Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Gamer, nor any characters associated. I do not benefit from any source of revenue due to the writing of this story.
I recommend reading in dark mode!
Note(01/2020): I'm now very busy with work – which is what slowed the updates in the first place - and I won't be able to work on this within the foreseeable future. Sorry.
Chapter 1
««««««««»»»»»»»»
For one Nonō Yakushi, captain of the Medic Corps and caretaker of Konoha's Orphanage, the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi seemed, initially, rather plain. Ordinary, and everything like the rest of the babies he played and got along with. Naruto was one of hundreds of children who were deprived of parents by the Kyuubi and placed into the orphanage.
But as time passed and the children grew – as they do - the little blond accumulated a multitude of subtle differences to the other children. They were difficult to articulate, and Nonō hadn't tried to, but they were there. The subtle ways he would look at the other children, the caretakers, his toys, even the way he seemed to stare sometimes at the little children's books laying about, though no more than once a piece, which he had little business interpreting. She rarely heard him talk, maybe once or twice, but his words weren't as jumbled and confused as the other children his own age, even if they were simple.
The caretaker observed as the little blond toddler meandered over to a pair of slightly older children playing with blocks and stole the book one had dropped – a new one, she noticed. Nonō's career, before becoming a caretaker, has been as a medical ninja. She still did it part-time, and retained her position in doing so, so that she could put the money into the orphanage. The orphanage received funding, but there was never really enough for them all.
She watched as the toddler sat on his haunches and fumbled through the first page, before he began waving his arms like the silly child most of them were, paused, gave a look that seemed oddly introspective at nothing in particular, and put the book down before wandering off to do something else. Most of the children his age would've stared a bit harder at the printed writing, maybe butchered a sentence in mumbles, and then put the book away to play with the closest toy.
The way the little blond seemed to zone in on only books, particularly ones he hadn't looked at yet, was a bit odd, but not alarming. Plenty of children automatically liked the new toys more than the old ones – at least for a short time – because new things were interesting, and plenty of them liked one type of toy more than others. Still, it seemed out of place to Nonō nonetheless, and merely added to the pile of strange-ways the blond interacted with the world that the other children didn't quite follow.
She was bereft of an apprentice, always kept an eye out for another, and she had a feeling that when the blond was a few years older she might teach him a thing or two. The children the orphanage took care of were actively funnelled into the academy, and as a jinchuuriki, the blond was already slated to become a shinobi. Still, she might not.
He'd managed to zone in on a book a child of a similar age was already playing with, and they had a typical toddler scuffle wherein they waved their arms a bit and shouted angry sounds. Eventually the blond backed off, seeming content – which was an oddity, because he'd gotten no more than a touch of the book. The other toddler was fine with his decision.
Naruto Uzumaki was a strange child, which was saying something when the building was full of strange children.
«««»»»
For his fourth birthday, one of the caretakers let Naruto pick one small present. All the other orphans had the same opportunity afforded to them, but it was still a special, tough decision for the little blond to make. Most children picked lollies, or maybe a ball. Naruto though… he wanted a book, he knew that, he just hadn't decided what book. It was his birthday today, but he knew this caretaker would have it in his hands within no time.
The blonde caretaker, he called her Nonny, was the one patiently waiting for his answer. They were in the bedroom Naruto shared with several other orphans.
"You want a book, right?" she asked.
The newly minted four-year-old nodded. "Yeah… but what one?"
"I can get you a book about dinosaurs?"
"Nah, that's boring."
"What's not boring, then?"
The blond went back to silence. Too many things he didn't know about. With his… ability… books were worth their weight in gold, so he had to get the right one.
His little shoulders shrugged. "What's super important?"
Nonny cocked her head. "Super important for...?" her question, left unanswered, granted pause. "Well, you are going to be a ninja, aren't you?"
"M-maybe…" the blond muttered. He frowned, "I mean, ninja are cool right?"
"I'm a ninja," Nonny said. She held back a laugh, but not her smile, as the blond seemed in awe at her proclamation.
He nodded in thought. "So, you can do magic?"
"It's not rea-…. Yeah, I can do magic. Watch this," Naruto watched in anticipation as she held her hands forward, waved one vaguely in the direction of the other and a red line appeared across the palm. "Do you see this cut?"
"Doesn't that hurt?" he asked, "that magic is boring."
