Naruto: Akira’s Story

"I see, not bad for… well, you've got some kind of foundation, even if it's pretty weak. BUT, with my recommendations and a bit of hard work, you'll be able to push yourself beyond your limits!" Even though it was still early, Guy's voice was already blazing with energy. All I had to do was run a few laps around the training ground to check my endurance, and to keep things from dragging on for hours, I was loaded up with weights that added a total of twenty kilos. 

Apparently, Guy had his own system for assessing someone's fitness. After the run, I went straight into push-ups like a special forces recruit. When my arms gave up on me, I switched to squats, and finally, when my limbs and lungs both staged a mutiny, I tried to do some sit-ups… well, tried.

No matter what I thought of Guy's training methods, He gave me a detailed three-page plan - covering diet, exercises, sets and reps, how to increase them, rest, and sleep. The guy really knows his stuff, and it's no wonder he's a taijutsu master. And these weren't just generic tips - he tailored everything to my body's stats.

Honestly, reading through everything I was supposed to follow made me want to howl. For a homebody like me, spending three hours a day on training is a bit… well, a bit much. But I signed up for this myself, and after paying Guy for his services, he even kindly offered to help with my first workout to make sure I was doing everything right.

I didn't refuse, but even the push-ups - which I thought I was doing perfectly - felt twice as hard after a few of his corrections. Don't even get me started on the other exercises.

After an hour, I'd finished all the exercises that, by my estimate, should've taken me two hours. What can I say, Guy is a master motivator. I thanked him sincerely, got his okay to go to the hot springs, and with a light heart and a heavy body, I went off to recover. As I expected, most people visit the hot springs in the evening, which was just as well - I could barely keep my eyes open.

When I got home, as much as I wanted to tell the world to go to hell, I summoned some clones to practice kanji, and only then collapsed into my pillow with relief.

*Knock-knock*

Ugh, someone's at my door. Nope, I'm not home! I'm exhausted, let me sleep.

****

"Ohhh, poor body." I managed to get up on the second try and headed to the bathroom to fix my hair, remembering the clones who were shamelessly napping on the floor. I couldn't really blame them - they'd been at it for over four hours, but my dispel kick didn't spare them. Funny thing - my muscles hurt so much I barely noticed the headache.

I really didn't feel like cooking, so I dragged myself to my restaurant to check in with Ayumi and see if everything was all right.

The McDonald's hype had died down a bit over the last few days, but even so, the place was packed. In the best restaurants in Konoha, you'd only see this kind of crowd at lunch or dinner, never in the middle of the day.

After placing my order, I sat at a free table and signaled my manager.

"Hello, Akira-san, how are you?" