Chapter 2

"Kage bunshin no jutsu"

With those words and a few puffs of smoke, 4 clones appeared in Naruto's apartment. Naruto felt a brief moment of irritation at his poor control, since he had aimed for 3 clones, and vowed to work harder on improving it.

"Alright you guys, get to work on cleaning up the apartment. When you are done, you can dispel or not, but don't go outside." And with a synchronized "Yes boss!" from the clones, Naruto left his apartment.

He now had to choose whether to search for information on nutrition by himself or go directly to Ayame. It wasn't a hard choice.

[Quest: 'Cooking with Ayame' has been generated!]

Type: Personal, Single

You are in dire need of a proper diet and who better to help than your beloved Ayame-neechan. Convince Ayame to help you learn what to eat and how to prepare it.

Reward: +10 SP to cooking, +1 AP to charm, Quest: 'Cooking with Ayame' converted into a continuous type.

'Well, if that isn't a hint then I don't know what is.'

[A few minutes later]

Landing lightly on the ground after roof jumping his way there, Naruto moved the curtains at the entrance to the side and stepped inside the ramen shop, 'Ichiraku Ramen'. He was immediately assaulted by the heavenly fragrance of perfectly cooked ramen and took a brief moment to just enjoy it. Shaking it off a moment later he sat on one of the counter seats and called out to the old man behind the counter.

"Yo, Teuchi-ojisan. Is Ayame-neechan in?"

"Good morning Naruto. No, she's out getting some ingredients that were running low after the early morning rush. She should be back soon, it's almost time to begin preparations for the lunch crowd after all. Why, did you need something from her?"

"Yeah, kinda. But if she's getting here soon I might as well wait, I will take a bowl of ramen in the meantime."

"Alright, one order of ramen coming up!"

While waiting for Ayame to get back, he began to ponder about training his ninja skills. Kakashi was apparently not gonna bother with anything but teamwork exercises, which was not helping considering that his basic skills were kinda lacking (not to mention that his so called teammates seemed to hate him). Kakashi had just given empty platitudes so far when asked about any other kind of training so that was probably a dead end. Should he keep practicing by himself? Maybe he should ask the Hokage for some tips.

"Alright, one serving of ramen. Enjoy!" Teuchi said while placing a steaming bowl of ramen in front of Naruto.

"Oh, thanks a lot Teuchi-ojisan." While it was tempting to just gorge himself on the ramen as usual, he would still be waiting for Ayame when he finished so he decided to savour his bowl of ramen.

'While I'm sure jiji could give me some training tips, it feels kinda wrong to go to the hokage with something like this.' Naruto thought while mentally going over his alternatives. Then he hit upon an idea.

'Could I use this to get closer to my 'targets'? If I remember correctly, the Hyuuga clan is famous for their taijutsu, so I could probably use this to get closer to Hinata. If the system is correct, then she would be happy to accept. Ino and Sakura...is probably not a good idea, I don't really know Ino and neither is she good enough to teach anyone ninja skills. Same with Sakura really, though she has very good theoretical knowledge. But she would never agree, since according to the system, she hates me.'

"Hmmm" He hummed while thinking 'Tenten? At the very least she would be good enough to teach weapon skills, but if I remember correctly she was kunoichi of the year for her graduation class. That combined with the year she has been a genin should mean that she has skills to teach at least. The problem is to get her to teach me. I have nothing to trade the teaching for. I will have to think about this, I guess I will try with Hinata first.'

Making a decision, he decided to focus more on the food of the gods in front of him and idly think about a few ways to approach Hinata. Then the game made its presence known again.

[Quest: 'Hinata-sensei' has been generated!]

Type: Personal, Single

You are in need of a teacher to better correct your sabotaged taijutsu. Hinata comes from a clan of well known taijutsu users, and much more skilled in the art than yourself. Convince her to become your teacher in taijutsu!

Reward: +1 AP to dexterity, +10 SP in taijutsu, 'Hinata-sensei' becomes a continuous type quest.

Naruto choked on his noodles.

