A true hero

At his words, the little brats first exchanged glances, then asked, "But we don't have any scrap!"

"You don't, but your families do! Household appliances, wires, light bulbs, pots and pans-you can trade all of those for money."

"Once you have money, you can buy loads of tasty food. You can even eat your fill of Three-Color Dango!"

Naruto's enticing words immediately made the little brats swallow.

"I think we've got quite a few pots and pans at home. Taking a few out to trade for money should be fine, right?"

One of the little brats sounded rather uncertain.

With one brat taking the lead, the others chimed in for the sake of all the Three-Color Dango they could eat.

"Right, right... I think we've got plenty at home too!"

"Oh... right, my family just installed air conditioning, and we got two units. I think taking one off should be okay..."

Hearing that last brat's words, Naruto was speechless.

Wait... when this brat says two air conditioners, does he mean the External Unit?

If he really does... he'll probably get his butt beaten raw if he takes the air conditioner's External Unit apart!

No... I'd better prepare a contract for these brats so I don't end up in trouble!

With that thought, Naruto smiled at the little brats. "Go home and get them! I'll prepare a fair contract for you too!"

"Yay..."

And so, the little brats gleefully went home to dismantle their houses...

Watching them leave, Naruto thought, So these are the children of Muggle civilians! Each one's dumber than the last!

That was indeed the case.

In the original story, the children of those ordinary civilians really were each dumber than the last.

These so-called ordinary civilians weren't civilian-born ninja like Sakura or Rock Lee, but people who didn't have a single ninja in their families and had no ninja talent themselves.

Children without ninja talent generally had lower intelligence than those with it.

The little brats Naruto had conned were mostly seven or eight years old.

What were ninja doing at seven or eight? During wartime, they had to go to the battlefield. Even in peacetime, they had to study all sorts of subjects to prepare for battle.

Naruto returned to Ichiraku Ramen and asked Uncle Teuchi for some paper and a pen.

Back at his stall, Naruto began writing the contracts.

Before long, he had finished several copies.

Meanwhile, the little brats returned too.

Seven or eight had gone home, but only four came back.

Naruto could imagine that the other three had been caught by the adults at home. As for what happened to them...

With a smile, Naruto said a little prayer for those brats, then looked at what the four who returned had brought.

There were plenty of pots and pans, along with a radio, a chandelier...

Most impressively, the little brats were even discussing how to bring over the refrigerator from home...

Naruto took out several contracts and a stack of banknotes.

"Just put your handprints on these contracts, and you can take the money!"

Naruto hadn't cheated the little brats. His prices were fairly reasonable. It was just that... he was buying everything at scrap-metal prices...

The moment they saw the money, the little brats stamped their handprints without hesitation.

Once they had their money, the little brats wanted to leave, but Naruto stopped them.

"Wait... look, I've treated you so well. Could you help me carry these things home?"

Having just earned a fortune, the little brats didn't refuse Naruto's request.

Before long, Naruto and the little brats had carried everything he bought that day back to his home.

"Thanks, guys!"

Naruto thanked them, and the little brats happily accepted his thanks before leaving.

That afternoon...

Angry roars rang out from four Muggle civilian households in Konoha.

Every family thought a thief had broken into their home.

Once they learned the truth, the wails of little brats echoed from those four homes that evening.

The brats' parents had originally wanted to confront Naruto, but... once they learned that their idiot children had actually stamped their handprints... they knew there was no point.

Konoha had no laws concerning minors. Even a minor's handprint and signed agreement remained valid.

Precisely because of that, the little brats' parents hated Naruto even more.

Naturally, Naruto didn't know that a few Muggle civilians had come to hate him.

Even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared. They hadn't treated him kindly before this anyway.

At that moment, Naruto was discussing life with Zeff in the Sealing Space!

Although Zeff hadn't finished watching Naruto, he had gained some understanding of this new world.

How should he put it? The darkness in this world was scarcely any less than that of the World Government.

In the ninja wars, those who suffered most weren't actually the major ninja villages, but the small villages and ordinary civilians struggling between them...

"Mr. Zeff, are you settling in here?"

"Well enough... if it weren't for that fox and wolf beside us making a fuss at every little thing, I think I'd settle in even better!"

At Zeff's words, Naruto looked toward Kurama and Wolffy.

Although the wolf and fox bickered every day, Naruto could tell they had become good friends-friends who took shots at each other, or even bromance buddies.

Naruto had already grown used to their constant outbursts.

Both of them preferred DNF to League of Legends. Sometimes, playing DNF was just like gambling.

When you ran the Abyss and got a good drop, anyone would shout in excitement.

If the connection suddenly dropped right after the loot appeared, though, that wasn't just a little outburst. That was an outright meltdown!

Fortunately, the connection from the router Wolffy had made was truly stable. Neither of them had experienced that kind of despair yet.

One of these days... should I give them a taste of the disconnection package while they're running the Abyss?

With that thought, Naruto looked toward the router.

Just then, Zeff interrupted his train of thought.

"Naruto, I've made up my mind! I agree to your request!"

"My childhood dream was to become a hero, but I know... the things I've done have strayed from what it means to be one."

"And none of the Marines I trained deserve to be called heroes either."

At that, Zeff looked at Naruto. "Naruto, you have the resolve to protect others, a Ninja Way of keeping your word, and a spirit that never gives up."

"I truly want to see a real hero emerge-a hero who can change the world!"

Naruto was a little bewildered.

At that moment, Naruto really wanted to say, I don't, I'm not, you're reading too much into it! You're talking about the original Naruto!

But he kept that thought to himself. He could tell that Zeff intended to teach him!

Zeff was someone who had trained several admirals! With him here, Naruto believed he could absolutely grow stronger in a short time.

Once he grew stronger, then... his wish to resurrect his parents could come true sooner too.