Naruto was halfway through slurping a mouthful of instant ramen when someone knocked on his door.
He ignored it.
Another knock came, louder this time. Naruto frowned into his cup and considered his options. The noodles were at the perfect temperature, he had only recently sat down, and whoever was outside had chosen to interrupt him during one of the most sacred parts of his morning.
Clearly, they could wait.
"NARUTO! We know you're in there!"
Naruto stopped chewing.
"...Sakura?"
The pounding intensified.
"OPEN THE DOOR!"
Naruto sighed and placed his chopsticks across the top of the cup before trudging toward the entrance. He was still wearing the new black mesh undershirt he'd gotten from the Rare Item Box, along with a pair of shorts and absolutely no intention of going anywhere.
He opened the door.
Sakura stood with her fist raised for another knock. Sasuke stood behind her looking as enthusiastic as Sasuke ever looked, which was to say not at all. Kakashi stood behind both of them, visible eye curved pleasantly as if arriving unannounced at someone's apartment in the morning was perfectly normal.
Naruto stared.
They stared back.
"Why are you at my house?"
Kakashi raised one hand.
"Good morning."
"That's not an answer."
"We're having a team meeting."
Naruto looked behind himself.
Then back at Kakashi.
"Here?"
"Apparently."
"You planned a meeting at my house without telling me?"
Kakashi's eye curved further.
"I thought it would be a good lesson in adaptability."
Naruto slowly closed the door.
Sakura's foot stopped it.
"Naruto."
"Go away."
Sakura pushed.
Naruto pushed back.
"Naruto!"
"I'm eating!"
Five minutes later, Team Seven was sitting inside Naruto's apartment.
Sakura looked around curiously while Naruto returned to his ramen, muttering something about violations of privacy and terrible sensei. Sasuke leaned against one wall while Kakashi had somehow claimed Naruto's only decent chair.
What caught Sakura's attention wasn't anything strange.
It was how normal everything looked.
"I thought your apartment would be messier."
Naruto stopped mid-slurp.
He slowly lowered the noodles.
"What does that mean?"
Sakura glanced around. "I don't know. I just expected clothes everywhere. Trash. Old ramen cups."
Naruto looked offended.
"I clean."
What the blonde didn't realize was that his higher intelligence made him gravitate towards a more stable household, cleaning becoming a must if he was to be efficient in his life goals.
Sasuke glanced toward the small kitchen. The counters were clear, dishes washed and stacked, and Naruto's shinobi equipment had been organized on one side of the room rather than dumped wherever it landed. There were a few sealing books and sheets of practice paper spread across a desk, but even those had been separated into stacks.
"Hn."
Naruto pointed his chopsticks at him.
"Don't 'hn' my house."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were thinking it."
Sakura picked up one of the sealing sheets.
"You've actually been studying?"
Naruto snatched it away.
"Why does everybody sound surprised?!"
Kakashi turned a page of his book.
"No reason."
Naruto's eye twitched.
"I hate all of you."
"Good," Kakashi said. "Team bonding accomplished."
Naruto returned to his ramen.
Kakashi finally closed his book.
That got everyone's attention.
"The Chunin Exam finals are one month away. All three of you have things you need to work on, so we'll be changing the training schedule for the next few weeks."
Naruto swallowed.
"All three?"
Sakura nodded toward herself. "Some of us still have to train even if we aren't in the finals."
Naruto blinked.
Then grinned.
"That's the spirit!"
Sakura smiled.
Sasuke remained silent.
Kakashi's gaze moved toward him.
"Sasuke has Gaara."
The room became slightly quieter.
Naruto's grin faded.
They had all watched Lee's fight.
"Yeah," Naruto muttered. "Do you think you'll lose duckbutt?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Nah, I'd win."
Naruto looked at him. Off in a distant universe a white haired genius sneezed.
Sasuke met his eyes.
Neither needed to say more.
Gaara wasn't just another opponent.
Kakashi continued. "Naruto has Neji. Sakura doesn't have an official match to prepare for, which gives her an opportunity to focus on weaknesses without having to train specifically for one opponent."
