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"Sakura-chan!" - Regular Speech
'Baka!' - Thoughts
:Shannaro!: - Inner Sakura
[Quest Announcement] - Gamer Ability/Notification
Beta'd by BigCC
Chapter 22: Landlord Naruto Lays Down the Law
The Next Day
Outside of Amekage Apartments
"Sheesh...that's a lotta luggage-dattebayo." Naruto let out a short whistle. There were men from the Hyūga, Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Akimichi, Aburame, Nara and Haruno clans out there, sorting out luggage and getting guided to the correct room via one of his Shadow Clones.
"Actually, compared to when civilians move on their own it really isn't." Iruka said from next to him. The two were standing on the walkway outside Naruto's own room, simply watching the proceedings. "Storage Scrolls make moving a lot easier and less cluttered, keeps things down to just a few boxes of scrolls and anything fragile enough that the user doesn't want to risk breaking when it is unsealed. Are all the rooms ready for their new tenants to arrive?"
"Yeah, just turned the water and power on this morning. Even had Jiji give them a once over before this lot arrived, he gave everything the okay." Naruto answered smugly.
The scarred Chūnin chuckled. "Glad to hear it. You do realize that you're going to have to give a welcoming speech to all of the new tenants, right? Actually, who is moving in here?"
"Sakura-chan, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino, Sasuke, Chōji, Ten-chan, Hinata, Hyūga Neji and Rock Lee." Naruto listed off. "Aside from Asuma-sensei, none of the Jonin-sensei are staying here."
"Well most of them already have their own homes or apartments that they've lived in for years." Iruka pointed out. "It's no surprise that they're not upping sticks for this place. I wouldn't want to; I've lived in my house since I was a boy, and I find it a nice, comfortable and relaxing to live in. The draw of the familiar and comfortable is a strong pull, Naruto. Remember that."
"Hai, sensei." Naruto nodded. "By the way, thanks for stopping by and helping out here. I'd have thought you'd be busy getting ready for the new Academy class that's gonna start next month."
"Fortunately, I won the luck of the draw this time around." the chunin sighed in relief that he was out of that mess of fuss and feathers for once. "Hokage-sama's tapped me to act as supervising administrator for newest batch of Genin. I'll basically be helping your instructors make sure all of the bureaucratic and administrative stuff like accepting and reporting missions is done accurately for your first year as Genin. It makes things go a bit smoother until you all get some experience in handling the day-to-day minutia of being actual shinobi."
"I'm not looking forward to the D-Ranks." the Jinchūriki grumbled. "Ten-chan's told that they're basically people paying us to do chores."
"You have to get your feet wet somehow." Iruka responded sternly. "D-ranks are no-risk missions that you and your teammates can complete while still leaving you plenty of time to train and advance your abilities under your sensei. You all need a lot more experience and some actual combat training before you're ready for even a low C-rank. Even tracking down bandit lairs or guarding caravans isn't an easy job. Be patient and accrue experience and you'll do fine."
'I do get experience in a very literal sense, Iruka-sensei.' Naruto sweat-dropped. 'Thanks to [The Gamer], I'm a walking RPG character!'
"It doesn't make the idea of doing 'missions' that are just chores dressed up prettily any less boring." he groused aloud.
"Look at it as a training exercise, Naruto." Iruka advised wisely. "I'll admit, I thought much as you did back when I first became a genin, but I found a way to make the dull D-Ranks work for me; I used them to train my ninjutsu. Take painting fences, a pretty common D-Rank mission. I adapted Suiton ninjutsu to paint the fences instead of using brushes or rollers. For walking the Inuzuka Clan's dogs, I used it as a chance to get some good running practice in. Adapt to the circumstances and you'll see that all sorts of ninja skills can be trained by using the D-Ranks."
"Eh? How'd you get a Suiton jutsu to work with paint?" Naruto blinked in surprise. From what little he knew about Water Release techniques they were primarily designed to work with…well, water. He'd hear of a couple designed to work with oil and other liquids, but they had to be specifically designed to work with something other than water.
"Well, my Jonin-sensei was a Suiton expert, so he naturally knew and used a variety of techniques and tried to pass on some of his skills to us." the scarred chunin said with a thoughtful look on his face. "One that he made sure to teach all of us was Suiton: Suigun Suima no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Army Water Demon). It's a low-C-Rank jutsu that allows the user to either manipulate pre-existing water or create water to fire a short-ranged stream of water. It was actually designed to be used primarily for fire-fighting, but it's easy to adapt for other uses. The handsigns are normally Boar, Dog, Horse, and Tiger, but my sensei told me that by swapping out the Boar handsign for the Bird handsign, it makes the jutsu focus less on 'water' and more on simply 'liquids' in general instead. You have to be careful that you don't grab any other liquids nearby like puddles or even mud when you use it, but otherwise it makes painting a lot quicker and more efficient and its great practice for Suiton ninjutsu."
