After completing his first mission and earning money for the first time, Naruto felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. Clutching the small pouch of ryo in his hand, he made a firm decision—he was going to reward himself with a well-deserved bowl of ramen.
As he walked through the village, his mind drifted into an elaborate fantasy.
"Man, if I keep doing missions, I'll be rich in no time! I can eat ramen every day—no, every meal! I'll have my own personal ramen chef! Ramen for breakfast, ramen for lunch, ramen for—"
His stomach growled, snapping him back to reality. He wiped a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth and picked up his pace, eager to reach Ichiraku Ramen.
The warm aroma of broth and noodles filled the air as he stepped into the familiar little shop. His eyes lit up as he spotted Teuchi behind the counter, already preparing for the next order.
"Oi, Uncle Teuchi! One big bowl of ramen, please!" Naruto grinned, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
Teuchi chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm. "Coming right up, Naruto."
Within minutes, a steaming bowl of ramen was placed in front of him. The rich scent of miso and pork filled his nose, making his stomach tighten with hunger.
"There you go," Teuchi said with a warm smile.
Naruto instinctively reached out, ready to dig in—but then he hesitated.
His fingers brushed against the fabric of his mask, and for a moment, he felt unsure. He had been wearing it all day, avoiding unnecessary attention. But could he eat with it on? Of course not.
Ayame, who had been watching from the side, tilted her head in curiosity. "Naruto? What's wrong?"
Glancing around the shop, Naruto made sure no one else was around. With a relieved sigh, he slowly pulled down his mask.
The moment his face was revealed, Ayame's eyes widened in shock. But instead of saying anything, she suddenly burst into laughter.
"Pfft—Hahaha! Naruto! Is that really you?!" she giggled, covering her mouth.
Naruto shot her a side glance, his cheeks puffing in annoyance. "Tch. Yeah, yeah, laugh it up..."
After calming down a little, Ayame leaned in with a teasing grin. "So? What happened to your face?"
Naruto let out a defeated sigh and rubbed his forehead. "This morning, my whiskers just... disappeared. I woke up, looked in the mirror, and—bam! Gone. Now my face looks like this."
Ayame's eyes sparkled mischievously. "You know... you're actually kinda cute like this. Maybe I should give you a ribbon too?"
Naruto nearly choked on his noodles. He coughed violently, reaching for a glass of water while Ayame laughed even harder.
Embarrassed, he shoved more food into his mouth, focusing entirely on eating as quickly as possible.
Ayame, satisfied with her teasing, simply smiled as she watched him eat.
After finishing his meal, Naruto let out a satisfied burp and immediately pulled his mask back on. He handed his payment to Teuchi before bolting out of the shop.
"Thanks for the food!" he shouted, disappearing down the street.
But what Naruto didn't notice was that he hadn't been as alone as he thought.
Sitting quietly in the corner of the shop, almost blending into the background, was Shino Aburame.
His brows twitched slightly as he adjusted his sunglasses.
"...I was here the whole time."
Even his insects seemed to hum in silent agreement.
After leaving Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto strolled through the dimly lit streets of Konoha, hands tucked into his pockets. His mind drifted into a self-indulgent fantasy.
"Hehe, getting paid is amazing! If I keep doing missions, I'll be swimming in money! Imagine… eating ramen all day, every day! Maybe I should build a giant ramen house?!"
His stomach growled just thinking about it, despite already being full.
A gust of wind blew through the village, bringing him back to reality. Shaking his head, he quickened his pace toward his apartment.
As soon as he stepped inside, he kicked off his sandals, stretched, and collapsed onto the couch.
"Alright! Time to check my progress!"
He closed his eyes and focused, summoning the golden panel.
A shimmering golden glow appeared in front of him, displaying rows of numbers and data. Naruto's bright blue eyes locked onto the most important part—the remaining time.
---
[DEVELOPMENT PANEL]
▶ Development Progress: 60.242%
▶ Time Remaining: 8 months, 10 days, 17 hours
▶ Today's Time Reduced: 1 day, 12 hours
----
Naruto blinked.
Then he blinked again.
Then he furiously rubbed his eyes before looking at the panel again.
"Wait… what?!"
Something was wrong.
The initial time was 8 months, 12 days, and 5 hours.
After a full 24 hours, it should have simply dropped by 1 day, meaning it should now be 8 months, 11 days, 5 hours.
But instead, the panel displayed 8 months, 10 days, 17 hours.
That meant the time had gone down by 1 day and 12 hours!
Naruto scratched his head, utterly baffled.
"What the hell? It should've only gone down by one day… Why did an extra twelve hours disappear?!"
He stared at the golden panel like it had betrayed him.
"Is it broken?"
His lips pressed into a thin line as he carefully thought back on his entire day.
He woke up.
He got his first mission.
He ran around chasing a cat.
He got scratched a few times.
He finished the mission and got paid for the first time.
He ate ramen.
He came home.
Nothing in that list seemed special enough to explain the extra reduction in time.
"Hold on… Could it be because I did a mission?"
His eyes widened. That had to be it!
If missions somehow accelerated his bloodline development, then wouldn't that mean…
"If I do even MORE missions, I can awaken my bloodline even FASTER?!"
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Hehehe… If I work super hard, I might awaken this thing way earlier than expected!"
Of course, he had no idea that his reasoning was completely wrong. The real reason for the extra time reduction was something he hadn't discovered yet.
But at this moment, Naruto was 100% convinced that missions were the key.
Satisfied with his "discovery," he dismissed the golden panel, watching as it flickered and vanished.
Yawning, he rolled over onto his bed, pulling his blanket over himself.
"Alright! Tomorrow, I'm gonna take on as many missions as possible! Just you wait, bloodline! I'm coming for you!"