Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

After waiting for a long time for the mist to dissipate, Naruto returned along the path and rejoined the group.

"Naruto, how did it go?" Kakashi asked.

"That guy couldn't take me on and took advantage of the thick mist to escape. Next time I catch him, I won't let him off so easily!"

Naruto rubbed his nose, his gaze wandering a bit.

He had to make up a quick lie, otherwise, it would be hard to explain the situation.

After all, it involves a Shinobi from another village, and a Missing-nin at that.

If he told the truth, who knew what Kakashi might think.

"In that case, let's continue on our way once the mist clears."

Kakashi said, and the group set off again.

Naruto was still hanging at the back of the group, planning his next steps.

This time, he wasn't the only one trailing behind, as Sasuke is also there.

Lowering his voice, Sasuke asked, "Naruto, could it be that Kakashi's Sharingan is also a contact lens?"

"You're overthinking it. The Sharingan is a rare Kekkei Genkai, and my contact lenses is one-of-a- kind, so it's not like everyone has one. As for Kakashi's left eye, there's a long story behind it, but it's too early to explain all that now. Just know that he obtained it through legitimate means."

Naruto gave a casual explanation.

After all, it was all Obito's fault.

Obito is a guy who almost interfered with the entire Naruto plot and did a lot of immoral things. Even if Sasuke knew about it now, it would only ruin his mood, so it is better not to tell him.

Hearing this, Sasuke stopped talking.

The journey continued in silence. After less than an hour, they arrived in a small town.

Though called a town, it was far less prosperous than Konoha Village, almost like a run-down slum. People walked with their heads down, looking cautious and timid. Along the street, many children squatted, begging for food.

Shops lining the road were shabby and desolate, with displays mostly empty and filled with misshapen, rotten produce. Everything, the people and the surroundings, felt heavy and oppressive.

"We're almost there. That's my house."

Tazuna said, pointing to a wooden house.

Following him inside, Naruto and the others found it sparsely furnished, though not completely empty. A middle-aged woman inside hurried over to greet Tazuna, relief evident in her expression.

"Father, you're finally back."

Tazuna nodded, "Yeah, I'm back. By the way, where's Inari?"

"He should be down by the shore. I'll go find him right away."

After saying that, the middle-aged woman quickly left to fetch him.

Not long after, she returned with a little boy in a hat.

Through introductions, Kakashi and the others learned that the woman was Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, and the boy was his grandson, Inari.

"But, Tazuna-san," Naruto asked, squinting slightly, "didn't you say you had a cute granddaughter? How did that suddenly become a grandson?"

"Did I say that? Must have been a slip of the tongue, hahaha!"

Tazuna scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

"If that's the case, I can't trust your earlier promises. Let's draw up a formal agreement, with your signature and seal!"

To make sure everything was foolproof, Naruto felt it necessary to take this step.

Once Tazuna signed and sealed the agreement, Naruto stored it carefully.

But after seeing the signed document, he couldn't help but come up with an idea.

'Gato's assets could be seized legally through a transfer of ownership. With Zabuza's help to pressure Gato, it'd be hard for that trash not to comply.'

Thinking of this, Naruto spent the rest of the day carefully working out the details, preparing each step meticulously.

Over the next three days, Kakashi wasted no time and began teaching everyone how to control their Chakra.

Because Sakura's Chakra Reserve is very small, she found it easy to control her Chakra. So she became the fastest and completed tree climbing easily.

Sasuke, having activated his two-tomoe Sharingan, achieved even finer control and took less time than in the original work.

Only Naruto was stumped by the tree climbing.

In the original work, Naruto's Chakra Reserve is huge, so it is difficult for him to control it.

But at that time, Naruto only has Uzumaki Clan's large Chakra Reserve and the slightly leaked Kyubi's Chakra.

And now, Naruto has mastered all Kyubi's power.

Unleashing powerful Ninjutsu was a breeze, but delicate control was far more difficult than in the original work.

And to make matters worse, his recent reward for signing in the Land of Waves didn't help with his Chakra Control problem, it was downright absurd.

Each system sign-in reward is related to the sign-in location, and since there are no Shinobi in the Land of Waves, naturally there will be no rewards related to Ninjutsu.

Of course, everything up to this point was within Naruto's expectations.

When talking about the Land of Waves, the first thing that comes to mind is undoubtedly Tazuna's bridge-building mastery, so Naruto has always been looking forward to what kind of rewards the system will give out that are related to bridge building.

An extraordinary construction ability?

Or an advanced mathematical calculation?

Or perhaps the bug ability to summon objects from nothing?

The answer from the system? None of the above!

To this day, Naruto still remembered the system's notification clearly.

[It is detected that the host has stayed in the Land of Waves for one hour. Sign-in successful. Reward: Courage Blessing!]

That's right, the system had granted him a buff skill called Courage Blessing.

The reasoning was simple… because the people of the Land of Waves was oppressed by Gato and lacked courage.

But Courage Blessing didn't boost bravery, it was a damage-enhancing buff!

[Courage Blessing: Bless teammates within 100 meters, increase their physical (Taijutsu) attack power, magical (Genjutsu) attack power, independent (Ninjutsu) attack power, strength/intelligence (Chakra), and accuracy. Also increase the user's skill attack power and accuracy.]

It was a great reward, but it didn't help Naruto with his immediate problem, tree climbing.

Of course, he didn't actually care about climbing the tree itself, but it was embarrassing that both Sasuke and Sakura succeeded while he struggled.

Fortunately, Naruto was a quick learner and managed to complete the task in three days.

Watching the sun set, Naruto stood at the top of the tree, and let out a long sigh.

After jumping off the tree, he quickly formed hand seals in the order of Ox - Dog - Dragon - Rat - Dog - Boar - Serpent - Tiger.

Bang!

Accompanied by a puff of white smoke, a shadow clone that looked exactly like Naruto appeared in front of him.

Naruto took out a document from the system inventory and handed it to the shadow clone, saying solemnly: "It's time. Go meet Zabuza."

"Got it!"

The shadow clone nodded, and his figure suddenly disappeared from the spot at the next moment.

"It's really troublesome."

Naruto muttered with a sigh. Turning back, he started walking toward Tazuna's house.

In order to avoid arousing suspicion from Kakashi and the others, his main body had to stay behind in case anything unexpected happened, so he had to split himself into two groups.

As the real Naruto approached Tazuna's home, his shadow clone arrived at the meeting spot using the Flying Thunder God's mark he'd placed earlier.

Hearing a rustling sound from the trees, Naruto spoke calmly, "Since you're here, show yourself."

As soon as he finished speaking, two figures leaped down from a nearby tree.

"Greetings, Naruto-sama!"

The taller figure was Zabuza, while the one dressed in a kimono and wearing a mask was unmistakably female in appearance.

But Naruto knew in his heart that this person was Zabuza's loyal follower, Haku.

Not only was Haku not a girl, but he was actually a young man.

However, even though he knew Haku was a boy, Naruto couldn't help but feel his heart beat faster.

When he'd first watched Naruto, the character who left him awestruck was Haku, thinking he was a beautiful girl.

And after learning Haku's true gender, especially after exposure to otaku's unique culture, he'd only been more excited.

'A boy like Haku… truly enchanting.'