"I'll definitely have to look into that jutsu!" Naruto swore. No way was he going to get stuck doing boring-ass painting all day for some spending money!
"I'll look forward to you mastering it." Iruka said in amusement before remembering something. "I did stop by for something other than checking in and offering moral support, Naruto. Here, this is for you."
Reaching into his pouch, the chunin-sensei withdrew a couple of scrolls and handed them to his former student.
"Eh? What're these, Iruka-sensei?" the blond boy asked.
"The first scroll contains all of Mizuki's ninja gear, minus his flak vest and hitai-ate." Iruka informed him seriously. "All of his possessions were thoroughly checked over before being cleared to be awarded to you, Naruto. That's about four-hundred regular shuriken and kunai, a dozen of his Dai Shuriken, several reels of ninja wire, a couple of stacks of explosive notes and six scrolls containing various ninjutsu and genjutsu. The genjutsu might be a bit tough for you, but maybe Sakura and Ino can make use of them."
"Cool!" Naruto said enthusiastically. "And the other scroll?"
"Mostly furniture and the like that Mizuki owned; he kept his parent's house, which is being auctioned as we speak." Iruka said. "The funds will be given to you once that's finished. I know you don't really need the furniture, but you could use them as emergency backups in case something happens to the stuff you already have in the building, maybe?"
"Awesome! That'll save me money with the furniture shops!" Naruto cheered. Even with the Hokage breathing down their necks, some of the shops in Konoha were still reluctant to sell him anything, with some of them still trying to overcharge or price gouge him whenever they got an opportunity.
"Glad Mizuki was good for something." Iruka muttered. He was still horrified that his friend could have done something as blatant as trying to betray Konoha. Not to mention trying to frame Naruto for his own crime! He was going to need a stiff drink tonight if he didn't want to be kept up by his own thoughts.
Luckily a distraction arrived to pull Iruka away from that sour line of thought. "Looks like your new tenants are waiting for you, Naruto." he commented, nodding towards where eight new genin (and three older genin) stood at the front of his building. "You'd better go off and get down to business, Landlord Uzumaki."
"Eh-hehehehe...right." Naruto chuckled nervously. "This is gonna be tough..."
"Nothing worth doing is ever easy." Iruka advised him before messing with his former student's hair again, making Naruto swat at him peevishly. "Now I do have to go. Meet me at Ichiraku's after work and I'll treat you to a bowl."
"You got it-datteabato!" Naruto cheered. He was in no way stupid enough to turn down a free bowl of his personal Food of the Gods, no sir! The fact it gave him some motivation to deal with his former classmates-slash-new tenants was a big bonus.
Slipping the scrolls into a pair of slots in his utility belt, Naruto headed over to meet the newest people to live in the Amekage Apartments.
"Yo, how's it going?" he asked cheerfully.
"Hey Naruto." Tenten greeted him with a warm smile. "Pretty nice place the Hokage's set up, isn't it?"
"Yup. And I'm the landlord, believe it or not." Naruto said with a chuckle. Tenten already knew that, as did Sakura, but for the rest it was pretty shocking news.
"Wait, how the hell is this your place?" Kiba demanded in disbelief. "Last I heard, you rented that shitty-ass apartment near the dead district."
"I got turfed out thanks to a group of people breaking in and wrecking the place." Naruto answered with a helpless shrug. "Jiji set me up with this place and made me the Landlord. Any other questions before I give you all a rundown on the basics?"
There were none, so Naruto gave the speech he'd been readying since he'd found out he would have his classmates as his tenants.
"OK, so, you are now all tenants of the Amekage Apartments. Most of you know me, but for those who don't, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the landlord here." he said easily, thankful that his [Gamer's Mind] kept him cool, calm and in control in this kind of situation. "For those of you with clans, your apartments have been paid for in advance for the first month. This leaves you with enough time to save up money from your mission pay and standard pay. For those without clans and families, the Hokage himself has paid for that first month as a gift for all of you gaining the rank of genin, even those of you who have been in the Shinobi Forces for a year. I'm a genin too, so I won't be in the building all of the time, but I'll be keeping at least one Shadow Clone here at all times so just let them know if you need anything and they'll let me know.
"As much as I'd like to say 'do whatever' in your rooms, there are rules. Break furniture and you have to pay for it. You all have to at least keep your rooms sanitary enough to not pose a health risk; if you don't you get charged extra for the cleaning service." the blond boy continued. "You also have to keep your pets from doing their business inside..."
