When Naruto stepped outside, the sky was overcast.
Konoha felt somewhat unfamiliar with its old and worn look, though fortunately for Naruto, the layout hadn't changed much. Except for some minor changes in the alleyways, the positions of the Hokage Tower and the Konoha Hospital remained the same.
In his current identity, there were few places Naruto could go, so his priority now was to find something to eat. Since all of his 'companions' had died in battle, there was no need to worry of anyone recognizing him.
After using the Transformation Technique, Naruto even wore Kitahiko's clothes. Along the way, he also searched the spots where Kitahiko hid his money, but found a measly two hundred thousand ryo.
When Naruto found Kitahiko's life savings, he was a bit dumbfounded… 'Just two hundred thousand ryo?'
'Even after interrogating that guy multiple times in the Jashin's Altar, he cried and begged for mercy, but he never told me where the money was hidden! And it turned out it's just this much?! Damn it!!'
'Is this a joke? Even with the low cost of living, considering a bowl of ramen only costs 300 ryo… this is obviously not enough for my expense.'
Although Naruto didn't have the habit of spending money lavishly, he was still planning to get close to a female Medical-nin. But now, with this small amount of money, it clearly wasn't going to be enough.
His clothes were old, and his living conditions were shabby. Was he really going to have to rely on his looks? The problem was, the boy he'd chosen, Kitahiko, was quite average-looking.
It was too late to regret, and Naruto had no other choice.
He slurped down the Ichiraku's ramen and gulped down the broth. He finally felt warm spreading through his stomach.
Patting his now full belly, Naruto looked over at the man who had just made his belly bigger. Naruto grumbled and complained in a low voice, "Teuchi really don't live up to his name, huh?"
He couldn't help but wonder how his wife could have chosen him and given birth to such an adorable child like Ayame.
Little did Naruto know, his muttering had been overheard by Teuchi, who, thinking Naruto had complaints about the food, immediately appeared at his side with a concerned look.
"Is the ramen not to your liking, dear customer?"
Naruto was startled by Teuchi's sudden approach and subconsciously wanted to deny it. Honestly, the ramen broth was rich, and the portions were generous.
"If you're dissatisfied, I can give you a one-day free pass." Teuchi offered sincerely.
Hearing this, Naruto swallowed back the words he was about to say. Coughing lightly, he solemnly nodded and said, "There are some things… I'm not satisfied with. For example, the noodle…"
Seeing Naruto seeming to want to say something but stopping himself and sighing, Teuchi felt even more guilty.
At this time, the shop was nearly empty, and Teuchi figured it might have been because the ramen was served late due to a rush earlier, so the taste was affected. Naruto seemed too kind to complain directly, which only deepened Teuchi's remorse.
"I'll give you another voucher!" Teuchi said earnestly.
"No, no! How can I accept that?" Naruto looked guilty and opened his mouth, "It's my fault for having such an unusual taste. I don't deserve to eat your ramen."
Teuchi was stunned. He had encountered difficult customers before, but never one as kind-hearted as this.
"This is a half-month free pass. Please, you must take it."
"Isn't this bad…"
"Please visit us again." Teuchi sent Naruto away with a wide smile on his face.
Walking down the street, Naruto counted the free ramen vouchers in his hand, estimating that he had enough to eat for free for about a month, and his face immediately lit up with joy.
'I guess I have to budget carefully for the time being, saving where I can and spending where necessary.'
Teuchi's occasional bouts of absentmindedness were just part of the artistic temperament of a craftsman, so Naruto felt no guilt at all.
After putting the ramen voucher into the seal space, Naruto planned to meet up with his new teammates, who were as lucky as him to have survived.
He wondered if these survivors were as impressive as their escape from death might suggest
'Team C17 should be comprised of four or five people, more or less.'
'Well, it doesn't matter. No one can be more carefree than me. I'll just have to find a way to get by. It's more important to find information. At this time, Konoha still had plenty of taboo research to uncover.'
As he mused, Naruto was somewhat careless with his walking and he bumped into someone at a corner.
