Fine Clothes

Watching Ino turn and enter the Yamanaka Flower Shop, Naruto tilted his head atop the Great Green Tree in the distance. I really have so much money I don't know where to spend it.

She didn't misunderstand something, did she?

Dumbass?

Naruto shook his head. After staring at the brightly lit Yamanaka Flower Shop for a while, he turned and left. A barbecue meal was really nothing to him now.

A drop in the bucket? It probably didn't even count as that.

The system had transferred all the savings Gato's shipping company had accumulated through years of illegal dealings. His wealth value was roughly eighty billion ryo.

Even Naruto was dumbfounded the first time he saw such a long string of zeroes. So he had been poor before transmigrating, then struck outrageously rich after transmigrating thanks to the system daddy.

Unfortunately, keeping his wealth hidden was like walking at night in fine clothes. It was honestly a little stifling, but for now, he could only show off over barbecue.

Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Ino returned the cat to a middle-aged woman dressed like an elegant noblewoman. Yamanaka Rino wore an emerald-green dress and an elegant red headband ornament.

At that moment, she held the cat in one arm while stroking the white, silky fur of the feline lord with the other, then asked.

"Ino, that boy was Naruto, wasn't he?"

"Mm, yes." Ino tried to hide it, but ultimately nodded. "I just happened to run into him. He took the mission to find the cat."

"So that was it." Yamanaka Rino nodded and said unhurriedly, "I don't object to you dating, but..."

At that, Yamanaka Rino lowered her eyes and slowly looked her daughter over.

"Naruto is different from everyone else. I don't want you to put your feelings in the wrong place and end up with nothing but heartbreak."

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Ino said flusteredly. "You misunderstood! There's no way I could like that annoying Naruto!"

"Ino." Yamanaka Rino looked at her daughter gently. "The Yamanaka Clan crest is the purple bush clover. Do you remember its flower meaning?"

"Growing strong, positivity." Ino was briefly at a loss for words. "Positive love."

"Mom is only giving you some advice." Yamanaka Rino turned and headed upstairs, leaving behind one sentence. "Get some rest early, Ino."

"Okay, Mom."

After washing up, Ino lay on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The events of tonight and her mother's words kept replaying in her mind.

If her mother had not brought it up, she never would have thought in that direction. That was Naruto. Whoever she liked, it could not possibly be that guy.

He loved pranks and was lazy. Though she had no idea why Naruto had improved so quickly lately, she still found that look of his irritating.

Ever since they were children, the two of them had never gotten along very well.

But...

Ino covered her eyes with her hand. The lamplight pierced through the gaps between her fingers. She narrowed her eyes slightly, helplessly recalling that scene in the Bamboo Forest.

Her neck faintly heated up, making Ino inexplicably irritated. Her girlish heart instantly became as tangled as green vines crawling all over a courtyard wall.

Ichiraku Ramen.

The half-curtain at the entrance was lifted. Teuchi Ichiraku glanced at the newcomer with his tiny eyes, then tossed a bundle of ramen into the pot.

"The usual, Naruto?"

"Yeah." Naruto hesitated for a moment, but still did not say the words stuck in his throat: Give me the most expensive one.

A moment later, a steaming bowl of ramen was placed before Naruto.

"The Chunin Exams are coming up soon, aren't they?" Teuchi Ichiraku stood behind the counter, squinting his mung-bean-sized eyes as he asked with a smile.

"Really?" Naruto froze slightly.

"Mm. The Ninja Academy teachers who come here for ramen have all been talking about it lately. After hearing it often enough, I naturally found out," Teuchi Ichiraku said.

"You'll be taking the Chunin Exams too, Naruto, right? Do your best!" As he spoke, Teuchi Ichiraku handed over some fried tempura from the side.

"On the house. Work hard, kid!"

Seeing Teuchi Ichiraku's simple, honest smile, Naruto could not help smiling as well. He nodded in response.

"I definitely will!"

The Chunin Exams and Genin graduation seemed to be particularly close together, but most Chunin Exams were merely a formality.

Usually, any Genin with enough seniority who was still alive could become a Chunin. In the end, it came down to mission volume, which could earn extra points in the Chunin Exams.

For newly graduated ninja classes like Naruto's, taking the Chunin Exams without any seniority made becoming a Chunin much harder.

At the same time, Naruto knew that he was completely there to make up the numbers. The three great Ino-Shika-Cho clans, plus Konoha's Hyuga Clan.

What place was there for a down-and-out Uzumaki Clan Jinchuriki like him?

Chunin appointments did not merely consider the opinions of Jonin. For the most part, they also depended on the favor of the Land of Fire's nobles. It was basically an unspoken rule.

The Nara Clan had always been a mainstay of Konoha and staunch supporters of the Third Hokage. At the same time, the Nara Clan had deep ties with many Land of Fire nobles.

After all, as a great deer-raising clan, their deer antler medicinal business spread throughout the Land of Fire. How could their influence possibly be confined to Konoha Village alone?

Barring any surprises, Shikamaru Nara's promotion to Chunin was already set in stone.

After returning home, Naruto sank into the brand-new bathtub he had bought not long ago while pondering the upcoming Chunin Exams.

Without question, this major early Naruto storyline would definitely trigger system choices.

In the original story, Naruto had only charged ahead in a hot-blooded rush. By the time the Chunin Exams ended, he had gained nothing except a body full of injuries.

Since he knew he could not obtain the Chunin title, there was no need to waste effort on the competition. How to maximize his gains was what Naruto should be considering.

The Chunin Exams were like a mirror that revealed monsters, exposing everything Konoha had desperately concealed beneath broad daylight.

The Hyuga Clan's enslaved Branch Family, the Uchiha Clan's bloody history of extermination, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and the few remaining descendants of the Uzumaki Clan.

Paper could never contain fire. All filth would eventually be dragged into the sunlight for all to see.

Naruto thought it over and over, originally intending to use this opportunity to leave the village. But his identity as a Jinchuriki was far too conspicuous. He could not flee the village as easily as Sasuke.

Besides, Nagato already had the Rinnegan and was that powerful, yet he still had not managed to build an Amegakure capable of opposing the Five Great Nations.

Could he manage it alone?

The only one capable of facing the ninja world alone was the dancing Uchiha Madara. Forget about a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki; staying in Konoha and taking things slowly was the safer path.

In the future, he could only travel under the guise of business trips. That was somewhat annoying.

Still, it was not without benefits. After all, he did not lack money. If he could establish contact with the Exchange Place, that would be ideal. Things inconvenient for him to do could be done by others.

If he wanted to revive the Uzumaki Clan, aside from gathering clan members scattered throughout the ninja world, all that remained was to start a family and spread the branches early.