I spun my head around to see a middle-aged man who had just emerged from the entrance, the legendary ramen maker, Teuchi. He was....short, really short. Only about 5'5, in the anime he looked much taller, but when you're right there in front of him, he looks a bit underwhelming. Even as adults, both Sasuke and Naruto were only about 5'6 which kinda dampens their coolness.
'I swear, if that voice makes me that short, we will have a problem.' But moving on from that, I gave him a friendly smile. He strolled in like the boss he was, before slapping my back.
"How's my best customer?"
"OH, I'm really good. Don't you...notice anything different about me?" Teuchi squinted at me, which was weird as his eyes were already closed, then gasped in realization.
"Naruto-Kun...Who's headband did you steal?"
"I didn't steal someone's headband, I finally passed the exam this morning." He looked dumbfounded, mouth agape. He then busted out laughing, saying he'll whip me up some ramen to celebrate. I was a bit surprised he believed me so easily, maybe he doesn't and he is just trying to humor me, but I'll show him the ID card once I take the picture. He got to work busily making the Miso Ramen.
I merely stared at him while pondering something, 'Naruto' really was his best customer, wasn't he? Because, anytime Iruka said he would pay for 'Naruto's' meals, he must have spent hundreds by how many bowls 'Naruto' inhaled, the Third Hokage too. Before I could even think, a steaming bowl of ramen with chopsticks on the top was placed on the table in front of me.
After doing the whole cliche (But realistic) anime 'Itadakimasu', I picked up the chopsticks in anticipation, ready to finally taste the legendary Ichiraku ramen. Gently picking up some noodles, I bit down the chopsticks, then pushed the empty bowl back. Teuchi laughed, and I paused. Did I just finish a large bowl of ramen in a literal blink of an eye? I didn't even taste anything.
I mean I tasted the aftertaste...It was amazing, nigh orgasmic, but I didn't taste anything at the moment. I sighed, got up from my seat before Teuchi interrupted me.
"Naruto-Kun, where are you going? You only ate one bowl." I thought he was going to remind me of the bill or something, instead, he was asking me to eat more. I mean, I sure as hell didn't feel full and I knew that the Hokage was going to cover the expenses. But I didn't feel up to it considering I was just going to make disappear in a damn instant. Plus, I had something I had was planning to do.
"No, I'm good, thank you though. Bye." I tried to end it in a short but cordial way, then left, almost running away from the store. For some damned reason, I felt as though I wasn't going to or able to act like 'OG Naruto' properly, even though I had watched or read most of Naruto.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
"Hm, Naruto-Kun is acting a bit...I don't abnormal?"
It was still the afternoon, just a bit late-ish. I wandered around a bit, once again hoping the muscle memory would kick in, and I would finally find my way into 'OG's' house. After a little while, the feeling of zoning out a bit came out of nowhere. By the time I came to, I was sitting on a bed. The room was a bit dry,
'Weird, anyhow time to check it' I sat there for a moment and brought the system up.
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{Name: Naruto Uzumaki}
{Job: Academy Student}
{Chakra Reserves: 4096}
{Sealed Chakra: 409600}
{Strength: 23}
{Agility: 32}
{Dexterity: 22}
{Intelligence: 15}
{Stealth: 20}
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{Jutsus:[Advanced] Transformation justu, Multi Shadow clone justu}
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{Bloodlines: Uzumaki, Namikaze} {Bloodline Status: Dormant and Inactive}
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{Beginner Draws Available!}
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{Stored Items: 3 Bundles of [Advanced] Ninja training outfit}
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{Unequipped Skills: Chakra recovery skill, Remove Mental Exhaustion skill}
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As I looked over my changed....menu, system? Dashboard perhaps. I never named it, so I am just going to call it a system. Examining it, I saw that skills and Justus were in different categories, which made sense. Apparently, with skills, I had to actively equip them, which I promptly did. All I had to do was to press the skill, and boom, equipped. I wondered where the 'Enhanced mental speed' went, especially considering I hadn't felt I could process things any faster.
Maybe, it was connected to my intelligence? Since it's below average, the enhanced mental speed merely brought my speed of thinking up to the average? Well damn, I got cucked by stupidity. Sighing, I decided to move on from that as it wasn't even what I wanted to check. I was wondering if wearing the 'Ninja training outfit' would increase the number of points I would get in my stats.
I was thinking about how would summon it, only for it to come into existence from thin air and land firmly on my lap, folded and all. I was a bit startled, but I was assuming it was going to just appear. Picking up the first stack, it was nothing fancy, it just looked like an all-black 'ninja' cosplay outfit.
I thought it was going to look like workout wear, but moving on from that I decided to wear it. Wearing it felt....peculiar, like something in me felt, changed. And it was a bit weird to wear a full-body ninja suit with such spiky hair. I shuddered a bit for no real reason and made my way to the door.
Finally, out of the apartment, I immediately veered off into the forest. I kept a consistent jogging pace, but about 10 minutes or so in. I heard this dinging sound. It kept dinging about every time I took 5 steps on the ground, of course instead of stopping to check what it was, I speed up. Whatever it was, it was most likely beneficial to me, maybe even increasing my stats.
I ended up sprinting full speed through the forest, for around 4 hours. I felt tired but didn't want to stop. Feeling like I could continue, I sped through the forest. Until I heard something strange, a repetitive thwack sound. Slowing down, I jogged towards the aggressive sound. There, in a bit of a clearing, stood a green, most likely Chinese kid, rocking a bowl cut. He was punching the living hell out of a tree in an unwavering, quick motion. I was a bit glad I found him, he was exactly the one who could help me.
"Excuse me, Rock Lee?"