Naruto's First Job

The bricks of instant noodles, pickles, frozen fish cakes, char siu, and the like—Naruto recited the ramen he wanted to eat;

The Japanese habit of carbs with carbs, plus a small bowl of fried rice;

Reconstituted salted egg yolks grilled until they dripped with oil;

Extra-thick tamagoyaki made from eggs they could not finish;

Soup made from several little birds killed by Fire Style;

A piece of pan-fried snake meat for each person, from a snake they had killed just yesterday;

They ate separately, with bowls and plates covering both sides of the table.

"What a feast! Let's eat!"

"Mm, if you keep practicing, you can become a chef even if you don't become a ninja! The taste is only average, but you'd definitely get business!"

Naruto's words made it impossible to tell whether he was praising himself or mocking himself.

After slurping a mouthful of noodle soup, Naruto sighed.

"Ichiraku Ramen is still better. What you made tastes like cup noodles."

Even with his good temper, Sasuke could get angry.

"You're lucky to have anything to eat. They are cup noodles. Eat them if you want; if not, I'll dump them out for the pigs."

It was only a little past eleven, and Sasuke was not hungry yet. He drank a couple more mouthfuls of soup to replenish his fluids and ate less than Naruto did.

"Is Ichiraku Ramen really that good?"

Naruto froze for a moment. When he realized Sasuke was actually taking the initiative to talk to him, he hurriedly nodded and lavishly praised Ichiraku Ramen with his limited vocabulary.

"The noodles at Ichiraku Ramen are super delicious, a hundred times better than cup noodles! There are lots of toppings too, and Old Man Ichiraku is super nice..."

"You've been in Konoha so long and never eaten there? How about we go have Ichiraku Ramen tonight?!"

"You're treating?"

That one sentence made Naruto hesitate.

"What are you talking about? You're so rich, of course you should treat!"

"Once you finish your work tonight, I'll pay you, and then you'll have money. It'll definitely be enough for ramen, and we can order every topping."

Ordering every topping would easily push it to 100 Ryo per person. Naruto, who had still been wavering, immediately shook his head firmly.

"No, I'm not treating. Working is really hard."

"You haven't even finished one mu of land this morning."

Naruto looked as if he had been shot through the chest. Remembering Sasuke's condition that he would not hire him tomorrow if he failed to finish enough work today, he immediately stood up.

"I'm going back right now—"

"I think you should wash the dishes before you go."

"Don't you know the Clone Technique? Wouldn't it be easier to have a clone do it?"

Sasuke formed Hand Seals. Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Sasuke's Shadow Clone held a spatula, murderous intent surging behind him.

"I heard all that. You ate the food I made, and you still want me to wash your dishes?"

"Sasuke, your Shadow Clone is going to kill someone!"

"Get washing already."

"Help!"

Sasuke watched Naruto dodge left and right as the Shadow Clone chased him, looking utterly fearless of getting an upset stomach.

"A Shadow Clone's meaning is my meaning. There are only two of us—do you expect me, the boss, to wait on you completely?"

Left with no choice, Naruto went to work as a dishwasher.

"Damn Sasuke, someday I'll make you wash my dishes too!"

The moment Naruto made a little too much noise with the bowls and plates, Sasuke leisurely threatened him.

"Naruto, if you break anything, it'll all be deducted from your wages."

After finishing up, worried that he would not complete his work, Naruto hurriedly urged Sasuke to go to the fields with him again.

"No. The sun is blazing. Are you sick in the head, going to the fields at this hour?"

"If you're not training, you can take a bath and do your homework. If you are training, you can use my textbooks. The first floor is spacious, so you can practice ninjutsu there."

"If I don't go now, it'll be too late."

Sasuke did not try to stop Naruto again. Naruto had already rushed out. Sometimes, people had to suffer before they learned their lesson.

Two hours later, Sasuke's Shadow Clone carried back a Naruto suffering from heatstroke.

Covered in mud and reeking of sweat, Naruto was tossed onto a little stool in the bathroom. He woke up as soon as the shower hit him.

"Wash yourself if you're awake. Put your dirty clothes in the basket, and your clean clothes are by the door. I'm going to sleep for a while, so don't disturb me."

Shadow Clones were efficient, but they were mentally exhausting, and Sasuke did not have much Chakra left. He needed to use the lunch break to recover fully.

At four in the afternoon, the alarm woke him up. Well, it woke up two people—Naruto had also found himself a spot with a cross-breeze to sleep in.

After having some herbal tea and failed cake experiments with Naruto, they went back to the fields.

A little after nine, the sky was already dark.

With Sasuke helping tie up the bundles later on, Naruto finally finished harvesting two mu of land.

"Here's 800 Ryo. Good work."

Looking at the cash Sasuke handed him, Naruto felt happier than when the old Hokage gave him his monthly allowance.

"Hey, you promised before that as long as I finished, you'd hire me again tomorrow! You can't go back on your word, hehe."

It was rare to see a worker this eager.

"No problem, but I won't be helping you tomorrow. Don't meet up in the morning—come over on your own."

In the end, Naruto had to choose between "a free dinner at Sasuke's house" and "spending his own money at Ichiraku Ramen, which might already be closed."

Without question, the free meal smelled better, even if he had to wash dishes.

When Naruto returned home and saw his empty, filthy little house, the gap hit him all at once.

He lay gloomily on his small bed for a minute. Then, remembering that he could make money with Sasuke again tomorrow, his mood improved considerably.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm late!"

"Either way, if you don't finish, you get less money. Don't Care. I said I wouldn't help you today."

Naruto had been so excited last night that he could not fall asleep until midnight, and today he did not get up until almost eight. Though that was still a normal school-day wake-up time, yesterday's experience had taught him that farm work really was best done as early as possible.

Watching Naruto strain away in the field, he looked like some kind of beast.

Although having Shadow Clones help made the total workload seem much greater, the original body was indeed much less burdened. Even so, Sasuke was still sore all over today.

When it came to physical labor, the Uzumaki Clan truly had a natural advantage.

Once Naruto learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, his efficiency would at least match that of a large combine harvester.

As the sun set, Naruto, despite being late today, had somehow caught up to yesterday's efficiency. Did that count as him getting stronger through physical training?

After working in the fields for two days, Naruto could at least tell which crops were ready to harvest and which were not.

Only a tiny area remained to be harvested, and Sasuke could handle it alone.

"Sasuke, when will the rest of the rice ripen? Will it be ready next weekend?"

The crops in the fields had been planted at different times and in different places, so naturally they ripened at different times. Forget next week—some might be ready in another two or three days. But if it rained, they could not be harvested immediately and would need to dry out the excess moisture first.

"Hard to say. Come find me next Friday."

"Then after the harvest, do you need my help planting?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"I won't plant this much afterward. Probably only three or four mu. My Shadow Clones can handle it. With all that time spent farming, I'd rather train."

Naruto was deeply disappointed.

"Ah! Then you won't hire me next year?"

"What? Farming is so easy, and you won't even do it? You're not hardworking at all."

Sasuke's expression darkened.

"You think farming is easy?"

Naruto answered as if it were obvious.

"Yeah. Plants grow by themselves. You just plant them, water them, and harvest them. I grow plants at home too, and they grow really well!"

Sasuke pointed behind him.

"I can't finish planting everything anyway. Since you say it's easy, do you want to give it a try? I won't charge you rent for one or two mu."

Naruto could tell from Sasuke's expression that something was fishy, but he was still shamelessly tempted.

"Then it's a deal."