After practicing Tree Walking for several hours, straining his focus and enduring numerous falls, Naruto decided it was time for a short rest. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his green, frog-shaped purse. He flipped it open.
"Damn...!" he muttered, looking inside. All he saw were a meager 500 Ryos. In the current shinobi era, that amount was barely enough to buy a few bowls of ramen, at most.
From the training ground clearing, his gaze drifted towards the Hokage Rock, the monumental cliff face carved with the visages of the past four Hokages. He looked specifically at the stone face of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and couldn't help but curse under his breath. "Damn that old man, can't he atleast give me more allowance."
Hiruzen provided him with a monthly allowance, just enough, Naruto knew, to prevent the village's Jinchuriki from literally starving. There was nothing extra.
'No wonder Naruto only has orange jump suit and a few white tshirt's in his clothe set,' he thought, recalling the sparse contents of the dresser in his apartment.
He glanced at the sky. The sun was now high overhead, indicating it was past noon. He decided to go to Ichiraku Ramen Shop. He knew Teuchi often gave him a significant discount and sometimes even a free bowl, a small comfort in his otherwise restricted financial state.
He started moving out of the training ground. As he neared the edge, a voice called out from behind him.
"So, there you are huh, Naruto!"
It was Iruka. The Chunin instructor had been searching for Naruto all over the village. He had been surprised to find no evidence of pranks today. He checked Naruto's apartment, thinking he might be sick, but found it empty. He had considered reporting Naruto's absence to the Third Hokage, but decided to check the various training grounds first. After visiting several, he finally located Naruto at Training Ground Forty.
Naruto wasn't particularly surprised to see Iruka, who looked slightly out of breath. He had anticipated that Iruka might look for him if he skipped the Academy entirely. Upon seeing his teacher, a mischievous smile flickered across Naruto's face. He was already planning to eat ramen. With Iruka here, perhaps he could arrange for his lunch to be paid for.
"Good morning, Iruka-sensei," Naruto greeted him. Iruka took a deep breath, recovering his composure, then raised his voice. "NARUTO! WHY HAVEN'T YOU COME TO ACADEMY TODAY?!" Naruto chuckled lightly in response.
He offered an explanation. "Iruka-sensei, I was just training myself, since graduation exam is only 4 weeks away and I have yet to master Clone Jutsu, so i decided to train myself till that time." It wasn't the whole truth – his focus was on chakra control, not the Clone Jutsu – but it sounded reasonable, and he later practice Clone Jutsu as well. Hearing Naruto's response, Iruka visibly relaxed. A warm smile appeared on his face. "Oh, is that the case, well then okay, but you can atleast tell me about it," he said.
"Sorry Iruka-sensei!" Naruto replied sheepishly. Iruka shook his head gently, his smile remaining warm and kind. "It's alright Naruto, it's good you decided to improve yourself rather than pranking around the village."
Naruto seized the opportunity, his eyes taking on an expectant look. "Then can I start Stop going to academy till graduation exam?" he asked. Iruka considered it for a moment. "Since academy's curriculum is completed," he said, "so it doesn't much matter if you train yourself or trains at Academy but you have come to academy on the days of weekly Spars, which are on the end of this week and next week, okay."
Naruto's face lit up. He nodded excitedly. "Thanks Iruka sensei."
Iruka smiled warmly and reached out to ruffle Naruto's spiky blonde hair. Naruto then put on his best 'puppy dog eyes' expression. "Iruka sensei, how about we have Ramen at Ichiraku Ramen Shop!" he asked hopefully.
Iruka chuckled lightly, seeing through the ploy but not minding. "Alright Naruto let's go!" Naruto jumped in joy. "Yah!" He was genuinely happy. After all, he was never going to turn down a free meal.
As Iruka and Naruto walked towards Ichiraku to eat ramen, their interaction was secretly observed. A spherical glob silently captured them, an eye that saw everything. It was Hiruzen. He was watching them through his Telescopic Jutsu. He smiled, pleased by the scene unfolding. 'Iruka really care about Naruto alot,' he thought. 'he even go as far as to teach him Tree Walking which isn't the part of academy curriculum.'
Naruto's unusual activity – practicing Tree Walking for the past two days – had already been reported to Hiruzen by the ANBU monitoring the boy. However, the Hokage hadn't taken it very seriously. Tree Walking was not a forbidden technique, and with the graduation exam approaching and Naruto still struggling with basic ninjutsu, Hiruzen had simply assumed that Iruka had instructed him to practice it. The idea that Naruto might have started practicing Tree Walking on his own didn't cross his mind; after all, no academy student typically knew techniques outside the standard curriculum, though this wasn't strictly true for the children from the prominent ninja clans.
