Chapter 8: Сhapter 8
The end of the next month marked the beginning of new problems for me… Mainly related to finance. And no, I still led a very modest lifestyle, which is why I even managed to accumulate a little cash in my stash over the past time. But even this was not enough to buy new clothes ... Yes, over the past three months since my appearance in this world, my body has grown a little, and past clothes are already beginning to restrict my movements. I'm not talking about the appearance at all.
And so for the last month I have been rolling up the sleeves on my blouses to hide the fact that they are already too small for me. But these were only attempts to delay the inevitable. As a result, I was still forced to explore Konoha's stores for cheap clothes. There were some problems with that, because fabric is not the cheapest thing in this world, and my scholarship, for the most part, went to food. And only the orphan "pension", which was put to me exactly until I became a full-fledged Shinobi, somewhat corrected the situation.
But it still didn't work out, I bought only the bare minimum of clothes, and I still didn't have enough money for food. I had to switch almost entirely to a rice-fish diet. At least some meat was still too expensive, and it was not always possible to buy fresh vegetables. Local merchants don't sell me anything… And disguise in this case is not too helpful. Merchants are simply in no hurry to trade especially with children, excluding familiar children who are sent to them by no less familiar parents.
We have to buy in full-fledged stores and shops. Of course, everything is a little more expensive there, but they don't find fault with my age. Yes, and my disguise in such places works much better, because Shinobi were mainly bought in stores… And some oddities for this fraternity are a depressing norm. So yes, the scarf wrapped around his face and the hair hidden under an improvised bandana did not cause unnecessary questions from anyone. Only the "mustache" gave me away, but no one paid much attention to them either.
And yes, I couldn't buy vegetables in such shops – it was expensive. And if earlier I could still afford such a thing, now, after some calculations, it turned out that if I buy vegetables, then I can simply die of hunger until the next scholarship. And I needed to eat well, a lot and often, because my body is growing very fast, and training requires a lot of energy… But from the monotony of my diet and the need to push this damned rice into myself, I already wanted to howl.
Even the thought of stealing managed to visit my head… But something didn't really pull me to repeat the school experience of stealing at the bazaar. Firstly, it was quite difficult to pull off such a thing alone, and, thank God, I didn't have any friends knocked on my head who would support me in such an undertaking in this life. Secondly, I did not forget where I live and live. Still, Konoha is a village of Shinobi and they can be found here at every step. This is not to mention the fact that the local police, consisting mainly of Uchiha, who were still considered the strongest clan in Konoha, are still vigilant and patrolling the village.
So no, I'm definitely not ready to steal yet. Fortunately, I still had a few ideas on how to close the gaps in my own diet. Moreover, autumn was just reigning in the yard ... not much different from the summer I was used to in the last world, but all kinds of mushrooms had already appeared in the local forests and glades. I have heard more than once or twice out of the corner of my ear talk about successful mushroom pickers who returned with rich prey from the nearby forests. And Konoha was almost completely surrounded by all kinds of forests. Sometimes, to get into the forest, you didn't even have to leave the village itself…
Well, not the point, the main thing is that I found a good opportunity to add extra calories and flavors to my diet. It was only necessary to get acquainted with the local list of edible mushrooms and stroll through the nearest forests… Neither should have been a serious problem for me. The academy library had plenty of manuals on survival in the wild. I have even already read many of them…
Because of this, I had a general idea about the same mushrooms, but I still decided to get acquainted with a full-fledged reference book on this subject, so as not to risk once again. And it would not hurt to get acquainted with the recipes for cooking mushrooms, because some of them are edible only with proper cooking… But it's all really little things and a matter of one day. It was only necessary to allocate for all this time in his rather busy schedule of training and meditation…
- Knock, knock, knock. - Suddenly there was a rhythmic knock on the door, pulling me out of my own thoughts… And somewhat confusing me. I didn't expect any guests today, and they didn't come to me very often. Usually, either Iruka-sesney came to visit me, bringing a scholarship or just checking on me. But it was still more than a week before receiving the scholarship, and Iruka himself had only recently checked the condition of my apartment and how I live here in general ... Another visitor could be a shinobi responsible for delivering orphan benefits. But he was with me literally last week and promised to appear not soon.
- I'm coming! I shouted, bursting out of bed, but not losing my vigilance. Uninvited guests are uninvited, so that I am not happy about their appearance… However, my dissatisfaction is not a reason not to respond to a knock on my own door. Besides, I had one guess who it could be... even though I wouldn't want to meet this person... but never at all. Well, or at least not in the coming years, otherwise I strongly doubt my acting talents.
- Long time no see, Nartuo. - Stretching a soft smile on his wrinkled face, a familiar old man greeted me. Although, he's not exactly an acquaintance for me, but rather for Naruto, whom Hiruzen met from time to time. Well, just so that the kid does not forget about his existence. And yes, the Hokage personally visited the main weapon of his village, sometimes just chatting with the child, and sometimes organizing some kind of fitting. So, for the first time it was this grandfather who introduced Naruto to Ichiraku.
- Oh, it's you, old man ... - I drooped somewhat, rather following the chosen role than really upset by his appearance. Even though I was afraid of the head of an entire village of professional assassins and mercenaries, but his attitude towards the past owner of this body was not bad. He treated the boy almost like a relative, distant, but still a relative, who could sometimes be pleased with a good opportunity. - What did you come for? - Returning to the bed, I ask ... just as Naruto himself would have done. Over the past time, I have learned to imitate that well, albeit with some reservations.
I wasn't going to stick to the image of a six-year-old boy. Anyway, children at this age are too changeable to focus too much on Naruto's past behavior. The main thing is to correctly explain to others the changes in my behavior, and all questions, even to significant changes in character, will disappear by themselves. Although, surprisingly, it wasn't so hard for me to play the role of Naruto. I think we were even somewhat similar…
- Well, what kind of reaction? - A little dissatisfied muttered a short old man, entering my little room. "Aren't you glad to see me at all?" - With some kind of a grin, this grandfather asked, whom a few months ago I could call, if not the same age, then somewhere around that. Hiruzen, as far as I knew, was now something like sixty-two years old. I mean, there's only eight years difference between us… But I have to behave in front of him like a six-year-old boy and nothing else. You never know what they can do to me if it turns out that the original Naruto has disappeared for three months, for a reason unknown even to me…
Weekly Power Status
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