Demon: Welcome back to the Orphan Trio.
Creeper: What the hell took so long?
Demon: Well, summer is a hell of a time, whether good or bad. Plus, my computer's been wonky lately.
GoodWriter: Gremlins maybe?
Demon: Doubt it. However, if it is, I'll grab the little fucker and re-enact the microwave scene from the Gremlins movie.
GoodWriter: That seems a bit cruel.
Creeper: Who cares?
Lexboss: Demon, Creeper, what the fuck is wrong with you?
Demon: I swear, I can't even joke in my own story. Fucking political correctness. Anyway, onward.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way. Nor do I own Ninja Warrior/Sasuke in any way.
"Talking" – Thinking – Demon/Summoning Speaking/Jutsu – Demon/Summon Thinking
The Orphan Trio, Chapter 3: Business Planning
"Kurohi, I don't think this will work." Toshi sighed as his friend continued to draw. Kurohi just rolled his eyes as he finished his schematic.
"Trust me, Toshi. We could be successful with this if we do things right!" The Dark user replied, smiling at his handiwork. Naruto wisely kept out of the discussion, opting to continue his clone training.
Three weeks had passed since the Hokage moved the three kids into the apartment they currently were in. As promised, the landlord had no problems with Naruto for his "condition", and was friendly towards all three of them. The kids were very thankful that they were able to find a safe location to live.
Well, somewhat safe. As expected, a lot of villagers started trying to destroy the apartment once they learned the "demon" lived there. However, the security seal Toshi asked Sarutobi to add worked wonderfully, protecting the apartment from damage and forcefully repelling anyone who tried to break in.
While the first week was stressful when the kids would leave the apartment, due to the villagers' hatred towards Naruto and his two friends, the orphans managed to figure out a simple solution. The three spent the majority of their time training the three jutsus the Hokage had given them, and quickly learned two things about the Henge. First off, the trio was able to improve on the Henge by making the transformations real, rather than just an illusion. Secondly, the Henge easily fooled the civilians and numerous ninja. This allowed for Toshi, Kurohi, and even Naruto to shop for needed supplies relatively easily. Unfortunately, most Jonin were able to detect the disguise, but luckily most Jonin respected Naruto for what he was doing for the village by living.
There was only one small snag on their training. It seemed the trio was all unable to successfully perform the clone jutsu. It turned out that the three just weren't able to use the jutsu with their chakra reserves. Toshi managed to find a way around it by creating a physical Lightning clone using lightning chakra. Meanwhile, Kurohi was able to make physical clones using his Dark chakra. Then, there's Naruto…
Due to Naruto not having any Kekkei-Genkai, nor having any knowledge of his affinity, he was unable to create a clone through another method. Sarutobi, upon learning this, offered Naruto a similar jutsu to use, but Naruto stubbornly refused. He explained that he wanted to learn the clone jutsu and would not take any short cuts to learn it. After a little back and forth (i.e. a full day of debate), Naruto agreed to learn the Shadow Clone jutsu, but only if he could not learn the clone jutsu by the last year of the academy. As such, he continued to push himself to learn the standard clone.
"Kurohi, you're basing this off a television show. Even if it is real, it's still TV." Toshi commented, annoyed at his friend's stubbornness. Kurohi scoffed. "Look, all I need is a loan and we can make thousands, maybe millions!" The boy replied, also getting annoyed. Getting annoyed with the constant arguing, Naruto stopped his training and walked over to the arguing pair.
"Okay, what the hell is going on? You two haven't shut up about this all week!" Naruto shouted. Toshi pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Kurohi is trying to set up an obstacle course in the village and thinks he can make money from it. However, it's based off something he saw on television." The Iwa native sighed. Kurohi decided to speak up at this point.
"It's called Ninja Warrior. It takes place in two locations far away from here. It's a difficult obstacle course made up of four sections, each extremely difficult and taxing on the body. Whoever manages to complete the course wins 500,000 ryo. So far, in one location, only three people managed to complete the entire course in its current life of about 15 years. The other region, having only done it five years, hasn't had anyone complete it. However, hundreds challenge it every time the competition takes place." The Kiri native replied.
Naruto looked at the blueprints Kurohi drew up. He didn't know much of construction, but even he could tell the designs were well done. Looking back at the kid, Naruto sighed. "And how are you planning to make money off of this?" The blond asked. Kurohi pointed at the drawings.
"We could charge people to attempt the course. We offer a prize of some kind to whoever can complete all four stages. If we charge, say, 5 or 10 ryo for a chance, people may be more likely to try it. It's like a lottery. Put in 5 or 10 ryo, have a chance to win 100,000 ryo. Face it, people are greedy. Give a chance to win big and people will go for it." The dark user explained proudly. Toshi lowered his hand slowly. "Actually, he has a point. If there are two things that cause people to fall, they are pride and greed." The Iwa kid said. "Still, where do you think you can get a loan?"
