Cherreads

Chapter 177 - Chunin Exams # 36

Konohagakure No Sato :

Uzumaki Estate :

It had been exactly ten days since the late-night "assault" on the Uzumaki Estate.

The morning sun was already hanging high in the sky, the clock hitting right around 10:00 AM. It was supposed to be just another quiet, peaceful morning, but today, the massive Estate welcomed an unusual Guest .

"Thanks for handling all this headache, Honekawa-san."

"No trouble at all, Naruto-kun. Honestly, I'm just incredibly thankful you trusted me with a project of this scale."

"Yeah. So, I take it Gato's old empire is officially taken care of?"

"Yes, but with a slight catch. I was only able to cleanly secure about 60% of his total assets. The remaining 40% had to be grease money—distributed among the Daimyo and various high-ranking nobles to keep their mouths shut and also to make all this Legal "

"Honestly, that's already a massive win. As long as those remaining assets are now legally mine now, right?"

"Absolutely. Right here are the official land deeds, port authorities, and corporate property documents. Every single one of them is cleanly registered under the name Uzumaki Naruto."

"....Thank you, Honekawa-san."

Naruto accepted the hefty bundle of scrolls and legal documents from the wealthy, high-profile merchant. Beyond his immense financial influence, the man possessed another highly relevant title:

he was the father of Naruto's Friend, Honekawa Suneo.

Unrolling the documents, Naruto began skimming through the paperwork line by line. With his passive MindHub and Reading skills running quietly in the background, he didn't just read the dense legal jargon at lightning speed—he effortlessly comprehended the entire financial structure.

(...Hmm. Strategically speaking, the actual retention rate is closer to 55% or 58%. Which means he definitely skimmed a neat little profit for himself while liquidating and converting these assets.)

Naruto's eyes flickered over to the merchant sitting across from him, but he had zero intention of calling the man out. Business was business. Pulling off a multi-billion ryo asset recovery from a dead underworld tyrant like Gato without outright scamming a twelve-year-old kid was already the mark of an exceptionally honest merchant.

Anyone else would have completely robbed a kid blind, regardless of whether he was friends with their son or not. We were talking about an empire worth billions of ryo, after all.

Yes, Gato's multi-billion ryo empire.

These were the exact same assets Naruto had violently liberated from Gato's hands right before politely sending the tyrant and his entire Goon Squad straight to the Pure Land.

Naruto hadn't been greedy with the liquid cash; he only kept about 30% of the hard Ryo found in Gato's vaults, leaving the remaining 70% behind to fund the local Wave civilians, the bridge builders Tazuna, and the broken economy.

But the actual infrastructure? The commercial shops, the real estate, the private shipping piers, and the entire naval fleet? Naruto took absolutely everything. Not only did he take them, but during his final, very aggressive "chat" with Gato, he had forcefully ensured the billionaire signed over every single asset transfer directly into Naruto's name before his heart stopped beating.

It had been about a month since Gato's sudden expiration. During that time, Naruto had quietly established contact with Suneo's father. While Honekawa wasn't quite at Gato's global billionaire status , he was a deeply entrenched merchant with an incredibly sophisticated network of connections.

Naruto's motive for looping him in was simple: he needed a clean, bulletproof way to bring these underground assets into the light without raising any red flags from the Daimyo's court, the Land of Fire aristocrats, or even the Land of Waves authorities who doesn't even have a voice .

( .... as long as everything becomes fully legal technically without a single finger pointing )

Naruto technically could have used the Third Hokage or prominent ninja clans like the Nara or others to smooth over the legalities, but he had very specific reasons for not approaching the military brass out of this venture.

First off, Konoha was strictly a military organization. Their legal jurisdiction stopped hard at the village walls; they had absolutely zero civilian property rights out in the broader Land of Fire, and definitely not in the sovereign Land of Waves.

( ....Daimyo and other nobles always make sure that this fact remain nearly as close to 100% )

Second, even if the Hokage or the elite Ino-Shika-Cho trio used their massive political clout or other means to legitimize the paperwork, doing so would fundamentally invite them into his long-term business model. It would grant them a front-row seat to the massive industrial path he was carving out.