"Just keep watching," the four-year-old's expression turned to awe as the offending hand was enveloped in a soft, green aura. Real magic, there. Nonny waved the hand, this time slowly and more obviously, over the wound and the little blond watched as the wound sealed, leaving her palm unblemished.
"Wow, that's so cool!" he said, "can you teach me that?"
She smiled at his eagerness but shook her head. "That was a very advanced technique, you need to train a lot first, okay?" the little blond nodded solemnly, deflated. "…But my last apprentice managed to do it just a year older than you, so if you train very hard, I can teach you. Okay?"
"Yatta!"
"Have you decided what book you want yet?"
"Uh, what do ninja need to know? Can I get a book about magic?"
She scoffed at his terminology but acquiesced. "I can find you one of the books I used to teach my last apprentice. Is that okay?"
Naruto was very okay with learning magic, and had no problem waiting on his bed for the woman to return, which she did so quickly.
"Happy birthday," she handed the book towards the blond matter-of-factly, and he took it with reverence. With the practice born of a short and curious lifetime, the blond sought knowledge of his gift. Silver text swerved into his vision, with a rectangular light brown backdrop.
«Introduction to Chakra and Control»
This book seeks to teach the reader the foundation of the shinobi arts.
«Common»
Is chakra another word for magic, then?
«Skill Level Up!»
Observe [Lv.14]
«Active»
Provides the user with information about the target.
No cost.
«EXP +50»
"Give it a read, and we can talk about unlocking your chakra when you're all done, okay?"
"Thank you! Is, uh… chakra like magic?"
"N-…yes. Chakra is the proper word for magic."
"Okay," the blond nodded. "I'll find you when I'm done."
"Sooner is better than later!" she said, leaving the room and presumably off to continue her primary duty of supervising the post-lunch toy rush.
Finally, the four-year-old grinned at the small, leather-bound and evidently well-used book. "Read," he chanted.
To his eyes, the book glowed with a soft blue flourish. He shivered in excitement as the glow faded and he grinned ferociously at the results, even as his brain was flooded with information. Another storm of silver text swept into vision, his body flooded with the flush of a new energy, and renewed with clarity, he allowed himself to calm down as well as any four-year-old could. The surge of energy lessened, halted and receded until it slowly thrummed beneath the surface of his skin and he released a tension in his shoulders he hadn't noticed build.
«Attribute Unlocked! [Chakra]»
«Intelligence +1!»
«EXP +50»
«Level up!»
[Level 3 reached]
Attribute Points +5! CHK increase!
«New Skill Acquired!»
Chakra Manipulation [Lv.1]
«Passive»
Allows use of chakra-related skills.
This skill receives experience from use of all chakra-related skills.
Reduces all chakra usage by 0.5%/Lv.
«New Skill Acquired!»
Chakra Enhancement [Lv.1]
«Passive»
Basic shinobi skill.
The presence of unleashed chakra within the user strengthens their musculature.
Increases Strength and Agility by 1%/Lv.
«New Skill Acquired!»
Leaf Sticking Exercise [Lv.1]
«Active»
Adhesive chakra emanating from the chosen location allows you to stick to objects.
This skill provides bonus experience to [Chakra Manipulation].
Base cost: 5 CP/min. Cost reduced by 0.5%/Lv.
Best gift ever.
Naruto was immediately eager to practice his new magic, to prove himself to the caretaker so willing to teach him if he impressed them. With proficiency he shouldn't yet have, he fluently controlled chakra into his palm and watched, lifting his hand, as the front cover of the book stuck while the rest of the book hung limply. This kind of magic was a bit boring, but to the four-year-old it was still a cool new thing he'd have no problem doing repeatedly until he ran out of chakra.
«««»»»
In Naruto's room the next morning, Nonō was nonplussed.
"What do you-how do-what? How did you even unlock your chakra?"
"I, uhm… I read the book?" Naruto said, tilting his head in confusion. What was so strange about that?
Nonō shook her head. "That's not how these things work, Naruto." Chakra wasn't just something you noticed when you read about it. The process of recognizing chakra as an entity for the first time, as a source of energy that one can control, is short, gruelling, and requires someone else to help you get it done. The only exceptions to the rule are very rare instances of early kekkei genkai activation, of which the blond didn't seem privileged to have.
The blond grumbled and pushed back in his bed to lean against the wall. "Well that's how I work. I read the book and I'm using my chakra." He crossed his arms, "you said sooner is better than later!"
