Nutrients Aren't Limited to Plants, Little Rich Girl?

Naruto from the original story might have wondered why everyone treated him this way.

Words like Fox Demon, demon fox, and Nine-Tails might have stayed buried in his heart.

But Naruto at this moment did not care about any of that.

He only wanted to curl himself up even smaller, to suffer a little less pain, and to make absolutely sure his body did not undergo Elemental Transformation on its own.

Before long, Naruto had gained quite a few wounds.

Blood was still flowing crimson from all of them.

His clothes were covered in rotten egg yolk, while Wilted Greens and Little Stones were piled beneath his feet.

Just then, a sharp shout stopped the Villagers' assault.

"Stop!"

It was the Anbu Ninja responsible for monitoring Naruto.

He had come out so quickly?

The angle of that first Little Stones had indeed been rather vicious.

Then Naruto felt himself being lifted up.

The movement was rough, as though he were not a child but a stone blocking a filthy sewer.

A gust of wind howled past. Naruto opened his blood-covered eyes and looked down at the Villagers with an icy gaze.

When they reached Konoha Hospital, not even a single Medical Ninja was willing to treat him.

In the end, it was only after the Anbu Ninja invoked the great Lord Third Hokage that someone was willing to save him.

As for how they handled his wounds... heh.

Naruto merely lay there silently without saying a word. Even when large areas were disinfected at once, he did not let out a single groan.

Before the matter could spread, Lord Hokage issued an order.

[No one is permitted to mention words such as Nine-Tails Demon Fox in front of Naruto. No one is permitted to attack Naruto without cause.]

Medical Ninjutsu truly was incredible.

Even with Nine-Tails Chakra, Naruto would have needed some time to recover.

Yet under the treatment of the Mystical Palm Technique, it took no more than half an hour.

All the wounds on his body, large and small, had healed.

Under the Medical Ninja's indifferent gaze, he put on his foul-smelling clothes and walked out of Konoha Hospital by himself.

By the time he reached the streets, no one dared attack him anymore.

But news of his appearance seemed to have grown wings. Everyone knew.

As he walked, the gazes of those around him became extremely cold, filled with intense hatred.

No matter where he went, those looks followed him.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Naruto still found this journey difficult.

"This is only the beginning."

Naruto curled his lips into a self-mocking smile.

"This fruit's ability... looks a lot like Ryokugyu's Woods-Woods Fruit."

"At least I won't have to worry about starving."

"Heh."

Naruto suddenly felt a little admiration for the Naruto from the original story.

To have grown so wildly like weeds in such an environment.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen hasn't appeared yet. In the original story, he appeared when Naruto was at his most desperate and became his white moonlight."

"In other words, as long as I can avoid the Anbu Ninja's surveillance, I can develop in secret."

"The Woods-Woods Fruit... the targets from which it absorbs Nutrients shouldn't be limited to plants. It should be able to absorb... people too, right?"

As he thought, a figure appeared in Naruto's mind.

Uchiha Shisui!

"Waste not, want not. A perfect idealist can continue to shine even after death. Of course, I don't want your eyes, and I don't have the ability to scheme for them yet."

With that thought, Naruto changed direction.

Since it could absorb them, he would test it now.

Ichiraku Ramen.

This was practically the only delicacy Naruto knew of.

Rather than calling it a delicacy, it was better to say that this was the only place where Naruto could enjoy food peacefully without suffering the Byakugan.

Otsutsuki Ichiraku: Don't forget that I was one of Naruto's white moonlights in the original story, you bastard!

"If I can directly absorb even ramen... then in two and a half years, I'll have to take a chance and absorb Uchiha Shisui's corpse."

"If I'm lucky, I might even inherit the Sharingan."

After settling on his plan, Naruto imitated how Naruto from the original story had looked when he first came to Ichiraku Ramen.

Cute and pitiful.

Sure enough, the uncle beckoned him inside.

But Naruto lowered his head to look at his foul-smelling clothes. He said nothing and simply stood there quietly, looking somewhat at a loss.

Uncle Ichiraku's heart softened, and he hurriedly called Ayame out to lead Naruto inside.

She was a very pretty little girl, and she did not dislike the smell on Naruto at all.

Then... Naruto got a free bowl of Ichiraku Ramen.

While eating, he verified his guess. The Woods-Woods Fruit really could absorb non-plant ramen.

That meant the plan to devour Uchiha Shisui in two and a half years was feasible!

On the way home, Naruto rapidly reviewed the developments of the original story.

He thought of an interesting character—Yakushi Kabuto.

This man was either digging up corpses or on his way to seek dragons and inspect mountains.

Unfortunately, Naruto's situation differed from his.

Otherwise, with the Woods-Woods Fruit's abilities,

he would definitely be more efficient than Yakushi Kabuto and gain far greater rewards.

Shaking his head, Naruto decided that this was not something he needed to consider for now.

"Uchiha Shisui... he isn't called Kotoamatsukami Shisui, but Body Flicker Shisui."

Anticipation appeared in Naruto's eyes. Genjutsu paired with the Body Flicker Technique—aside from Rasengan, his potential in that area would instantly reach Kage level.

After returning home and washing away the grime from his body,

Naruto picked up the money on the table.

He had already found the shop that sold goods near their expiration date.

Next, he just had to follow the original plot and buy fishhooks. Stealing or snatching them would do.

In short, he had to fish first before he could trigger the next plot.

When one's strength was weak, one should honestly lie low.

Fishing was not strictly necessary, but at his current age, if he ate nothing but nearly expired instant noodles and similar food every day, he would probably become malnourished.

After all, Naruto from the original story even had a nickname: shorty.

He was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and possessed the physique of the Uzumaki Clan.

Yet he had been forcibly turned into someone who looked malnourished.

After eating a huge bowl of ramen at Ichiraku and using the Woods-Woods Fruit's ability to absorb Nutrients,

his swollen little belly quickly deflated.

Yet Naruto did not feel hungry.

"Going fishing will let me secretly absorb Nutrients from plants and observe the terrain as well."

"But I need to control the amount I absorb. I can't let the Anbu Ninja monitoring me notice anything unusual."

"Let's go."

After muttering a few words to himself, Naruto put on his brand-new old clothes and went out again.

As expected, no shopkeeper was willing to sell him anything.

Only one shop sold goods near their expiration date.

But it only carried packaged foods, not fishhooks or fishing line.

He could casually look for something suitable, but that was not a long-term solution.

For a child, without any catch, he would quickly lose patience. Naruto was not an old child yet, so that would not seem reasonable.

Besides, if no fish bit, he would have to return and find some way to get food.

When he reached the edge of the village, he spotted a shop selling ninja tools.

"One times one is one, two times two is four~"

"Huh? There's a kid."

A little girl with her hair in buns skipped out.

Her beautiful big eyes sized up the skinny child before her.

She was only a year older than Naruto, but she was a little bigger than him despite being a girl.

"I want to buy fishhooks. Can you sell me some?"

Xiaotiantian... no, Kotentent's big eyes rolled as she said, "My family sells ninja tools. We don't have fishhooks."

Seeing Naruto lower his head in disappointment,

she held up one finger and tilted up her little face.

"But~"

"I have a set of fishing tools myself."

Naruto raised his head, and light returned to his azure eyes.

"Not for sale."

"You couldn't afford it anyway. It's very expensive~"

Naruto lowered his head again in disappointment, looking heartbroken.

"Hmm... I can lend it to you."

Kotentent pouted and thought for a moment before adding,

"But if you catch anything, I get one-third!"

Oh~

As expected of the Little Rich Girl.