And frankly, Naruto didn't want the Hokage—or his notoriously toxic "Greater Good" ideology or anyone—anywhere near his profit margins.

( ...not yet atleast )

If Sarutobi Hiruzen got wind of this, the old man would inevitably pull the righteousness card, demanding a massive "village share" for the sake of Leaf security or other various excuses , Naruto would be legally or emotinally powerless to stop a Hokage-level eminent domain seizure. He'd be lucky to retain a measly 10% of his current 55% empire.

Maybe the hokage will compenasate him , regardless , compensation or other things is not something Naruto want now . 

as for other Clans ?

The exact same logic applied to the shinobi clans. Naruto preferred paying off civilian merchants and corrupt nobles over letting ninja clans get a finger in his pie. While he genuinely liked his friends and their families, his baseline trust in them wasn't 100%.

Or not in them but in their Clans.

Shinobi clans were full of internal factions and political greed. If a civilian noble or an external merchant got greedy and tried to double-cross him down the line, Naruto could casually slaughter them in their sleep without a single drop of remorse.

But if those greedy, backstabbing clowns turned out to carry the surname Sarutobi, Nara, or Yamanaka? That would make family dinners incredibly awkward.

As for the information eventually leaking back to Konoha's leadership that a genin suddenly owned a commercial empire? Sure, questions would be asked, and eyebrows would definitely hit the ceiling.

And that was exactly why Naruto was moving pieces across the board right now. With the Chunin Exams looming, Orochimaru lurking in the shadows, and the entire military apparatus hyper-fixated on a potential war, absolutely nobody had the luxury of auditing a kid's bank accounts.

And as for what happens after the Chunin Exams?

With Daimyo's sign , Even If they know , they can only pretend to not know as things will already become legal without any manuver except emotions ,afterall Friendship goes both ways ,even if not there is also his Genius or JInchuriki status .

Will they sour their relations with Jinchuriki ,Fourth's legacy or many other different resason , just to fight over this money ?? especially when they themselves are a noble clan not lacking in money ? 

(Well, the Nara and Yamanaka won't have any legal ground to stand on anyway... and the one specific person who actually possesses the authority to politically or emotinally blakmail me... well, he won't exactly be alive to see the end of this month.)

And who was that person

That person was none other than Sarutobi Hiruzen.

At the end of the day, building an ironclad, emotional connection with a Jinchuriki came with its own unique set of advantages and disadvantages. And Naruto fully intended to exploit every single one of them.

The moment that meddlesome old monkey died, the Jinchuriki detail would dissolve into chaos, and Naruto would finally be completely free. He had genuine bonds in this village, sure, but none of them were strong enough to emotionally manipulate him into giving up his autonomy.

Well not like he would have followed third's words like some obediant dog anyway , but that would jeopardise his Will of fire 'Inheritor' identity and may raise many questions .

But with Sarutobi Hiruzen gone ?? 

It just means that Naruto was only that close to Third Hokage and as for everyone else , they need to always negotiate insteaed of thinking that Naruto is gonna work like some good corporate slave.

(.......The divine right to guilt-trip him or black-mail the Jinchuriki , was a privilege Sarutobi Hiruzen was going to take straight to his grave )

Inheriting the Will of Fire didn't mean Naruto was going to play the part of a naive, gullible oaf who happily donated his entire life and wealth to a village that used to throw garbage at him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen—the "only" person alive capable of playing the grandfather card to manipulate the Jinchuriki asset—had to be removed from the equation.

And It is not because Of money . 

It was to be free , Which has been Naruto's goal all along .

A peceful way to be free which results in a monkey's permanent trip to Pure land .

Naruto wanted the village to understand a very cold, fundamental reality:

Uzumaki Naruto wasn't just a container for The Demon fox.

He was a human being. A human possessing his own wisdom, intense desires, courage, lust, gluttony, pride, and his own temper.

An individual defined by his own distinct virtues and sins.