The caretaker smacked her forehead and leaned back to sit down on the carpeted floor. How do you explain to a four-year-old that you didn't quite mean it the way they interpreted it? It was so surreal that a child, especially one so young – he was only half the age of entry to the academy – could be so prodigious as to unlock their chakra from reading a book, and to be able to use said book to practice the leaf-sticking exercise so soon thereafter.
"Fine."
"H-huh? Fine what?"
"You're very smart," she conceded, "very, very smart, Naruto."
He grinned. "Thanks!"
Nonō sighed. The blond had no idea how incredible he was, but it would only be a waste of time to interrogate him. A four-year-old just didn't have any new and genius tricks up their sleeves, or really anything that hadn't been pondered a million times before by all the other children. Truly, he simply had to be that freaking intelligent, even if he didn't show it.
She'd kind of known it too.
"Alright, come with me. We're going outside."
"Uhm, I'm not allowed out this early…"
"It's fine, you're with me."
"Okay!"
The blond smirked at the looks some of the other children sent him as he followed the caretaker through the large central rumpus room, where the kids gathered around their toys and played games while the caretakers organised breakfast. Nonny had him wait for a moment outside of her room, but didn't take long, and they made it outside in no time.
Konoha's orphanage sat isolated around the village's outskirts, surrounded by trees and meadow. Due to this, the orphanage itself was the only infrastructure visible to the orphans during the times they were allowed outside to play, and it kept them easily contained.
She brought the blond to a cluster of shrubbery beside a front of trees behind the orphanage and kneeled beside a shrub decorated with orange leaves and blooms of white petals, reminiscent of and named after snowballs.
"Sit down," she said. The boy quickly did so but shivered. It was cold this time of year; the trees were orange, the grass was decorated with fallen leaves, and he was only wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. "I'm going to show you the technique I used yesterday again, okay?"
"Okay."
"Watch closely." Nonō waved her hand with a flourish and one of the blooms of petals on the shrubbery broke apart, one half of it falling and disappearing among the foliage. Before the blond could ask how she did it without making contact, the same hand unleashed a small and well-controlled thrum of chakra, expelling and controlling a shifting green mass of skillfully neutralized chakra. The blond watched with wide eyes as she caressed the broken bloom of petals, and the stems seemed to come alive; throbbing, the shortened stems straightened and elongated, and from their tips grew new petals, identical to the ones the woman had decapitated.
"Woah, that's cool!" Naruto said, grinning. "You're gonna teach me, right?"
"We can try," she said. "Don't worry when you don't get it right away, nobody does, okay? This is an advanced technique." The caretaker wasn't about to let the blond learn this one by himself (not that it would be possible for a four-year-old to do), but less for his benefit and more for her own.
"Uh," the blond seemed oddly unsure at her proclamation, "okay. Do you have a book?"
She shook her head, "I have a scroll. You can look at it, and I'll try to explain what you don't understand, okay?"
The blond seemed a bit perplexed by the idea of learning from a scroll rather than a book, but he accepted it eagerly nonetheless, and the caretaker watched carefully as he unravelled it and followed his eyes as he glossed over the text and drawings on the scroll.
For Naruto, it was a more interesting experience.
«Intelligence too low»
He tried again.
«Intelligence 25 required»
This hadn't happened before. "Uhh…"
"What is it?"
"N-nothing." Maybe he could increase it? With a thought, a screen of silver text he'd looked at dozens of times over his life fluttered into vision.
[Naruto Uzumaki]
[Orphan]
«Level 3»
EXP: 70/450
Strength: 3(+0.06) [+]
Agility: 5(+0.10) [+]
Intelligence: 16 [+]
Charisma: 4 [+]
Chakra: 250(+250)
Available Points: 15
He'd never used the points before, because he didn't think he needed to… he didn't know where the bonus on chakra came from (if it even was a bonus) – or why it was such a big number – but the bonus on strength and agility must be from that new [Chakra Enhancement] skill. The four-year-old decided the odd-look he was getting from his caretaker was getting uncomfortable, so he quickly spammed the [+] icon besides his Intelligence score and closed the interface with a thought.
«Intelligence milestone!»
Intelligence: 25 reached!
Effectiveness of each point raised by +1% (0% » 1%)!
Increases all passive effects by 5%.
Huh. That was new, and kind of cool, but he was busy.
"Why are you poking the scroll? Do you need help understanding something?" Her reasoning was sound. The instructions – her own – were greatly simplified, but he was four, he should barely have a grasp on the language, never mind the new terminology. "Let me read it for you," she reached a hand forward to grasp the scroll, but the blond quickly stumbled backwards and away, keeping a firm grip on the paper.