"Arf!" Akamaru barked in protest of the possible slight against his house-training.
"I know that you know better, Akamaru, but these guys might get pets of their own at some point and they won't be ninken smart." Naruto defended himself.
With a small snort, the ninken pup accepted that excuse.
"Now, on to facilities. There's a taijutsu sparring room on each floor, with a shuriken range and ranged jutsu practice area in the basement." Naruto started to relax when he noticed everyone was actually paying attention. "It's sanctioned for anything up to mid C-rank, anything higher rank you'll need to find a training ground to use unless you wanna risk bringing the building down on all our heads. You've all got free access to all the facilities except for the utilities area, all of which are clearly marked, and the second floor of the basement, the piping and other such is down there. This is for your safety and the Hokage's peace of mind. OK then...any questions?"
"How do we pay you our rent?" Chōji asked.
"You can either set up an automatic transfer of fund from your bank account to mine, or you can just pay in person." Naruto answered. "Whichever way you want is fine, but I'd prefer cash in hand. Anything else?"
"Yosh! How much is our rent?" the Mini-Gai that was Rock Lee asked.
One brow twitching at the HUGE eyebrows being wiggled in his direction, Naruto took a moment to take in the older boy's words. "Wait, that should've been on the forms you all got. It's fifteen hundred Ryo per month, utilities not included."
"A fair price." Shino nodded. "The amount was missing from the form my parents handed to me. I suspect the same was true for everyone else present."
A murmur of agreement came up from everyone present.
"Huh...I'll have to let Jiji know about that." Naruto frowned. "Do you all at least know what apartment you've been assigned?"
Fortunately, they all did. As they wandered off to unpack and get settled in their respective apartments, Naruto heaved a sigh and headed up to his own apartment. He wanted to double-check everything he'd gotten from Mizuki to make sure it was all in working order. And of course, he wanted to have a look at whatever jutsu were in the traitorous Chunin's scrolls.
Thankfully, he was left alone by the various people wandering about his building, some of whom were almost certainly ANBU in disguise; his Jiji had told him that security here would be taken seriously and that a lot of the movers for the small clan and non-clan members of the graduating class would be there to ensure things didn't get 'unnecessarily messy' as the old Hokage put it.
By that, Naruto assumed, he meant people placing monitoring seals where they weren't supposed to be. As the former ANBU HQ, the Amekage Apartments had subtle and discrete monitoring seals emplaced in its corridors that would alert the one bound to them (an ANBU) if someone was wandering where they weren't supposed to be. Having some sloppy idiot putting up a half-arsed seal nearby would not be a good idea.
Settling into one of his chairs, Naruto removed the scroll that had the jutsu sealed into it and rolled it out so he could specifically unseal them. A puff of chakra smoke later and he had six scrolls in his lap, making multiple windows pop up.
[You have acquired the Genjutsu: Moyamoya Jutsu Scroll]
You cannot learn this jutsu.
Requirements: Skill: [Average Chakra Control]
[You have acquired the Doton: Dochū Eigyo no Jutsu Scroll]
Do you wish to learn this jutsu?
Y/N
[You have acquired the Genjutsu: Kasumi Jutsu Scroll]
You cannot learn this jutsu.
Requirements: Skill: [Average Chakra Control]
[You have acquired the Doton: Doryūheki no Jutsu Scroll]
Do you wish to learn this jutsu?
Y/N
[You have acquired the Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu Scroll]
Do you wish to learn this jutsu?
Y/N
[You have acquired the Katon: Kaengakure no Jutsu Scroll]
Do you wish to learn this jutsu?
Y/N
Huh...so there were two genjutsu and four ninjutsu in the mix. That was a bit disappointing, but he was sure that either Sakura-chan or Ino could make use of them, which meant they wouldn't go to waste at least. Setting those scrolls to the side and dismissing their screens, Naruto rapidly hit 'Y' on the four others.
You have successfully learned [Doton: Dochū Eigyo]!
[Doton: Dochū Eigyo no Jutsu] (Active) [LV1, 0%]
Earth Style: Underground Projection Fish Jutsu is a standard C-Rank Earth element jutsu that allows its user to sink into the earth and swim through it like a fish. When emerging from the earth, the user emerges totally silently and without disturbing the ground around or beneath them. Due to its utility for both stealth and combat applications, this jutsu is commonly known throughout the entirety of the Ninja World.
- Handsigns: Dog-Boar-Snake-Bird
- Underground Travel Speed: Baby's Crawl
- Costs 30 CP to activate and 5 CP/Minute to maintain.
