Jingle bell~~
Another morning arrived. Naruto was awakened by the ringing of his alarm clock. He groggily opened his eyes and sat up on his bed.
"Time for another mission."
After a quick wash and brushing his teeth, Naruto stepped out and made his way to the meeting place.
When he arrived at the wooden bridge to the east of Konoha, he found that Sakura and Sasuke were already there.
'These two... They know Kakashi is always late, yet they still show up so early. I really don't get what they're thinking.'
Sakura was leaning against the bridge's guardrail, eyes half-closed, looking barely awake. Sasuke, on the other hand, was as diligent as ever. Even while waiting, he was training—holding his right hand with his left, trying to gather chakra. Faint sparks of lightning flickered in his palm.
Speaking of Sasuke's progress, I forgot to mention it before.
The reason Sasuke regained his confidence so quickly was all thanks to Kakashi's training over the past three months. Sasuke had now awakened the Uchiha clan's bloodline and successfully unlocked a one-tomoe Sharingan.
But awakening the Sharingan wasn't that simple.
Apparently, Kakashi had thought long and hard before coming up with a plan. He spent a considerable amount of money to set up a sealed training room and had Sasuke train in it every day.
The walls of this room were lined with numerous automated weapon-launching mechanisms.
Of course, the kunai and shuriken fired weren't sharpened, but they were still solid enough to hurt. Every hit left Sasuke covered in bruises.
After enduring this brutal training for two months, Sasuke finally awakened his Sharingan.
Later, Kakashi even taught Sasuke his signature technique—Chidori.
But Sasuke hadn't yet mastered it completely and was still refining it.
"Sakura, Sasuke, good morning."
Naruto greeted them as he approached.
"Morning..." Sakura responded weakly. She had been dieting recently and skipped dinner last night, so she had no energy at all.
"Naruto, I'll catch up to you soon."
Sasuke smirked confidently. He channeled chakra into his right hand, causing dazzling lightning to crackle in his palm with a piercing sound.
The arc of lightning was already comparable to Kakashi's Raikiri.
"Oh? You finally mastered it?" Naruto asked, grinning. "Sasuke, congrats!"
He was genuinely happy for Sasuke's progress. As much as they competed, Sasuke was a reliable friend.
"Yeah, I just completed my Chidori training last night," Sasuke confirmed, pleased with his progress.
However, he was fully aware that there was still a significant gap between his strength and Naruto's.
After chatting for a bit, Naruto hopped onto the bridge's guardrail and opened his system panel.
Name: Uzumaki Naruto
Age: 12
Chakra Amount: LV5 (4000/10000)
Ninjutsu: Transformation Jutsu, Fireball Jutsu, Rasengan, Shadow Clone Jutsu, Wind Breakthrough, Whirlwind Fist, Hair Wind, Vacuum Sphere
Taijutsu: LV1 (485/500)
Genjutsu: None
Ninjutsu Attributes: Wind, Fire
Bloodline Limit: None
Anger Points: 1620
His taijutsu was close to reaching Chunin level, and he figured it would be upgraded in a few days.
As for his anger points, he had accumulated over 1600 recently but hadn't spent them yet.
Feeling bored, Naruto decided to use the lottery system.
[Anger Points -100]
[Congratulations! You have gained Earth Release Chakra Affinity.]
As the system notification rang out, a sphere of earthy yellow light emerged from the virtual panel and enveloped Naruto's body.
He could feel his chakra undergoing some kind of transformation, slowly taking on an earthy hue.
"Earth Release Chakra Affinity? That means I now have three chakra natures!"
Naruto was thrilled.
He had to admit, this system was amazing. Now, he'd be able to use Earth Release ninjutsu as well.
[Anger Points -100]
[Congratulations! You have won a bowl of Chinese gourmet Stinky Tofu.]
Naruto blinked. "...Huh? Stinky tofu?"
He had gotten snail noodles a few times before, but this was the first time he had received stinky tofu.
'Looks like the system keeps coming up with new surprises.'
But why something so smelly? Couldn't it have given him something like Lanzhou ramen, Beijing stewed noodles, or Xinjiang big plate chicken instead?
(wtf are these )
As Naruto was mentally complaining, a small bowl materialized in front of him.
He caught it mid-air and examined it.
Inside the bowl were about a dozen cubes of black tofu, garnished with chopped green onions, ginger, garlic, and cilantro. Despite its infamous odor, the dish looked mouthwatering, and Naruto couldn't help but drool.
"Naruto! What is that stinky thing?!"
Sakura had caught a whiff of the overpowering smell and immediately recoiled, covering her nose as she distanced herself.
"Ugh… This smells awful. You're not actually going to eat it, are you?" Sasuke looked equally disgusted.
"What do you guys know? This stuff is delicious. It might smell strong, but the taste is incredible."
Ignoring their reactions, Naruto picked up the chopsticks resting on the bowl, grabbed a piece of stinky tofu, and popped it into his mouth.
A wave of nostalgia washed over him.
It had been too long since he last had something like this.
He slowly chewed, savoring the complex flavors—the crunchiness that gave way to softness, the subtle spiciness balanced with a hint of sweetness.
'Mmm… This is amazing!'
Sakura frowned even more, but hunger gnawed at her. Seeing Naruto enjoying his meal so much, she couldn't help but feel tempted.
"Naruto… Is it really that good?"
"Of course! I wouldn't lie to you. Here, try some."
Naruto picked up a piece and handed it to her.
Sakura hesitated, but after a moment of inner struggle, she reached out, took the black tofu cube, and popped it into her mouth.
She chewed a few times, and her frown slowly faded. A look of delight spread across her face.
"Mmm!! This is actually delicious! How can something that smells so bad taste this good?!"
"Told you! Here, have the rest."
Naruto handed the bowl to Sakura with a grin.
(End of Chapter)