Why bother playing these intricate financial games when apocalyptic threats like Madara or Kaguya were looming on the horizon? Because Naruto lived in the real world. And most importantly:

because he SIMPLY could.

He had absolutely zero desire to become some transcendent, impoverished "Ninja God" who saves the Whole world only for his future wife to sit around stressing over residential house loans and grocery bills in her thirties.

"Again, thank you, Honekawa-san. I truly appreciate the hustle."

"Haha, think nothing of it, Naruto-kun! Honestly, navigating this massive web allowed me to secure some incredibly lucrative political connections for my own firm."

"True, but securing the exclusive rights to the port industries must have been an absolute nightmare. I'm in your debt." Naruto replied sincerely , The port industries was something he absolutely wanted under his control for his future Global Business dominance , not thouching them is already a lot of goodwill , that Naruto was thankful for .

"Haha! It was a bit tricky, sure, but it's nothing the Honekawa Merchant Group can't handle with enough capital behind it."

"Fair enough. Now then, how are we looking on the factory setups and production lines?"

"Everything is mostly finalized. The physical facilities should be completely operational within two weeks."

"And the raw material supply chains? Are the contracts signed?"

"Yes. With the Land of Fire acting as our central distribution hub, we've locked down quite a few high-ranking agricultural nobles. We've officially signed ironclad, 25-year exclusivity contracts for all required raw ingredients."

"Excellent. So whether we're manufacturing pickles, mass-producing poultry, running commercial bakeries, fermenting wine, or distilling high-end perfumes, our raw supply lines will never bottleneck."

"Exactly. I've also personally ensured we have legal monopolies on these specific manufacturing methods for as long as possible to aggressively build our brand identity."

"Has the corporate entity been formally registered with the state?"

"Yes, simultaneously with the asset transfers. I have officially registered the corporate entity under the name Uzumaki Enterprise. Here is the master incorporation document—stipulating a strict 51% controlling majority stake strictly in your name."

"Perfect. Thank you, Honekawa-san." Naruto took the document, scanning the corporate bylaws.

With Gato's liquidated infrastructure and his own multi-million ryo cash injection, Naruto was fully equipped to launch a global commercial empire. And this was the exact reason he refused to let a single shinobi clan stick their nose into his business model.

Yes , Global , after all In three years , either he will be a hero recognised Globally aroiund the world , whose assets no one will dare to touch .

Or it will be world where living will be ceased to exist because of Tsuki-no-mi .

( Darkness has it's advantages .....and so is LIGHT )

regardless , since he is In light , he will make full Use of the Hero or Ninja God name , with three years window , The preprations will be ready , so which after the great war , The expansion of Uzumaki enterprise , is something no one will dare to stop.

(Well..... at least not yet,) Naruto thought, filing the paperwork away. Satisfied that everything was in perfect order, he leaned back and looked at his primary business partner, Honekawa, who legally held a highly lucrative 30% stake in the newly formed enterprise.

"Alright. What's the status on the secondary investors and minor collaborators?"

"I've already vetted them and drawn up the standard nondisclosure agreements. We can have them sign the capital injection papers whenever you're ready."

".....Is that so...!!"

Noticing the dark, intensely calculated expression shifting across Naruto's face, Honekawa felt a sudden, cold prickle of sweat run down his spine. For a kid like Naruto to look that deeply in thought meant something incredibly heavy was happening behind those blue eyes.

And To the elderly merchant, Naruto was anything but a child.

When Naruto had first approached him out of nowhere to pitch a global business model—casually sliding over Gato's multi-billion ryo asset portfolio like it was a piece of scrap paper—Honekawa had literally almost soiled his favorite pants.

Whether it was the sheer absurdity of handling a dead billionaire's real estate, the revolutionary consumer concepts, or the literal physical samples of gourmet cakes, premium perfumes, hyper-optimized fried chicken, vintage wines, and that mind-boggling carbonated black sludge called Cola....

Everything was terrifyingly ground-breaking.

For a brief, greedy moment early on, Honekawa had actually considered trying to double-cross the kid, steal the product concepts, and claim the entire empire for himself. But he had violently forced that thought out of his suicidal greedy head the second it materialized.