You have successfully learned [Doton: Doryūheki]!
[Doton: Doryūheki no Jutsu] (Active) [LV1, 0%]
Earth Style: Earth-style Wall is one of the elemental Wall techniques alongside Fūton: Fūjinheki, Katon: Karyūheki and Suiton: Suijinheki. Using it, the user can summon a defensive wall of mud, earth or rock in front of them to act as a shield. While it is possible for the user to create earth and/or mud from their own chakra instead of manipulating pre-existing mud and earth, it is not advised unless the user is at least Jonin-rank and possesses a significant amount of experience with the technique. A skilled user of this jutsu can create a wall with a personalised design on it rather than a plain wall of stone or mud.
- Handsigns: Tiger-Hare-Boar-Dog.
- Durability Points When Created: 75
- Costs 50 CP to create.
You have successfully learned [Doton: Shinjū Zanshu]!
[Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu] (Instant) [LV1, 0%]
Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Jutsu, sometimes referred to as the Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu, is a very old jutsu created to quickly incapacitate more powerful or heavily armoured opponents from ambush. At its core, it is a very simple technique that is easy to execute and is very useful for a D-Rank Jutsu. The user lurks underground and drags their target down into the ground up to their neck, whereupon the user can resurface and kill and/or torture their target with impunity. It should be noted that given sufficient time or enough pure brute strength, the target can and will escape from this technique.
- Handsigns: None
- When used, the user must be underground and their target must step within arms reach of them.
- When the target is dragged into the earth, they are bound with bindings with a DP of 30. Should that DP be expended, they shall be able to remove themselves from their prison.
- Costs 30 CP to use.
You have successfully learned [Katon: Kaengakure]!
[Katon: Kaengakure no Jutsu] (Active) [LV1, 0%]
Fire Style: Hiding in Fire Jutsu is a fairly unusual concealment technique whereby the user is able to shroud themselves in chakra and hide within a nearby lit fire. Upon reappearing, it appears as if the user emerges from fire. Other rarer examples of concealment techniques would be Shimogakure no Jutsu, Gamagakure no Jutsu, Hyōmengakure no Jutsu and Nunogakure no Jutsu.
- Handsigns: Tiger-Boar-Snake-Monkey.
- The user can only hide in fire of a certain size and above. The higher this jutsu's level is, the smaller the flame that the user can hide in. Current Size: Bonfire.
- Costs 95 CP to activate and 10 CP/Minute to maintain.
"Yeow!" Naruto hiss out as he raised a hand to rub his throbbing head, the sudden influx of so much information was enough to actually hurt. Damn it, he couldn't catch a break, could he.
Anyway, all of the jutsu looked pretty useful, with the possible exception of the [Kaengakure no Jutsu], simply because of how very...what's the kinda words Iruka-sensei would use...? Ah yes...situational. It was a very situational jutsu, as fires were fairly uncommon in most places ninja were likely to go, with a few exceptions. Still, maybe if he got it to a high-enough level it would be more useful, he'd practice with it and see.
You never know when you might need a jutsu like that, after all.
DING!
[It's a Landlord's Life]
Congratulations! You now have more than one tenant! With this condition cleared, the Landlord system has been unlocked for your usage!
You must be both tough and fair as landlord, balancing the legitimate complaints, concerns and problems of your tenants with your own needs and the priorities of your building as a whole. It is a tough balancing act, but you can consider it basic training for when you become Hokage.
Landlord System Unlocked!
Tenant Mood Gauge Unlocked!
Building Condition Page Unlocked!
Rent Monitoring System Unlocked!
Flicking through the newly unlocked pages, Naruto had to whistle. At the moment, aside from Asuma-sensei, all of the tenant gauges were at Neutral; they were neither impressed nor dissatisfied with his actions as a Landlord. Quite unsurprising as he'd only been their landlord for less than an hour. Asuma was at Satisfied, which was nice. There hadn't been many problems that Naruto had needed to fix, and what few he'd needed to sort out had been basic maintenance on a few of the training rooms.
The Building Condition page was rather informative. It showed a blueprint of the building and highlighted areas as green, yellow or red depending on their condition, according to a useful little legend that he had in one corner. Most of the building was a solid green colour, with parts of it marked in yellow that he made a note of on a scroll to get his Jiji to send someone to look into them.
While Naruto was called the landlord, he was technically only the Landlord's representative. Once Naruto became a Chūnin (something he was definitely going to work towards) the Hokage was planning on transferring the ownership rights fully to him and then he'd be a proper landlord. Until then, the Hokage had to personally sign off on most work requiring hired help around the building.
As for the Rent Monitoring System, it was all in the green, with a countdown timer to when the next payment of rent was due from each tenant. So very useful.