[A few minutes later]

"Father, I'm back. Oh, Naruto, you're here? Couldn't resist having some of our ramen, huh." Ayame said with a smile.

Ayame was a young woman with long brown hair that reached the middle of her back. She has fair skin, black eyes and a beautiful smile on her lips. Ayame has a slender physique with a well-endowed chest, though it was hidden by the robe she wore, as well as a shapely rear. She wore her usual white waitress uniform, but with the addition of a brown backpack which was filled with packaged ingredients.

"Hi Ayame-neechan."

"Oh, welcome back Ayame. Put those things in the back then come back here. Naruto here was waiting for you actually." Teuchi said with grin on his face.

"Oh, is that so? I will be right back then." she answer with a surprised expression on her face while moving towards the back.

A short while later she reentered the shop without the backpack.

"Alright then Naruto, what can I do for you?"

"Umm, it was pointed out to me that I haven't been eating everything I should and that it would be bad if I kept that up, but I also don't know exactly what I need to eat. So I figured that I needed some help, and you were the first one that came to mind, Ayame-neechan. Would you mind coming over and teaching me how and what to cook?" Naruto said with an embarrassed look on his face while scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, of course not Naruto. Though since I'm helping out at the store during the days, I can only help in the evenings. You don't mind, do you father?" Ayame was quite surprised that Naruto was actually doing this. Both her father and herself had pointed out that he needed to eat more vegetables before, but he had stubbornly resisted until now. So hearing that he was actually gonna fix that bad habit there was no way that she wouldn't help him if she could.

"Of course not, it's a long time overdue that he learned to keep a healthy diet."

"That's great, thanks a lot Ayame-neechan! Are you free tonight, or is it too sudden?"

"Nah, tonight works fine for me. I'm guessing we are gonna need to get some ingredients since you probably only have instant ramen and something to drink, am I right?" One look at Naruto's face was all the answer that she needed.

"Thought so, then I will meet you at your home around six o'clock. Does that work for you?"

"Yeah, sounds great!"

"Alright, I will see you later then since we are gonna be busy preparing for the lunch crowd now. Unless you want some more ramen now?"

"Nah, I already had a bowl and I need to get started on my training. I might have a day of from team stuff, but a ninja's training is never over." Naruto said with a wide grin on his face.

After saying farewell to them, Naruto left the ramen stand and contemplated on what to do now. He really wanted to go look for Hinata and try to make some progress with her and the quest he got. The problem was, he had no idea where she or her team were nor where they trained. And considering the size of the pole the average Hyuuga seemed to keep up their ass, he didn't think it was even remotely a good idea to visit her home. So that was out for now. What else could he do?

'Since I have a plan for taijutsu, what else should I try to get some instructions for? And where would I even go? Kakashi-sensei doesn't want to teach us for whatever reason, so that just leaves Iruka-sensei and Jiji.'

'Hmm, Iruka-sensei is a chuunin and a teacher, so he should be able to help me with my control. And if I can't convince him to do it for free, maybe I can bribe him with holding back on pranking for a while longer. Maybe he has some cool ninjutsu to teach as well.' And with that thought he got a wide grin on his face. Noticing the glares and whispers, he jumped onto one of the rooftops nearby.

'Jiji is the strongest ninja in the village so I bet he has a lot he can teach, but he's pretty much chained down in his office all day so he probably can't teach me personally. But I can probably convince him to give me some books or scrolls at least. And he's also the only one I can think of that would know where to find books and scrolls on fuuinjutsu. Considering the amount of SPs I have in that skill as well as my heritage, there is no way I'm gonna ignore that.'

'Now then, where do I go first, Iruka-sensei or Jiji?' Naruto was stumped for quite a while, weighting pros and cons against each other. That was the case until he was suddenly interrupted by a series of memories. Focusing on them, he got the impressions of one of his clones cleaning his apartment, then rapidly growing bored once running out of stuff to do. And as such, the clone decided to dispel rather than stand around in boredom.

