Chapter 18: Chapter 18: The Light of Konoha, The Fateful Battle
Looking at the various accumulated stats on the system panel, Naruto felt that this plan was inevitable.
The [Tamed Hashirama Cells] required for a single exchange: 1,000,000 ryo, 10,000 shock points, and 10,000 negative points.
Right now, his negative points and shock points were nearly at the required levels, but the ryo still fell far short by at least 100,000.
After obtaining the Hashirama cells, Naruto was confident that, even without the Uchiha clan's bloodline limit, he could use the Sharingan's abilities without harm.
After all, having read the original story, Danzo was a living example of this.
Of course, Naruto knew that Danzo's collaboration with Orochimaru to transplant the First Hokage's cells was a failure—a defective product. After the transplant, half of Danzo's body and his arm were permanently sealed, not to mention awakening Wood Style.
However, the [Tamed Hashirama Cells] that the system had sourced were not only free of any hidden dangers but also ensured the awakening of Wood Style and other features after transplantation. It was an absolute game-changer for his development.
With a powerful body, once the various stats and ryo were in place, even the Susanoo-clad Buddha was within reach.
Even if that wasn't achievable, the Sage Mode combined with the Eight Gates would work too.
Of course, before reaching that point, Naruto knew he had to keep a low profile, steadily develop, and prepare thoroughly before Sasuke defected from Konoha at twelve.
As these thoughts filled his mind, a small detail he had completely overlooked surfaced, especially after receiving a large amount of shock points and negative points during the class earlier.
Just as he was about to leave the schoolyard, a flash of white light appeared before him.
Naruto focused his gaze, and immediately, he showed an expression of innocent admiration. He rushed forward with a big smile and said, "Grandpa Hokage, what brings you here today?"
Yes, Sarutobi Hiruzen was still that perverted old man, and contrary to his expectations, he hadn't turned into a woman.
"Yo, little Naruto." Sarutobi Hiruzen, the village's strategic weapon and jinchuriki, greeted him with a warm smile. "Running low on money for food, huh?"
Saying this, Hiruzen took out a stack of ryo, a full 1,000 ryo.
In order to maintain his current persona, Naruto could only express gratitude on the surface, while internally, he cursed, "What the hell?"
He was holding the massive savings left by his father, yet he only received 1,000 ryo for a whole month?
Konoha really knew how to play, huh?
Why was Naruto cursing the Third Hokage in his heart?
Because a bowl of Ichiraku ramen costs 90 ryo.
This meant if Naruto ate a bowl of ramen every meal, assuming he ate only twice a day, the 1,000 ryo would last him about five to six days. The remaining 20+ days would leave him starving.
This was also why the original Naruto always ate instant noodles and wished for Ichiraku ramen.
Seeing Naruto's grateful look, Sarutobi Hiruzen was very pleased. After handing over the money, he signaled Naruto to go eat, then slowly walked toward the classroom.
"Thank you, Grandpa Hokage..."
Naruto smiled and watched as the Third Hokage turned away, his smile slowly fading.
"I thank your whole family. This money should've been mine in the first place. And now you want me to thank you for Konoha? Dream on."
Naruto turned to leave the school and didn't realize that three boys, all taller than him by half a head, were blocking his path near the school gate. One of them was his deskmate.
---
Meanwhile, on a path leading directly to the Uchiha clan's land…
Sasuke's mind kept replaying Naruto's words.
"The dark side of Konoha, and the light side of Konoha..."
She could never understand why Naruto would say those words to her.
Rustling sounds...
An elderly figure suddenly appeared before the twin-tailed girl, and as he turned, his kind smile was revealed.
"Little Sasuke."
Seeing the old man, Sasuke visibly jumped in surprise and instinctively said, "Hokage-sama?"
The old man walked up to her, patting her on the head with a smile. Then, with a swift motion, he produced a stack of ryo worth 10,000.
"Little Sasuke, this is your living expenses for this month. Go eat something. I'll send you money every month from now on."
His words struck Sasuke like a bolt of lightning.
She stared at the Third Hokage's warm smile, a slight chill running through her heart. At the same time, she couldn't help but remember what Naruto had said to her.
The dark side of Konoha, and the light side of Konoha.
"Take it. Eat well, and graduate from the ninja academy as a competent ninja soon," Hiruzen said with a satisfied smile, believing that his gesture had touched Sasuke's heart.
What he didn't know was that Sasuke, through Naruto, had already learned about ROOT and the Hokage's relationship.
After handing the money to Sasuke and patting her head once more, Sarutobi Hiruzen performed the Body Flicker Technique and vanished.
Sasuke looked at the money in her hand, her gaze reddening as a sense of disgust towards the village she grew up in slowly emerged.