"I should go and see how everyone's doing." Naruto decided once he'd finished reading the new screens he could access. It was pretty obvious that there would be tensions between the genin, both new and old, especially since they weren't used to being around each other in a private setting for a long period of time.
No sooner had he stepped outside of his apartment than the sound of yelling was audible. Cocking his head slightly, Naruto guessed it was between Kiba and...Ino? What the heck was going on now to have those two at loggerheads with one another?
Jogging down the stairs to where Kiba's room was on the ground floor, Naruto frowned as he wondered why Ino was down here when her room was on the first floor, like the rest of the girls were.
"-your trash all over me!" Ino shouted as Naruto reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Screw you!" Kiba growled back. The two of them were practically nose-to-nose in front of Kiba's room, with a lot of dreck, mostly dog treats and sticks, all over the floor, with some on Ino's clothes and hair. Most of the other residents of the building were also present, looking on as the two shouted at one another.
"Do I want to know what this is about?" the blond landlord asked the corridor at large with a sigh.
"K-Kiba-kun...accidentally spilled some of his s-stuff on Ino-san." Hinata managed to get out. The bluenette poked her pointer-fingers together as she spoke, clearly nervous. "Ino-san...didn't appreciate i-it."
"So I can see. Thanks for the sitrep, Hinata!" Naruto said with a smile that made the Hyūga Heiress' face redden into the same hue as a tomato.
"Okay, calm the hell down, both of you!" the blond boy said loudly as he stepped between the two shouting genin and pushing them apart. "Seriously, you've both been here for less than an hour and you're already fighting like cats and dogs!"
"Back off, Dobe, this isn't your business!" Kiba snarled.
"I'm the landlord and you're causing a fuss in my building. That makes it my business!" Naruto shot back. "Let's get something straight, Kiba; in this building, I'M the Alpha, get it?"
As Kiba blinked in surprise, Naruto mentally patted himself on the back. Doing a bit of research about the Inuzuka Clan had paid off. Kiba was an Alpha, someone who was supposed to lead inside the Inuzuka Clan, a trait they picked up from their long association with their ninken companions. Kiba bowed to his mother, who was the Dominant Alpha of the Inuzuka Clan. He bowed to Jonin and Chūnin because they legitimately outranked him in the 'greater pack' that was Konoha. He had never felt that Naruto outranked him and probably considered himself to be Naruto's superior. That being the case...
"Yeah right, Dobe!" Kiba snorted, proving Naruto right. "Landlord, maybe, but no way are you an Alpha!"
"Fine then. You and me in that training room over there." Naruto jerked his head towards the ground floor training room nearby. "Winner's the best two out of three. I win, you accept my position and stop acting like a jerk in the building. I lose, you can do as you please."
"You seriously think you can beat me?!" the Inuzuka Heir growled, exposing his teeth in an attempt at intimidation. "I came second in our class in Taijutsu; you were barely the middle!"
"What happens in the Academy stays in the Academy, dogboy." Naruto retorted. "Welcome to the real world, where little rankings like that don't really matter anymore."
He noticed Sakura look slightly annoyed for a moment before she shrugged.
"Hah! Fine, have it your way." Kiba sneered. "Sure, IF you win, you're the Alpha of this place. Not like it'll happen."
"No Akamaru to help you out, Kibble." Naruto prodded.
"To take care of you, I don't need him." the other boy growled. "Let's get this sorted out already."
Shrugging, Naruto led the way to the training room, which was up to date and looked as if it had been transplanted from the Academy's indoor taijutsu sparring area. Then the pop-up appeared.
[Quest Alert!]
Proving Who's Top Dog: Inuzuka Kiba is in serious need of an attitude adjustment and you have challenged him to a taijutsu spar in order to force him to acknowledge your position as Landlord.
Quest Objective: Defeat Inuzuka Kiba.
Bonus Objective: Defeat Inuzuka Kiba while using Ninpō: Kitsunerisu no Binshō.
Quest Reward: +100 Reputation with [Inuzuka Kiba], +5000 Ryo, Random Kemono Clan Jutsu Scroll.
Bonus Quest Reward: [Rōgaken] Jutsu Scroll, +5000 Ryo, Rarity System Unlocked.
Quest Failure: A serious amount of embarrassment.
Quest has automatically been accepted.
That was rather interesting. A rarity system? Naruto guessed that it had to do with weapons, armour, clothes and jutsu scrolls. It would be interesting to see how this played out. But first...
"Hey, Lee!" Naruto called out to the taijutsu specialist. "You referee this!"