"N-nah I'm fine, I think I got it."
"Huh?"
Read. The scroll glowed with a soft blue flourish, which the blond couldn't help but notice that the caretaker didn't notice.
«EXP +50»
«New Skill Acquired!»
Mystical Palm Technique [Lv.1]
«Active»
The user neutralizes their own chakra and uses it as a catalyst to accelerate the recovery of the target.
Base cost: 50 CP/min. Effectiveness: 15.85%.
Increases effectiveness by +0.85%/Lv.
His hands itched slightly with pins and needles, and he shivered for a moment as his brain organised, scanned and reshuffled the deposit of information. It was rarely comfortable, but it always carried with it the positivity of learning new things, and as usual, his vocabulary grew just that much larger.
How good was 15%, though?
She politely ignored his odd fumbling. "If you're ready then, I'll show you how to do the hand-seals. Watch careful-"
"Nah I got it."
For one Nonō Yakushi, captain of the Medic Corps and caretaker of Konoha's Orphanage, the four-year-old jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi seemed, simply put, rather incredible. Completely in-ordinary, and nothing like the rest of the children he'd played and gotten along with. She watched with bated breath as he flawlessly, first attempt, seconds after reading her instructions and less than 24 hours after unlocking his chakra on his own, spun through two modified hand-seals and performed the A-ranked Mystical Palm Technique.
It seemed as effective as any new practitioner's as he vandalized the shrubbery and tried to restore it, which was not very, but it was executed well. It was by far the fastest she had ever seen an individual go from learning of a jutsu to using it correctly. It was surreal, and it took her several minutes to get out of her funk.
She calmed herself and stood. "Stop now, conserve your chakra. We're going on a trip." She created a pair of tangible clones and had one go back into the orphanage whilst another disappeared towards the village proper.
"Huh?" the blond said, cancelling the jutsu and straightening. "Where are we going?"
"We're going to visit someone important, okay?"
"Uh, okay."
New Quest!
«Visit the Hokage!»
You showed Nonō Yakushi astounding natural ability!
She is taking you to visit the Hokage to discuss your aptitude.
Requirements:
1. Speak with Hiruzen Sarutobi
2. Keep your ability secret (Optional)
3. Ask about the academy (Optional)
Rewards:
+EXP +? +?
++EXP
+?
He hadn't seen that before; all kinds of cool new things were happening.
"What's the hokage like?"
"Huh?"
«««»»»
«Hiruzen Sarutobi»
Third Hokage and leader of the Sarutobi clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi is referred to world-wide as the Professor.
Survivor of all three world wars and heralded as the God of Shinobi in his youth.
His students are renowned as the Legendary Three Ninja.
Mood: Relaxed, Curious
'Cool,' Naruto thought, more than a little bit impressed by the otherwise unimposing visage of the old man sitting behind the desk.
He followed Nonny haphazardly as she bowed before their great leader and the blond just kind of stood there watching awkwardly. He noticed this spot had a great view of the hokage-monument through the window.
"Greetings, Hokage-sama. I apologize for disrupting your morning," his caretaker intoned formally. She straightened as the old man waved a hand.
"You've interrupted nothing but paperwork, Ms. Yakushi." Naruto watched as the old man's gaze switched to his own and was caught off-guard by the warm expression the hokage's face shifted into. "I see you've brought little Naruto with you. I hope you enjoyed your birthday yesterday, child."
"Thank you!" The blond's smile split his face, he liked the old man already.
"What do you want of me, so early in the morning?" the old man asked, the question directed towards his caretaker.
Nonny moved a step closer to Naruto's side and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing the blond to look up. She smiled down to him and placed her gaze back on to the old man. "I introduced Naruto Uzumaki-" she winked down to the blond, "-to chakra yesterday, for his birthday…" she tested her tongue, and brought her attention back to the child "and… well, could you show him what I just taught you, Naruto?"
The Hokage looked on, amused, as Naruto hesitated. Expecting the blond to show off his unlocked chakra at most, he was pleasantly surprised when the blond moved his hands together in the familiar motion to form seals.
"How long have you been teaching him to form hand-seals?"
"I haven't."
The old man grunted.
Naruto hesitated, licking his dry lips. 'Keep your ability secret' was in there somewhere, and he wanted that reward. The care taker was making a big deal about it, it wouldn't cancel the quest, would it...?