'Who knew watching clones clean could be so boring? No, wait a second, that is not what's important about this. I get the memory when the clones dispel?! Why didn't I notice this before, and why didn't the scroll say anything about it?' Naruto felt quite confused about those points.

'Hmm, now that I think about it, I only used the clones once against Mizuki and that time I tried to fight with one as training. Both times were quite short and I was doing the same thing, so maybe that's why? If I'm correct about this, then that means I can use this to get several times more training in than normal and still get other things done! Either way, that means the possibilities are endless! ' Naruto daydreamed for a moment of him standing over a defeated Sasuke while the Hokage handed over the hokage-hat to him with Ayame, Hinata and Sakura cheering for him in the background while Iruka watched over him with a proud expression on his face. After being lost in the dream for a few seconds, he visibly shakes his head to clear his mind.

'Anyway, I will make as many as I can for now. One will try to find Iruka-sensei, chances are that he's either at home or the academy (it is a rest day for students as well), and the rest will try to find Hinata-chan. I will go to jiji personally.' With that thought, he formed the hand sign for shadow clones.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu" And with an accompanying puff of smoke, 9 clones appeared around him.

"Alright, you go to Iruka-sensei, the rest of you can search for Hinata-chan!" Naruto said while pointing at one of the clones.

With a cry of "Yes boss!", they dispersed. Naruto himself took off towards the Hokage tower.

A few minutes later

Before him stood the hokage tower, situated right below the hokage mountain. It was the main administrative building of the Hokage where he had his office and other related facilities. It was a large building, red in colour and round in shape. It stood several stories tall with a large symbol for fire on it.

As was custom for Naruto, he charged into the office of the Hokage without even giving the secretary outside a chance to protest. He knew from experience that if the Hokage was busy and couldn't meet him, one of the ANBU would stop him. And since none came forward now, it meant he was in the clear.

"Hi Jiji! Ready to hand over the hat yet?" Naruto said as he threw open the door and stepped into the office. It was an oval-shaped room with windows on the opposite side of the door that lead into the room. The walls were lined with cabinets and piles of books, scrolls and documents could be seen. In the center of the room was a broad desk with piles of paperwork on it.

At the other side of the desk sat the most powerful man in the village, the third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. He was an aged man, with gray hair and wrinkles and a goatee. He wore the official uniform of a kage, the famous hat and a red kimono tied together with a white sash with a white haori over it. He had a pipe in his mouth, slowly puffing on its content, and watching his newest visitor with a kind expression on his face.

What Naruto didn't know was that moments before his entry, the Hokage could be seen enjoying the latest of his student's famous book series, 'Icha Icha Violence'. But he was not known as the 'God of Shinobi' for nothing. With speed far above Naruto's own, he had hid the book when he sensed the incoming interruption and took on a pose fitting for a man in his position.

"Good day, Naruto-kun. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine Jiji, busy training so I can take that hat off your head."

"That sounds promising, I know that you can do it. Not to sound unwelcoming, but what brought you to my office? It's still a bit early for a lunch break in case you wanted to get some ramen."

"Nah, I just stopped by Ichiraku ramen so I'm fine on that point. I was just gonna ask you for some training tips. I bet you got a lot to give." Naruto said with a wide grin on his face.

"Hoh, I can't fault you for reaching that conclusion, but why didn't you go to Kakashi-kun?"

"Kakashi-sensei just harps on and on about teamwork and never agrees to teach us anything else."

"Teamwork is very important Naruto. The reason Konoha is what it is today is because the will of fire, which emphasizes the bonds we have. You cannot have a forest with a single tree, no matter how big." The hokage said with a gentle expression on his face.

"Yeah, yeah Jiji, I get it, but teamwork is not everything there is to being a shinobi. I need some personal skills as well. " Naruto said with an annoyed expression on his face.

The hokage couldn't fault him for that. And thinking about it he couldn't deny that Naruto would need to improve and grow stronger, especially if the rumours Jiraiya had found about a group of strong mercenaries inquiring about the jinchuurikis meant anything more sinister than mere information gathering. So he found himself contemplating Naruto's words.

