They say love is blind, and if you're in love, you might ignore their craziness.
Hinata wasn't sure if this applied to her, but today—Saturday—seemed a perfect test. Her plan was simple: wake up, train for a few hours, then meet Naruto at Training Ground 2 to help him with whatever he needed. However, when she arrived, she found Naruto laughing like a madman, and the reason was... bizarre, to say the least.
Naruto's jacket, the one he'd previously ruined with chakra dye, now sported square holes all over, with hammers attached to each hole using duck tape, positioned so that the hammers touched the skin.
It was an odd sight that made Hinata pause in confusion.
"Naruto-kun, what is that?" Hinata asked, pointing at the jacket, still puzzled over why Naruto would further ruin a perfectly good jacket—ugly color aside, it had been functional.
"My ticket to beating Tenten," Naruto declared with a confident grin, stripping off his current jacket to don the modified one.
Hinata's cheeks flushed with a blush, watching him change, but her embarrassment quickly shifted to amusement as she struggled to hold back laughter at the sight of Naruto proudly wearing his ridiculous creation.
[ Equipment: Items your character carries for use in various situations. ]
[ Slot: A designated position within a character's profile designed to hold specific types of equipment. Each slot can accommodate one type of item for optimal performance, although players may place any item in any slot. ]
[ Number: 4 ]
- [ Weapons ]
- [ Armor ]
- [ Gear ]
- [ Magic Items ]
Since I can't use my equipment until I am level 5, I just have to make do with these.
[ Item: Diluted Orange Academy Issue Pants ]
[ Material: Thin, Lightweight, Reinforced with Light Leather Armor. ]
[ Stat Modifiers: DEX +2, AC +3, HP +15 ]
[ Status Effects: +5% Stealth Efficiency. ]
[ Durability: 600/600. ]
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[ Item: Modified Academy Issue Jacket ]
[ Material: Thin, Lightweight, Reinforced with Light Leather Armour. ]
[ Protection Level: None. ]
[ Stat Modifiers: STR +8, AC +4, HP +12. ]
[ Durability: 6/60. ]
[ Description: A modified jacket filled with 8 holes and 8 taped hammers that offer a synergistic effect of strength to the user. This jacket will be unusable after a single use. ]
----------------------------------------
[ Name: Uzumaki Naruto ]
[ Status: Chakra Imbalance (Difficulty in controlling chakra, -100% performance in executing simple Jutsus) ]
[ Title: Academy Student ]
[ Level: 3 ]
[ Class: Shinobi of the Uzumaki Clan ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ HP: 352 /352 ]
[ AC: 22 ]
[ CP: 10k / 10k ]
[ Racial Traits: ]
- [ Chakra Chains ] ( Locked )
- [ Mind's Eye ]
- [ Healer's Body ] ( Locked )
[ Class Features: ]
- [ Scrolls Arts ]
- [ Fuinjutsu ]
[ Feats: Observer ]
[ Stats: ]
- [ STR: 21 ]
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
- [ DEX: 19 ]
- [ CON: 12 ]
- [ INT: 13 ]
- [ WIS: 12 ]
- [ CHA: 9 ]
- [ VIT: 14 ]
- [ LUK: ? ]
[ Stat Points Remaining: 2 ]
[ Allies: --- ]
[ Equipment: ]
- [ Weapons: Modified Academy Issue Jacket ]
- [ Armor: Diluted Orange Academy Issue Pants ]
- [ Gear: Black Fingerless Gloves with Metal Back Plate ]
- [ Magic Items: Dark Blue Gambeson ]
[ Exp: 950 ]
[ Description: Uzumaki Naruto is the dead last of the Konoha Academy, having failed the graduation twice before and clearly not prepared to graduate. While most of his past is a mystery, Uzumaki Naruto has found his clan. ]
----------------------------------------
[ Higurashi Shop ]
The shop door swung open and in came Naruto, draped in an enormous blanket, causing Mr. Higurashi to raise an eyebrow in confusion.
"Is it ready?" Naruto asked, his voice muffled by the blanket.
Mr. Higurashi nodded and pulled a box from under the counter. He glanced out the window and noticed Hinata standing outside.
"Is that the girlfriend?" he teased, a slight chuckle escaping his lips.
The comment flew right over Naruto's head as he nodded earnestly.
"Thanks for making this gift," he said, reaching for the box.
Just then, Mr. Higurashi caught a glimpse of the hammers attached to the jacket under the blanket.
"Why are you wearing a blanket?" he asked, curiosity piqued.
Naruto didn’t answer; instead, he began to hurry out, but the blanket snagged on something.
As he turned to free himself, the modified jacket was fully revealed to Mr. Higurashi.
Panicking, Naruto faced the bewildered shopkeeper.
"You... are ...in ...a ...dream!" he declared, waving his hands in mystical circles, then slowly backed towards the door, opened it, and stepped halfway out.
Naruto opened the door a crack once more, still waving his hands.
"You... are ...still ...in ...a ...dream," he repeated, then with a few tugs, freed his blanket and dashed off.
"That boy ain't right.," Mr. Higurashi muttered, shaking his head before blinking.
Wait, a minute?!
