With one arm free the boy proceeded to rain down blows on the other until it disappeared. Spotting the zombies that neared his partner, Naruto used Reppusho on their backs and sent them tumbling into a wall, their necks twisting at an unnatural angle upon contact with the burning building. The blond however was forced to duck as Hottomaru launched himself at him and saw him gnawing at the throat of the Ninja Zombie he threw off.
Sweeping its legs, Naruto used the momentum to bring his staff down upon its head, crushing it like a melon. With so few zombies near them Naruto used Detection to try and locate the Wailing Cat but became frustrated when he couldn't find the thrice damned feline.
"Gonna need to keep our guards up, Hotto," Naruto informed his ninken. The boy was still pissed at the pup's lack of thinking for rushing in like this but getting him pissed off wasn't going to help the situation.
As they finished off the last of the zombies, and with plenty of time to spare, Naruto and Hottomaru were greeted once more with the sight of the boss landing into the street. Not only did the suddenness of it all throw him off, but the proximity in which it happened knocked Naruto and Hottomaru off balance. When its large hand reached out to crush him, Naruto grabbed Hottomaru and switched both himself and the pup with a large broken piece of concrete from the building it destroyed earlier.
However, his inexperience in using a side along Kawarimi with something much heavier, while still the same size as him, and very far away took a very good chunk out of his chakra. Kawarimi was one of the most basic of jutsu and was ranked as an E-Rank technique because of the simple concept and easy to use method, but Anko had informed him about the technique being somewhat misleading.
Anko had compared it to the Summoning Technique. The amount of chakra used depended on the size and distance of the object being substituted with. More commonly it was with a log, other wooden object, or something of similar build because they were lightweight, smaller and allowed them to fool and place Exploding Tags on them as a sneak attack. Stone structures weren't really used as they were heavier and required more chakra for one to switch with. Those with a large amount of CP did it because they could afford to, but even then it was somewhat impractical.
Luckily, Naruto had CP to spare but the boy would have to avoid using Kawarimi like that if he was to make sure he had enough to use against the Legion Zombie. Hiding in the ruins of the building it destroyed, part of it being still intact, and allowed them to remain hidden from the boss' line of sight, Naruto looked at Hottomaru.
"Hotto, stay here," he ordered and the pup looked angry and ready to disobey him. "Listen to me!" his voice serious, but not too loud to draw the boss' attention, and his body displaying a no nonsense authority. "That thing will crush you, almost did. If it wasn't for me you'd be dead because of your dumbass stunt," he chided the now downtrodden looking pup.
"I know you want to show your stuff, Hotto, but I need you to stay out of danger," the ninken's face showed that while he didn't like it still he looked somewhat placated. "If you spot any of those cats nearby I want you to Tsuga them a new asshole," the image was a bit unsettling but it seemed to work, "But don't do it if it's gonna get you in more trouble. Got it?"
"Arf," Hottomaru agreed, he didn't like it but at least he'd still be useful.
"Good boy," he patted the ninken's head. Looking back out the opening, Naruto spotted the Legion Zombie's back facing towards him. While he knew it was a risky move, Naruto used Shadow Strike and took a good deal of its HP, "Over here, ugly!" Naruto shouted at the being.
Naruto distanced himself as quickly as he could as the boss brought its arms up and pounded the earth where he once stood. The terrain buckling and caving in, spider web crack marks began to form and pieces of nearby buildings collapsed or fell onto the streets.
Getting an idea, one he hoped would work, Naruto launched a few Katon: Hidama at the boss' legs, getting a roar of pain for his efforts, and proceed to run inside a building. When the pain subsided seconds later for the boss he made his way towards the building of the one who caused its suffering and proceeded to smash it to bits. First came the roof, followed by the second floor, and then the main floor.
Once its work was done, the boss hunched over and began to search for him. Its search would prove to be futile and the boss had little time to react as it felt the sting from the fireballs lick at its exposed flesh.
"Ryoku Boku (Power Strike)!"