"Yosha! I shall put my most youthful efforts toward it, Uzumaki-san!" the boy declared with a raised clenched fist.
"Wha...?" Both Naruto and Kiba blinked at his unusual usage of the term 'youthful'.
"Just let it go; he takes after Gai-sensei way too much." Tenten called.
Shrugging, Naruto moved to a few feet opposite Kiba and assumed the standard ready position of Hakage Taijutsu. Kiba would likely use his family's taijutsu techniques, especially the nin-taijutsu portion. He was very predictable that way, always charging in head first at full strength. And, sure enough...
"Ready...begin!" Lee announced.
"Gijū Ninpō: Shikyaku no Jutsu! (Imitation Beast Ninja Art: Four Legs Jutsu!)" Kiba snarled, his stance becoming stooped and feral as the technique took ahold of him. Then he rushed at Naruto at a greater speed than he could normally manage, swiping with his clawed hands.
Naruto blocked one, dodged another and redirected a third, backing up slightly as he focused entirely on defence. Kiba, frustrated that he was apparently being played with by his opponent, used a reverse-scissor strike to force Naruto's arms to splay open before trying to drive a fist into his gut, only to be blocked by a raised knee.
"What?!" he managed to exclaim before the foot attached to that knee snapped out and slammed into his side painfully, forcing him back a step. Then Naruto went on the attack, driving punches and kicks into the Inuzuka before grabbing his arm and executing a very precise throw that left Kiba sprawled on his back, gasping for breath.
"First round goes to Naruto-kun!" Lee bellowed, making Kiba wince and cover his ears.
"Lee! Inside voice!" Tenten scolded him.
"Sorry, Tenten-san!"
Scrambling to his feet after he got his breath back, Kiba glared at Naruto angrily. He might have underestimated him then, but now he'd show that Dobe who was boss!
"Let's start again!" he snarled.
Naruto simply assumed the defensive stance he'd taken before again and flicked two fingers at him, as if to say 'bring it' to his opponent.
Naturally, Kiba saw red.
"Why you...take this!" he shouted, barely waiting for Rock Lee to begin the fight. "Tsūga! (Passing Fang!)"
Leaping off of the ground, the boy span around into a drill that leapt forward towards Naruto, who jumped to the side, allowing his enemy to pass by his former position. The Tsūga was the single-person version of the Gatsūga, a combination jutsu involving an Inuzuka's ninken. Because only one being was involved, the technique suffered an accordingly large power drop. It was something that Kiba had obviously not trained in as much as the Gatsūga, otherwise Naruto wouldn't have been able to avoid it like that.
"Humph. This is a poor showing by both sides." Hyūga Neji jeered.
"I dunno what match you're watching, but Naruto just kicked Kiba's ass while using the basic Hakage style of the Academy." Tenten deadpanned. He teammate could be such an ass sometimes. "He has to have mastered the Hakage Style, at least the Basic and Intermediate versions, in order to do that."
Outwardly ignoring his kunoichi teammate's words, Neji narrowed his eyes at Naruto as the blond dodged another Tsūga. What Tenten had said was very true; mastery of the Basic and Intermediate styles of the Hakage Style was without doubt a requirement to manhandle Inuzuka Kiba in such a manner. However, Neji was an expert at reading people's movements due to his prodigious talent at the art of Jūken (Gentle Fist) and he could see some definite traces of the Advanced style of Hakage in the blond boy's movements.
'It matters not. Fate has declared him to lose.' the arrogant boy thought dismissively. Sure enough, Naruto was knocked down by Kiba seconds later, albeit by a hair's breadth.
"Second Round to Kiba-kun!" Lee declared.
"Hah! How'd you like that, Dobe!" Kiba crowed.
Naruto flipped himself back to his feet and stretched himself slightly. "OK, I think it's time to stop playing around." he said before making the Tiger, Horse and Monkey Handsigns. "[Ninpō: Kitsunerisu no Binshō]!"
At his words, the boy crouched forward, a faint sheen of chakra outlining his body as it stretched and his limbs audibly popped. After a moment of silent staring, Naruto shot Lee an expectant look
"Oh..!" the boy shook himself. "Final Round, begin!"
Naruto seemed to teleport across the room and start launching quick barrage of punches of fairly powerful punched directly at Kiba, who was desperately blocking them and backing up at the same time.
"Huh...a speed-oriented version of the Shikyaku no Jutsu?" Tenten muttered, interested.
'What...what the heck is with this?!' Kiba thought as he was forced to retreat yet again. Naruto hadn't shown this kind of skill in the Academy! Even if he'd given Mizuki-sensei a hard time in the taijutsu test, he hadn't been nearly this fast! He was the Inuzuka Clan Heir! He was an Alpha! There was no way that he could lose to the likes of Naruto!
