Chapter 182 - 9

Chapter 9: Infamy is Still Fame"Then let's go somewhere else. It's my treat."Who asked for your treat? Just leave! I want to be alone with Big Brother.Uchiha Sasuke glared at Uchiha Shisui with a look of displeasure...."Kid, stop sitting here. It's useless! The longer you sit here, the more money they make and the happier they get. You're not achieving any revenge..."A shadow suddenly blocked Uzumaki Naruto's sunlight.Uzumaki Naruto put down his work and looked up to see a girl with purple hair, brown eyes, and a fishnet outfit standing in front of him.She was eating Dango while saying something.Beside the girl, a beautiful woman with curly black hair and red eyes looked at the purple-haired girl helplessly, occasionally glancing at Uzumaki Naruto with curiosity.Looking at their appearance, these two women seemed to be... Anko Mitarashi and Kurenai Yuhi.What do they want with me? Aren't they afraid of being invited for tea by the Anbu?"Who are you?"Uzumaki Naruto took off his earplugs and asked, knowing full well who they were.Seeing this, Anko Mitarashi paused her eating. So he didn't hear a word I just said! Well, that was a waste of breath."Never mind who I am for now."Anko Mitarashi unhappily ate a Dango and spoke up to remind him, "Anyway, just listen to me. Go sit in front of another Dango shop. That will definitely make this shop owner feel the pain."Not far away, the Dango shop owner couldn't sit still after hearing this. He walked over and said in a low voice, "Miss, you've been a regular customer for years. How could you do such a thing?"Anko Mitarashi took a fierce bite of a Dango and said indignantly, "You know I'm a regular, yet you still made me wait in line for so long! It usually only takes ten minutes, but this time I've been waiting for over an hour."Owner: "..."So? Is this a story of love turning into hate?Kurenai Yuhi couldn't help but want to laugh."Miss, let's talk over here."With so many people around, the owner wanted to lead Anko Mitarashi to a less crowded place to talk."You only think of bribing me now... unfortunately, it's too late!"Anko Mitarashi continued to persuade Uzumaki Naruto to switch shops. The owner grew anxious and kept winking at Uzumaki Naruto.Wait! Something's up!Kurenai Yuhi's eyes narrowed as she realized things weren't as simple as they seemed.Uzumaki Naruto stood up, glanced at the customers watching them, and said to Anko Mitarashi with conviction."I know you're right, but I refuse. Just because something is right doesn't mean I have to do it. For the sake of my pride, even if it's wrong, I will keep clashing with them to show my determination to never surrender."...On the way back.Anko Mitarashi held her favorite Dango, but she was in no mood to taste them.With a complicated expression, she said, "Kurenai, do you think that kid is stupid? Knowing it's wrong..."She had to admit, she was shocked by Uzumaki Naruto's unyielding determination, to the point where she felt a faint sense of admiration for him.After all, she certainly couldn't have done it if she were in his shoes.Recalling the eye contact between Uzumaki Narutoand the shop owner, Kurenai Yuhi said with a strange expression, "He's not stupid. He's probably..."You're the stupid one!Anko Mitarashi said longingly, "Unwavering! Never giving up!"Oh no, my best friend has been completely duped. What should I do?Nothing to be done!Kurenai Yuhi didn't reveal the truth she had discovered. She was worried Uzumaki Narutowould get beaten up and also worried Anko Mitarashi would end up in jail....In the evening, as the sun set in the west, golden radiance bathed the earth.The customers finally dispersed, the Dango shop closed for the night, and Uzumaki Naruto carried his stool back home.Fifteen minutes later, Uzumaki Naruto changed his clothes, put on a fox mask, and went to the back door of the Dango shop.Knock! Knock! Knock!The back door opened, and the shop owner from earlier poked his head out to look around. Seeing no one else, he quickly ushered Uzumaki Narutoinside.Without a word, he first handed over the money."This is this week's pay. Count it."A full five thousand ryo, equivalent to ten months of Uzumaki Naruto's living expenses.Uzumaki Naruto said, "It's too much. It was four thousand ryo for the previous three weeks."The owner smiled and said, "Business was good this week."Uzumaki Naruto didn't believe him but didn't expose him either. He pocketed the money and prepared to leave.The owner stopped him, "Wait, I have a request. Can we extend the contract for another month? I can pay more—six thousand ryo per week."I knew it. Uzumaki Naruto turned back, "I'm already booked for next month. How about another time?""When will you be free?""A year from now.""That busy?!""Of course. You'll understand if you think about your shop's business this month."Infamy is still fame!Thanks to the "negative traffic" Uzumaki Narutobrought, the Dango shop's business had skyrocketed more than tenfold this month.Even after deducting Uzumaki Naruto's wages, the Dango shop made a killing.Discerning merchants were naturally envious and wanted to sign Uzumaki Naruto for brand endorsements.Like the Dango shop owner, they loved making money. Boycotting Uzumaki Naruto was just following the crowd; they didn't have any deep-seated hatred for him, nor had any of their friends or family died in the Nine-Tails Incident. They had no psychological barrier to cooperating with Uzumaki Naruto.Although there was a risk of social suicide if exposed... as long as they kept it secret, who would know?Besides, wealth is found in danger. Since they wanted to make money... taking a little risk was worth it.But making money comes at a price. The price Uzumaki Naruto paid was an increasingly outrageous reputation, reaching the point where his name alone could stop a child from crying.But it's fine. Uzumaki Naruto didn't care about his reputation because it was useless anyway.The only slight trouble was that every time he wanted to buy daily necessities, he had to wear a mask; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to buy anything.But it was quite annoying, making it seem like he was too ashamed to show his face.Aside from this minor unpleasantness, Uzumaki Naruto's wallet was becoming increasingly plump.He carefully selected merchants who had no grudge against him but had grudges against his enemies and were in the same industry, reaching secret cooperation agreements with them.Then the money came rolling in. He no longer had to scrimp on food and clothing, and he even bought a few Kunai and Shuriken.Since he didn't want to see the strange looks from the unruly townspeople, Uzumaki Naruto switched to training in the forest.With a Kunai in his left hand and a Shuriken in his right, he ran joyfully through the forest, chasing and shooting at small animals like wild chickens and rabbits.He exercised his body and practiced his hidden weapon throwing techniques in the process.In reality, he was just throwing them blindly. Without professional training, his accuracy was worse than a javelin's. His movements were either awkward or his strength was uncontrolled. After half a day of practice, he only ended up drenched in sweat without finding any direction.It wasn't until later, when Uzumaki Naruto asked for advice while the Third Hokage was visiting him, that he started to look somewhat professional.As time passed, Uzumaki Naruto, nourished by the Nine-Tailed's Yang Chakra, became increasingly physically fit, and his original training intensity was no longer enough for him.So, he decided to add another training exercise for himself—chopping trees!