“Lazing…?”
Naruto stared at the system’s description.
He could already feel his eyelashes blocking part of his vision.
He lowered his head.
The calm surface of the lake reflected his face.
A pair of dead-fish eyes, hair as messy as a bird’s nest, an expressionless face, and an overall air of having no soul whatsoever.
“I really do look like a salted fish…”
“Still, this is fine.”
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
His appearance didn’t matter.
He would get dirty after washing anyway, and then he’d have to wash again.
Besides, no one cared what this so-called monster looked like.
Why bother?
With the same amount of effort, he might as well catch a few more fish and solve his dinner problem.
He found a wooden stick.
Naruto simply skewered the fish onto it, then gathered some dry firewood so he could roast the fish later.
The sun hadn’t set yet, so he still had time to catch a couple more.
But the moment he sat back down on the rock—
“Ding!
Successful act of slacking.”
“Obtained 10 Lazing Points.”
Naruto froze.
Immediately afterward, a translucent interface automatically appeared in front of him.
At the very top of the interface were the words System Shop.
Inside was a dazzling assortment of goods, though most of them were grayed out.
There were a few things he could buy with ten Lazing Points, but not many.
Aside from the fixed attribute-increasing items, almost everything else was daily necessities.
Pots and pans, sauces, vinegar, cooking oil and salt, underwear, household appliances, snacks, fast food…
There was even a fishing rod.
And it cost exactly ten points.
Naruto glanced over it.
All three of his attributes could be increased.
One Lazing Point could increase an attribute by one point.
“No need…”
“Even if I increase my stats, I still won’t be able to beat the villagers.
And even if I could beat them, what would that accomplish?”
“I’d be better off buying something useful… This fishing rod, for example.”
Strength might be the thing Naruto needed most right now.
But if he couldn’t become overwhelmingly strong in one step, then there was no point in increasing it.
Take his current situation.
If he added one point to his Physical Energy, could he beat a thirty-year-old muscular man?
No.
He’d still get pinned to the ground and beaten senseless.
Even if he painstakingly saved up a hundred points and finally became strong enough to win, the group of ANBU following him would just beat him up afterward.
Why bother…?
He was already this weak.
Why should he work so hard?
Improving his living conditions and making sure he had enough to eat was more important than anything else.
Naruto barely hesitated before choosing the fishing rod.
The new fishing rod arrived immediately, along with a small jar of bait.
What a bargain.
Naruto immediately replaced his old one.
It was still made of wood, but it was heavier, and more importantly, the fishing line was much longer.
Next time he went fishing, he might actually be able to catch something bigger.
“Ding!
Successful act of slacking.”
“Obtained 10 Lazing Points.”
The moment Naruto cast his line, he received another system notification.
Another ten points.
But Naruto didn’t really care.
He would just keep fishing…
Nothing was more important than filling his stomach.
…
Whether it was because of the bait or the bonus from the new fishing rod, Naruto’s luck was pretty good.
Before long, he had two large fish to his name.
It looked like he would finally get a proper meal tonight.
He skewered the fish.
Started a fire.
Naruto had never done anything like this in his previous life, yet his movements were surprisingly practiced.
There was no helping it.
He was doing this because life had forced him to.
Being able to eat one meal during the day was already pretty good.
If he didn’t come fishing, he would basically go hungry every day.
Winter was even more miserable because he didn’t have any decent warm clothes.
The fish also rarely took the bait, and his old fishing rod had a line that was too short, making it difficult to catch anything.
Sizzle—
The two large fish were placed over the fire.
Before long, an enticing aroma filled the air.
Naruto wondered whether he should buy some seasoning.
Slacking was a way of life.
A person shouldn’t slack simply for the sake of slacking.
That kind of slacking had a purpose behind it.
It wasn’t pure slacking.
Certain necessities of life still had to be maintained.
But just as Naruto was searching for seasonings in the system shop, an elderly voice suddenly rang out.
“You made quite a good catch today, Naruto.”
“Mind if I have a taste?”
A short old man walked over.
He wore a conical hat and a long robe, with a smoking pipe hanging from his mouth.
Naruto recognized him.
The current Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
“…”
Naruto wanted to refuse.
Those were his fish.
His dinner.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi had already sat down and unceremoniously picked up one of the fish, taking a bite.
Forget it.
Whatever.
After all, the entire inheritance his parents had left him had already been seized by this old man.
He only gave Naruto a thousand ryo a month as welfare.
Letting him take one more fish didn’t really matter…
Naruto silently sat down and started eating the remaining fish.
“Ding!
Successful act of slacking.”
“Obtained 10 Lazing Points.”
The system notification appeared once again.
Naruto could only chuckle inwardly.
In a situation like this, perhaps the system was the only thing that could comfort him.
“You don’t seem very happy, Naruto.”
“Did you run into some kind of setback?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed Naruto’s low spirits.
Of course, this was normal.
Almost every time Naruto came fishing, whenever he was alone, his mood was never particularly good.
That was also why Hiruzen made a point of appearing from time to time.
After all, the Nine-Tails was sealed inside Naruto.
The villagers’ hatred needed to be properly managed, but this child also needed to remain firmly under Konoha’s control.
As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi pulled out an envelope.
“You’ve spent all your money again, haven’t you?”
“You’ll be starting school tomorrow.
You’ll be able to make plenty of friends there.”
“Use this money to buy some school supplies… and try to spend it carefully.”