"Hmm, I can't disagree with that either. And while usually it would be the team instructor requesting resources for training, in this case I guess I can make an exception." The Hokage said absentmindedly with a contemplating expression on his face while idly stroking his goatee.

"Alright then Naruto-kun, what kind of aid to you want?" Said the Hokage with a small smile.

"You're really gonna help? Awesome!" Naruto cheered and fist pumped. Calming down quickly before the hokage could take back his words, he continued.

"Well, I had already intended to ask Iruka-sensei about chakra control exercises, so I'm fine there. Maybe some ninjutsu? But what I really want is some fuuinjutsu instructions."

"Fuuinjutsu?" The hokage answer with a surprised and then questioning expression on his face. Hearing the unasked question, Naruto explained himself.

"Yeah, after finding out about the kyuubi and getting over the shock of it, I figured that I really wanted to know more about it. It is something powerful enough to imprison a tailed beast, and as someone containing one it just seemed like a good idea. The academy didn't mention much about it except the very basics so I don't know where to go to find out more about it." Naruto said while scratching the back of his head as if embarrassed.

The hokage took on a pensive expression and contemplated what he had heard. He was happy that Naruto had realized the issues with his control and was gonna ask for help with that. He also wouldn't mind providing him with a few scrolls on ninjutsu. Fuuinjutsu though...

Fuuinjutsu was not only a very complicated art, it was also very dangerous. While much of the danger could be avoided by using clones to test arrays, it was still dangerous if not taken seriously. That didn't mention the whole teaching a jinchuuriki sealing issue. But even so, Hiruzen trusted and believed in Naruto. He believed that Naruto could be trusted with it. That didn't mean he wouldn't take some protective measures.

Naruto waited in silence, knowing that interrupting the Hokage at this moment would possibly be detrimental to his chances. After what seemed like hours passed, but was actually less than a minute, the Hokage opened his mouth to speak.

"I do not mind handing out a few scrolls of low ranked but useful ninjutsu, but I will only hand out fuuinjutsu instructions if you follow my instructions. Do you understand?" He said with a stern expression on his face.

"Yes, Hokage-sama" Naruto answer with his own expression of seriousness, showing that he understood. The hokage gave a nod of acknowledgement.

"Alright, I will hand over instructions of the basics of fuuinjutsu if you follow the stipulations I have. They are as follow."

"One, do not make any fuuinjutsu until you have passed the writing test that comes with the instructions. Using fuuinjutsu without sufficient handwriting is too dangerous."

"Two, do not activate an array personally that you haven't already tested with clones, multiple times if possible. The results cannot be predicted if there are errors in the array. While it's likely that it just wouldn't work and fizzle out, it can also do just about anything else."

"Three, do not attempt to experiment yet. Basic fuuinjutsu is not enough to do that safely."

"Four, do not attempt to get more instructions until I or a seal master has evaluated your progress and deemed you ready to advance to the next level. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

Holding his stern expression for a moment longer, he finally relaxed and said.

"When you are done with the basics, come to me and I will test you. If you pass, I will give you access to more advanced material." With that said, the Hokage rose and moved to one of the cabinets. Searching it for a moment he withdrew a single paper from it. He then sat down again, wrote something on it and stamped it. Then he handed it to Naruto.

"This is an acquisition form for material from the shinobi archives. Take it there and give it to one of the caretakers, they will give you everything you need. If there's any problem, then come to me."

"Alright, thanks a lot Jiji. Just wait and I will be a master before you know." And with that Naruto grabbed the form. The moment he did though, he had to hide his surprise. Because at the moment he took the form, a now familiar blue window had appeared before him. Luckily it seems like the Hokage played of his surprise on something else rather than being suspicious about it.

Reacting to Naruto's irritation, the window disappeared and instead he got a feeling that there was something he could look at if he so wished, a notification of some kind. Figuring that it was the window that popped up, he decided to check it after he left the tower. He said farewell to the hokage and left the tower. As soon as he was in the isolation of a rooftop, he willed the notification to appear.