First, thanks to his son Suneo, Honekawa was well aware that Uzumaki Naruto was personally backed by the Third Hokage himself.

Second, while the new consumer products were guaranteed money-printers, Naruto hadn't given him a single line of the actual chemical recipes. He had flatly stated that the secret formulas would only be disclosed once the foundation was entirely secure.

A secure foundation meant Gato's assets had to be legally transferred under Naruto's name via direct Daimyo decree, and the factories had to be constructed strictly to Naruto's engineering specifications without knowing the underlying chemistry.

If Honekawa tried to betray him, Naruto could simply walk away, leaving Honekawa holding a massive, multi-million ryo financial deficit of empty factories and useless real estate. Ofcourse Naruto may also loose Money but with his ideas and backing , he will still bounce back , and Hinekawa himself , All that will be left would be regrets .

And all this needs to be done while under contract or agreements all the time .

Third, Uzumaki Naruto was a certified anomaly—a lethal prodigy capable of inventing high-level ninjutsu. In the civilian merchant world, having a personal line of communication with an active Jonin-level asset was a massive point of pride.

If a merchant managed to secure a contract with an elite ninja, they bragged about it for generations. While the massive aristocratic noble houses monopolized relations with the prominent shinobi clans, mid-tier merchants like the Honekawa Group had to aggressively scramble to build alliances with elite civilian-born ninja. Securing a direct pipeline to the supernatural military world wasn't just good business—it was a literal insurance policy for physical safety.

And fourth?

The definitive turning point occurred the exact day Uzumaki Naruto legally inherited the late Fourth Hokage's massive residential estate. Honekawa had personally attended that high-profile housewarming party.

And With his own two eyes, he watched the Third Hokage, Tsunade-hime of the Sannin, every single major shinobi Clan Head, and even the notoriously reclusive Hatake Kakashi—a man who literally never attended a formal civilian function or any function in his life—willingly crowd into a twelve-year-old's living room to celebrate.

That was the exact day Honekawa fully comprehended the terrifying, invisible shadow of absolute military power operating directly behind Uzumaki Naruto. And that wasn't even touching the kid's classified biological identity—a secret the ANBU had visited his home in the dead of night to explicitly threaten him to keep his mouth shut about.

( ...No matter what , with this kind of backing , A single assasination and I will be cold ) Honekawa thought Bitterly , with absolute no intention to go against this kind of Line-up.

But this much background power is also a boon , because If he latched this thigh early-on ,then in the same way , he will also be protected under this umbrella .

Since that night, Honekawa's sole ambition in life was to anchor his family as close to Naruto as humanly possible.

So when Naruto had approached him with this massive industrial strategy and the asset liquidation play, Honekawa had jumped on the opportunity without a single millisecond of hesitation.

(...Such meticulous planning,) Honekawa thought, watching the boy review the documents.

( Even if you completely stripped away his backing because of being shinobi or other stuff , a normal person would still have a nightmare of a time trying to cause problems for this kid........unless you kidnal and torture this info )

despite these Disturbing thoughts , Honekawa was worried about different things ,Naruto was looking down at the stack of documents when Honekawa voiced his lingering worries.

"Naruto-kun."

"...Yes, Honekawa-san?"

"I don't doubt you, but is it really alright to keep the shinobi clans and even the Hokage at arm's length like this?"

Hearing the merchant's concern, Naruto thought it over for a moment and decided to share a slice of his actual strategy.

"I never said I didn't plan to involve the shinobi clans or the village authority..!"

"..Then, I'm confused. Can you shed some light on your thought process?"

"Hmm. The village and the other clans will get involved, but only after we've actually built something concrete."

"..Built something?"

"Exactly. If we approach them right now, we're just newcomers who need their help. Regardless of our reasons, the trust we share, or our bonds, our cut of the profits will definitely end up being way less than what the village and the clans will take combined."

".Ah. So you want to let them in once they ask... or should I say...BEG ..?"

" ....'Beg' is a pretty strong word... but yeah. Once the company is fully on track—say, within two to five years—we'll expand and let them buy in."