...
Now that even Iruka had granted him permission to skip the Academy until the graduation exam, except for the weekly spars, Naruto resolved to make the most of the time. He practiced Tree Walking stubbornly, almost all day, every day.
Five days of hard work passed this way, added to the initial two days after his transmigration. It was now the evening of the seventh day in this world. Standing high up on the trunk of a tree of an empty training ground, defying gravity, Naruto let out a triumphant shout. "FINAAALLLLYYYYY! I DID IT!"
He had finally mastered Tree Walking. 'Now only Water Walking than I will gain above Kage-Level Power,' he thought, already looking ahead to the next task. Access of Kurama's Chakra, where he can even use all Tail Beast Modes, the potential reward was staggering. It would instantly make him the Strongest in the village, perhaps even beyond. Though he has no intention of taking any action even after gaining that reward, against village as of yet. He had only been in this world for a week. The intricate politics and plans of the village elders regarding him felt distant and irrelevant; he had no intention of following the path laid out for the original Naruto. 'DREAM OF HOKAGE? SON OF PROPHECY?' he dismissed the concepts internally. He had no desire for them.
"I dead early in my last life," he said, the words quiet in the fading light. "I will life to fullest in this life, these fate and destiny, oh please i didn't need them, my system is more than enough for me." He would even without the system wouldn't have followed the original Naruto's predetermined trajectory. With the system, there was absolutely no chance. He looked at the translucent panel that displayed his mission.
[Mission : Mastered Your Own Foundation]
[Task : Successfully perform Chakra Control exercises - Tree Walking and Water Walking.]
[Reward : Full Forceful Control over Yang Kurama's Chakra - Will able to use all Tail Beast Modes regardless of relationship with Bijuu.]
He examined the system mission once more. "I will start Water Walking Tommorow," he decided. 'well Tommorow I also needs to go to academy for Spar,' he remembered the condition Iruka had set. He carefully walked down the tree trunk, reversing the process he had just mastered. He then began moving towards his apartment.
...
The next day, after getting ready, he leisurely walked towards the Academy. The Spars were scheduled for the afternoon, but he needed to attend the morning theoretical lessons as well. He entered his classroom and made his way to the last bench. Shikamaru was already there, looking in his direction with his usual half-closed dead fish eyes.
"Where have you been for last week huh!" Shikamaru asked, sounding more curious than genuinely concerned.
"I have been training myself, nothing special," Naruto replied casually. Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly in surprise before narrowing back down. "Really?!" he questioned. Naruto nodded and sat down beside him. He then turned to Choji, who was sitting to Shikamaru's right, happily munching on potato chips. "Yo! Choji," Naruto greeted. "Can I also have some...?"
Choji responded without hesitation, placing the packet of chips between them. "Here you go." Naruto took a handful. The class was full of chatter, the students socializing before the lessons began. Iruka-sensei entered the room and clapped his hands together, silencing the noise.
While Iruka conducted the morning's theoretical lessons, Shikamaru was already asleep on his bench, his head resting on his folded arms. Choji, meanwhile, had moved on to his fourth packet of chips. Naruto wasn't feeling sleepy. He chatted quietly with Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame, who were sitting in the seats directly in front of him.
During their conversation, Naruto occasionally looked towards Hinata Hyuga. She sat on the front bench, her head usually bowed. When she glanced in his direction, her cheeks would take on a light red, and she would quickly look away. Naruto simply offered her a small smile, which seemed to make her face turn even redder.
After the morning classes concluded, Iruka led the students outside to the Academy's training field for the scheduled Spars.
Out on the field, Naruto stood with Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Shino. Their attention, and that of many others, was drawn to Sasuke Uchiha. He stood slightly apart from the main group, an air of aloofness and a look that clearly conveyed 'I am better than you'. A small cluster of fangirls gushed nearby, admiring him from a distance. Naruto observed him. 'More than 90% of my Spars are against him,' he thought, recalling the original Naruto's experiences. 'i wouldn't be shock of I have against him.'
As he was thinking this, a voice echoed in his mind, not through his ears, but directly in his head.
[DING!]
Naruto's eyes widened in astonishment. 'Another mission already,' he thought, clearly surprised. 'I have yet to complete first one.'
***