At that moment, Sasuke finally understood what Naruto meant by the light side and the dark side of Konoha.
"Damn it..."
Sasuke's face twisted in anger as she looked at the stack of ryo, filled with disgust.
With a flick of her right hand, the ryo flew into the air, scattering across the sky.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Woosh...
A huge fireball shot out from Sasuke's mouth, igniting the scattered ryo.
The ryo burned and fell to the ground.
After this, Sasuke clenched her fists tightly, walking stiffly toward her home, her hatred for her brother growing even stronger.
"This is the Konoha you speak of. This is the Will of Fire you claim?"
In the original story, Naruto, before becoming a ninja, had always lived a life of hunger, bullying, and neglect.
Yet, after the Night of the Uchiha Massacre, Sasuke, also a seven-year-old orphan, had grown up healthy, never worrying about food.
Why?
The answer was simple: Itachi was still alive, and Konoha didn't dare treat Sasuke the way they treated Naruto.
What was even more chilling... After Minato and Kushina died, Naruto was left with no relatives, no support. Plus, being the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki made him a target for Konoha's reality-driven measures.
---
Meanwhile, Naruto, with his hands behind his head, had just left the school gates.
Still unaware of what had just happened, he was suddenly blocked by three chubby boys at the school entrance.
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
"You monster... How dare you bully my little brother in class?"
"Brother, it's him! Not only did he tear up my book, he also tried to hit me!"
Due to long-term malnutrition, Naruto was still shorter than his classmates, let alone these two older, fatter boys.
Hearing this, Naruto scoffed, sizing up the three and slowly extending his middle finger, "Trash."
"Damn it..."
"Get him!"
Perhaps today was Sarutobi Hiruzen's "good old man" day, as Naruto had failed to detect any surveillance from the Anbu.
If he had sensed their gaze, he definitely wouldn't have acted so rashly.
But right now...
As the three boys rushed at him, Naruto quickly dodged and bolted into the nearby bushes.
"Monster, stop! Don't run!"
"Hmph, he won't get away. Follow him!"
---
Naruto easily took care of the three boys with minimal effort, showcasing a bit of his ninja skills. He now had a clearer understanding of his abilities.
This boosted his confidence for the upcoming battle with Sasuke later that afternoon.
The school day only consisted of two classes.
After all, kids in the world of Naruto didn't need to learn unnecessary subjects like English. Their personal training time was abundant in the early stages.
When Naruto returned to class, he took a nap until the school bell rang.
---
After realizing the light and dark sides of Konoha, Sasuke became indifferent toward everyone.
"Sasuke, my family just got a new batch of flowers. Want to go see them?"
As the bell rang, Ino approached Sasuke smugly, trying to impress her.
"Go away... Not interested."
Sasuke's cold response left Sakura speechless, unable to say anything.
Any boys who tried to ask Sasuke out were quickly rejected.
However, just before leaving the classroom, Sasuke paused and glanced back at Naruto, who was still dozing off.
"Just because I looked at you in the crowd…" cough cough.
This made Naruto the target of the boys' ire, who couldn't wait to drag him out and deal with him.
They believed Naruto must have done something excessive to Sasuke earlier to provoke her.
"Naruto!"
"Naruto Uzumaki..."
Naruto, just waking up and still unaware of what had happened, saw a group of people approaching him. Without hesitation, he climbed out the window and escaped.
Meanwhile, the system prompt kept ringing in his ears.
"500 negative emotion points added!"
After sneaking out of school, Naruto went straight home to grab a canvas bag containing kunai and shuriken.
Although he had a system storage space to directly store these items, he couldn't shake the worry about being watched by the Anbu and Root.
After all, he was only seven years old and couldn't perform sealing techniques. If he simply pulled out so many kunai and shuriken without any sealing, it would definitely draw Root's attention.
If the Root members knew, it would mean that the paranoid and obsessive Danzo would know. And if Danzo knew, it meant that the old hypocrite, the Third Hokage, would also know.
Having watched the anime twice, Naruto knew that at his age, he was in a dangerous situation. Besides, he was already an ill-omened "monster" in the village, and no one would steal his things. Putting himself in danger for convenience was unwise.
With the canvas bag slung over his shoulder, Naruto quickly left his home and headed to the agreed-upon riverbank.
At the same time, Sasuke, also fully prepared, left the Uchiha clan compound. With a bulging ninja tool pouch hanging from his waist, it was clear that he was taking today's battle very seriously.
About fifteen minutes later.
At the same riverbank from last night, a blonde-haired boy in a white T-shirt and a girl with twin tails dressed in the black Uchiha clan uniform met..
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