Black and Infamous Is Still Famous

"Then let's go somewhere else. My treat."

Who asked you to treat us? Get out of here! I want to be alone with my big brother.

Sasuke glared at Shisui, looking thoroughly displeased.

"Kid, there's no point sitting here. The longer you sit around, the more money they make—and the happier they get. You're not getting back at them at all..."

A shadow suddenly blocked Naruto's sunlight.

Naruto set down his work and looked up. A girl with purple hair and brown eyes, dressed in fishnet, stood before him.

She was eating dango while apparently saying something.

Beside her stood a beautiful woman with curly black hair and red eyes. She watched the purple-haired girl with an exasperated look, occasionally glancing at Naruto with curiosity.

Judging by their appearance, these two women seemed to be... Mitarashi Anko and Kurenai Yuhi.

What did they want with me? Weren't they afraid the Anbu would invite them in for a chat?

"Who are you?"

Naruto took out his earbuds and asked, even though he already knew.

Anko paused mid-bite. So he hadn't heard a word I said? Great. All that talking for nothing.

"Never mind who I am."

Anko irritably took another bite of dango and reminded him, "Just listen to me. Go sit outside another dango shop. That'll make this shop's owner regret everything."

Nearby, the shop owner immediately sprang into action. He walked over and said sternly, "Miss, you've been a loyal customer of mine for years. How could you do something like this?"

Anko took a furious bite of dango. "You know I'm a loyal customer, and you still made me wait in line for ages! Usually it only takes ten minutes, but this time I was stuck there for over an hour."

The owner was speechless.

So this was a story of love turning to hate?

Kurenai couldn't help wanting to laugh.

"Miss, let's talk over here."

With so many people nearby, the owner wanted to lead Anko somewhere more private to negotiate.

"Now you think you can bribe me? Too bad. It's too late!"

Anko kept trying to persuade Naruto to move to another shop, while the owner grew anxious and repeatedly signaled to Naruto.

Something was off! There was more to this than met the eye.

Kurenai narrowed her eyes, sensing that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

Naruto stood up, looked around at the customers watching them, and spoke to Anko with conviction.

"I know you're right, but I refuse. Just because something is right doesn't mean you have to do it. For the sake of my pride, even if I'm wrong, I'll keep fighting them to the bitter end and show them that I'll never give in."

On the way back, Anko held the dango she usually loved, but she had no appetite for it.

Her expression complicated, she said, "Kurenai, do you think that kid's an idiot? He knows it's wrong..."

Anko had to admit that Naruto's unbreakable resolve had shaken her. She even found herself admiring him a little.

After all, she knew she couldn't do the same.

Remembering the exchange of glances between Naruto and the dango shop owner, Kurenai looked unsettled. "He's not an idiot. He's probably..."

You're the idiot!

Anko said dreamily, "Unshakable! He'll never give up!"

What was she supposed to do now that her best friend had been completely taken in?

Nothing to be done!

Kurenai kept what she'd figured out to herself. She was worried Naruto would get beaten up, and worried Anko would end up in prison.

At dusk, the sun sank in the west, casting golden light across the earth.

At last, the customers were gone. The dango shop closed for the day, and Naruto carried his stool home.

Fifteen minutes later, Naruto changed into another outfit, put on a fox mask, and went to the back door of the dango shop.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The back door opened. The owner from earlier peered out and looked around. Seeing no one nearby, he hurriedly let Naruto inside.

Without another word, he paid him first.

"This is your pay for the week. Count it."

A full five thousand ryo—equivalent to ten months of Naruto's living expenses.

Naruto said, "This is more than before. You paid me four thousand ryo for each of the last three weeks."

The owner smiled. "Business was good this week."

Naruto didn't believe him, but didn't call him out. He stuffed the money in his pocket and turned to leave.

The owner stopped him. "Wait. I have a favor to ask. Could we extend the contract for another month? I can pay more—six thousand ryo a week."

I knew it. Naruto turned back. "I've already got a booking for next month. How about another time?"

"When will you be free?"

"In a year."

"You're that busy?!"

"Of course I'm busy. Just think about how business has been at your shop this month."

Black and infamous was still famous!

Thanks to the negative attention Naruto brought in, the dango shop's business had increased more than tenfold that month.

Even after paying Naruto's wages, the owner was still making a killing.

Business owners with a keen eye were bound to get jealous and want to hire Naruto as a brand ambassador.

Like the dango shop owner, they liked making money. They only shunned Naruto because it was fashionable to do so. They had no real grudge against him, and none of their friends or family had died in the Nine-Tails Incident. Working with Naruto presented no psychological hurdles.

Sure, if word got out, he could be socially disgraced... But as long as I kept things under wraps, who would know?

Besides, fortune favored the bold. If I wanted to make money... taking a few risks was worth it.

But making money came at a price. The price Naruto paid was a reputation that grew increasingly outrageous, to the point where he could frighten children into silence.

But daijoubu. Naruto didn't care about his reputation. It wasn't any use to him.

The only slightly troublesome part was that he had to wear a mask whenever he wanted to buy daily necessities. Otherwise, no one would sell to him.

It was incredibly annoying, making it seem like he was too ashamed to show his face.

Still, setting aside that little inconvenience, Naruto's wallet was getting fatter and fatter.

He carefully chose businesses that held no grudge against him but had a grudge against his enemies, and were in the same line of work. The two sides struck a secret deal.

Then the money came pouring in. He no longer had to be so careful with his food, clothes, and other expenses. He even bought a few kunai and shuriken.

Since he didn't want to see the townspeople's strange looks, Naruto switched to exercising in the forest.

With a kunai in his left hand and shuriken in his right, he ran wild through the forest, throwing them at small animals like pheasants and rabbits.

He got exercise and practiced throwing weapons at the same time.

In reality, he was just throwing them any which way. Without proper training, his aim was worse than a javelin thrower's. His movements were either awkward or his force was impossible to control. After practicing for ages, all he had to show for it was a sweaty body. He hadn't found his footing at all.

It was only later, when the Third Hokage came to visit, that Naruto asked him for advice and started looking like he knew what he was doing.

As time went by, Naruto's body grew stronger day by day, nourished by the Nine-Tails' Yang Chakra. But his old exercise routine was no longer enough for him.

So he decided to add a new exercise to his routine—chopping down trees!