Chapter 34: More Shopping; Naruto's Test

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Firstly; The cover has been decided!

Next, I just want to let you all know that things pick up from here! So if it's felt slow recently, it is going to speed up a bit from here on out!

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"Well, as exciting as that is, we can't really do much with it right now, can we?"

Hearing that, Anko and Kurenai turned towards me, both smiling.

"Maybe not, but I want a reward tonight~"

"Yes, I do believe a reward is in order, right Koko~?"

Chuckling, I looked between them, before nodding.

"Yup, I definitely need to reward my two hard working girls~"

They looked at me with blatant desire, and if we weren't in public I have a feeling that they would have jumped onto me.

Smirking, I walked away, adding a bit of sway into my hips to taunt them. Scurrying after me, they started breathing quicker, and when I turned I could see them staring at me intently.

"Well, I think we should finish shopping today, no? Grab some casual clothes, some more furniture, and some food..."

Trailing off, I sighed when I saw their disinterest. Shaking my head, I said "Either come with me or go home and wait for me. I need to get this done today; remember, I have to meet Naruto at noon tomorrow."

Looking towards Kurenai, Anko said "So, you wanna go home and start?"

Pursing her lips, Kurenai looked back at Anko, before saying "Shouldn't we stay with her, to make sure she doesn't spend a lot of money?"

Nodding her head, Anko looked at me, saying "We'll stay."

Giving them a dry look, I said "Really, I'm right here. Besides, I only splurged on the bed!"

Nodding their heads, they both said ""The 100,000 ryo bed.""

Pursing my lips, I turned, making my way towards the market district, where I could find everything I needed.

Hearing them walking behind me, I continued to ignore them. Eventually reaching the bustling market, I looked around, before finally turning to look at them.

"Do either of you have a storage scroll for the furniture?"

Hearing that, they briefly checked their pouches. Anko shrugged, not finding one, whereas Kurenai held one out, smirking at Anko.

Taking it, I placed it in my pocket, before moving towards the first furniture stall.

Haggling the price down for some dressers and rugs, I managed to get them all for 30,000 ryo, leaving me with around another 33,000 ryo.

Placing them in the scroll, I tossed it back to Kurenai.

Looking around, I found a stall selling simple clothes. Buying Anko and I two outfits, Kurenai declined, saying she already had enough clothes. Shrugging, I bought Anko a pair of black pants as well as a purple shirt to match her hair, as well as a black shirt. For myself I bought a long simple brown skirt, as well as a deep red shirt. Handing the vendor 4,000 ryo, I made my way to the final stall; a farmer who was selling large amounts of vegetables, fruits, and some meats.

Buying a large amount, I handed the bags to Anko, smiling as she looked at me dryly.

With only 15,000 ryo in my pocket, we made our way home.

Entering the compound, I greeted the workers, before taking the food from Anko. Shooing them towards the bedroom, I said "Go set the dressers on the right side of the room. Put the rugs wherever they look nice too. I'll be there in a minute."

They both continued to stare at me for a few moments before walking away.

I slowly stocked the fridge in the kitchen, organizing it.

Looking around, I smiled.

Before, it had been dilapidated, but now it was clean. The long table in the middle had empty baskets, there was a large sink as well as a smaller one, there were two stoves, an oven, and lots of cabinets.

I continued to stand there, lost in thought. Thinking of the future, where children run in and ask me what we are eating for dinner. Cooking large amounts of food for my family, for my children, for their friends, and hopefully, their lovers when they grow older. Maybe I would even see my grandchildren...

Smiling, I turned back around, finishing my organization. I had bought a lot, and in the future I couldn't wait to use my own ingredients that I had grown in the Greenhouse out front.

Placing the bags to the side, I stretched, before making my way to the bedroom, where my two beautiful wives were most likely already making love.

