Chapter 52: thunder fire sword
Naruto admitted he was an LSP—oh wait, he wasn't old, so he was just an SP.
Walking down the street, he couldn't help but steal a few extra glances whenever he noticed a pretty young lady.
In his past life, he had even followed many 'teachers' through his computer—like Hashi, Kaede, Fukada, Yuu, and the like—learning all sorts of knowledge.
But there was a difference between practice and theory.
Moreover, identifying a woman by her scent or discerning her figure at a glance was a technical skill.
He hadn't reached that level yet.
Adding his two lives together, he had only ever dated Hinata, and at most, they had held hands.
He could be called a polite and pure-hearted youth.
Naruto thought for a while and came up with a plan.
Leaving the small grove, he returned to the streets of Konoha and found a large tailor shop.
He used the Transformation Jutsu before pushing the door open, seeing the owner and feeling a sense of awe.
A completely bald head.
At a glance, he looked like an extraordinary character.
"Boss, I have a question."
After greeting the owner, Naruto asked directly, "If someone doesn't like being touched, can you determine a customer's body measurements from a distance?"
"Of course we can. We are professionals, highly trained,"
The owner said matter-of-factly. "I only need one look, and in less than three seconds, I'll know their size."
"Impressive!"
Naruto couldn't help but marvel. Is this what a master looks like?
As expected, the balder you are, the stronger you get.
"Then, can you teach me, Boss?"
"Teach you?"
The owner's kind and amiable smile instantly vanished, replaced by a wary look. "A competitor?"
"Boss, you've misunderstood. I just want to give my girlfriend some clothes, but it's awkward to ask for her size directly, so..."
Naruto waved his hands hurriedly.
"I see. But if that's the case, there's no need to learn."
The owner reluctantly believed him and said, "Just bring your girlfriend past here, or give me a photo of her."
Emmm.
Naruto also thought that was a good idea.
But the problem was that Hinata was only ten years old.
If the owner saw her, he might just call the police.
"It's like this, Boss. My girlfriend's status is quite special, so you'd better just teach me how to gauge sizes."
Naruto said after some thought.
After all, Hinata's figure hadn't reached maturity yet.
She would definitely need to change her Inner Armor in the future.
If he learned it himself, he wouldn't have to keep running to the tailor shop.
Besides, one can never have too many skills; learning it might come in handy someday.
"Special status?"
The owner was slightly stunned, his eyes darting as he activated his brilliant, bald brain. "Could it be..."
"No, no, no, Boss, don't overthink it."
Naruto quickly stopped his overactive imagination, fearing he'd cause a scene. "Just tell me what it'll take for you to teach me."
"What it'll take..."
The owner sized him up, his expression hesitant. "This is a secret technique of our trade."
"So, you need more money?"
Naruto blinked and held up three fingers. "How about thirty thousand Ryo?"
"Hahaha, it's really not a matter of money. Let's just be friends."
The owner's expression suddenly became incredibly bright, and he said warmly, "Come, come, I'll tell you."
And so, Naruto spent half a day learning this trade secret.
Next was forging ninja tools.
There weren't many ninja tool shops that carried Chakra metal; even in Konoha, there were only two or three.
"Let's go to Tenten's house then, to soak up some of her luck."
Naruto went straight to Tenten's ninja tool shop.
Of course, she was in class.
"Hello, Uncle."
Naruto greeted a shirtless man in his thirties.
He didn't use the Transformation Jutsu.
"Oh, it's Naruto. Is something the matter?"
"I want to forge four Chakra weapons: a katana, two gauntlets, and one piece of Inner Armor."
Naruto handed him the measurements for the three people.
"Chakra weapons?"
The man was a bit surprised. He scanned the list and said, "Naruto, these things are very expensive."
"I know. Uncle, can you calculate roughly how much it will cost?"
Naruto said with a smile.
The reason he used his original face was because he wanted to get a 'friend' discount.
As for the money, it was easy to explain.
Whether it was his dog food business or the three wealthy kids—Hinata, Neji, and Sasuke.
"Hmm, the katana is a standard size, while the gauntlets and Inner Armor seem to be for children. I'll give you a discount; let's call it thirty million Ryo."
"Alright."
Naruto wasn't surprised.
Expensive for a reason.
However, this thirty million made him want to go ask Asuma for money.
"Uncle, wait a moment, I'll go get the money."
Naruto vanished instantly from before him.
"Neji, come here for a second."
He arrived at the small grove.
"What is it?"
Neji opened his eyes, stopped refining Sage Chakra, and walked over to him.
"I want to borrow some money from you."
"How much?"
Neji asked nonchalantly.
"Twenty million."
"Huh?"
Neji looked at him in shock, originally thinking he only wanted to borrow ten or twenty thousand.
But twenty million was definitely not a small amount; even for him, it wouldn't be easy to produce.
He frowned and asked, "What do you want with so much money? Hiring an assassin?"
Naruto thought about it; since the surprise only needed to be for Hinata, he told him his purpose.
"..."
Neji had a strange expression. "You're saying you're using my money to make weapons and then giving one to me as a gift? Then what did you contribute?"
"I contributed my sincerity! Besides, it's not like I won't pay you back."
Naruto wondered what kind of image he had in Neji's mind.
He had always been the type to pay back what he borrowed.
Why make it seem like I'm going to embezzle your twenty million?
"Fine, at worst I'll just ask Hinata for the money later."
"?"
You've been corrupted, Neji.
Who on earth did you learn this from?
But regardless, the money was in hand.
Naruto paid the thirty million directly to Tenten's father.
He wasn't worried about the man breaking his word.
After all, his own identity was quite extraordinary.
Aside from a few people, no one in the Ninja Worldwould dare to stand him up.
But Naruto hadn't expected making the weapons would be so slow.
It took nearly three months, and he and Hinata had already started their fifth year of school when he finally received the news.
"Thank you, Uncle."
Naruto inspected the four weapons; they were finely crafted and quite beautiful.
Especially the Inner Armor, which was thin and form-fitting, carved with a cherry blossom pattern.
"Well, let's give them to Neji and Sasuke first. I don't need to prepare anything special anyway; I'll just toss them to them."
Since Neji already knew, he wasn't surprised and accepted it with a clear conscience.
After all, it was his own money.
"Sasuke."
Naruto tossed the katana to him and said, "Made with Chakra metal, better than the one you have. It's a gift."
"For me?"
Sasuke was clearly stunned. "I..."
"Don't be dramatic, just take it if I'm giving it to you."
Naruto waved his hand.
Don't keep rambling, or you'll delay me seeing Hinata.
This guy looked cold and aloof, but he was actually quite good to his friends.
"Thanks."
Sasuke drew the katana, which shimmered with a metallic luster in the sunlight; he was very satisfied. "What's this sword called?"
"It doesn't have a name yet, you can give it one."
"You gave it to me, so you should name it."
Sasuke was also terrible at naming things and passed the buck without hesitation.
"..."
I'm in a hurry.
Naruto said directly, "Since you have both Lightning and Fire attributes, let's just call it the thunder fire sword."