It had even less time to react as it felt a strong blow to the back of its head and it fell face first into the destroyed building due to its loss of balance. Grinning Naruto held up a hand seal and saw several seal tags placed onto the rocks lit up before they exploded in a shower of flames and stone shrapnel. Naruto had thought himself lucky that some of the Ninja Zombiesdropped some. Even if it was considered rare drops and Low Grade Exploding Tags that only did sixty-five to eighty HP damage per tag.
As the smoke covered giant rose up, Naruto prepared to use Hidama once more but was caught off guard when he spotted it holding up a very large slab of stone. Judging by its appearance and the square like holes in its side Naruto half-hazard a guess it was the building's former wall.
"Oh, shit," the blond realized exactly what it intended to do with and ran as quickly as possible. With remarkable strength, though relatively easy for it, the giant threw the stone structure at him with precise accuracy. Flipping through the air, over and under, until finally it crashed onto the ground near the blond ninja to be.
While he managed to evade being crushed at the last second the close impact and large flying debris still struck home and sent him flying into a nearby wall. The impact taking about five hundred of his HP and left him greatly stunned. The momentarily impaired boy was left motionless long enough for the angry zombie to close the distance between them. Still stunned and unable to move, Naruto could only watch helplessly as it cocked back its arm, ready to launch its fist with the intent to crush him, bones and muscle, once and for all.
(With Anko and Hiruzen)
While Naruto was in the Zombie Dungeon, Anko and Hiruzen continued discussing about the resident jinchuriki. "If what you say is true, Anko, then I'm going to need to make some alterations."
Essentially it meant more paperwork for him to do. The man known as the Saindaime Kami no Shinobi (Third God of Ninja) mentally groaned. Even with him no longer him causing trouble, that he heard of, his surrogate grandson was giving him more work to do.
"Damn it, Minato," part of Hiruzen still thought he should have perished and sacrificed his life. He lived a very long life, and Minato was just starting his. At least then he'd be rid of paperwork and more importantly, reunited with friends and loved ones. People such as his late wife Biwako, his father, the legendary Sarutobi Sasuke, his teachers, even greater legendary ninja, Hashirama and Tobirama, and friends such as Uchiha Kagami, and Akimichi Torifu. The latter two having perished during the Kyubi no Yoko Incident.
"Yeah, the gaki's been known to do that from what I heard," even before teaching him Anko had often heard about Naruto's actions forcing others to make changes. "If there's one I've learned it's that you can count on the gaki doing unpredictable yet somehow effective planning on the fly."
"True, too true," Hiruzen had lost count of the many pranked Chunin that chased after the boy over the years. Some had caught him while most had been led on a wild goose chase or lost track of Naruto because of the boy's unpredictable and unorthodox tactics. "A trait he and his mother share," the man honestly couldn't tell if such a thing was good or bad.
"I must say, Anko you've done a remarkable job with Naruto," his praised made the young Tokubetsu Jonin smirk. He was being honest too. In a few weeks, coupled with his unique ability, she had managed to bring Naruto back up to speed. What would happen next he'd couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen.
"Thanks, Hokage-sama. Though I haven't just been training the gaki. Hell, I know something about that even the gaki doesn't know and I managed to pull it right underneath his very nose," she grinned and found it ironic that she managed to pull a fast one under the resident prankster.
"Oh?" he was intrigued. "Do tell."
"Most of the time I spent training the gaki I had Midori train that runt of a mutt of his," Anko had no idea how to train dogs despite being around them fairly often. "Poochie-gaki will instinctively know a few clan techniques but without a partner that knows them too they aren't going to be as effective."
Hiruzen nodded, Sakumo himself had to come up with some techniques for his ninken as well when he received them. Kakashi himself had come up with a few as well during his time in Anbu, and with deadly effect.
"So Midori taught the pup a few things such as dodging, tracking, how to better sense chakra with its senses," here she sighed, "that damn mutt is stubborn though. It's basically the gaki's ninken equivalent."
"Much like you're Naruto's female equivalent," he mentally added, "I can image it made teaching him somewhat difficult."
"Midori's not one to bitch, but yeah," she acknowledged. "However, just like the gaki that mutt's got spunk in him. Aside from learning how to properly use the Tsuga Midori actually managed to teach him another thing."
"And what would that be exactly?"
Anko merely grinned.
