The back training ground of the Ninja Academy.
“Hoshi!
Help!
Sensei Iruka said that if I can’t form a decent clone, he’s going to dock all my credits for this week’s practical combat class!” Naruto Uzumaki frantically formed hand seals.
With a dull *pop*, a squishy clone popped out, slumping onto the ground like a lump of dough.
Because of the wildly uneven distribution of Chakra, the clone couldn’t even open its eyes, looking both eerie and hilarious.
Hoshi sat under the cool shade of a large tree, holding a thick manuscript titled *Treatise on Meridian Chakra Scalpels*.
At his feet sat a massive cooler with bold, arrogant marker writing on the front: “Hoshi’s Supply Station—The Recharge Station on the Path to Hokage.” “Naruto, with the way you’re practicing, you won’t make a decent clone even if you keep at it until your next life.” Hoshi unhurriedly closed the book.
Beneath his messy black hair, his deep eyes glimmered with the sly, scheming look of someone who saw through everything.
“Your Chakra reserves are far too massive.
It’s like trying to water a potted cactus with a flash flood—all you’ll do is drown the pot.
Unlucky, unlucky, unlucky…
to think I have to spend my morning teaching you something this basic.” “Then what am I supposed to do?
I really can’t control it!” Naruto scratched his head in frustration, his orange tracksuit covered in dirt.
“Simple.
This is called the ‘Overflow Chakra Displacement Training Method.'” Hoshi stood up and pointed toward the waist-deep overgrown grass at the edge of the training ground.
“Since you have more Chakra than you know what to do with, stop practicing the Clone Technique.
Go pull weeds with all your strength.
But the rule is: every single blade must be pulled up by the roots without disturbing the soil right next to it.
It’s called micro-control, got it?” “Weeding?
What kind of training is that?!” Naruto looked suspicious.
“Tsk, shallow, aren’t we?” Hoshi pulled out a special energy drink glowing with a strange blue light from the cooler.
“This is a grand tonic potion brewed with secret moss from Shikkotsu Forest and a special recipe passed down directly from Lady Tsunade.
The original price is ten thousand ryo per bottle, but seeing as we’re best buddies, I’ll let you have it for one hundred thousand ryo.
Put it on your tab, and once you become Hokage, I’ll deduct it from your annual salary.
Drink it, and your weeding speed will double, while your Chakra control will refine itself before you even notice.” “One hundred thousand ryo?!” Kiba Inuzuka, who happened to be passing by, stumbled in shock, while Akamaru whined in terror in his arms.
“Hoshi, that’s highway robbery!
A bowl of Ichiraku Ramen only costs one hundred ryo!
You’re so nice, giving Naruto a free drink when you could’ve just robbed him outright!” “Kiba, my friend, that kind of mindset will really hold back your progress.” Hoshi gave him a side-eye, his tone oozing the calm confidence of a seasoned expert.
“The trace elements in my supply drink can instantly repair muscle damage and soothe frayed nerves.
Naruto, think about it: what’s more important—one hundred thousand ryo, or never being called ‘Dead-last’ by Sasuke again?” “Of course not being the Dead-last is more important!
Give me two bottles!” Naruto roared heroically, stamping two giant red thumbprints onto the “Future Hokage Debt Ledger” Hoshi carried with him.
Looking at the dense list of IOUs on the notebook, Hoshi let out a satisfied sigh.
These were foundational shares in the future Hokage—a guaranteed, zero-risk investment.
Just then, a flash of brilliant gold caught his eye.
“Hoshi!
I brought you a bento I made with love!” Ino Yamanaka came jogging over, her long golden hair dancing in the morning light.
A light sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead made her look all the more charming.
She completely ignored Naruto—who was chugging the drink while preparing to pull weeds—and had eyes only for the black-haired boy sitting under the tree.
“Ino, you’re too kind,” Hoshi said as he stood up and naturally accepted the bento box.
“It’s…
it’s nothing!
I just heard you’ve been helping Naruto with his ‘special training’ lately and was worried you’d get tired.” Ino nervously fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, her gaze flitting over Hoshi’s handsome face—which bore a subtle resemblance to the Fourth Hokage.
“Um…
if you have time, could you help me check my Mind Transfer Technique?
I always feel like the frequency isn’t quite right when I transfer.” “Sure.
After school, let’s go to the woods on the back hill, and I’ll use medical Chakra to help check and clear your meridians.” Hoshi offered a bright smile, his voice so gentle it practically dripped with sweetness.
“The…
the woods?” Ino’s face flushed crimson all the way to her ears.
Frozen in place as if struck by a paralysis jutsu, her mind was already spiraling into all kinds of romantic scenarios.
“Then…
then it’s a deal!
Be there or be square!” Watching Ino float away on a cloud of bliss, Hoshi quietly opened the bento box.
Inside were delicate tamagoyaki slices, meticulously accompanied by ham pieces arranged in the shape of a heart.
“Ah, so satisfying.
Living off a girl with absolute confidence…
truly addictive,” Hoshi muttered after taking a bite of the tamagoyaki.
He checked his internal connection.
Mm, word came from Katsuyu: his master, Lady Tsunade, had lost a grand total of eight million ryo at a casino in the Land of Grass today.
Her mindset remained remarkably positive, though—she had demolished half the casino on her way out, bumping her debt straight up to twenty million ryo.
“Hoshi.
I want special training too.” Sasuke Uchiha, who had been watching coldly from the side, finally stepped forward.
He watched Naruto weeding like a man possessed.
Each pulled blade came out cleaner than the last, genuinely appearing effective for practicing Chakra control.
Seeing such visible progress created a sense of urgency that shattered Sasuke’s aloof composure.
“Oh?
Sasuke wants to improve too?” Hoshi put down his chopsticks, his messy black hair concealing the glint of cunning in his eyes.
“No problem.
But for us Uchiha…
cough, I mean, for elites, special training costs a lot more.
If you want to learn, you’ll need to sign this ‘Medical Accident Insurance’ first.
After all, my training method is just a tiny bit…
radical.” Hoshi pulled out a five-page contract from his bag.
The very first line of bold text read: “No Refunds Once Training Begins.” Sasuke looked at the exorbitant insurance premium listed on the contract, veins bulging on his forehead.
“Are you really back in the village to go to school?
I think you’re just a debt-collecting bastard!” “How could you say that?
I’m wearing myself out for the village’s future.
Why doesn’t anyone appreciate my sincere heart, devoted entirely to public service?” Hoshi patted Sasuke’s shoulder with a beaming smile.
Meanwhile, far away in the Hokage’s office, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi held his pipe, watching through his crystal ball as Hoshi ruthlessly harvested his classmates’ wallets.
His expression was thoroughly complex.
“That kid…
who does he take after more?” Inoichi Yamanaka wiped away a bead of sweat.
Looking at his daughter standing there giggling like a fool, he replied dryly: “He…
he might take after the First Hokage more.
I heard that whenever Lord First lost all his money at the casinos back in the day, he’d use that exact same swindling routine to borrow money from Lord Second and the Uzumaki Elder.”