----------------------------------------
"Go, go, go!" Naruto yelled to Hinata as they sprinted across the bridge. Just as they were about to reach the other side, a shout came from the shop they had just left behind.
"Naruto! What did you do to my precious creation?" the voice boomed across the distance.
"I played God!" Naruto yelled back without slowing his pace, his voice echoing back over the bridge as he and Hinata continued their way to Training Field Four.
The loud rhythmic thumping that met them as they approached was slightly disconcerting.
The fact it got louder as they got closer was even more so.
The green thing with giant teeth, caterpillar eye-brows causing the thumping noise from striking a training post was downright terrifying.
"Um, hello," called Naruto nervously. Who knew if the green thing would suddenly turn and start pounding on him in such a way?
[ Rock Lee Lv 10 ]
"Yosh!" he screamed suddenly, turning to face the new comers.
Naturally the duo took a few steps backwards from the thing.
"Welcome my most, youthful friends. Have you come to stoke your fires of youth in the flames of hard work?" he asked completely serious.
Naruto and Hinata briefly looked at each other before Naruto stepped forward.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto and this is my friend, Hinara. I'm supposed to meet Tenten here this afternoon."
"Oah!" he screamed loudly. "How very youthful of our Tenten to have found such a man to date! We must fight to see if you are worthy."
Before Lee could do anything he was planted face first into the ground by a giant club.
"Shut up you moron. I'm not dating him." She looked over her shoulder toward another young man and blushed slightly.
[ Hyuga Neji Lv 11 ]
"Sorry about him. He's an idiot," said Tenten, stepping over the twitching boy.
"So you're here for that spar then?"
"Yeah," said Naruto, his eyes a bit wide as he stared at the club Tenten was swinging about so casually, the thing was easily as big as she was.
"Great, as soon as Gai-sensei gets here we can get started," she said simply. She then opened a scroll to seal away the club.
Naruto couldn't help but observe the club.
[ Item: The Stupid Stick ]
[ Material: Unknown, Potentially Cursed ]
[ Level Requirement: Lv5 ]
[ Damage: 50-100 (Melee) ]
[ Additional Stats: +3 STR ]
[ Special Effect: Causes 'Daze' status effect ]
[ Durability: 50/50 ]
[ Description: A seemingly impractical weapon due to its extreme slowness, The Stupid Stick holds a fearsome potential. If a blow is successfully landed, it can cause severe brain trauma, effectively dazing the opponent. Despite its cumbersome nature, the stick has a certain allure, especially to those strong enough to wield it. The mysterious origins and the potential curses binding it add to its enigmatic and dangerous allure. Ideal for warriors seeking to challenge themselves or surprise their enemies with unorthodox tactics. ]
Naruto tried not to snicker when he then saw Lee stand up and wobble his way back to the training post. He couldn't hold it back once he saw Lee start striking the post as if nothing ever happened a minute later.
"Don't worry about him, nothing keeps him down for long."
"Clearly," Naruto said flatly. "How often do you hit him with that thing? And how is he not brain damaged as a result?"
Tenten blatantly ignored the comment, choosing instead to start stretching and warming up.
Naruto felt the weight of a hostile glare and turned to find its source. It was Neji, his eyes not fixed on Naruto, but rather piercing through Hinata, who stood quietly beside him. Hinata's eyes were cast downward, a clear sign of her discomfort and fear. Naruto's fists clenched involuntarily, a surge of anger rising within him at the sight of his friend being intimidated.
He was about to confront Neji, to stand up for Hinata, when the atmosphere of the training field shifted. Another figure, resembling Lee but larger, entered the area. This new arrival was not just walking - he was walking on his hands, his feet kicking playfully in the air above him.
The absurdity of the sight momentarily diffused Naruto's anger
Tenten sighed. "Gai-sensei, why do you keep doing this to me? Why can't I have a normal sensei who does normal things? What did I do wrong in my previous life to deserve this?"
Meanwhile, Neji stood by watching, neither twitching nor acknowledging the strange man or his teammates. He simply chose to glare at hinara.
"What's up with him?" Naruto asked, nodding towards Neji.
"He's intense about the whole shinobi thing," Tenten replied. "Top rookie last year. Doesn't really like me sparring with academy kids."
"And that's why he's giving Hinata the evil eye?" Naruto's voice rose slightly, tinged with annoyance, as he observed Neji's unrelenting stare.
"Are you from the main family?" Tenten suddenly questioned Hinata, who remained silent, her demeanor uneasy.
Naruto scowled, puzzled. "What's that got to do with anything?"
Tenten let out a long breath, turning to the large, green-clad figure. "Hey, Gai-sensei! Could you ref our match?" she called out, her voice cutting through the tension.
"Yosh," said the man loudly, springing from his hands back to his feet. "First, we must go over the rules. No intentional killing blows allowed. If I see you going for the kill, I will break you. The match will last until one of you is unconscious. Any questions?"
"What are you?" Naruto asked in hushed voice, his eyes glued to the giant eyebrows on the man's face.
"Oh ho, you have never heard of the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha? For I am he, but to those who know me best, I am Maito Gai."
[ Maito Gai Lv ? ]