(Zombie Dungeon)
As the giant zombie threw its arm at him Naruto saw a shadow barrel into the undead boss' back. The unexpected move coupled with its size threw off its aim way off and had the zombie screaming in pain as something large bit into its neck and set it aflame.
As the daze that impaired his movement finally subsided, Naruto not only ran out of there to avoid being crushed but finally saw what was attacking his would be killer.
"Hotto?!" he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"GRRRRAAARRRFFF!"
Where there was once a small puppy was now a very large horse size dog that was tearing into the pale grey skinned being's neck. The dog's mouth had very sharp fangs, its two canine teeth were now like miniature sabers wreathed in flames, its paws having wicked claws that held on tight and ripped and scratched deeply into the beast's hide, blood poured from the wounds like a miniature faucet.
Not one to look into a gift horse's mouth, Naruto decided it was high time to end this once and for all. The zombie was weak to fire but his techniques were low rank and could only do so much damage to it. Thinking as quickly as possible, a thought popped in his mind. At the moment it was worth a shot. Naruto had no intention of prolonging this fight anymore and had no intention of seeing it flee and have to face another zombie horde. The boy didn't want to chance his former predicament from happening again. Concentrating to the best of his ability, which proved strenuous, Naruto began channeling and moulding as much chakra as he could into his lungs. Slowly he made the chakra churn and spin, slowly at first until it began to pick up speed.
While this was happening Hottomaru's actions of tearing into the boss began to subside considerably. Before long the large dog kicked off the creature and landed on a roof. The strong beast soon found himself transforming back into his smaller, weaker self and slumped to the ground exhausted. The act of transforming himself into a large more powerful adult version of himself had been taught by Midori and the pup had only just managed to get it down to use it.
Sadly the technique proved to be still too much for him to maintain and was basically a last resort sort of technique. The amount of chakra used to maintain it was incredible and as of right now the ninken could only use it for about a minute before being forced to revert back. Unfortunately, for the boss it was all that was needed before its fate was sealed.
As the seconds went by, though he swore it felt more like minutes instead, Naruto was being pushed to his limits. The strain of quickly moulding and condensing this much chakra like this was foreign and Naruto didn't know how much longer he could maintain it. Ultimately the decision was made for him as the boss looked about ready to destroy the building Hottomaru landed on.
"Now or never," feeling as ready as he was ever going to be, Naruto unleashed his attack at the boss. "Katon: Rasen Hoen no Jutsu (Fire Release: Spiralling Phoenix Flame Technique)!"
From the boy's mouth shot fourth a stream of red hot flames that took on the form of a majestic bird. The bird of flames rocketed through the air in a manner similar to Hottomaru's Tsuga. The technique subsequently speared the zombie's back and piercing out the chest, its mouth wide in pain but not at sound came out of it. Seconds later its entire body was set on fire, the Legion Zombie flailing around before it turned to ash, effectively ending its life.
"Haaa, haaaa," Naruto, drenched in his own sweat, huffed and fell to his knees, the powerful technique taking quite a bit out of him. "But damn did it get the job done."
Your level has gone up by 1!
Your Katon: Hidama has gone up by 1!
Your Basic Blunt Weapon Mastery has gone up by 1!
Your Ryoku Boku has gone up by 2!
Your Futon: Reppusho has gone up by 1!
Your Katon: Enso Kaenjin has gone up by 1!
A special skill has been created through a special act!
By moulding and building your chakra in a drilling manner you created Katon: Rasen Hoen no Jutsu!
Katon: Rasen Hoen no Jutsu (Fire Release: Spiralling Phoenix Flame Technique) A-Rank. Lv. 1 Next Lv. 0%. CP Usage: 500 (450, Fire Affinity). This powerful technique creates a drill of red-hot flames that can pierce through virtually anything it comes in contact with in seconds. Being directly struck by this technique is almost guaranteed to be a One-Hit-Kill for some. Despite its immense lethality this techniques takes a while to build up the necessary chakra and uses up a large amount of chakra to use, leaving the user vulnerable and defenceless. The technique can also be easily dodged by someone quick enough, making it ineffective against nimble individuals, and is best used only if hitting someone is guaranteed.