"Tsūga!" he roared desperately and tried to spin into the drill of his technique. Before he could though, Naruto's hands shot out and grabbed him by the wrists and threw him onto his back yet again.
"Yosh! The final round goes to Naruto-kun!" Rock Lee declared, in awe of the most Youthful taijutsu match he'd just refereed. He couldn't wait to tell Gai-sensei about it!
Kiba looked up at the ceiling in utter defeat. He'd...lost. Not only that, he'd lost so obviously that all of his anger had fled him.
'Damn...Naruto really kicked my butt.' he thought wryly.
"You OK, Kiba?" Naruto asked. Looking up, the Inuzuka Heir saw his former opponent standing above him. Rolling over and standing up, Kiba winced at the ache in his arms. Naruto hit as hard as his sister did, which was pretty damn good considering Hana was a Chūnin, even if she was primarily the Inuzuka Clan's vet.
"Yeah, I'm good." Kiba said ruefully. "Damn, you hit like an out of control cart. You've been holding back in spars at the Academy."
"Maybe a little." Naruto grinned. "Always keep an ace up your sleeve for when you need it. You need to practice your Tsūga more; I shouldn't have been able to dodge you at that distance."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah...sheesh, you're nagging me just like Kaa-san." Kiba grumbled as Akamaru leapt back into his arms. "You won, and I keep to my word. You're the Alpha of these apartments."
"Good." Naruto nodded before turning to the other person who had been arguing. "Ino, what were you doing on the ground floor?"
"I was gonna look in on Shikamaru to make sure he didn't just unpack his futon and go to sleep." the Yamanaka Heiress huffed.
"Troublesome girl." the black-haired boy muttered.
"What was that?!" Ino roared at her childhood friend.
"Inside voice, Ino." Naruto winced alongside most of the others. "Kiba, apologise to Ino for getting her dirty and try not to wander around with dreck loose in your arms in future."
"They were Akamaru's things!" Kiba grumbled before begrudgingly apologising to Ino, who accepted it and stormed off to have a shower and change clothes.
Shooing everyone else off now that the spectacle was over with, Naruto returned to his apartment and started to pay attention to the pop-up that had appeared once Kiba admitted his loss.
[Quest Complete!]
Proving Who's Top Dog: Inuzuka Kiba was in serious need of an attitude adjustment and you have soundly defeated him, earning his respect in the process! Well done!
Quest Reward: +100 Reputation with [Inuzuka Kiba], +5000 Ryo, [Ninpō: Sai no Kawa] Jutsu Scroll.
Bonus Quest Reward: [Rōgaken] Jutsu Scroll, +5000 Ryo, Rarity System Unlocked.
Congratulations! Your relationship with [Inuzuka Kiba] has advanced to [Friendly]!
Pleased with his achievement, Naruto focussed on the two jutsu he'd earned. 'Skin of the Rhino' and 'Wolf Fang Fist', eh? Both of them sounded cool, but Naruto was more tempted by the more offensive-sounding one. Unfortunately...
You cannot learn [Rōgaken] as you do not meet the requisite Jutsu or skill levels to do so.
Required Jutsu/Skills: [Ninpō: Kitsunerisu no Binshō] LV20, any (1) other jutsu of the Kemono Clan at LV20.
"Well that sucks." Naruto grumbled. He only had [Kitsunerisu no Binshō] at Level 5 because he rarely used it, which had come back to bite him on the ass right now. That really left only one choice for him to learn...
Congratulations! You have successfully learned [Ninpō: Sai no Kawa]!
[Ninpō: Sai no Kawa] (Active) [LV1, 0%]
Ninja Art: Rhino Skin is a defensive jutsu of the Kemono Clan, designed to protect the user from weak and non-chakra-based attacks from simple threats like normal wild animals, bandits, and thugs so the user can either quickly plough through them or focus on more dangerous threats. The user's skin assumes the defensive traits of a rhino to repel weaponry and taijutsu attacks. A basic level D-ranked jutsu for genin-ranked members of the Kemono clan.
- Handsigns: Monkey-Horse-Snake-Ox.
- Grants all of the user's skin Natural Armour of 5 while active.
- Lowers DEX by 10 while active.
- Costs 40 CP to activate and 5 CP per minute to maintain.
"Huh...not bad." Naruto blinked. "Kind does the opposite of what [Kitsunerisu no Binshō] does; slowing me down and improving my defences. Hopefully that DEX reduction will go away as I level it up."
Getting up, he moved to the kitchen and inspected the cupboards; he'd have to do some shopping in the next couple of days, but he was good for tonight at least.
