Allowance Money

Uzuki Yugao followed Naruto back to his place. After opening the door, she had expected to see a mess.

But in reality, Naruto's apartment was exceptionally tidy. There were not many things in the home, but just looking at how clean it was made one feel pleasant.

Naruto released Uzuki Yugao's hand, quickly ran to the water dispenser to pour a cup of hot water, then slowly carried it over to her.

"Mom, have some water!"

[Naruto Uzumaki is the awkward kind of pervert. He keeps saying no in his heart, but calls her Mom more diligently than anyone!]

Shut up!

I was doing this for the strategy, the strategy. Do you understand?

It was the same principle as feelings growing over time. Uzuki Yugao was clearly only carrying out her mission right now. If he wanted to keep getting Mom Coins from her, he needed to earn her continued approval.

After quickly snapping back at the system, Naruto looked at Uzuki Yugao again and gave her a sweet smile unique to a young boy.

"Do you clean the house all by yourself?"

"Yeah!"

"That's amazing. When I was your age, I had no idea what cleaning even was."

Uzuki Yugao accepted the cup from him and removed her mask, revealing her delicate, beautiful face.

Naruto froze.

[As Naruto Uzumaki took in Uzuki Yugao's exquisite features, petite face, skin as smooth as ice and snow, and slightly moist, thin red lips, he felt unable to control himself, as though a ball of fire had ignited within his heart.]

[He wanted to burn everything before him away.]

Of course, that was not what happened.

Naruto was pretending.

Seeing him stare blankly, Uzuki Yugao felt somewhat puzzled. She raised a hand and waved it before his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Naruto lowered his head and imagined some improper things, making his cheeks flush slightly.

Then he said softly, "Mom is really beautiful."

As an ANBU, Uzuki Yugao had excellent hearing. There was no way she could have missed Naruto's murmur, and she immediately smiled.

Most women liked being complimented, especially regarding their appearance.

Uzuki Yugao was no exception. Looking at Naruto, who had suddenly become somewhat shy, she inexplicably felt much more favorably toward him.

Even being called Mom no longer made her resist so strongly.

She took the initiative to rub Naruto's head. "Go sit down. I'll make something for you to eat."

"Okay!"

"What ingredients do you have at home?"

"They're all in the refrigerator."

"Alright."

Perhaps because she worked in the ANBU, Uzuki Yugao was not very good with words. Naruto did not recklessly keep pestering her to talk.

He gave her an appropriate amount of space and distance while doing his own thing.

System.

Draw!

The system's giant roulette wheel appeared once more.

With a thought, the wheel began to spin, stopping several seconds later.

[Congratulations, Host. You have received the C-rank reward "Leaf Hurricane." You have drawn 5 times. 95 draws remain until the guaranteed reward.]

The instant he received the reward, a long series of memories of diligently practicing Leaf Hurricane appeared in Naruto's mind. In that moment, his mastery of the move reached perfection.

As long as he wanted to, he could immediately stand up and deliver a flying kick to whatever he wanted to kick without the slightest effort.

If he had not drawn it from the system and had practiced it himself, Naruto could not imagine how long he would have had to torture himself to reach this level of proficiency.

For a moment, Naruto's eyes became even brighter as he looked at Uzuki Yugao, who was busy in the kitchen.

System, open my status panel.

[Name: Naruto Uzumaki.]

[Gender: Male.]

[Mothers: Hinata Hyuga (A-rank), Uzuki Yugao (B-rank).]

[Mom Blessing: 3 layers.]

[Mom Coins: 0 (currently able to obtain 3 per day).]

Not enough!

Two mothers were nowhere near enough!

He could only get three Mom Coins per day right now. That meant thirty in ten days and only three hundred in a hundred days. At this rate, when would he ever reach the guaranteed reward?

Perhaps noticing Naruto's overly heated gaze, Uzuki Yugao looked over and asked gently, "Are you hungry?"

"No, I just think it feels really nice to have someone keeping me company at home." Naruto scratched his head and smiled.

He needed to awaken Uzuki Yugao's maternal instincts, get her used to him, and make her accept him.

Hearing Naruto's words, Uzuki Yugao could not help thinking of how she also lived alone at home. Her parents had long since died on the battlefield.

People with similarly tragic pasts were always more likely to empathize with one another.

"But don't worry, I won't cling to you. If you need to go home later, I won't keep acting shamelessly."

Naruto suddenly added, "I know that constantly troubling you would make things difficult for you."

"Phew...!"

Uzuki Yugao shook her head, brought the prepared dishes out from the kitchen, then walked over to Naruto and gently hugged him.

For some reason, she suddenly wanted to hug this boy.

Her throat felt somewhat dry, and even her voice had become a little hoarse.

She realized that the way the boy had addressed her had changed from the flippant "Mom" from before to the steadier "you."

Have I been acting too cold toward him?

"I don't find it troublesome. I live alone at home too, so staying here to keep you company is actually quite nice."

"If you want to call me Mom, you can keep calling me that. You don't need to change how you address me."

[Uzuki Yugao did not notice that after she said those words, Naruto Uzumaki, held in her embrace, had flushed cheeks and gave off an air of pure enjoyment.]

Fine, I'm too lazy to argue with you.

Naruto Uzumaki wrapped his arms around Uzuki Yugao's waist as well, rubbed his forehead against her chest, and softly called, "Mom~!"

"Mm!"

This time, Uzuki Yugao responded.

Night fell.

The moon shone brightly amid sparse stars.

Tomorrow would probably be a clear, sunny day. Hinata Hyuga sat upright in her room, her small hands taking out her little wallet of savings.

After pouring out all the money inside, she carefully counted it for quite a while.

"Only one million ryo in total... I wonder if that's enough."

Hinata Hyuga looked up at the night sky and remembered what Miss Ayame had said after she and Naruto had eaten ramen together that day. Naruto was very poor and was often bullied by other children, even adults.

Ayame had told Hinata not to mind Naruto's rudeness at the time.

But Hinata had not taken it to heart at all. Over and over, the words Naruto had said appeared in her mind.

"Just as you gained food, I gained you."

Every time she thought of those words, Hinata's face flushed uncontrollably. She did not understand why.

But she knew very clearly that she wanted to give Naruto the allowance money she had saved.

Didn't Naruto call me Mom?

If I'm his mom, then it's normal for me to give my child money to use, right?

Hinata's little face was bright red as she thought about how school would start tomorrow, and she would be able to see Naruto then.

When she gave him the money, what should she say?

And...

Would one million ryo be a little too little?

"Should I go borrow some more from Hanabi?"

The Hanabi Hinata mentioned was her younger sister, Hanabi Hyuga. They had only received their New Year's money together this winter. Hinata thought that Hanabi was still too young to spend money anyway, so perhaps she could take Hanabi's money as well and give it to Naruto first.

She could slowly pay Hanabi back later.