• Does 700-900 damage (770-990 damage, Fire Affinity)
• Chances of Burning is 100%
• Ignores Enemy Armour Defence
• Chance of causing Instant Kill if directly hit
• 15 second moulding and rotation time
• 1 Additional 10 second rotation time possible, causes additional damage but leaves user wide open
Naruto merely grinned at the gain of a powerful technique. The amount of time it would take to mould and prepare it was terrible however and Naruto would have to come up with a way to shorten it. Powerful as it was it left him wide open for his opponents to strike him and Naruto was not too fond of that. A defenceless ninja was basically a dead one as Anko said.
"Hey, Hotto! You alright?!" he huffed, even talking at the moment took some effort.
"Arf," he was greeted with a tired reply.
"Good to hear, Hotto. Good to hear," Naruto really owed his ninken one for saving his ass. Had he not, Naruto was pretty sure he'd either be dead or have a pretty bad injury that would force him to be hospitalized for the next little while.
Resting for as long as possible, Naruto soon felt himself able to stand without the world spinning around him. Getting Hotto and making sure he was alright. Naruto breathed much easier as while the ninken used up a large amount of CP was luckily only tired out and not suffering from Chakra Exhaustion, part of the reason being thanks to him levelling up as like Naruto it restored a portion of his HP and CP in the process.
"Too bad it doesn't restore it all like some video games," Naruto commented.
Going back down to where the Legion Zombie fell Naruto proceeded to look over the loot. "Holy shit!" he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Before him was a whopping 30,000 Ryo. Being a boss and a high level one at that Naruto wasn't surprised it would be high but even then he wasn't prepared for it. Beside it were bottles with green liquid in them and a scroll, "Ok, what else we got here?"
Low Grade Recovery Potion (Rare Quality)
Status Effect: Recovery Item
Description: An item that instantly heals 500 HP. Though it is called a potion in truth is actually liquid medical chakra mixed with various unknown herbs. The purpose of its creation was to instantly heal the wounds of an individual but it cannot cure illnesses, fatigue, or energy levels. The creation of this potion and its improvements were thought to be a mere myth or fabrication as few of them were ever created or seen. Has a bitter taste.
"Gotta look this up later," Naruto thought before storing all three bottles. They'd come in handy if he was ever in a bind. The First Aid item did something similar but wasn't all that convenient when he was fighting someone. "Next."
Ninpo: Goriki (Ninja Art: Hard Strength) B-Rank. Lv. 1 Next Lv. 0/75. CP Usage: 150 per 10 minutes. This technique greatly strengthens the user's muscles allowing them to hit harder, lift heavier objects, and throw objects even further and with deadlier force.
• Increases STR by 30 for 10 minutes.
• Taijutsu and Bukijutsu damage increased by 30%.
Naruto's eyes widened at the find and immediately learned the technique, ignoring the evaporating scroll. Knowing this technique was great because he could use it for various purposes and catch others off guard with his newfound strength. "They won't know what hit them," he grinned.
The next item wasn't really useful, or appealing to look at for that matter. It was a giant eyeball, "Ugh, must be the proof I need to give Anko."
Sure enough the moment he touched it and used Observe was his guess correct and the item turned out to be what he thought it would be. "Oh, man this is nasty," the globular object was slimy to the touch and not all that pleasant to smell either. Part of him wondered what the hell she was going to do with it? Knowing Anko he didn't doubt it would probably be gruesome, even just thinking about the possibilities made him want to gag.
"Quest Status!" he said to get his mind off the subject.
Civilian Zombies Slain (50/50)
Mob Zombies Slain (39/50)
Ninja Zombies Slain (31/25)
Total: 114
Shrugging, despite after all that happened and they still weren't done, Naruto and Hottomaru went inside a nearby building and rested for a little while. With his low health Naruto decided to test out one of the Low Grade Recovery Potions by giving it to Hottomaru.
After a bit of coaxing, the pup drank the liquid despite its taste and Naruto soon saw all of the cuts and scrapes Hottomaru had glow before they began disappearing. But Hottomaru was still tired and Naruto remembered the description saying it didn't restore chakra or do something about fatigue. The boy would have to see if anything could be done about that. Hopefully there was a technique that allowed him to share or restore chakra to another somehow.
