Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

"Who's there?"

Naruto used the power of the Kyubi and quickly formed hand seals with both hands, cycling through Ox—Dog—Dragon—Rat—Dog—Boar—Snake—Tiger.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Accompanied by several streams of white smoke, several shadow clones appeared and began to explore the surroundings with Naruto's main body as the center.

'Judging by the strength behind the shuriken, it wasn't thrown from far away, so finding the culprit wouldn't be an issue.'

"Found them!"

Not long after, one of the shadow clones called out.

The other shadow clones swiftly surrounded the target, and Naruto himself hurried over.

Under the moonlight, he could finally see the culprit who had ambushed him.

"Sakura? Why is it you?" Naruto was genuinely surprised to see Sakura.

'I hadn't done anything to provoke Sakura recently, so why was she attacking me?'

'Oh, right… I had swiped her mirror back when I first arrived in this world, but that shouldn't justify an ambush in the middle of the night.'

'How petty would someone have to be to pull off such a ridiculous stunt?'

"Let me go!" Sakura struggled against the shadow clone holding her down.

"You attacked me in the middle of the night and you still want me to let you go? You'd better give me a reason I find convincing." Naruto replied with a frown.

Sakura snorted, "If you don't let me go, I'll tell Iruka-sensei all about what you did today!"

"What I did?" Naruto blinked, a bit confused by her accusation.

Sakura snorted, "Don't play dumb! I know you kidnapped Sasuke-kun and tied him up on a tree. When he was still half-unconscious, he even muttered your name. Don't even try to deny it!"

Hearing this, Naruto understood.

The agreement of his duel with Sasuke was told on the street during the day, and it seemed that news had reached Sakura. She must have come here to check on Sasuke and found him tied up, which led to her ambushing Naruto here.

But even though he understood the whole story Naruto wasn't about to let Sakura off that easily.

If he hadn't been strengthened by the Kyubi, that shuriken she threw to ambush him could've injured him.

Besides, what did Sakura even know about the situation? She had no right to stick her nose into it.

With a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Tie her up and bring her along!"

A shadow clone retrieved the rope he'd used on Sasuke earlier, then tied Sakura up before following the real Naruto.

Sakura struggled, fear gradually showing in her eyes, "W-What are you planning to do to me? If you know what's good for you, let me go quickly, otherwise, my parents won't let you off."

"Oh, really? Then I'll be waiting." Naruto smirked playfully, leading the clones down the hill until they reached Sakura's house.

"Mom! Dad! Help me!"

Before Naruto could even knock on the door, Sakura cried out for help.

A pair of hurried footsteps echoed from inside, and soon enough, a middle-aged couple rushed out.

The middle-aged man has pink 'Patrick' hair and the middle-aged woman has long, yellow 'heart' locks. They are Sakura's parents, Haruno Kizashi and Haruno Mebuki.

Seeing the tied up Sakura, Mebuki spoke anxiously: "Please, let our daughter go! We can talk this out."

"Alright." Naruto snapped his fingers, and the shadow clone immediately untied Sakura.

However, the moment she was free, Sakura lunged at Naruto, aiming a heavy punch straight at him.

Snap!

Naruto snapped his fingers again, and his shadow clones promptly tied Sakura once more.

"I'd really love to let your daughter go, but under the circumstances, I think it's best she stays tied up." Naruto said with a shrug.

Mebuki was speechless, looked at Sakura, frowned and said, "Sakura, what's going on here?"

"Mom, can't you see? He tied me up! Of course I tried to hit him to get back at him." Sakura huffed.

Clap, clap, clap!

Naruto mockingly applauded and smacked his lips, "Mrs. Haruno, I came here to discuss things civilly. But if your daughter won't listen to reason, maybe there's no point in talking. I'll just report her actions directly to Sandaime-sama. Of course, if we can talk properly, perhaps you'd prefer she remain quiet. What do you think?"

Hearing Naruto mentioned Sandaime, Mebuki's expression changed slightly and she said, "Of course we can talk this out. Sakura, don't say another word from now on."

Seeing the stern look in her mother's eyes, Sakura reluctantly swallowed back the words she was about to say.

After all, her mother was the one who called the shots in the Haruno household.

"Alright, we can talk now. Please go ahead and explain the situation first."

Mebuki said, "But you'd better have a reasonable account. Otherwise, taking my daughter captive like this could still end up being reported to Hokage-sama, and the Haruno Family won't back down."

Naruto nodded, "Here's what happened: Your daughter ambushed me at the Hokage Rock and even tried to hit me with a shuriken. If it weren't for my recent improvement in strength, I might not be standing here right now. So, tell me… how do you see it?"

"That's impossible! My daughter would never do such a thing." Kizashi declared with certainty.

But before he could finish, Mebuki cut him off with a stern look. Turning to Sakura, she asked, "Sakura, is that true?"

"It's not like that at all! He kidnapped Sasuke-kun, so I stepped in to stop him. And he easily dodged my attack… so there was no real danger." Sakura argued.

"Tsk tsk tsk!"

Naruto chuckled coldly, "I had a one-on-one spar with Sasuke. He lost, and I merely disciplined him a bit… Sasuke himself had no complaints about it. Besides, whatever happened between us, what does it have to do with you? I never did anything to provoke you, yet you ambushed me unprovoked. Sure, I dodged it because of my skill, but what if I hadn't? I think we both know how that would've ended."

"Naruto, you..." Sakura tried to protest further.

"Sakura, shut up!" Mebuki interrupted, "No matter what, you interfered in someone else's affairs and nearly hurt someone. That's the undeniable truth!"

Sakura fell silent, unable to argue further.

Mebuki turned back to Naruto, "Naruto-kun, I understand the situation now. Can you please release Sakura first? As for compensation, we're willing to discuss it. It's clear that we're in the wrong here."

"I appreciate your reasonableness, Mrs. Haruno. But if I let her go now, how do I know she won't try to attack me again?" Naruto looked worried.

Mebuki said, "You have my assurance, Naruto-kun. She won't behave that way in my presence. Kizashi, take Sakura inside."

Kizashi nodded and quickly ushered Sakura back into the house.

Outside, only Naruto and Mebuki remained.

"Now then, Naruto-kun," Mebuki said, breaking the silence, "What kind of compensation do you have in mind?"

Naruto's eyes glinted as he replied, "Since you're being so upfront, I won't beat around the bush. I understand that to many of you, I'm seen as the village's bad seed. But in this case, Sakura clearly went too far. Attacking a fellow villager is a serious offense, and as a Genin, she should know better. If word got out that a Shinobi attacked her comrade, it wouldn't reflect well… either for her reputation or the Haruno Family's standing."

Of course, Naruto knew that directly asking for compensation might not sit well with Sakura's mother. But by subtly highlighting the consequences, he hoped Mebuki would take the hint and offer something substantial herself.

Now, he just had to wait and see exactly how generous Mebuki would be...