Chapter 188: Little Savior Wataru
The next day.
After a long period of psychological struggle, Naruto arrived at the Academy to wait for his teacher assignment. He was thick-skinned and large-hearted; despite yesterday's high-intensity training, his spirit seemed completely unphased.
As he walked into the school, he noticed many students looked pale and unwell.
"What's wrong with you guys?" he asked casually.
The biggest reaction came from Kiba Inuzuka. Seeing Naruto looking so unfazed, Kiba found it hard to believe. "Naruto, didn't you feel any discomfort after yesterday's training?"
Since finishing the training and waking up, Kiba had remained in a state of combat tension. He was constantly terrified that someone around him would turn into an enemy or that an attacker would leap out from a corner. He hadn't slept a wink all night. Had his family not snapped him out of it, he would have thought he was still stuck on that relentless battlefield. He couldn't understand how Naruto could be in this state.
"Discomfort? Why would I be uncomfortable? Oh, you mean when Tonbo-ojisan beat me up at the end? Nah, it hurt a bit then, but that was it. But wait, weren't you out cold? You shouldn't have even seen that," Naruto began to mock Kiba.
Imagine actually fainting. Kiba, who usually had top-tier grades, had actually passed out. He must have been beaten so badly by Tonbo-ojisan's genjutsu that he didn't know left from right. Unlike him—Naruto—who had counterattacked quickly and killed many ninjas.
As expected, I'm the one most suited to be Hokage, Naruto laughed inwardly with pride.
"Tch!" Kiba curled his lip, cursing in his head. To be looked down upon by Naruto was beyond embarrassing.
Woof!
"Wait, don't tell me you guys couldn't handle the training? Did you get killed so many times you've gone crazy?" Naruto shouted to his classmates, noticing their dark circles. "Hahahaha! Just as I thought! I'm the only one fit to be the future Hokage. You guys are too weak!"
He laughed triumphantly.
"Dammit! Everyone, let's get him! Let's beat him up together!"
Bam! Bam! Thud!
Gulp!
Tonbo Tobitake swallowed another secret pill while helping his father-in-law handle business for the shop. Ichiraku Ramen had already opened branches across Konoha. In fact, they had branches in various regions of the Land of Fire. The response was decent—not an overnight explosion, but very profitable. Only a few poorly chosen locations had lackluster business.
He was currently processing documents, while Ayame helped by pouring tea nearby.
From now on, my family has a real foundation. Even if Tianyu and Maki don't make it as ninjas, they have a solid business to inherit.
Tonbo sifted through files and ledgers, addressing issu es related to the new branches. There were more problems than he expected. For instance, the ninja world was full of gangs—a regional specialty, it seemed. Opening branches meant dealing with these groups, some of whom were hired by rival shops to harass his staff.
In such cases, Tonbo would use Shadow Clones to go and have a "heart-to-heart" talk with their bosses using genjutsu. To ensure the business lasted without relying solely on his illusions, he would show just enough power to earn their "goodwill."
Meanwhile, his body had not stopped evolving. With Naruto's genetic information, his physical capacity for evolution was accelerating. Though not much time had passed, he already had a strong premonition of his growth. He had to admit, the protagonist was the protagonist; their genes were simply on a different level.
Knock, knock, knock!
Just then, Tianyu and Maki returned from school. However, they looked different today—both were black and blue, clearly having been beaten. They tossed their bags on the sofa with foul expressions and began applying medicine to themselves without needing Tonbo to say a word. They were already accustomed to using injury salves.
"Yo, aren't these my two little troublemakers? What happened today? Both of you got thrashed?" Tonbo felt a bit of secret joy. Usually, other parents were the ones reporting these two to him. Seeing them beaten was a rare sight.
Tianyu puffed his cheeks in anger. "Dammit! That brat Konohamaru learned some new jutsu from somewhere. I was careless, and he managed a sneak attack."
He was fuming. Maki was the same: "Konohamaru is disgusting! He turned into a naked, ugly man! I was caught off guard too."
The image from today was like a nightmare echoing in her mind. They were barely into their third year, and Konohamaru had challenged them again today. Normally they wouldn't have bothered, but Konohamaru had been too arrogant. They ended up getting confused by his new jutsu and taken down.
A naked, ugly man? A certain technique flashed through Tonbo's mind. Did Konohamaru already learn the "Sexy Jutsu" (or a variation) from Naruto? And the two kids were stunned by the sheer absurdity of it?
"Yeah! And an ugly woman too! So ugly, and without clothes! Heavens, he's the Third Hokage's grandson—how could he learn such an immoral ninjutsu? I'm definitely getting him back tomorrow," Tianyu said, refusing to accept defeat.
Maki added: "Ugly! So ugly... even uglier than the wrinkly Lord Third... and no clothes..."
"Haven't I taught you? Don't let the enemy finish their signs. If you can take them out before they use a jutsu, do it quickly," Tonbo laughed heartily. He thought Konohamaru had done a great job, finally knocking these two down a peg.
"Hmph! But he didn't have it easy either. Even though Brother and I lost, we have our teammate Wataru. He's our little savior! Konohamaru is black and blue too. Tomorrow, he'll have to go to school with a swollen face just like us," Maki raised her head proudly, her white bangs fluttering.
"You're proud of a loss? It's not like you won," Tonbo said, speechless.
"Dad, you're the one who said if a teammate wins, it counts as a win for us too," Tianyu countered. "Besides, we were just careless. Konohamaru is no match for us. Next time we'll have a battle plan and won't fall for his tricks."
Tianyu had already thought of a countermeasure the moment he was hit. Having seen it once, he wouldn't freeze up again. Just you wait, Konohamaru.
Bam!
Konohamaru pushed the door open with great force and marched in like a conqueror. Asuma, who was currently planning his team assignments, stared at him in shock.
"Konohamaru, what happened to you?"
"Hehe! Today, I finally beat up Tianyu and Maki! It felt great!" Konohamaru stood with his hands on his hips, covered in bruises but radiating pride. Even the fact that he was missing a tooth couldn't hide his joy.
"You beat them up? Looks to me like you're the one who got beat up," Asuma remarked.
Konohamaru snorted. "Tch! That was their 'little savior' Wataru's doing, not theirs!"
He was triumphant today. Though that Wataru kid was annoying—he didn't use his eyes to look at all, which was ridiculous. Otherwise, Konohamaru was sure he could have flattened him too.
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