Naruto himself was still a bit tired if he was honest. His new katon technique coupled with the hour he had been here trying to level up some of his other techniques, along with him using a lot of chakra consuming techniques during the fight had begun to tire him out. Oh, Naruto was confident he could probably still go on for a couple of hours before the Fatiguestatus effect began to affect him. Assuming he didn't really use some of his techniques that is.
Taking out some food, as it would bring down his fatigue levels, Naruto began to munch on a piece of Roasted Boar Meat and savoured the taste. Hearing a whine beside him, Naruto took out another Roasted Boar Meat and gave it to Hottomaru who began to ravage the piece of pork. Both ninja and ninken ate in relative silence, merely relaxing and enjoying each others company before they got back to it.
(Sometime Later)
Naruto and Hottomaru shook their heads as they reappeared in Konoha, "Hopefully we get used to that," Naruto muttered. The blond didn't care for the sensation but had every intention of going back in and milking the Zombie Dungeon for all that it was worth.
It was more so about farming as Naruto didn't doubt that once he levelled up again the lower rank zombies wouldn't give him EXP anymore, heck the Civilian Zombies he encountered didn't even give him EXP anymore. Even the EXP from the boss wouldn't be as high any longer and with the EXP required to level increasing as well it would more of a hassle to enter the dungeon. He'd get drop loot, which was good, but there was only so much one could do in a dungeon such as this until it became stagnant and no longer useful. Especially when better dungeons were discovered.
"Time," the numbers 11:21 formed above his head. A good portion of the day had already passed. At the moment Naruto didn't feel like going into another dungeon, "I'll go in one later tonight."
At the moment the boy merely wanted to relax, take it easy, and enjoy his Saturday with his ninken. "Hell, I might even take a nap later," the action would restore a bit of HP and CP amongst others thing and the boy could not recall the last time he took one.
While the boy wanted to get the EXP from Anko's mission he was in no rush. Glancing at the other quests he had Naruto decided to take a look into that house quest to see what the price was at. He put it off for some time, now was as good a time as any. Walking through the streets of Konoha, Naruto ignored the glares some sent his way, having to stop Hottomaru from barking at those who did. The boy often wondered why they would do it, sure he had pulled some pranks on a few of them but even before he started doing that they still gave him looks.
Not letting it bother him, Naruto continued on his way until it dawned on him, "I have no idea where hell I'm going," he realized. Hottomaru face planted at his partner's lack of forethought.
"Arf!" the ninken growled at his stupidity.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Naruto said, "Might as well go and see, Jiji."
Having a destination now, Hottomaru took off like a shot towards the Hokage Tower with Naruto following right behind him. Bobbing and weaving through the crowd of civilian merchants and ninja, it took the two approximately three minutes to reach their destination.
"Hey, Mariko-neec- Iruka-sensei?"
"Hmm," the Chunin instructor looked up from his paperwork, "Oh, hello, Naruto," he greeted. "What are you doing here?"
"Could ask you the same thing. Where's Mariko-neechan?" Naruto asked.
The man chuckled. With the amount of time Naruto spent here he wasn't surprised he and the secretary were close, "Off visiting family. I fill in for her from time to time," he told his student.
Oh," made sense when he thought about it. His next question was answered before he even asked it.
"If you're wanting to see Hokage-sama I'm afraid he's going to be busy for the next couple of hours, Naruto. He's in a very important meeting at the moment, and it just started."
"Damn," there went that idea. Though a thought popped into his head just as quickly, "Hey, Iruka-sensei do you know anything about owning a house or property?"
"Huh?" the question threw him through a loop. Of all the potential questions Naruto was going to ask, training for instance, he didn't expect the blond haired troublemaker to ask that. "Where's this coming from?"
"Kiba's mom said that ninken like wide open space to play around in. My apartment's good at the moment but Hotto's breed is supposed to grow up pretty big," the image of the puppy's other form popped into his head.
"How big are we talking?" Iruka had seen quite a few large ninken but he doubted it would be too drastic in the pup's case.