Naruto leaned backward.
"So what's the plan?"
"For today?"
Kakashi stood.
"Nothing."
Naruto blinked.
Sakura blinked.
Even Sasuke looked mildly confused.
Kakashi shoved his hands into his pockets.
"You've spent five days in the Forest of Death, fought multiple battles, and completed the preliminary round yesterday. Your bodies need recovery whether you like it or not."
Naruto raised a finger.
"I feel great."
His ribs immediately throbbed.
Naruto lowered his finger.
"Mostly great."
"Rest today," Kakashi continued. "Eat properly. Stretch. Don't do anything stupid."
His eye moved toward Naruto.
Naruto frowned.
"Why'd you look at me?"
"No reason."
"You definitely had a reason."
"Tomorrow morning, Training Ground Seven. Seven o'clock."
Naruto stared.
"Seven?"
"Seven."
"In the morning?"
Kakashi nodded.
Naruto pointed accusingly.
"You don't even show up at seven!"
Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
Naruto stared at the empty chair.
"...Bastard."
Sakura laughed.
Two hours later, Naruto was walking through Konoha.
Technically, he was resting.
He wasn't training.
He wasn't running.
He wasn't fighting anyone.
Therefore, as far as Naruto was concerned, he was following Kakashi's instructions perfectly.
The National Crisis Quest floating in the back of his mind was the only reason his supposed day off wasn't entirely relaxing. His vision had shown his former classmates caught up in whatever was coming, and the system had explicitly rewarded him for altering their fates.
Naruto didn't know what was going to happen.
That bothered him.
Normally, his solution to not knowing something was to charge directly at the problem until it became more obvious. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything to charge at yet.
So he settled for something practical.
Make everyone harder to kill.
His first stop was the Nara compound.
Naruto was granted access by a pair of sleepy gate guards. He made his way to a relatively fancy looking traditional home. He softly knocked, keeping in place the tranquil calm that permeated the household.
A woman answered.
Her eyes moved over him.
"Can I help you?"
Naruto smiled.
"Hi! Is Shikamaru's home?"
A tired voice came from somewhere inside.
"No."
Naruto leaned sideways.
"I can hear you!"
"Then why'd you ask?"
Naruto pushed past the doorway enough to see Shikamaru lying on the engawa, staring toward the clouds with his hands behind his head.
Naruto grinned.
"Hey."
Shikamaru sighed.
"What do you want?"
"I wanna fight you."
"No."
"Later this week."
"No."
"One-on-one training."
"No."
Naruto stared at him.
Shikamaru stared back.
"Why?"
Naruto paused.
He couldn't exactly say because I had a mysterious vision where everyone might be in danger.
"You made the finals."
"So?"
"So you need to get stronger."
Shikamaru closed his eyes.
"Sounds troublesome."
Naruto walked closer.
"You know Dosu's sound thing goes through normal defenses, right?"
One eye opened.
Naruto grinned.
"Thought so."
Shikamaru sighed deeply.
"What day?"
Naruto's grin widened.
"I'll come find you."
"That's not a day."
"Exactly."
Shikamaru stared at him.
"You're becoming more troublesome."
"Thanks!"
"That wasn't a compliment."
Naruto was already leaving.
The Yamanaka household was easier to find.
The flower shop made that fairly obvious.
Naruto stepped inside and was immediately assaulted by more colors and smells than he knew flowers were capable of producing. Behind the counter, Ino was arranging a bouquet while her mother worked farther inside.
Ino looked up.
Then blinked.
"Naruto?"
Naruto leaned against the counter.
"Hey, Ino."
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"What do you want?"
"Why does everyone ask me that?"
"Because you're you."
Naruto considered that.
"Fair."
Ino put down the flowers.
Naruto smiled.
"Wanna train with me?"
She blinked.
"What?"
"One-on-one. Later this week."
Ino stared at him like he'd suddenly grown another head.
"You came all the way here to ask me to train?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
Naruto scratched his cheek.