Returning to his seat, he opened the pop-up about the new system that had been unlocked by his victory.
[Rarity System]
All items in the world will be ranked by their rarity from here on out. The rarer an item, the more valuable it is. Weapons, armour, regular items and jutsu scrolls are just some of the things that this system affects. Be warned however that simply because an item is rare does not always equate to powerful or useful.
There are several tiers of rarity.
[Trash] – This tier includes broken, rusted and abandoned items. A Legendary item that has been poorly maintained or abandoned will eventually degrade to this tier. Some might be fixable if you have a craftsman of appropriate skill level to do so.
[Common] – This tier involves items that are frequent sights in the world, including disposable weaponry such as kunai and shuriken, as well as basic clothing and E-Rank jutsu scrolls.
[Uncommon] – This tier is a slight step up from [Common], with the items being slightly less a frequent sight in basic society. This includes kunai swords, katana, chokutō, ninjatō, D-Rank jutsu scrolls and certain types of body armour.
[Rare] – This tier involves items that are hard to find even among the various countries of the Elemental Nations. These can include zanbatō, certain country-restricted jutsu scrolls and other items.
[Super Rare] – Even rarer than [Rare] items, these are usually items made by master-craftsmen in very limited quantities, usually no more than a dozen or so. Note that a [Mastercrafted] item is not automatically [Super Rare].
[Legendary] – The highest tier attainable as of this update, Legendary items are usually one-of-a-kind items used, worn or carried by legendary figures in famous battles. A few examples would be the Seven Swords of the Mist, the Necklace of the Shodaime Hokage, several Summoning Contracts and other items of this sort.
"Huh...I wonder..." Naruto muttered. He opened his inventory and checked his weapons for their rarity. Tsubaki and Sumire were both rated as [Uncommon], as was that Konoha Chakra Blade he'd gotten immediately after the second System Update. Kogetsu Kyūshiki, on the other hand, was the only [Rare] weapon that he had. The Storm Suit, which was going to be his C-rank and up uniform, was also [Rare], which was interesting.
Most of his other items, weapons and clothing were either [Common] or [Uncommon], which was to be expected considering he was only a genin. Jutsu scroll-wise, he was amused to see that all of the Fūton jutsu scrolls were rated as being [Rare], which made sense; out of all of the five basic elements, the Wind Element was the rarest of them all, making most jutsu for that element fairly hard to come by. Aside from jutsu for Kekkei Genkai, that is.
'Tomorrow's my first day as a genin taking missions...I'd better go out and see about learning that Suiton Jutsu that Iruka-sensei told me about.' the Jinchūriki thought with a slight frown. 'Knowing my luck, painting fences'll be one of the missions Asuma-sensei makes us do.'
After making sure he had everything he needed, Naruto headed out to the back of the Amekage Apartments, which had its own back garden, including a modest pond. It was here that he tried his luck at learning Suiton: Suigun Suima.
The first few times were...less than successful, getting him soaked as the water just seemed to swamp him in a sort of aborted wave, which sucked. Undeterred, he kept trying. Eventually, after what he'd estimated to have been his twentieth or thirtieth go at it...
Congratulations! You have successfully learned [Suiton: Suigun Suima no Jutsu]!
[Suiton: Suigun Suima no Jutsu] (Instant/Active) [LV1, 0%]
Water Style: Water Army Water Demon, otherwise known as Water Style: Marine Battle Formation, is High-D-Rank Jutsu that borders on Low-C-Rank. It allows the user to manipulate a large amount of water into a powerful, spiralling stream that can be directed and manipulated by the user to strike its target from a multitude of different angles. While it is mostly used to act as an impromptu fire service jutsu in an emergency nowadays, its utility in battle cannot be understated. Two people executing the jutsu at once can double the effectiveness of the technique so long as they act in concert.
- Handsigns: Boar-Dog-Horse-Tiger
- Range: Up to 5 meters away.
- Requires pre-existing source of water to be used.
- Volume of water controllable: Bucketful
- Deals INT*WIS-50 Water Damage to targets.
- Costs 50 CP to use and 10 CP per minute to maintain.
- If used by two people in concert, double the amount of Water manipulated and the damage dealt by the highest-levelled user.
"Cool." Naruto grinned before his stomach rumbled. "Better get some lunch in me; it's past that time of day!"
Chuckling, the blond boy headed back in to get started on his lunch and then practice his Fūinjutsu. This would be the last day he'd have the luxury of lounging around like this, after all; he'd be on duty as a member of Konoha's Shinobi Forces starting tomorrow.
He couldn't wait.
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Next Chapter: D-Rank Drudgery
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