Ch 23

(A few days later)

Standing in the isles of a shop in the middle of Konohagakure's shopping district, surrounded by cases, racks and cases displaying all kinds of shinobi weaponry, a now much better-looking Naruto was quietly enjoying his day off browsing the local markets. Sporting a brand new look consisting of a black long-sleeved shirt, orange pants and a white obi wrapped around his beltline, the youngster was perusing over the wide assortment of armaments propped up on the wooden stands, hoping to find something useful or interesting.

Having spent the last few days recovering and meditating following his little jaunt in the Uchiha Clan district, the blond was now in the process of gathering supplies. The true purpose of which only he knew the reason for.

"Let's see… while I'm on the road, I'm going to need some good metal, some good wire… and a good hunting knife," Naruto thought to himself, analysing a bunch of katanas and tantos packed together behind the glass. Some of them were appropriately decorated with gold embellishments and symbols, which helped to make the most impressive pieces of the collection stand out from the rest.

The last thirty-six hours that had come and gone had given Naruto plenty of time to think about the events that'd taken place over the course of the past week. His little death-defying match with the assassin in the Uchiha Clan Police Headquarters, the destruction of said building, and circumstances that followed, had all come together to deliver a real taste of what true conflict and danger actually was to the child. Even after all his weeks of intense physical and mental training, and the copious amounts of time he spent preparing for the very moment he would end up facing off against a true enemy, the events and outcomes that'd transpired had left a very dark impression on the blonde's psyche.

He learned for the first time since setting off on his path to becoming a true villain that the shinobi world was much bigger and more perilous than he could've ever imagined. There were situations and matters taking place in the world that went beyond his personal knowledge and understanding, not just inside Konohagakure, but in places all over. There were also countless enemies with strengths and abilities that were completely over the top, many of which could not be found in books or lessons at the academy.

Upon reflecting on his past battles, the information he'd learned, and comparing them to his current position in life, Naruto knew that he wasn't going to learn and experience anything more from just sitting here in the village, bowing humbly to the status quo.

There was no danger here. No important movements taking place that he could sink his teeth into. No interesting places to explore. No hidden treasures. No bad guys. Nothing. It was just villagers living safely inside of tall, concrete walls, who were sealed off from the rest of the world.

Naruto knew in his gut and his heart that he had more room to grow, more room to learn, and that he could become much, much stronger. But he wasn't going to do that being confined to his little quarter of the world, being suffocated by the people around him.

What he really wanted was to experience true, uninhibited freedom. The kind of freedom he needed to live, to go beyond, and become something truly outstanding. That was why yesterday, after careful deliberation over a boring homework assignment from school, he decided he was going to leave Konohagakure and go off on his own adventure.

This eventually led him here, to the weapons shop in the middle of central Konohagakure, looking for the tools necessary for an extended expedition.

After about half an hour of walking up and down the shop, with the ever watchful owner quietly observing the child from behind the papers of his magazine, Naruto then stopped in front of another glass case with a small collection of ornate knives on display. When he bent over to take a closer look, the blond then blinked when he suddenly saw a second set of eyes staring back at him.

The sight of the face and hands being pressed up against the panel had Naruto straighten back up in surprise, with the person on the other side of the transparent box also jolting upwards with a squeak.

"Oh. S-Sorry about that," the girl exclaimed in a cute voice. "I didn't see you there."

"No, no. It was my bad. My bad," Naruto replied, holding up his hands in a sign of reassurance. "No harm done." When a sincere smile formed on his lips, the boy then saw the girl step out from behind the display, allowing him to see that the girl was about the same age as him, maybe a year older, with brown hair tied into an ox horn style, and was wearing a pink tai chi top and pants.

It looked like she'd given him the same analytical treatment, and once the awkwardness of their greeting had passed, the blond delinquent nodded politely to her. "Are you shopping for some ninja gear as well?"

"Y-Yeah. You can say that," the girl replied, slipping her hands behind her back as she gave the boy a chirpy smile. "Our teacher at the academy has started showing our class basic throwing knife techniques and I was thinking about picking up some new shuriken to practice with back home. I want to make sure I get top marks for it by the end of the year… and maybe even learn some different ones by myself."