That question again.
"Because you lost."
Ino's expression darkened.
Naruto immediately realized he'd chosen the wrong approach.
"Wait—"
"Get out."
"I didn't mean—"
"OUT!"
Naruto threw his hands up.
"Okay! Bad wording!"
Ino grabbed a flowerpot.
Naruto moved faster.
"I JUST MEAN YOU SHOULD GET STRONGER!"
The flowerpot stopped.
Naruto peeked around the doorway.
Ino glared at him.
He smiled nervously.
"Everybody should."
Her expression softened slightly.
"You're serious?"
Naruto nodded.
"Yeah."
Ino studied him for several seconds.
Something about that seemed to surprise her more than the invitation itself.
"Fine."
Naruto grinned.
"But if this is some weird excuse to flirt with me—"
Naruto looked offended.
"I have standards."
Ino's eye twitched.
Naruto ran.
The Akimichi compound was last.
Naruto knew he'd found the right place when the smell of food reached him before the building did.
His stomach immediately growled.
"Focus."
He knocked.
Choji answered while holding an open bag of chips.
Both boys stared at each other.
Naruto looked at the chips.
Choji moved them protectively behind his back.
Naruto looked offended.
"I wasn't gonna take any."
Choji stared.
Naruto stared back.
"...Okay, I was thinking about it."
Choji nodded, his assumptions about food always being spot on.
"What are you doing here?"
"Want to train with me later this week?"
Choji stopped chewing.
"Train?"
"One-on-one."
Choji glanced behind Naruto.
"Is Shikamaru coming?"
"Nope."
"Ino?"
"Nope."
"Just us?"
Naruto nodded.
Choji looked confused.
Naruto understood why.
They had known each other for years, but they weren't exactly close. They'd been classmates. Choji had occasionally shared snacks when Naruto looked particularly down on his luck from failed lessons.
That was about it.
Naruto's expression became a little more serious.
"I saw your fight."
Choji's hand tightened slightly around the chip bag.
Naruto continued.
"You hit really hard."
Choji blinked.
"But you rely on that expansion thing too much."
Choji frowned.
Naruto shrugged.
"So fight me without depending on it."
Choji stared at him.
Naruto smiled.
"If you can hit me without turning into a giant ball, imagine how much harder you'll be to fight when you do."
Choji slowly lowered the chips.
That...
Actually made sense.
"When?"
"I'll come get you."
Choji considered it.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
Naruto turned to leave.
"Naruto."
He looked back.
Choji held out the chip bag.
Naruto's eyes widened.
A single tear almost appeared.
"Choji..."
"Don't make it weird."
Naruto grabbed a handful.
"You're a true friend."
"I said don't make it weird."
By the time Naruto headed home, the sun had climbed high above Konoha.
Three visits.
Three agreements.
Nobody had been punched.
Well—
Ino had tried.
PING
For successfully convincing three clan heirs to train and progressing your quest you receive:
+1 Charisma
+1 Intelligence
Grinning, Naruto decided that didn't count.
He walked with his hands behind his head, thinking about the week ahead. Kakashi had Team Seven training starting tomorrow. Somewhere between those sessions, Naruto would need to work with Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji individually.
Then there was Kiba.
Hinata.
Maybe Sakura.
Naruto's expression slowly became thoughtful.
Thirty days wasn't much.
He couldn't make everyone dramatically stronger in a month.
But maybe he didn't have to.
One better technique.
One corrected weakness.
One trick that kept someone alive when things went bad.
Naruto looked toward the Hokage Monument overlooking the village.
He still didn't know exactly what was coming.
That didn't mean he had to sit around waiting for it.
He went to walk on a nearby building to start roof hopping when his foot suddenly slipped from its exterior.
Frowning, Naruto realized his next task for the day.
Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Village: Konohagakure
Rank: Experienced Genin
Stats
Strength: 66
Agility: 79
Endurance: 77 (+10%)
Intelligence: 78
Charisma: 58
Luck: 12
System Points: 300