Konoha's No. 1 Most Unpredictable Ninja

[CHAPTER 7]

     Creating a clone helped Naruto practice 2 jutsus at once. He had learned early on that whatever the clones learn or master passes on to him once they disappeared, everything except physical changes (stamina, speed, etc).
     It was known that the fox was incredibly outmatched when facing Naruto, especially now that he is using jutsus to parry the attacks. The fight was over so quick that the fox never put in a single attack.
     "Sorry I broke your leg, you can go now if you want." Naruto apologized.
     The fox stayed seated where he was, not moving.
     "I said you could go." Naruto insisted, starting to get a little annoyed.
     The fox propped itself on its four legs and walked away without even limping.
     Did that fox just heal itself? thought the blonde.
     Yes, foxes of higher status within their rankings can heal themselves using natural energy around them. The kyubi stated.
     Natural energy? Is that something I could do? Naruto asked.
     Maybe but now is not the time to be thinking about that. You still haven't come close to facing the actual leaders of the foxes so don't get overconfident and start thinking of the future. The kyubi made sure to put Naruto in his place every chance he got.
     Ok sure, whatever you say. Naruto thought as he started to make his way to the village.
     Aren't you going to stay here and train? asked the nine tails.
     I gotta eat something before I start. I skipped breakfast this morning and if I start training right now I'll pass out before even mastering a single jutsu. Naruto reasoned.
     Naruto walked to his favorite ramen shop, Ichiraku Ramen. Their food was heavenly and the owners where really nice to Naruto too. The first time he had ever gone was when he was 4 and he didn't have money but they let him have a bowl 'on the house.' Ever since then Naruto has been a regular at the shop.
     "Hey old man! I'm just here to eat a quick bowl, you think you can whip up something?" Naruto said as he sat down.
     "Naruto! Of course we can make you something! Would you like some water while you wait?" The ramen guy, Teuchi, turned around with a glass of water but stopped when he saw the small boy. "Naruto you're covered in dirt! What have you been doing so early in the morning?"
     "Training of course! I'm gonna become the greatest ninja you've ever seen, believe it!" Naruto smiled his signature grin, giving Teuchi a thumbs up.
     The ramen guy chuckled and picked up a clean piece of cloth and handed it to Naruto. "You're so young but you act so old. Here, at least take this and clean up a little, I don't want you scaring any customers."
     "Thanks old man." Naruto took the towel and started to wipe himself down. He finished just in time to eat his freshly made ramen the second it was placed in front of him.
     "Thank you for the food!" Naruto slurped down the ramen instantly. He paid for his food and then ran out of the shop, once again heading down to the training fields.
     That's odd. I sense foxes in the area but they aren't attacking. Naruto thought. But Shikamaru and Choji are at least 70 meters away, there's no villagers in this area, and I sense no other shinobi.
     They're 70 meters too close. Foxes from now on will only get smarter; consequently, they understand that this is a shinobi village and if those boys wanted they could get to you in under a minute. The nine tails explained.
     Well that slows down their attacks. Does that mean that this could last more than a month? asked Naruto.
     Yes, if they never find you completely isolated then they'll never approach you. Confirmed the fox.
     So either I find even more secluded training fields or I have to come out here at night when there's no one around. Naruto thought.

     "Hey Naruto! Whatcha doing out here?" yelled Choji, who was still a few meters away.
     "Not much." The blonde said with a smile. "Why did you guys come here?"
     "We came here to train. These are our families training fields after all." Shikamaru stated.
     "Really? Oh I didn't know these fields belong to the Ino-Shika-Cho. I hope you don't mind that I've been using them for a while now." Naruto said a little embarrassed.
     "Nah we don't mind. They aren't really private or anything, it's just that most people stay away from it so we were surprised to see you here." Choji said.
     "So what kind of training are you gonna do?" Naruto asked.
     "Shikamaru wanted to practice his shadow possession jutsu and I wanted to practice partial expansion jutsu." Choji answered.
     "Yeah our dads just taught us how to do them a few days ago. We wanted to see if we were any good at it." Shikamaru added.
     "Well I came out here to practice some jutsus too so maybe we can practice together!" Naruto said happily.
     The boys smiled and agreed, after all it was more fun practicing with friends.

     They played/practiced until lunchtime. Having Shikamaru and Choji tag along was very beneficial for Naruto.
     First off, with Choji's partial expansion Naruto was able to improve his earth style: mud wall jutsu. By repeatedly attacking it Naruto was able to find its weaknesses and improve its defensive power. Choji was also able to practice keeping himself expanded for a longer time than usual. The mud wall was also good for Shikamaru because it gave him shadows to work with for his shadow possession jutsu.
      Another jutsu that Naruto was able to improve was the water release: syrup trap. By having his two friends run through the sticky field Naruto was able to make it harder to escape from. 
     By eating time Naruto had mastered 2 jutsus. Only 8 to go by next Saturday. He wanted to master them by Wednesday so he could start pairing up jutsus to make combination attacks. Poor foxes won't know what hit them.
     "Hey Naruto we're gonna go get something to eat. You wanna come?" asked Choji.
     "Yeah, where are you thinking of going to?" Naruto asked, making sure that the shop would allow him to eat there in the first place.
     "I was gonna ask my mom to cook for us. Her food is really good! You won't regret eating it." Choji laughed.
     "Sounds good!" Naruto smiled.
     The three boys talked and joked around as they walked to the Akimichi house. Both Choji and Shikamaru knew that there were few stores that accept Naruto and that he probably didn't have the kind of money to waste it on expensive food. (Some restaurants accept him but charge him more than other customers.) Choji's mom's cooking really is good so they usually just settle for home meals when they go out with Naruto.
     "Choji, Shikamaru, and Naruto?! What a pleasant surprise!" exclaimed Mrs. Akimichi. "Have you all come here for lunch?"
     "Yeah." Choji said as he hugged his mom. "Could you make us some onigiri?" Choji got closer to his mom and whispered in her ear. "The last time I took them to school Naruto seemed to really like them."
     Mrs. Akimichi simply nodded and headed to the kitchen. She was glad that her son was so considerate of his friends, especially little Naruto. Mrs. Akimichi was very fond of his late parents, usually she sent extra food in Choji's lunch for him to share with Naruto. It saddened her how few people cared about him. At least she did what she could to keep the child fed.