Fortunately, the other party was quick to react. They stood firm after swaying for a moment. Rubbing their forehead, they let out a soft groan before looking at Naruto, and said unhappily, "Aren't you too old to not watch where you're walking?"
Judging from the voice, Naruto believed it was a girl with a rather aggressive personality. Naruto looked up apologetically, but the moment he saw who it was, he was stunned.
"What's wrong with you? Are you dumb?" Kushina, true to her nickname as the Red-Hot Habanero, was as spicy as ever.
Kushina rubbed her head, wondering why was she so unlucky today. Not only had she lost some money, but now she had run into an idiot who bumped into her without even apologizing.
"Oh, oh, sorry." Naruto bowed at a ninety-degree angle, feeling a little guilty.
Meeting his real mother in the streets was both mentally and physically unsettling. After apologizing, Naruto just wanted to escape, as he really didn't want to get involved with Minato and Kushina.
"Why are you running away?" Kushina grabbed Naruto by the collar.
"I dropped my money!" Naruto blurted out without thinking.
Kushina's pupils dilated slightly, and she looked at Naruto with a look of surprise and exclaimed, "What a coincidence! I also lost money today."
"But... I didn't find any money either! How about you let me go and I'll share half of it with you next time I pick up some money." Naruto said in a panic, desperate to escape.
"The money you found is naturally yours, why would you give me half of it?" Kushina held to Naruto's clothes tightly, refusing to let go, "Hey, why do you look like you're going to run away?"
"I'm not." Naruto really wanted to run away and didn't want to stay here any longer.
He had assumed Konoha was big enough that, using a civilian Shinobi's identity, he wouldn't run into Minato and Kushina. After all, they were on a whole different level.
His purpose was simple and direct, gather information. Once he had what he needed, he could get out. It wasn't like he could take anything physical from this timeline anyway, so he might as well memorize whatever he could.
However, Naruto had no intention of changing the fate of any major characters, as he didn't want to accidentally erase his own existence.
This was why he absolutely did not want to encounter any of his generation's fathers, especially Minato and Kushina, who were directly related to the original Naruto.
"Strange." Kushina muttered, but she finally let go of Naruto.
Naruto, feeling as though he had been granted a pardon, quickly made his escape.
After retreating to a small alleyway and calming down, Naruto patted his green Chunin vest and let out a long sigh of relief. He walked along Konoha's Main Street for a while and entered the Academy.
The Hokage Tower was not a place that anyone could go to, at least, his Team C17 was not eligible to gather there. If they are meeting with their teammates, it would have to be in one of the abandoned classrooms of the academy.
As Naruto ascended the stairs, he mulled over ways to get closer to the Medical Department, 'Should he deliberately get injured to sneak in?'
Before he could settle on a plan, he found himself at the door of the abandoned classroom.
He pushed the door open.
To his surprise, there were four people standing inside, three young men and one girl. The three young men were equally ordinary looking, and like Kitahiko, they were all cannon fodder Chunin.
However, it was the girl that caught Naruto's attention. What attracted him was not the girl's face that looked like Nohara Rin, but the white armband with a red cross she wore on her right arm.
Naruto distinctly remembered Sakura had one as well, and it seemed to be something that belonged to the Medical Department's members.
Naruto's throat went dry as he swallowed hard, staring at the girl's armband, 'Who would have thought that just when I dozed off, the pillow would fall right into my lap?'
The three young men also noticed Naruto's gaze, who sneered in their hearts, 'This guy looked ordinary, but I didn't expect him to be so shameless.'
'In broad daylight, he swallowed his saliva while staring at a girl. Ugh! Disgusting! At least when I did it, I was more discreet about it.'
However, it's not their fault. In this era, Chunin from cannon fodder team like theirs is in danger of losing their lives soon. So when a pretty Medical-nin suddenly appeared in their midst, it was a challenge none of them could handle.
"Cough, now that everyone is here, let's introduce ourselves." One of the older-looking guys said, "I'll go first, my name is Yamashiro Nobi."