"I see. So… you're studying at the academy too?"

"Uh-huh. Iruka-sensei's second year class," she nodded enthusiastically, before giving the slightly shorter but tough boy a look over. "And you? I don't think I've ever seen you around the building before."

Naruto shrugged while slipping his hands into his pockets. "I'm in the year below in a different class… and I don't really hang out where the other kids normally are. I'm mostly just on my own by the climbing bars or on the roof where no one can really bother me."

"Ah. Makes sense. I don't really play with anybody else either. The other girls think I'm weird and the boys don't like me because I can beat them up… so I don't really have many friends," the girl chirped back, at the same time swaying on the spot as she engaged the blond further. Obviously she hadn't run into anyone else from school here before and she wanted to keep chatting. "I'm Tenten, by the way," she greeted while holding out her hand.

"Naruto," the delinquent replied, while returning the girl's gesture in kind. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Tenten answered. The moment their hands disengaged, the curious youngster then took a step towards the blond with an excited glimmer in her eyes. "Hey, hey. So what kind of weapons do you like? Or which ones do you think are the coolest?"

"Uhh… I don't know, to be honest," Naruto replied, scratching his head when he remembered he was just browsing.

"Kunai and shuriken are awesome. But I think swords and staffs are much better weapons," the kunoichi-in-training said while hopping excitedly on the spot. She then pretended she was holding an invisible sword and began swinging it about her in a playful manner. "You can do so many cool things with them. Strike, parry, block, deflect, repel, run, slash, disarm, and pierce body armour. Sure, you can't throw them as well as you can with ninja stars, but you can definitely knock away things flying at you if you train hard enough." She then clasped her hands together tightly and beamed radiantly at Naruto, who leaned away slightly at the intensity in her gaze. "My favourite though is the Three-Section Staff. You can use it as both a long-range and close-range weapon. It's also really good for defending yourself."

"Wow, you really know your weapons, don't you?" Naruto asked, feeling a bit overwhelmed at how hyper this girl was getting over the subject. Though normally somebody like this would've chased any other kid away the second they started rambling, the blond didn't seem to mind her bubbly personality and gushing excitement. In fact, he found it quite intriguing.

Maybe it was because she was so chatting that she didn't have many friends to begin with. She was probably lonely, just like he was.

"So… what is your weapon of choice?" Tenten pressed, keeping her ears pricked and eyes open as she watched the youngster in front of her scratch his head.

Pondering on it for a moment, Naruto cracked a smile, reached into his pocket, and pulled something out. When the girl saw the boy open his hand, she blinked when she saw the youngster was holding three metal ball bearings, each one the size of a marble.

"I think I definitely prefer these," Naruto said, rolling them between his palms and fingers while testing their weight. "I first started practicing with rocks, but then I decided to switch it up. They're smaller and lighter than kunai, and they can be held very easily. Since they don't look threatening at all, you can sneak them into places without trying to hide them in a seal or scroll." He then grinned across at the older academy student. "And since I don't really get much allowance money, they're cheap and easy to make."

"Oh. That's interesting." Tenten then looked up at the boy when he started juggling them on the spot, tossing them up and down with his wrist. "How exactly do you use them?"

With a mischievous glint appearance in his eye, the blond glanced across at the store owner. "Hey, jiji? Can I use the target hanging on the wall over there?" he asked while pointing towards the red and white wooden circle with knife marks in it.

The manager lowered his magazine and, after looking between the two children and the object in question, the man nodded. "Sure, kid. I put it up there for the customers to use. Just be careful not to hit the wall."

Hearing everything he needed at that moment, the child then turned on his heel, cocked back his arm, and pitched one of the marbles in his hand with a backhanded throw. The silver pellet shot out of from his fingers at record speed and slammed into the target with a sharp thump, causing splinters to fly off of it and the target itself to wobble from the force of the impact. From there Naruto then drew a couple more marbles with his other hand, at the same time chucking the remaining ones from his other hand with a forward throw, followed immediately by the new ones.

