Chapter 13. Fully Prepared.
It had been two full days since Naruto and Sasuke began their study session at Training Ground 12. For Sasuke, the challenge had been brief—he had finished learning the Japanese language basics within a single day.
Now, though, he found himself spending one extra day doing something he already expected—explaining the same material, over and over, to Naruto.
Naruto somehow managed to forcefully keep his ten shadow clones from dispelling, pushing through the mental strain as they absorbed the basics of the Japanese language.
Despite the throbbing pain in his head from the constant flow of information, he grit his teeth and refused to let his clones disappear. He simply promised to buy ramen for each of them, which motivated them to stay.
With sheer determination, Naruto slowly grasped the fundamentals, his stubbornness paying off as each clone fed him bits and pieces of knowledge. Though it was exhausting, the technique allowed him to progress, inch by inch, in learning the language in one day.
Though Naruto couldn't compare to Sasuke's progress, even with ten clones to aid him. In his previous life, he had never been a good student; reading had always been a struggle, which is why he stopped altogether after completing high school.
Instead of pursuing higher education, he had set up a business with his best friend, which, while not wildly successful, was decent enough to allow them both to survive.
Now, faced with the daunting task of studying again, Naruto felt those old frustrations resurface, but he refused to let them hold him back this time as he had clones now.
"Yes! I've got this, I'll definitely pass the test now!" Naruto grinned, turning to Sasuke with excitement.
Sasuke gave him a small nod, patting his shoulder. "You should be fine," he said, though in his mind he added, 'He won't be at the top of the class, but at least he'll pass.'
The sun was setting, casting a warm glow over the training ground as Naruto thought, 'So this is why the original Naruto struggles with paperwork. Even with clones, it's just too much mental work.'
He realized that while his clones could fight for two or three days, mental tasks like studying, reading were a different story. Just a few hours of concentrated mental effort was enough to wear them out completely.
"Let's meet tomorrow morning at seven. By the way, good luck paying for your clones' food," Sasuke said with a grin, brushing dust off his clothes as he prepared to leave.
"Yeah, yeah," Naruto replied, rolling his eyes. As he glanced at his clones, he noticed their innocent smiles, their mouths salivating at the thought of ramen.
A bead of sweat trickled down Naruto's forehead as he thought about his monthly allowance. 'I hope my allowance is enough,' he fretted, fully aware of how much of an eater he was—now he had to cover the meals for eleven of them, including himself.
Before Naruto could even set off, his clones rushed off toward the ramen shop, excitement fueling their speed.
In the ramen shop, Ayame looked up with a warm smile. "Hi there, Naruto! What do—" Her friendly greeting was cut short as she noticed the first clone who had arrived, followed by a stream of other Naruto clones appearing one by one. Puzzlement and shock crossed her face as she tried to comprehend the scene unfolding before her.
"Pork ramen, please!" one clone shouted eagerly.
"Chicken ramen!" another chimed in.
"Veggie ramen!" a third clone called out.
"Spicy miso ramen!" added another enthusiastically.
"I'll have the seafood ramen!" one clone exclaimed, rubbing his stomach.
"Beef ramen for me!" another clone said, a grin spreading across his face.
"Extra noodles in mine!" requested yet another clone.
"Can I get a tonkotsu ramen?" one asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"How about a curry ramen?" another suggested, looking hopeful.
"I want the spicy seafood ramen!" one clone declared, practically bouncing on his feet.
"And I'll take a classic shoyu ramen!" the last clone finished, proud of his simple choice.
Naruto's clones placed their orders, using main body's memories to pick the ramen they wanted to try.
Each clone, with Naruto's memories guiding their choices, picked the ramen they were most excited to try, creating quite the ordering frenzy at the counter.
"Treating your shadow clones, huh, Naruto?" Tenchi greeted, noticing his shocked daughter. He patted her shoulder as he quickly got to work. "Yeah, they helped me a lot," Naruto replied, rubbing the back of his head shyly while thinking, 'Looks like I brought a good business today for you.'
The clones quickly sat at the tables as their orders were placed. "What do you want for yourself, Naruto?" Ayame asked, glancing at him as he watched his clones as they devoured the food voraciously.