[Quest: 'Fuuinjutsu prodigy' has been generated!]

Type: Personal, single

You have managed to convince the sandaime Hokage to give you instructions for fuuinjutsu, but you still haven't learned it. Prove to the hokage that his decision wasn't just a good one, but an excellent one and master the material as quick as possible.

Reward: Depends on time taken.

'Hmm, in other words, get it done as quickly as possible. I guess I will go and get the stuff from the archives immediately and then call back the clones searching for Hinata-chan. But how? Maybe the clones get the memories as well? If so, I can make new clones and use them to do it. I should probably test it.' With that decided, he made two clones, took one to the side, made it pick something out in the street below then dispelled it. Then he returned to the clone and confirmed that it got the memories.

He then used the second clone to notify all clones searching for Hinata to meet up at home and to begin to practice their handwriting as soon as possible.

After a moment of thought, he made another clone and made it go buy a lot of writing material. Of course he had it use henge to buy it, there was after all a reason that he was so skilled at that jutsu. He had been able to avoid the obvious price gouging performed by most shops ever since he learned it. With that done, he turned towards his new destination and jumped away.

[Quite some time later]

If Naruto had thought that getting stuff out of the shinobi archive would be quick and easy, he would be terribly disappointed. It was neither quick or easy, requiring several different forms to get anywhere. Luckily the archivist didn't seem to care about him one way or the other and had simply done his job with an ease that spoke of his experience.

Opening the door to his home with a sigh, he was greeted by a sight that was very different from how he left it. While he could see that the clones had indeed done their job and cleaned up everywhere, it was nothing he could pay attention to what with the clones strewn out all over the room, practicing their handwriting. He was stunned for a moment, unsure of what to do. Looking through the pathway to his bedroom, he saw that there was a few in his bedroom as well. Realizing that his apartment was a bit too small for the mass studying he intended, he made the clones in the bedroom dispel.

Getting their memory and going through it for a moment, he quickly moved on and did a few tests to see if he noticed any difference. He wasn't sure if he imagined it or not, but he thought there was one. Either way, he left the remaining clones to keep training and opened up the scroll he got from the archivist. It contained what as promised, which turned out to be a scroll with basic field ninjutsu, for example a small fire ninjutsu to light a campfire, a water ninjutsu to condense water out of the air, stuff like that, and a few scrolls and books with different titles related to fuuinjutsu. Some examples were 'Basic Fuuinjutsu Theory', 'Basic Fuuinjutsu Exercises', 'Fundamentals of Fuuinjutsu', 'How to decipher Fuuinjutsu'. Either way, seeing as he had several books and scrolls to read, he took one of the books and then made one clone for each of the rest.

[Some time later]

Naruto was quite engrossed in reading about fuuinjutsu when he was interrupted by the memories from the clone that went looking for Iruka. Going through the memories, he realized that the clone had found him at his desk in the teacher's lounge going over some paperwork of some kind. Iruka had been surprised, but happy to see him and had quickly agreed to teach him some control exercises.

He had told the clone that there was one control skill that was essential for genin to learn as quickly as possible, which was surface clinging. He then went on a spiel about the theory behind it, which went on for way longer than the clone thought it should have, which basically boiled down to, use your chakra on the body part in question and try to make it stick to the surface by will and imagination. After that the clone had spend some time practicing under the watch of Iruka and later by itself. It had dispelled itself when it ran low on chakra, not wanting to test out if the memory transfer worked when the clone ran out of chakra.

After processing the memories he contemplated what to do. After some consideration, he figured that it was time to dispel all the clones and make new ones with the added knowledge.

Dispelling all of them at once gave him a small headache, thought it quickly disappeared. He once again went over the progress he had made, then made 10 new clones, 4 for handwriting and 6 for fuuinjutsu, figuring that he would save the rest for the chakra control exercise. Moving to a training ground, he spent the rest of the time practicing his chakra control until he needed to get ready for Ayame.

AN: Thanks for all the support. It was kinda shocking just how much support I got for a sub 10k word story, but it sure was motivating.