Feeling the familiar twinge from deep inside, I entered, quickly stripping as I joined them on the bed.

~~~

We had been 'active' deep into the night, and I had almost overslept. Thankfully, I managed to wake up on time, and after quickly showering and dressing, I made my way to Ichiraku.

When I had left, Anko had woken up, telling me she wanted to 'celebrate' some more, and proceeded to wake Kurenai up for more.

All while I was preparing to leave I was listening to their moans, and I had to block them out before I joined them.

Thankfully my willpower won, and I was waiting at Ichiraku, a bowl of ramen in front of me. Looking at the clock on the wall, I saw that it was a few minutes before noon, so I decided to continue waiting.

Minutes passed, and as I finished my second bowl, I heard someone panting as they slouched on the chair next to me.

"Hah... Aunty Kokoro... I... figured it out! Hah... I did it!"

Smiling at him, I nodded, letting him catch his breath. When he could speak properly, I asked "So, which seals did you learn?"

Placing a blank talisman in front of himself, he took out a brush and small ink pot, before quickly started writing the kanji down for whatever seal he was making.

Watching as it slowly came together, I nodded my head as I saw a rudimentary explosive tag. When he finished, I took it. "We'll go to a nearby training area to see if it works. So, what's the other one?"

Placing another blank talisman on the table, he set about filling it out. Finishing, I looked at him, confused.

"Oh yeah, Aunty Kokoro! You remember when you told me that my name, Uzumaki, meant something? I went to the library and found a few books on them, and then I met the Hokage! He handed me a book, saying that he was meant to pass it onto me when I grew older or showed interest in seals! It was filled with cool things like this, which increases gravity slightly!"

Widening my eyes, I took the tag, looking at it. Turning back to Naruto, I asked "You know the entrance to the small park down the street? Go there. I'll be with you in a second."

Getting up, he looked at Boss Teuchi, saying "You best believe I'm getting that unlimited ramen!"

Quickly running out of the shop, I looked at Boss Teuchi as well, asking "How much for the unlimited ramen?"

Shaking his head, he said "It's on me. Always has been. I never made ramen for the money, and I especially won't accept any from or for him. It's the least I can do for him..."

Smiling at him, I said "Thank you, really. I don't know why everyone avoids and hates him, but at the end of the day he is just a child. I just hope he can remember people like us when he gets older, and will protect this place... Though, I can't say I'd blame him for abandoning this place..."

Boss Teuchi nodded, sighing. "For now, he's a good kid. I'd rather him come here, where I know he can eat something good, then stay cooped up in his room, eating insta-ramen. So please, don't hesitate to use my shop as a reward. Teach him well, Miss Kokoro..."

Smiling, I placed a bill on the table, before leaving. He may have said not to pay for Naruto, but I won't take advantage of his kindness to get a free meal...

Quickly making my way towards the park, I saw the bouncing kid in orange looking around.

Approaching him, I said "Let's go a bit further in. I don't want to disturb the people..."

Nodding, he followed me into the park.

"So, what else was in that book?"

"A bunch of cool seals, Aunty! You were right; if I learn all of them, I could be the strongest shinobi ever! Haha, you best believe it!"

Chuckling at his enthusiasm, I looked around. "Alright, here's good. Now, that gravity tag... is it for an area or for an object?"

Tilting his head, he pursed his lips before saying "A... An object?"

Sighing, I shook my head. Taking the explosive tag, I wrapped it around a twig before attaching a chakra thread to it. Taking a deep breath, I tossed it up, before allowing my chakra to flow through the tag.

Sparking, the tag exploded, slightly larger than a normal tag. Looking at it in concern, I blinked my eyes a few times before turning to Naruto. He was grinning, a gleam in his eyes.

"How was that stronger than the tags made by professionals?"

He looked at me, confused. "That was stronger?"

"Wait, wait. Where ddi you test these?"

"Ah, in the training ground that's next to my apartment..."

Sighing in relief, I looked at the dissipating smoke cloud. Pulling out the gravity tag, I furrowed my brows. Placing it around another twig, I dropped it on the floor, before placing a chakra thread on it. Gently moving it towards me, I nodded my head. Activating the tag, I watched as a few cracks spread around the twig. Giving it a tug, I could barely move it...

Deactivating the thread, I looked towards Naruto in disbelief.

"Yeah, uh... Naruto, if you keep making tags like that... well, you might just reach strongest shinobi quite soon..."

Seeing him grin widely and jump up and down, pumping his fist, I decide to hit him with a. cold splash of reality.

Flickering over to him, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, raising him. He looked at me with wide eyes.

"While your seals are quite good, you need to remember: You are shinobi, even if you are just in training. You must train your body, your chakra control, your Ninjutsu, your stealth... So, from now on, if you want... I can start teaching you."

Releasing him, he fell to the ground. His eyes, which looked scared a moment ago, glowed in excitement. "You mean it!? Do you really mean it, Aunty!? You'll teach me?"

Chuckling, I nodded my head. He grinned again, before his smile fell.

"What's wrong, Naruto?"

"You won't always be here, though..."

Feeling my heart clench, I knelt in front of him.

"Listen, part of being a shinobi is improving on your own. Just like you learned to create seals on your own, you can improve other parts of yourself through practicing alone. Come on, let's go to my home; I'll start training you now, while I'm here."

He looked down at me, smiling. Ruffling his hair, I stood back up, saying "Alright, let's go. We'll need every second..."

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So, real quick, as you can see, Naruto is getting a teacher MUCH earlier than in canon. Like I said way in the beginning of the novel, I won't be doing everything according to canon, and this is probably one of the larger changes I have planned. Since Kokoro, Anko, and Kurenai aren't the strongest, the main changes to canon come from how they interact with other characters.

On top of that, if you have any ideas on what a 'proper' teacher should show Naruto, let me know. As much as I love Kakashi, and respect Jiraiya, they are terrible teachers. I have my own little things, but if you can think of something that might make sense to teach him or a way to teach him, please let me know. My knowledge on the Narutoverse is a bit... rusty.

Finally, if you think that him being insane at sealing, to the point of them being better than what the sealmakers in Konoha produce, I'm just chalking it up to him being an Uzumaki and him understanding them more. Is it a good reason? Probably not. Will it make the story better? Well, seals can be quite interesting, and the idea of making the already OP Naruto stronger... Hehe~

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