"Hmm. Does that mean, until then, we'll strictly use the nobles and the standard Mission Center for our logistics and security?!"

"Yep. You don't need to worry about that side of things. Regardless, I'm planning on two major expansions: the first in three years, and the second after 5 years "

"Hmm.... Then I feel much more assured. So, when should we sign these documents and get things rolling?"

Naruto looked at Honekawa-san, smoothly suppressing a very dark thought brewing in his mind before he spoke.

"...Invite the investors this month.... We'll sign the papers & officially launch everything after the Chunin Exams."

"After the Chunin Exams? Well, that's good. It's a great day to launch a new venture, right on the heels of such a grand occasion."

Seeing Honekawa smiling so happily at the start of their new partnership, Naruto just looked back at him calmly, a pleasant smile plastered on his face.

(...How would he react if he knew the Chunin Exams are going to be anything but 'grand'?.....Or maybe too Grand ?? )

The Konoha Crush Plan.

Once the invasion was set in motion, signing business documents would be the last thing on the minds of these businessmen and nobles.

But that was the exact reason he was inviting them all anyway.

There are always annoying, last-minute "negotiations" at the bargaining table. But once these nobles saw a literal war break out right in front of them—and finally realized that their new business partner wasn't just some kid, but the new "Hero" of Konoha who actively 'protected' them in a war zone—those negotiations were going to be buttery smooth.

Actually, better than smooth. Because at that moment, their minds would be entirely focused on their connection to the "Jinchuriki" and the Leaf's savior, rather than squeezing him for whatever surplus money they could get.

At that point, business wouldn't be the priority. They would be running on the most basic instinct of any living thing:

Survival.

And, of course, playing the "Hero" was easy. Naruto just needed to assign some Shadow Clones to "save" them to tilt the board in his favor. Even if a few of them died in the crossfire, the simple fact that Uzumaki Naruto stepped up to protect them while their own hired guards failed would make a massive political statement.

As for those personal guards? Well, how strong could civilian-hired muscle be anyway? And even if they were strong, guards could always suffer an unfortunate "accident" during the chaos.

( .....Everything for the Greater Good .....My Good )

Naruto looked back down at the legal documents. While he only held a 51% stake in Uzumaki Enterprises, Gato's old transport hub was a different story—he was keeping full, unquestioned authority over that.

Eventually, he was going to launch a secondary company using those maritime assets to handle mass transportation across the shinobi world. That was going to be his main cash cow. Uzumaki Enterprises was basically just a shiny smokescreen for the real logistics empire.

As for who was going to manage and work this transport company while he was busy being a ninja?

(Well, Tazuna and the other Wave citizens should be more than happy to work for me now that they have free time after finishing that bridge.)

As for whether they will be proficient , Doesn't matter , The Technical people will be something he will hire from Honekawa or other Sides , as for these Cuilders or civilians , Just Look at Common sense , Afterall People at the lowest rungs of society always possessed a ton of versatile, blue-collar skills out of pure necessity.

One day they're building a bridge, the next they're framing a house or building that House , running a shop, or working as deckhands to ferry cargo across the ocean. They were basically doing all the heavy lifting for Gato's main business anyway, even if it was for bare minimum wage.

(...Well I need Tazuna and others only at the beginning , only to keep an eye on things so which things don't turn out the same way as Gato.. .....for the so-called honesty )

The first company would serve as the bait to build political connections, letting others share a piece of the pie—but only when Naruto himself decided they had the right to slice that cake.

As for the other idea—his own personal shinobi-world "Amazon" or "FedEx" naval delivery service or the future Business that will connext all countries whether Minor Or Major Village or lands —that company would be his primary income source, keeping the vast majority of the profits in his pocket.

(...Well, hope it works.) Naruto thought silently and worriedly and decided further

(...Let's just stick to these two companies for now. The other stuff can wait until after the grand finale.)

He had already decided on building a harem, and he'd even decided he wanted 10 kids with each of them. He was going to need an mountain of money to feed that many mouths. Right?