(page break)
"You want to borrow how much?!" Sarutobi asked, shocked at the request Kurohi came in with. The Kiri native had explained his idea to the old man, showed the blue prints, and described the competition behind it. Sarutobi had to admit that for an eight year old, the kid had some good ideas. Sarutobi could even see it as a good way to train the ninjas during their off time. However, Kurohi's requested amount stunned him.
"1,000,000 ryo." Kurohi replied, not missing a beat. It was a high amount for a loan, especially for a child, but the black haired boy did his homework. Or rather, he had Toshi do the homework. Along with the cost of materials, labor, and land necessary to build the course, Kurohi would need to get permits from both the Hokage and the organization that ran the competition. The former was required to acquire the large amount of land the course would stay at, and the latter was to get authorization to use the name and trademark for the course.
The boy managed to contact the group, and got permission to use the brand, but it couldn't be an official "Mt. Midoriyama" like the ones in the other regions. Instead, the course will be considered a training course. However, the prize offer will still be allowed, as will any records achieved on the course.
Another issue brought up was the fact that the ninjas attempting the course would likely use their chakra to help them. Since those in the other regions couldn't use chakra in the competition, it would be unfair if the ninjas in Konoha did. After discussing this with Sarutobi, Kurohi learned that the course could have special seals in place to prevent the use of chakra, and set alerts off if someone did so to cheat.
Sarutobi sighed and blew out a ring of smoke from his pipe. "Kurohi, I can't just loan a million ryo to a child. However, I do like your idea for the course. You say that the entire thing is comprised of four stages. I think it would be easier to do this one piece at a time. How much would you need to construct one portion of the course?" The old man asked.
Kurohi walked over to Toshi and Naruto, who were both standing to the side, and began muttering to the pair. After a few moments, Kurohi nodded and walked back to the Hokage, ready to respond. "Well, it would be a bit more cost-effective to build the course in its entirety, but you have a point about the ease of doing it little by little. Not only that, but it might get more people interested because they will attempt one stage and get excited when the next is built.
"As for the cost to build stage one, it will still be a high amount. With the cost of materials, labor, permits, and the seals, it will cost about 400,000 ryo. However, we can reduce it a bit through labor if we use our clones to help the construction." Kurohi looked over to Naruto, who nodded reluctantly. Kurohi turned back to the Hokage and continued, "With that in mind, Naruto has agreed to learn the Shadow Clone jutsu to help with construction and reduce the cost of labor, but will not use it in practical purposes until he either completes the clone jutsu or the fourth year of the academy begins, whichever happens first. That should help reduce the cost to about 300,000 ryo."
Sarutobi thought things over a moment before smiling faintly. This could help Naruto quickly and get the three of them some experience in construction before they even graduate the academy.
"Alright, Kurohi. The loan amount of 300,000 ryo is accepted. As a show of good faith, you will have no interest charged for this loan. Since you are not a ninja yet, you have until you graduate to pay off the loaned amount. However, if you cannot pay off the entire amount by that time, your pay as a ninja will be taken to pay off the balance until it is paid off. Furthermore, any future loans you take out will have a somewhat high interest rate if this occurs. Do you accept these conditions?" Sarutobi asked, setting the conditions for the large loan.
Kurohi responded with a curt "Hai" and signed the document. Once he was done, Sarutobi took the paper and added one more condition. "One last thing. While you three can work on this project during your free time, you must not use this as an excuse to skip the academy, which begins in three days. Understood?"
The three children nodded in approval. Sarutobi smiled at their resolve and stood up. "Now, Naruto, it's time we teach you the Shadow Clone. This shouldn't take too long."
Demon: Okay, chapter 3 is finished.
Lexboss: You didn't really do much here, did you?
Creeper: Yeah, what about the action?
Demon: Well, I know it's short, but I think some people might appreciate the idea.
GoodWriter: But why add the Ninja Warrior thing to this?
Demon: Well, last year someone from my school competed in the American Ninja Warrior. He didn't make it past the Qualifier, but he was very proud to have the chance. Since I like the show and saw his performance, I thought there would be a way to add this in somewhere.
Creeper: Actually, a ninja course in a ninja fanfic sounds about right.
Demon: Exactly. Anyway, if you like the idea, keep on the lookout for more of it later. If you don't, then so long, because I'm keeping this in here.
Creeper: Good, now let's wrap this… What the hell?
(Door crashes open, police rushing in)
Officer: Freeze! You are under arrest!
Creeper: Hey, what the hell are you doing?
(Creeper gets dragged out of the house)
Demon: (looking at GoodWriter) You didn't…
GoodWriter: Sorry, but I warned him.
Demon: I don't know whether to be appalled you'd turn him in, or impressed considering my career path.
Lexboss: Anyway, read and review!
Demon: Right, and remember: No flames!