"Horse size," Naruto's answer made the man's eyes widen and blink in disbelief. Such a small puppy was going to be the size of a horse! Looking into his eyes Iruka saw that Naruto wasn't pulling his leg on this one. With the amount of time he spent catching the boy in a lie and catching him during his pranks the man was one of the few that knew when the boy was being honest or spewing bullshit.
"Really," the man whistled, "How old is he?"
"Two, almost three," Naruto told him.
Iruka frowned. Ninken, unlike regular dogs, aged much more slowly and didn't grow as quickly. But Iruka knew that once they hit age three or four they underwent a growth spurt and didn't stop until age five or seven. If what Naruto said was true then the apartment he had would be too small for both of them.
"I'm afraid I don't know much about buying property, Naruto. Despite renovating it and moving a few things around, I've lived in the same house since I was born," both his parents had been Jonin and amassed quite a bit of money because of the amount of B and A Rank missions they did between them. When both passed away, Iruka had been left with a house and financially secured as he had no other kin. Iruka hardly spent it either, the man preferred teaching than being in the field. So where most ninja used the money they earned to buy better weapons and armour Iruka didn't really use it for that sort of thing.
"This was helpful," Naruto groaned.
"Arf!"
"Ah, damn it," Anko pouted, "Way to ruin my fun, Poochie-gaki."
"Grrrr," the ninken growled at the nickname.
"You were trying to sneak up on me weren't you?" it was more of an accusation than a question.
"Hey, don't look at me. Umino spotted me sexy self the moment I came in. The mutt merely caught a whiff of me before I could do anything," Anko defended.
"Sensei?!" the boy sent the man a betrayed look.
"Think of it as a way of getting even for all those pranks you pulled over the years," Iruka smirked.
"…Fair point," he conceded before returning his attention to Anko. "Why are you here anyways?"
"Was bored and wanted to screw with you," all three males could believe it, "But someone had to ruin my fun."
"Arf! A proud Hottomaru merely puffed his chest out at her.
"Just wait till Monday, mutt," she smirked and Hottomaru instantly deflated and was scared at what she meant. "What are two doing here anyways, gaki?"
"Wanted to ask, Jiji something. Tried asking sensei but he knows squat," he ignored the man's indignant look, "Do you know anything about owning a house?"
"House, no. A condo, yes," Anko responded. With the amount she made from missions and interrogation she was able to afford much more but didn't want to maintain or pay Genin to maintain a house, "Why? Thinking of getting a bigger place?"
"Blame him," Naruto pointed at Hottomaru, the ninken barked at him, "Know any good places?"
"Can't say I do. You'd have to ask someone at Konoha Real Estate and Construction. Owning a house ain't cheap, gaki," she recalled how her friend Yugao Uzuki and her lover Hayate tried looking into buying one. The Anbu often worked closely alongside the T&I Division more than any other division in Konoha and she had made a couple of friends among the Anbu as a result. "A friend told me that the least expensive houses are about one to two and a half million ryo. Even then they're the ones that need some tuning up because of how worn down and old they are. You'd basically be putting more work into making it liveable."
"One million ryo's the cheapest!" Naruto's eyes bulged. The blond realized he'd have to kill the Legion Zombie some thirty odd times before he could get that much money. He knew it was going to be expensive but assumed that thanks to his ability he'd make it in no time. It was going to be a while before he could get that amount of money, "Shit."
"Like I said, owning a house ain't cheap. Plus with us going away a lot it means having to hire someone to maintain the landscape. Most ninja live in decent sized apartments. It's practical and functional. The only ninja who buy houses are usually couples or ones starting families, or in your case, have pets that require some legroom," Anko explained.
Nodding at her explanation, Naruto bid Iruka farewell and left with Hottomaru and Anko, "By the way, gaki, did you finish it?" she asked once they were a relatively isolated area.
"Yep, both of them," he smirked while she grinned.
"Figured as much," Anko didn't doubt the boy would go after the dungeon boss. In the weeks she spent with the boy Anko knew he went beyond the normal expectations. "Got the proof?"
Here he grimaced, "Yeah, pretty nasty though," Naruto shivered and Hottomaru nearly gagged.
"Can't be that bad… can it?"