Especially since two of those girls were already high-maintenance little princesses.

( ...Not just to feed Stomachs but to also enjoy & provide all kinds of comfort )

it was just not for the Girls , but also for himself , afterall Getting second Chance at life , What he wants now is live fully , and not just to survive like other transmigrators that have habit to act as some pig in dark , all to survive like some traumatic PTSD patient .

( Well , being Me , I will always be in light anyway , so why not use everything fully )

With Flying THunder God , His safety is already secured 99.99% , so why not make some moves and enjoy the life .

It's not being Over-confident or letting the guard down , but it is to just loosen some chains while still planning for the future , whether against Madara or Kaguya or the future after that .

After double-checking that everything was in order, Naruto and Honekawa-san chatted a bit more about future logistics and some plans, and then decided to wrap things up for the day .

Naruto escorted Honekawa-san to the front door. He stood there for a moment, watching the merchant leave in a carriage escorted by a security detail of four Genin and two Chunins.

As the carriage disappeared down the street, Naruto's mind shifted gears, and he turned around to walk back inside , Seeing the sun at absolute Zenith and seeing his Stop-watch whose needles were all poting to 12 .Naruto's eyes flickered

( Let's see , how is she doing )

Walking back inside, Naruto bypassed the main house and headed straight for the back garden. While the front yard featured a scenic little lake and manicured flowers, the backyard opened up into a wide, unobstructed training ground framed by a dense border of trees.

The view opened up, revealing a purple-haired kunoichi sitting peacefully in the shade of a large tree, breathing calmly with her eyes closed. Naruto focused on Yugao-nee's face—which was completely bare, missing her usual porcelain ANBU mask.

( .....atleast she is comfortable now )

It had been ten days since the Sannin's "assault" on the Uzumaki estate. Yugao had been discharged from the hospital after just three days, taking another day or two for active physical rehabilitation.

It was during this recovery window that Jiraiya, accompanied by Tsunade and Kakashi, had dropped by the estate to deliver a formal "apology." Since Yugao was staying at the compound post-hospitalization anyway, the trio had essentially been forced to bring the apology directly to Naruto's front door.

As for that so-called apology?

Of course, Yugao accepted it. And playing his part perfectly, Naruto had "accepted" it too. In fact, Naruto had been so absurdly polite on paper that he even apologized to the Sannin for slamming a Rasengan into his ribs that night.

After all Naruto was a good kid ..!!

Why wouldn't he 'accept' an apology since he already knew that the whole thing was a misunderstanding

( even if It was indeed someone who broke in his home in the middle of the night for a 'talk' )

Yes, out in the light and on official paperwork, everything was perfectly fine.

But was it actually fine?

The answer was a resounding NO.

But that was a problem for a later time. Watching Yugao take deep, rhythmic breaths under the shade, Naruto quietly walked over.

It had been five days since Naruto decided to introduce Yugao to his unique Breathing Technique. Most of his friends and Village High-level had already been introduced to it, so he figured there was no real reason to exclude her.

( well , Without me , she would still need merits to exchange This Technique , So all is good , she can use those merits for other things now )

Observing her long, measured deep breaths, Naruto stepped closer, analyzing her chakra flow while keeping his internal thoughts grounded and his mind running for his and her Future 

(...I can only show you the path.....But. If you're expecting me to be a nanny who holds your hand and walks you through this step-by-step..... then I'm sorry.)

After all, he had much bigger fish to fry. That kind of high-maintenance privilege wasn't even extended to his own girls, let alone Yugao. But that didn't mean he was going to entirely ignore her existence either. Within his own comfort zone, he was perfectly fine making things a bit easier for her.

(Not with my full capability, obviously... just whatever is comfortable.)

Stepping away for a split second via the Flying Thunder God, Naruto quickly returned after signing in and activating his [Great Sage Buff] skill.

Glancing at the skill's six-hour cooldown, Naruto decided he would invest exactly two hours a day for the next month personally tutoring her.

( Consider it her reward for standing her ground against Jiraiya )

"Yugao-nee?"