"I'll take pork ramen," Naruto responded, rubbing his money pouch that sat in his pocket. In no time, a steaming bowl of pork ramen was served, and he devoured it almost instantly.
"I want another..." the first clone to finish his ramen started to order another bowl without wasting a moment, but puff! Naruto dispelled it with a stern look. "Only one serving, and it's only because studying was tough. No second servings."
Hearing Naruto's words, his remaining clones fell silent, focusing on their bowls as they quickly slurped up the ramen. They understood that they couldn't push Naruto any further this time.
"Haha," Ayame laughed silently, covering her mouth as she watched the clones devour their ramen. One by one, they dispelled after they completed, leaving Naruto alone at the table.
"How much?" Naruto asked, removing his money pouch, feeling the weight of it in his hand.
"It's …..," Ayame replied with a smile, counting up the bowls.
Naruto paid, a sense of relief washing over him. 'Good thing I stopped them from ordering a second serving,' he thought, a grin spreading across his face as he left for his house.
-------------
Bang! Bang!
[ +5 ]
[ +5]
[ +1 ]
------
[ +1 ]
[ Name: Uchiha Sasuke
Skill:
Intermediate Shurikenjutsu {Level 6}
Exp: 100/6000 ]
[ Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Skill:
Basic Shurikenjutsu {Level 3}
Exp: 100/300 ]
The sun was just rising in the sky, casting golden and red hues across the horizon.
Naruto and Sasuke, along with their clones, began their shurikenjutsu training early in the morning, the crisp air invigorating them.
This was the subject Naruto had to focus on. He felt confident about mathematics and science; after all, he was a high school graduate—even if it had been many years since. Hand seals were a breeze; he could perform one hand seal per second now. He knew more about Konoha history then Iruka sensei. Having learned the basics of the language just yesterday, all left was Shurikenjutsu so he was eager to reach Intermediate Shurikenjutsu. He just needed to hit ten out of ten on the upcoming test.
Whereas Sasuke was fully prepared to ace the test. He had mastered the language yesterday, and like Naruto, he already knew everything about history. Science and mathematics were fully mastered by original Sasuke. And hand seals and shurikenjutsu were a piece of cake for him.
"How much EXP do you gain, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, watching Sasuke hit the moving targets with precision.
"Five EXP for hitting a target, and another five by my clone. But don't waste your time trying to hit moving targets as you won't get exp if you can't land a hit," Sasuke replied, understanding Naruto's thoughts as he picked the kunai from the target's bullseye.
"Is that so?" Naruto wondered, wanting to test it himself, he focused on one of the moving targets and threw a kunai with all his might. The weapon sailed through the air, but instead of hitting the target, it missed completely, embedding itself in the ground a few feet away.
Naruto frowned, opened his status to check exp gain.
[+1]
[+1]
----
"Looks like you're right," Naruto admitted, watching as the experience gain for his clones flashed on the screen. Each clone gained one exp for hitting the target.
Naruto and his clones managed to hit the bullseye only three out of ten times, as his Shurikenjutsu was only level 3. Since they only earned experience points for successful hits, missing seven targets meant that much of their time had been wasted.
Sasuke, on the other hand, displayed impressive accuracy, managing to hit all the moving targets. However, he couldn't improve his exp gain more than 5.
As Naruto and Sasuke practiced diligently, Iruka-sensei watched from a distance, a smile of relief spreading across his face. 'Goodness, it's nice to see Naruto finally putting in some effort,' he thought, observing the determination etched on the young boy's face.
Sasuke, as always, was practicing with his usual intensity, showcasing the skills that set him apart. Iruka felt a surge of hope; these kids had potential if they continued to work hard. Satisfied that their training was on track, he quietly left them to focus on their practice without interruption.
Five days had passed, and Naruto, along with his clones, had been training relentlessly. Naruto, in particular, had taken his dedication to another level by creating new clones to train at night, switching them out with fresh ones each morning. This strategy had allowed him to catch up with Sasuke in shurikenjutsu, and their skills had improved significantly over the week.
[ Name: Uchiha Sasuke
Skill:
Advanced Shurikenjutsu {Level 6}
Exp: 58000/600000 ]
[ Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Skill:
Advanced Shurikenjutsu {Level 1}
Exp: 50010/100000 ]
End of the chapter. _______________________________________________________
Power stones, please.