"Two enemy shinobi... a 2% boost to my total chakra reserves," Kazuki muttered to himself as he ate in a small roadside diner.
But his focus wasn't on the al—it was on that precious increase. A 2% gain in chakra capacity wasn't much on its own. The difference wasn't even noticeable yet.
But Kazuki wasn't in a rush.
After all, the entire point of choosing this ability upgrade was its potential to scale. As long as he kept killing enemy ninja, that number would only go up. If he kept at it, eventually he could beco a walking Tailed Beast.
"Hey Kazuki, are we heading back now?" Guy asked between massive mouthfuls. Kazuki was buying.
"Yeah, let's finish eating first." Kazuki nodded, setting aside his calculations for now. He glanced over at Guy's side of the table—and more importantly, the mountain of empty dishes.
It was a terrifying sight.
Thankfully, the two Mist ninja they'd defeated had so coin on them. Otherwise, Kazuki wasn't sure if he would've had enough to pay.
"Do you always eat this much, Guy?" Kazuki couldn't help but ask.
Guy had already demolished five servings of fried rice, three bowls of noodles, and three whole grilled fish—and he was digging into a sixth plate of rice.
"Of course! You need fuel if you wanna train hard!" Guy grinned and gave a thumbs-up.
Kazuki scratched his head. He had to admit... the logic was sound. Maybe that's how Guy eventually opened the Eighth Gate.
After dealing with the two Mist ninja, Kazuki had double-checked the area to confirm no enemies were left before looting the bodies and collecting proof-of-completion for the mission. And now, after treating Guy to a al, the two were ready to leave the Land of Waves.
Standing at the ship's stern, Kazuki watched the coastline shrink into the distance. The way the locals stared at him was... telling.
Fear. Deference.
Even after he'd gone out of his way to help rebuild the dock they'd damaged during the fight, the villagers still looked at him with both awe and terror. Without that gesture of goodwill, they probably would've been outright terrified.
Gatō, on the other hand, had stayed behind in the Land of Waves. Kazuki knew this man would eventually rise to beco a wealthy, corrupt rchant. When that day ca, then it would be ti to fleece him.
Right now, Gatō was still small-ti. Too green. Not yet worth the effort. Better to let the sheep fatten up before harvesting the wool.
Especially since Kazuki had already spotted so contraband hidden among Gatō's cargo. The man was clearly willing to break the law to make a quick ryō.
"Grow fat, little pig. The butcher will co in ti," Kazuki muttered with a shepherd's smile.
Once back in Konoha, Kazuki submitted the mission report and split the reward fifty-fifty with Guy.
"Kazuki! Let's run around the village on our hands—three hundred laps!" Guy's eyes were sparkling with energy now that he was paid.
"...Today's a limited-ti egg sale," Kazuki deadpanned.
Guy instantly bolted, disappearing in a blur of green. Was that the Gate of Opening flaring just to chase a discount?
Only Guy...
Kazuki watched him vanish with a shake of the head. Ninja or not, the grind was real.
This world, like the one he ca from, wasn't easy to make a living in.
After leaving the mission office, Kazuki wandered to the usual dango stall and, without hesitation, bought three skewers of the colorful dumplings.
The flavor was simple but addictive—much like Ichiraku Ran. One bite and you'd crave another.
"Hello, mister. One mitarashi dango, please." A young voice interrupted his thoughts. Kazuki turned and found himself face-to-face with a boy who could only be—
Uchiha Itachi.
He held out his money, eyes filled with quiet expectation.
"Coming right up! With extra honey, just how you like it!" The vendor smiled warmly, clearly familiar with the boy. He passed over a honey-glazed skewer.
The sight made Kazuki blink. That much honey? The glaze practically dripped off the dumplings. It reminded him of the over-sugared sweets from his previous life's western countries—recipes so overloaded they made your teeth ache just reading them.
He took a bite of his own skewer. Sweet—but not overbearing. Just right.
Still, the ntal image of Itachi eating sothing so sugar-heavy was amusing.
Sasuke's birth must be close now, Kazuki realized. Sasuke was slightly older than Naruto, so it wouldn't be long before Itachi officially beca the ultimate big-brother.
"...The honey-glazed ones taste really good," Itachi said seriously, looking up at Kazuki.
Kazuki was caught off guard. He hadn't expected the son of the Uchiha clan head—heir apparent—to casually start a conversation with him.
"I think I prefer the original flavor," Kazuki replied with a smile. "But maybe I'll try the honey next ti."
Itachi gave a small nod, then turned and left—his retinue of silent Uchiha shinobi following discreetly behind.
Even if Fugaku didn't accompany his son in public, the clan clearly kept a close watch on him. Which made sense. A fallen prodigy was no prodigy at all.
And Itachi, at this age, was still just a boy. Talented, yes—but still vulnerable.
"Well, ti to get back to training," Kazuki muttered. He stretched and yawned.
Over the past few days, he'd been obsessively cycling Shadow Clones to boost his training efficiency. The results were okay... but still slower than he'd like.
Shadow Clone grinding took ti. If he hadn't already been so close to leveling up this skill, Kazuki might've considered spending free XP to speed it up.
But for now, the grind continued.
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