Hearing his voice, Yugao paused her breathing cycle and opened her eyes. "What is it, Naruto-kun?"

"....Let me teach you step-by-step."

Deciding one thing internally only to do the exact opposite a second later—classic. It was only going to be for this month, but one of his background mental partitions still immediately flagged him for the blatant hypocrisy.

Not that he cared in the slightest.

(...Deciding things one minute and doing the exact opposite the next. But So WHAT..... I'm going to live my life my way.)

For the next two hours, Naruto actively drilled Yugao on the intricacies of the technique. Weaponizing his hyper-optimized skill suite—[Great Sage], [Smart Mind], [Hound Senses], and [Holmes Gaze]—he became the absolute, flawless instructor for that two-hour block.

But no matter how broken the teacher is, a lesson's success ultimately hinges entirely on the student's capacity to absorb it.

(...Well, at least she's actively listening,) Naruto had initially thought at the start of his lecture & training.

But by the end of the session, watching her rapid, intuitive adaptation, his evaluation drastically shifted.

(.....Damn, she's actually a talent.)

She wasn't quite at Kakashi's monstrous, copy-cat tier, but she was a definitive talent. Wrapping up his final instructions, Naruto took his leave, walking away under Yugao's deeply admiring gaze.

Naruto immediately migrated over to Training Ground 3 to kickstart his personal regimen. Over these ten days, his physical injuries had completely knit back together, and a massive chunk of his active ninjutsu arsenal had been on the path of getting upgraded.

Yes, getting upgraded

Right after the preliminaries concluded and after all the 'assault' drama , Kakashi had approached Naruto directly to ask how he wanted to structure his upcoming training regimen, seeing as the Jonin would be entirely occupied focusing on Sasuke's development.

(...I'm still honestly surprised Kakashi even asked for my opinion.)

In the original timeline, Kakashi would have just blindly pawned him off on Ebisu.

Naruto had fully expected Kakashi to pull a fast one , maybe not Ebisu but to try to set up a training session with Jiraiya instead, disguising it as some Training , which in reality is just a forced "bond farming" exercise. But surprisingly, Kakashi hadn't done that at all.

(...Things really are changing, aren't they?)

Seeing Kakashi offer him that level of autonomy, Naruto hadn't held back. He straight-up demanded a fresh cache of high-level ninjutsu scrolls.

Why ninjutsu?

Because all of his basic D-rank and some standard C-rank techniques had already hit their maximum proficiency levels.

And in this month Utilizing his massive network of Shadow Clones alongside some assistance from his main body, it was the perfect Time-window to evolve and upgrade them.

Meanwhile, his main Body remained heavily invested in mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique, the Spirit Transformation Technique, and his [Eternal Forge].

Before Naruto knew it, another four hours evaporated into the evening. The sun was dipping below the horizon, painting the sky in deep hues as a distinctly chilly breeze swept through the streets. Naruto stretched his limbs, a sudden thought popping into his head.

(...It's been a while since I've had ramen.)

Feeling an uncontrollable craving for a hot bowl of noodles, personally made my Uncle Teuchi's hands, Naruto began a leisurely stroll through the village toward Ichiraku Ramen.

But midway to his destination, his sensory net caught an anomaly. His attention drifted up toward the roofline of a local hot-spring establishment.

Right there on the shingles, a certain giant white-haired toad Sannin was keeping himself incredibly busy peeping on the women below.

(.....here we go again )

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Author's Notes :

Hmm , An extra Long chapter to fill the gap on the vacation window before finals , not too much though as things will soon move .

Making some plans after the Grand finale 

WHY since Naruto can ??

AS i explained earlier , while being hidden and dark has it's advantages , being in light also come with it's own privelages . Especially for a name that may become hero soon .

As For Jiraiya ..!! well just wait .

Also In case you guys are confused , naruto neither is light or Dark .

He is gray .

as i try to write his charcter . Just as in Yugao's case and in some other places or things .

A Hidden Easter that I will now reveal in next two chapters , for which i have already been dropping hints .

I don't know If you will appreciate though , so just wish me luck .

Any suggestins though , please tell.

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