Each marble struck the large target one after the other, all around the very middle of the circle. Due to the positioning and spacing between each hole made, it was easy to tell that Naruto had focused all of his rounds on the centre mass. Precision archery if anyone in that room had ever seen it.

While Tenten gaped after Naruto lowered his arm, the store manager whistled and nodded his head in a clear sign that he was impressed. "Not bad kid. You've got a solid arm there."

"Thanks." Flicking the bridge under his nose in a smug manner, the blond grinned at the weapon shop owner with a confident smile. "I'd like to buy two hundred more of these, if you've got that many. And a set of the eight inch kunai from cabinet three." Upon seeing the man stand up and march through the door towards the back of his shop, Naruto once again focused his attention on Tenten. Seeing the girl staring at him in amazement prompted the boy to shrug casually. "Since the blacksmiths use ball bearings for signal arrows, crossbows and other mechanical devices, they're always in stock, so I can buy as many of them as I want."

Snapping out of her daze, Tenten clenched her fists eagerly and stepped right up to the youngster. "Wow! You've got a really hard throw! Those things went straight through the wood!"

"Yeah. It took a lot of practice for me to get that far," Naruto said while rolling his shoulders. Inspecting the target on the side of the room, the young man then scrunched his face up thoughtfully. "Hmm… but it's still not enough. I want my throws to be stronger… faster… and I'd really like to be able to launch them using only my fingers."

Tenten tilted her head slightly, as she found his assessment of his efforts to be a lot more critical than she was expecting. Before she could ask him anything about his training, the pair were interrupted by the return of the storeowner. Walking past the counter, the man held out a large bag filled with the same ball bearings that the youngster was using and plopped them into the boy's waiting hand.

"There you are. That'll be 400 ryo in total," the middle-aged blacksmith exclaimed.

In exchange for the ammunition, Naruto handed the man the exact amount required from his pocket, before turning to Tenten for one last friendly word. "Well… I hope I get to see you around some time. Maybe after I get back."

"Oh? You're going away somewhere?" the girl asked, appearing quite surprised.

"Yeah. Just a small camping trip out in the wilderness. I might be gone for about a month… or three… or six… that all depends," Naruto said, giving a shrug and a smile like it didn't matter if he didn't have a concrete plan about what he was going to do or where he was going. Any ideas he had he'd rather keep to himself, as the last thing he wanted to do now was have any adults catching wind of his actions and ruining his fun. "When I get back, I promise I'll be throwing shuriken through walls with just a flick of my finger."

This statement put a smile back on Tenten's face. "I'll hold you to it. And by the time you get back, I'll also have practiced and learned how to use every single weapon sitting in this shop." She said this while gesturing grandly to all the cases and stands surrounding them, and the multitude of shinobi tools glistening on display.

"Looking forward to it," Naruto replied, at the same time raising his free hand and forming it into a fist. "I'll be sure to challenge you to a sparring match then." He then grinned inwardly when the girl bumped fists with him as a sign of mutual respect, as well as an affirmation of their goals and assurance to one another. When their knuckles separated, both of them felt a little more jovial and excited than they were before, as was typical for a pair of hopeful and aspiring youngsters. "Till next time?"

"Of course," Tenten nodded enthusiastically. "It was really nice meeting you."

"You too," Naruto replied, giving a wave as he then departed the shop.

When she watched the door swing open and shut behind the blond, the kunoichi-in-training was given a brief pause for thought. Standing where she was and looking back at the small target the boy had shown his skills against, Tenten felt a well of delight building in her almost akin to a sense of anticipation and inspiration. It wasn't just seeing the boy's capabilities for herself that impressed her the most, but also the conviction he spoke with in his voice and the determination to improve what he already knew that made her want to grow and succeed.

The fact that he also looked younger than her also made her want to go out there and show the world what she could do.

"I'm gonna start training more," the brown haired academy student thought while clenching her fists tightly. "Much more." Though she had no idea where she was going to start, she knew she would be able to think of something.

After all, if you don't get it right the first time, try and try again until you do.