Chapter 12: Naruto's Convenience Store Grand Opening

“Hello everyone, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I am the man who will become Hokage.”

Naruto wrote his name boldly on the blackboard.

Then he turned around, taking in the expressions of everyone in the class, before stepping down from the podium.

Very good, the children were all innocent, not yet tainted by the world.

However, the homeroom teacher, Ichiro Oda, had a look of disdain in his eyes.

‘Should I get rid of him?’

At that moment, Naruto recalled his side mission.

After all, he was already known in the village as the king of pranks; getting rid of one homeroom teacher was just another prank.

No big deal.

Once everyone finished their self-introductions, during the break, all the kids were busy making new friends.

Naruto’s gaze settled on one boy.

Across the aisle was a chubby little guy with a round, somewhat cute face.

He wore a T-shirt with the character for "food" on it—definitely a foodie, right?

“Hey, chubby, I’m Naruto. You’re called Choji, right?”

“Don’t call me chubby!” Choji snapped instantly at the word “fat.”

“Ah, sorry, I didn’t know you didn’t like that,” Naruto said apologetically and reached behind him to pull something out.

“Here, consider these a gift to make up for it.”

Choji was interrupted mid-bite by six bags of potato chips placed on the desk.

“Are these really for me?”

Looking at the packets, Choji found it hard to believe.

“Of course. As an apology, all of these are for you. I sell snacks, so if you come buy chips from me later, I'll give you a 50% discount.”

At this, Choji’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Absolutely. I’m Naruto Uzumaki. If you want any snacks in the future, just come to me.”

As Naruto was about to leave, he suddenly turned back and handed Choji a bottle of soda.

“Soda’s pretty good too. Try it, but don’t drink too much of it.”

With that, Naruto dashed off to his next target.

This was a little side business Naruto had started out of boredom.

Because the goods in the mall were bought with recharged currency, prices were much cheaper than outside.

Food, drinks, even ninja tools were all more affordable here.

For example, the exquisite kunai Naruto often pulled from the shop cost only one tael each in the mall.

But of similar quality kunai outside started at no less than fifty taels.

There were other price differences too, though not as dramatic, but enough for Naruto to earn a hefty profit.

If the adults didn’t shun him, he might have opened a general store in the village long ago.

But now, the opportunity had arrived.

Adults didn’t want to deal with him, yet he could rake in pocket money from classmates with snacks and drinks.

Next to Choji was Shikamaru, who had been quietly listening to their conversation.

When Naruto left, Shikamaru noticed Choji reaching eagerly for the chips.

“I advise you not to touch those,” Shikamaru warned. “You should know who he is.”

Others might not remember, but Shikamaru recognized Naruto—the boy whom adults disliked and even avoided.

“I won’t waste any food,” Choji replied firmly.

He tore open a strange cucumber-flavored chip and tried it. The taste was unique and delicious.

The soda was sweet and fizzy, quite refreshing.

As he ate, Choji watched Naruto busily selling snacks and recalled their first meeting.

It happened on the commercial street, where Naruto walked among passersby who all avoided him, some even muttering insults.

Choji was shocked to witness how much everyone loathed one person.

Many disliked, even hated Naruto, wishing him dead.

But what amazed him was Naruto’s attitude.

He seemed completely unfazed, even casually flipping a coin into the air as he walked.

Then Naruto shouted, “That settles it happily—time to go fishing!”

And Naruto’s face brightened with a smile.

To be hated, despised, and scolded by so many, yet still smile—that revealed an extraordinary strength of spirit.

What about Choji himself?

Because of his weight, he was also discriminated against, often called “chubby” or “fat pig,” which made him insecure and angry whenever anyone mentioned “fat” in front of him.

Thus, he deeply empathized with Naruto’s plight.

His only friend was Shikamaru, and even that was due to their families’ long-standing ties; otherwise, he might have had no friends at all.

No friends meant loneliness. Choji could not imagine what it would be like to be utterly alone.

Would he be as strong as Naruto?

Could he smile all alone like that?

If he could, Choji truly wanted to be friends with Naruto. Such a strong person was someone he admired and aspired to become.

Meanwhile, Naruto was still busy hawking his snacks.

He went from person to person, remembering many classmates.

Most chose to buy some snacks—until he reached Sasuke Uchiha.

The protagonist truly looked good, already handsome and imposing at a young age.

With jet-black hair and a clean, handsome face, no wonder he was the main character and so many girls liked him.

Right now, Sasuke was wearing an expression that looked cool but was really just posing.

“Hey, you want any snacks or not?”

Sasuke was rather speechless. He had long noticed this lively blonde kid.

Why did Naruto call everyone by their names but addressed him with just a “hey”?

He didn’t know that Naruto was bitter about the fact that Sasuke was the protagonist while Naruto himself was cast as the villainous big boss.

And for some reason, just looking at Sasuke’s face filled Naruto with a deep-seated disgust.

It seemed to stem from some primal genetic disdain.

Sasuke shook his head and refused.

Naruto felt a sudden surge of competitiveness from Sasuke’s rejection.

So you’re the protagonist, huh?

He was curious to see what would happen if he led the protagonist astray.

Starting with something as small as this.

Naruto smiled slyly and teased, “Hey, second son of the Uchiha clan, don’t tell me you don’t even have money for a drink?”

He had already dug up Sasuke’s family background during their earlier chat.

“I’ll take one.”

The brat was easily provoked.

“Well then, don’t be stingy as a young master. If you’re buying, get the big bottle.”

Naruto placed a 2-liter soda bottle on the desk.

Bang!

Sasuke slammed a bill on the table.

“Here’s ten taels.”

Naruto grinned. This was a major counterstrike from the villain!

Watching Naruto walk away, Sasuke suddenly reflected on himself.

‘Why was I so easily provoked? Strange.’

Continuing his sales, Naruto spotted a familiar face.

“So it’s you. You’re Hinata, right?”

Hinata blushed deeply. “Naruto-kun.”

“No need to be so formal. Here, this milk tea’s on me. Girls should drink more milk tea.”

“Thank you, Naruto-kun.”

“Fifteen taels, please.”

The class bell rang and Naruto returned to his seat.

Splash!

The homeroom teacher, Mr. Oda, had just pushed open the door when a bucket of water drenched him to the bone.

“Who did that?!”

“Teacher, it was Naruto Uzumaki.”

“Naruto Uzumaki! Outside, stand in the corner as punishment!”

Naruto stepped out of the classroom. The hallway was empty.

Seeing no one watching, he left immediately.

Time to go fishing.