Sasuke’s reaction was something Naruto had never expected.
It seemed like he had beaten Sasuke, yet somehow, it also felt like he hadn’t.
The reactions of his classmates were even stranger.
Why did it feel like the one who had gotten beaten was actually him?
Naruto remained stunned for a full five seconds before mechanically lowering his head back onto the desk.
No matter what Sasuke would become when he grew up, he was still only six years old right now.
A child’s thoughts were just as difficult to understand as the Nine-Tails’.
Naruto closed his eyes.
He checked the system interface.
Host: Uzumaki Naruto
Current World: Naruto World
Current Template: Chunin
(Automatically advances to the Chunin Template when all attributes reach 100.)
Personal Attributes (3)
Physical Energy: 87Chakra: 79Mental Energy: 100
Lazing Points Remaining: 317
Buffs:
Dead-Fish EyesSalted-Fish Check-In Device
Personal Skills (6):
Clone Technique Lv.1Body Flicker Technique Lv.1
Locked Skills (3)
Special Items (2):
Eight Trigrams Sealing Space Gift Pack ×2
Personal Permissions (2):
Eight Trigrams Sealing Space Access: 0.01%Nine-Tails Chakra Access: 0.01%
In just two days, his system interface had already become considerably more substantial.
Yesterday afternoon, after fishing, he had received one of the Three Basic Techniques—the Clone Technique.
At least he no longer had to worry about failing the graduation exam.
He had also invested some points.
Now he was only a tiny step away from the Chunin Template.
Naruto thought about it for a moment.
“Forget it.
I’ll just add them.”
“Better not forget about it…”
There wasn’t much left anyway.
Adding the remaining points shouldn’t make the changes too obvious.
Naruto simply maxed out the necessary attributes and advanced his template.
The system notifications immediately appeared.
[You have advanced to: Chunin Template.]
[Your maximum Lazing Points gained per successful act of slacking has increased to: 30.]
[Permanent Buff Acquired: Salted-Fish Treasury.]
Buying things left and right isn’t suitable for you.
Life is difficult enough.
Being a good salted fish is already quite an achievement.
[Function: For every 100 Lazing Points deposited into the Salted-Fish Treasury, you will receive 1 Salted-Fish Point the following day.]
[Salted-Fish Points: Cannot be deposited into the Salted-Fish Treasury, but have the same purchasing power as Lazing Points.
Maximum capacity: Lazing Points ×10.]
[Next Template: Special Jonin.]
[Advancement Requirement: Any single attribute must reach 1,000.]
“Salted-Fish Treasury…”
Naruto’s expression became strange.
Why did this buff feel like some kind of investment product?
The only difference was that it couldn’t compound.
But the system had also given him a warning.
Buying things was risky.
Take the Sharingan he had wanted to purchase from the very beginning.
Izanagi could be used to save his life or fake his death and escape.
But what if…
He was killed instantly before he had time to form the hand seals?
What if he managed to accumulate enough Nine-Tails Chakra Access to actually fight Pain?
What if he bought something with all his savings, only to receive the same thing from a check-in immediately afterward?
He was thinking too far ahead.
But the principle was the same.
Buying something didn’t necessarily mean losing money.
But not buying it meant he had definitely saved money.
“I get it now.
I get it.”
Without hesitation, Naruto deposited 200 Lazing Points into the Salted-Fish Treasury.
He kept the remaining 73 points as emergency funds.
Now his Lazing Points could generate interest.
Although they couldn’t compound, Naruto didn’t have much need for them at the moment.
The expensive things were beyond his means.
A three-tomoe Sharingan cost 5,000 points.
The Mangekyo Sharingan cost 20,000.
The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan was nearly six figures—an astonishing 80,000 points.
Way too expensive.
As for the cheap stuff, he had no use for most of it.
Ninjutsu, secret techniques—even the 500-point Faith Skill: Rasengan Lv.1.
Learning it wouldn’t help him much.
Who was he supposed to show it to?
Who was he going to use it against?
He might as well save his points.
There were still six years until graduation.
Pain would arrive in ten years.
But if he continued checking in like this, perhaps by the time Pain arrived…
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
His heart fluttered slightly.
Sleeping inside the Infinite Tsukuyomi was Naruto’s bare minimum requirement.
As long as nobody killed him, they could do whatever they wanted.
But Pain was different.
That guy intended to extract the Tailed Beast from him.
And once the extraction was complete, he would die.
That was unacceptable.
Being alive was Naruto’s bottom line.
Of course, it would be even better if he could live comfortably.
“Ten years…”
“Should be enough to fight Pain, right?”
Naruto raised an eyebrow again.
Even if he couldn’t beat Pain, as long as his strength reached a certain level, he might at least be able to negotiate.
How about extracting eighty percent and leaving twenty percent behind to keep him alive?
“Ding!
Successful act of slacking.”
“Obtained 30 Lazing Points.”
The system notification sounded.
Naruto, however, curled his lips.
He was merely thinking about how to live a wonderful life.
How could that count as slacking?
…
After school, Naruto returned home right on schedule.
He grabbed his fishing rod and bucket and headed to the small lake outside the village.
Not long after he sat down, the system notification sounded.
“Ding!
Check-in started.”
“Check-in Location: Outskirts of Konoha.”
“Check-in Time: 18:45–22:45.”
The rewards differed depending on the check-in location.
The Ninja Academy was a place for learning ninja techniques.
So far, it had mainly given him Tobirama’s skills.
After all, the academy had been founded by the Second Hokage.
Although the current principal was the Third Hokage, Naruto had no idea whether the Third Hokage’s skills would eventually appear too.
Hopefully not…
There were already too many things to learn.
The Nine-Tails Sealing Space, aside from the two permissions, had also given him the Tailed Beast Bomb.
He had no idea whether there were other rewards waiting there.
He still hadn’t opened the check-in gift packs from yesterday and today.
Too much trouble.
He couldn’t use them for the time being anyway, so opening them now would be pointless.
But Naruto had no intention of saving the gift packs obtained from fishing locations.
Yesterday, one of them had given him the Clone Technique.
The rewards here were probably all basic skills.
And those were valuable.
Skills were about quality, not quantity.
If he could raise basic techniques such as the Three Basic Techniques to their maximum levels, then at the very least, he would definitely pass the graduation exam.
As for checking in at other locations…
Naruto had actually considered it.
He was just too lazy to move.
For example, he could visit the Hokage Rock and enjoy the scenery.
Or spend some time resting in the Hokage Tower.
He could even go hang around the territories of the major clans…
Maybe if he went to the Uchiha Clan’s district once, he would somehow receive the Sharingan?
Of course, it was just wishful thinking.
As a Nine-Tails jinchuriki, he probably wouldn’t even make it to the Uchiha Clan’s territory.
There were plenty of options.
But there was no need.
For now, the Ninja Academy and the Nine-Tails Sealing Space were already reliable enough.
The Ninja Academy mostly gave him Tobirama’s Water Release techniques that he couldn’t currently learn.
But learning them only required 100 points to purchase Water Nature Transformation.
As long as he steadily checked in, kept attending school, avoided fighting, stayed out of trouble, and didn’t get expelled…
Six years would be more than enough time to finish collecting Tobirama’s skills.
If he was lucky, he might even obtain some forbidden techniques.
And ordinary skills could probably be upgraded as well.
“Oh?”
Naruto suddenly had a brilliant idea.
“How about…”
“In the future, I just apply for a job as a security guard at the Ninja Academy and live there?”
“Becoming an enhanced version of the Second Hokage doesn’t sound bad either!”