"Go on," the caretaker urged, "the hokage is the last person that'll make fun of you if you don't get it right."
To hell with it. Naruto spun naturally through the two seals for the [Mystical Palm Technique] and the flow of green, neutralized chakra burst from the four-year-old's hand. To his caretaker's keen eyes, his control already seemed improved.
«Skill Level Up!»
Mystical Palm Technique
[Lv.1 » Lv.2]
[Effectiveness: 15.85% » Effectiveness 16.70%]
«EXP +50»
He noticed the hokage tense up, tilt his head and squint in thought. Naruto was going to keep it up while the old man was still staring at his hand, but eventually his chakra was about to run out and he let the technique fizzle out into nothing.
"You say you unlocked his chakra yesterday, Ms. Yakushi?"
She shook her head. "The boy unlocked it on his own."
The hokage took it in stride. "Leave him with me, I may not return him to you." The man stood smoothly from his chair.
The caretaker bowed, "thank you for seeing me Hokage-sama." She squeezed Naruto's shoulder, catching his eye, "you'll be okay if you just do what he says." Naruto nodded, and watched as she left.
"Uzumaki…" the blond turned to see the old man directly in front of him, having apparently moved around the desk and across the room within the second he'd looked away.
The blond took an involuntary step back, "uh, hi."
Hiruzen thought nothing of it and kneeled to bring himself level with the four-year-old. "You wish to become a shinobi, like Ms. Yakushi or myself, correct?"
"I, uh, yeah," Naruto hesitated. Yeah, duh, but the question seemed much more serious coming from their supreme leader than the woman that made lunch. "You mean I'm going to the academy?"
The old man nodded. "That will be the first step to becoming a shinobi, yes. First, we have to get you lodgings a little bit closer to the academy. Do you think you can handle taking care of yourself?"
Quest Complete!
«Visit the Hokage!»
You showed Nonō Yakushi astounding natural ability!
She took you to visit the Hokage.
Requirements:
1. Speak with Hiruzen Sarutobi [Complete]
2. Keep your ability secret [Complete]
3. Ask about the academy [Complete]
Rewards:
«EXP +200» «Apartment» «Ryo +2000»
«EXP +500»
New Class: Academy Student
«Level up!»
[Level 4 reached]
Attribute Points +5! CHK increase!
«Class Upgrade!»
[Orphan » Academy Student]
[Max Level [User/Skills]: 15 » Max Level [User/Skills]: 30]
"Uh," the blond speed-read through the pop-ups and tried to remember what the old-man just said. "Yeah, if you can teach me."
«««»»»
Several weeks later saw the blond futilely rubbing his hands together in an effort to keep them warm. It was the first day of the new semester for academy students, winter was imminent, and crowds of children much larger than him kept him on his toes as he made his way to class. A chunin he didn't know was leading with a hand on the four-year-old's shoulder, but he didn't really need it. The academy is the same building that housed the hokage's office, after all. He'd been there before and he had a good memory.
He'd been getting glares – he had no idea why – ever since meeting the hokage with his old caretaker, and the parents that saw him didn't let up. His small frame was helping hide him a bit, but not by much. He'd tried to ask the old man about it, but he wasn't allowed into his office; apparently the great leader of the village didn't have enough time to bow to the whims of all the children that wanted to ask him questions. It made sense, at least, but Naruto wanted to think the old man wouldn't mind if it was him – his caretaker managed to get a meeting, after all. Hard to get that across, though.
Thankfully, it was much warmer inside, and he was turned down the east wing before his guide stopped him beside a windowed wooden door.
"Remember this door. The teacher will be in soon, good luck kid." The chunin disappeared in a flutter of leaves, leaving the blond alone.
"Thanks," Naruto said, too little too late. He tried the door, and seeing it unlocked, he wandered in and took a seat at one of the many rows of desks. He chose one in the middle, not too close to the front and far from the back, and sat by the far-side wall. He wasn't the only one there, in fact there was a bunch of other children huddled together at the front of the room that he avoided. He'd previously discovered a bit of a disconnect between him and older children during his time in the orphanage and he wasn't eager to subject himself to that.
«««»»»
The first practice they taught in the academy was the leaf-sticking exercise. His sensei, a chubby chunin with a goatee, explained that the most effective way to weed out the shinobi from the civilians was to have the children unlock and apply their chakra as soon as possible. Due to this, the first two months of class were spent helping the students unlock use of their chakra, while those that managed to do it practiced until, eventually, the frustrated children that couldn't manage to do it were ultimately sent home, left to study a different trade.