"It's a smelly eyeball the size of my head, maybe even a little bigger," Naruto saw Anko wrinkle her nose in disgust.
"Yeah, I don't need that, thanks," when she wanted proof she didn't mean something like this in mind. "Anyway good job, gaki."
[QUEST COMPLETED!]
Die Zombies, Die!
Main Quest: Kill 50 Civilian Zombies, 50 Mob Zombies, and 25 Ninja Zombie (Accomplished)
Side Quest: Kill Zombie Boss and bring proof of its defeat (Accomplished)
Total Rewards Earned:
1100 EXP, +350 REP with Anko
"Arf!" Hottomaru's tail wagged.
"What's with him?" she asked.
"Levelled up," Naruto was also close to levelling up once again but Hottomaru had a lower level than him so it made since he levelled up faster.
"Any plans for the rest of the day?"
"Gonna hit a dungeon later tonight, maybe take a nap later, take it easy for a while and see what happens."
"So basically you're gonna veg?"
"Pretty much," the boy made a terrible mistake saying this and both he and Hottomaru were forced to dodge a hail of kunai.
"Not on my watch, gaki?" she cackled and chased after both ninken and ninja. The sounds of their screams and Anko's laughter sending shivers down the spines of those who heard. So much for a relaxing afternoon.
Status Window
Name: Uzumaki Naruto
Job: The Gamer
Level: 9 Next Level: 4683/6500
Title: Academy Student
Specialization: N/A
HP: 1950
CP: 3025
STR: 40.5
VIT: 55
DEX: 59
INT: 91
WIS: 38.5
LUK: ?
DEF: 30
Perks:
?: Additional +3 VIT & +5 INT per Lv, +75 CP per Lv, +25% additional EXP towards
Power Type Fighting Style, -25% EXP towards Chakra Control, - 40% EXP towards reputation gain
?: Additional +3 VIT & +5 INT per Lv, +50 HP per Lv, +25% additional EXP towards Fuinjutsu, -15% EXP towards Chakra Control
Prank King: -10% EXP towards reputation gain, +15% EXP towards Strategy & Tactics, +15% towards Stealth, Additional +3 DEX per Lv
Apprentice Zombie Slayer: 40% increase attack and defense against Undead, +10 stats when facing Undead, +15% additional drops and Exp from Undead
Status Effects:
Malnourished: Hampered physical growth rate, -25% to VIT, DEX, and STR stat base, +20% vulnerability to poisons
Description: Uzumaki Naruto's background is shrouded in mystery. Currently an academy student with inspirations to become Hokage, Naruto has a long and difficult journey ahead of him before he can attain his dream. At the moment, Naruto is considered by many as a shoe in for the title of Dead Last.
Money: 104,640Ryo ~ (10,464$)
Attribute Points: 3
Status Window
Name: Hottomaru
Job: Ninken (Ninja Dog)
Level: 8 Next Level: 683/5400
Reputation: Neutral (860/1000)
Title: Naruto's Partner
Specialization: Battle Pet
Ninken Category: Hybrid "Guard and Tracking"
HP: (450/450)
CP: (250/250)
STR: 14
VIT: 18
DEX: 27
INT: 10
WIS: 7
LUK: 17
Defense: 15
Perks:
Ninja Dog: Human Lifespan, Ability to Mould Chakra, Potential to speak human language
Komainu Lineage (Guard Dog): +1 VIT, +1 STR per Lv, +15% Effectiveness & EXP towards Biting Techniques, -20% Effectiveness and EXP towards Training and Reputation, "?"
Akita Lineage (Tracking Dog): +2 DEX per Lv, +15% Effectiveness and EXP towards Tracking Skill, +15% Effectiveness and EXP towards Stealth, +10% towards Movement Speed during and outside combat
Keen-Senses: +15% Effectiveness & EXP towards Detection Skill, Ignores Henge, Very sensitive to powerful and pungent odours
Special Perk
Gamer's Combat Pet: A special perk that allows any of your combat pets the ability Gamer's Body, though they only earn a small amount of Attribute Points per level that you can allocate. However, this can be lost if you decide you don't want a certain pet or if your pet abandons you.
Attribute Points: 5
