I was sparring against one of my clones to train in physical combat.
A couple of hours had went by. I was trying not to think about the notice that popped up earlier. Not only was it a complicated skill, it was going to take a while until I can meet a condition on someone I actually want to use the skill on.
Deciding that was enough for today, I dispelled my clones and fell on the ground from exhaustion.
Once again, my brain was overloaded from the information being sent to it. Shadow Clone Jutsu is a real pain in the ass.
I rolled until I was on my back and stared into the sky as I caught my breath.
This really isn't healthy.
I just wanted to get some basic skills so I can do decent in the Chunin exams.
Staring at the clouds, my eyes began to water.
I should've gotten up a couple minutes ago. I didn't really know why I was still laying on the grass.
The water increased in quantity and began flowing.
There was no sound except my tears falling on the ground. I was silently crying.
Ever since I got here, I've shut off my emotions in fear of this happening.
Fuck.
I left a family behind. My family.
Are they still searching for me?
They probably think I was kidnapped and murdered. I can only hope - hope that they move on.
I wonder, if I follow the same path and build the same family as Naruto, will I be able to forget them?
I got up and wiped my face, before rushing back home.
I don't have time to dwell on useless what-ifs.
I have a mission to accomplish.
The next couple of days passed by quickly. A few girls, mainly Ino had started to avoid me and give me weird stares at the Academy. It didn't evolve into a problem because I would always leave before them and never encounter them in the village.
My progress on Rasengan has slowed down a lot. Although I don't consider that bad. As soon as I reveal that I learned a hidden and one of the rarest Jutsu on my own, I'll become a target.
On the other hand, the Taijutsu quest is going extremely well.
So well, that in fact-
Ting~ Ting~
[Congratulations! You have completed a Quest!]
[The rewards have been added to your profile]
[You have levelled up!]
[You have Stat Points waiting to be distributed!]
Good, looks like the earlier levels don't require an insane amount of experience. In a hurry, I opened up the stat menu and it greeted me with new additions.
[You have unlocked new Stats!]
I guess level 1 was just a starting point.
[Name: Uzumaki Naruto]
[Level: 2]
[Class: -empty-]
[Titles: Hated Child, Jinchuriki]
[HP: 850/850]
[Chakra: 8250/8250]
[Fatigue: 19]
[Strength: 5]
[Stamina: 8]
[Agility: 5]
[Intelligence: 35]
[Perception: 5]
[AP: 5]
[Notice - Skill:Perception has been changed to Stat:Perception to better suit the Player's needs]
I put 4 points in Stamina and 1 in perception. I'm playing the long game.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't proud about my base intelligence stat being so much higher than the rest.
Not willing to put up with the slander today, I took the back alleys route. And thanks to that, I saw something interesting.
Ino was alone with a cat in front of her.
Upon a closer look, I realized that she was practicing her clan's innate technique. Whatever her motivation be, I saw this as an opportunity. I instinctively knew that her stamina was running low and she could collapse at any moment.
Making sure my footsteps made no noise, I approached her.
"Ha...Ha...shit..." As I predicted, she began falling backwards.
Quickening my pace, I managed to catch her in the air.
"Huh...? Who- Naruto!?"
"You should be more careful. If you had fallen, your clothes would've been soiled." Although I pretended to be nice, she was more focused on the fact that I found her 'secret' place.
She tried standing on her own feet, but I swiped her up into a bridal carry, "Don't. I know you're tired."
"Wha-What are you doing!? Let go of me! How dare you try and pretend to be nice after tearing off my clothes!?" She was rampaging in my arms.
"What are you talking about? When did I do that?"
"Huh? You did...in the market...after I..."
"Ino, I don't know what happened, but I will never do something like that. I only said I would because..." I swallowed my shame and frustration to act as embarrassed as I could, "...I just wanted you to stop calling me a loser."
"Really!? You're not lying are you?"
"I would never lie to you."
"Eek!" Her cheeks went up in flames, almost. 'Then...that was probably just a coincidence. Thank God...I didn't want to believe it was him...especially after he...after he...ugh! I can't believe I'm thinking that he was cool when he threatened me!' She thought to herself.
I began walking and she instinctively grabbed onto my chest, "Wh-Where are you going?"
"How long were you training for?" I answered with a question of my own.
"That's...none of your business!" She averted her eyes.
"For too long." I sighed. "I'll drop you off at your house. And before you complain, don't worry, I can make sure that no one will see you like this."
The rest of the journey was mostly quiet. I think she was about to apologize for treating me like that, but didn't have the courage.
Well, courage is something that everyone in this village could make some use of.
"Here, I told you that no one will see us, didn't I?"
She just smiled in return. Getting back on her feet, she said bye to me and ran into her house, but halfway through she turned back and waved at me.
I won't understand girls, but I don't have to. Even if my on the spot plan didn't work out, all I would have to do is come up with a better one.
Walking back to my house, I grabbed my arm and thought to myself.
She was heavy.
Guess I'll put some points into strength next time.
After I went to sleep and woke up, the system gave me a new quest called Taijutsu Training II. This likely won't be a constant source of experience though, so I needed to find something else.
But this world doesn't have monsters that a child can hunt...
Well, that comes later.
Right now, its time for graduation from the Academy.
I'm sure everyone was expecting me to fail miserably.
As I walked up to Iruka-sensei, I was conscious about the gazes of my fellow 'classmates'. I was planning on just doing the bare minimum, but being looked down upon so freely made me do something out of character.
I summoned two shadow clones instead of normal clones.
"...Shadow Clone Jutsu...?" Iruka was speechless, and so was the rest of the classroom.
While most were surprised and raised suspicions about me cheating, there was one person who looked at me with hate instead. Sasuke was jealous of me. It was his first time feeling this emotion.
We all know what happened when he felt jealousy towards Naruto in the Chunin exams.
I may have messed up. My plans for Sasuke will have to be altered not so slightly.
I had to perform the jutsu again to prove it wasn't a fluke.
Well, I passed.
Due to this, I thought I wouldn't be approached by the Chunin Mizuki. Well, the fact that I had created Shadow Clones hadn't yet spread to everyone, so he proved me wrong.
He was kneeling in front of me with a hand on my shoulder. Going on about how I can become a lot stronger if I steal some scrolls, his voice was becoming annoying.
"Ah, Miuzki-san, watch out!" I shouted and he looked behind him.
Grasping my kunai, I struck the back of his head with it. But even if he was a weak Ninja, he was still a Chunin. The strength of a child without any expertise in the Ninja tools wasn't enough to pierce the skull.
I had to pull the kunai out and stab him in the throat to finish him off. Thankfully, I was quick enough that he didn't attract any attention.
Quickly fleeing the scene, I went to a nearby river instead of my house to wash my hands.
Ting~ Ting~
[You have gained experience]
[As a reward for your first kill, the experience gain was tripled]
[You have levelled up!]
[You have Stat Points waiting to be distributed!]
Opening my stat menu, I realized that each stat gets 5 points per level in addition to the 5 points that I can chose where to put. I distributed my points and went home. Tomorrow we'll be put into teams. I made sure that that part of canon doesn't change.
With that, I can begin my conquest on the pink-haired heroine.
[Name: Uzumaki Naruto]
[Level: 3]
[Class: -empty-]
[Titles: Hated Child, Jinchuriki]
[HP: 950/950]
[Chakra: 8275/8275]
[Fatigue: 4]
[Strength: 12]
[Stamina: 20]
[Agility: 10]
[Intelligence: 40]
[Perception: 10]
[AP: 0]
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(A/N: Will put the latest stats at the end of every chapter)