«Skill Level Up!»
Leaf Sticking Exercise
[Lv.23 - Lv.24]
[Cost reduction: 11.5% » Cost reduction: 12%]
«EXP +50»
«Skill Level Up!»
Chakra Manipulation
[Lv.9 - Lv.10]
[Universal cost reduction: 4.5% » Universal cost reduction: 5%]
«EXP +50»
…having already unlocked his chakra – which granted Naruto a satisfyingly surprised teacher, who had evidently been sceptical due to his age – Naruto spent the entirety of that time doing what they coined the 'Leaf Concentration Practice'. Naruto thought it just a glorified term for doing the leaf sticking exercise on the forehead, but it was meant to be useful for honing concentration.
«««»»»
The second practice they taught in the academy was taijutsu. This was, according to their sensei, because reflexes were 'best taught young'. Naruto absolutely had no problem with this; the last few months had been dedicated to math and language, which he didn't really like. The difference between memorizing kata and unlocking chakra were minimal – because it turned out that Naruto just didn't need to really expunge any effort.
All he needed was one of the mass-produced textbooks laying around the class.
«Intelligence +1!»
«EXP +50»
«New Skill Acquired!»
Academy Taijutsu [Lv.1]
«Stance» Allows use of Konoha's academy taught taijutsu style.
Complete mastery bonus: +25% strength, +35% agility, 15% decrease in reaction time.
Current mastery: 25%. Increases mastery by 5%/Lv.
«New Skill Acquired!»
Taijutsu Prowess [Lv.1]
«Passive»
Promotes general taijutsu proficiency.
Level cannot exceed highest level stance. Increases stance bonuses by 2.5%/Lv.
The blond looked up from the scroll and followed along as the chunin lead the class outside. It was warm, announcing the return of spring, and it was as bright as ever. The grass crunched beneath their feet, but only for the minute it took for the class to move to and settle on a smooth patch of dirt.
"Line up, keep a bit of space between you," the chunin said, "then copy my stance and we'll go from there."
As he inspected the students, he nudged each one at least once – whether it be to re-position their feet, straighten their back, or adjust their grip.
Until he made it to Naruto, where he paused. "You know," he said quietly, "you remind me of someone else I taught, the class before last." He altered the blond's stance with a lot more precision than the others, as there was less to improve on.
«Skill Level Up!»
Academy Taijutsu
[Lv.1 » Lv.8]
[Mastery: 25% » Mastery: 60%]
«EXP +350»
«Level up!»
[Level 7 reached]
Attribute Points +5! CHK increase!
Well, that was awesome.
"Thanks, sensei!"
The man nodded and moved along but seemed more in thought.
«««»»»
Naruto thought he might be getting lonely.
His new apartment was nothing like the orphanage. There were no caretakers, so he had to make his own food (which was a whole new skill on its own) and bereft of all the other children to play with, moving out swiftly became a boring and monotonous experience.
He'd wake up, make breakfast, go to the academy, come home, maybe-
«Skill Level Up!»
Leaf Sticking Exercise
[Lv.29 » Lv.30(MAX)]
[Cost reduction: 14.5% » Cost reduction: 15%]
«EXP +50»
-train a skill or do some study, make dinner, go to bed and rinse and repeat. Training skills was boring, study was tedious, and he wasn't exactly motivated to do either. Originally, moving out and getting his own stuff was a huge novelty, it was super cool to suddenly be the one doing everything. The academy was going to keep him busy, and he'd learn some cool magic tricks.
Except, well. They didn't teach many techniques at the academy. He'd only learned taijutsu so far, and it'd been five months. There were only so many ways to keep himself amused by sticking a leaf to his face, and apparently, he just maxed it. The teacher was a nice guy, but he didn't really talk to the other kids because they didn't like him. That's what Naruto perceived from their few interactions, at least. He needed some change, something to aim for, maybe. It was at least something he should think about.
He was just getting himself comfortable in bed, when a hand clasped over his mouth and he felt a surge of chakra at the base of his skull.
«««»»»
AN: I have almost two more chapters written for this (this was an old project I revived) and a great excel sheet, but I intended to write a bit more before posting anything. In the end, I didn't want to waste my time if nobody's still reading these, so here it is. Hope you like it! Leave a follow if you're interested in more.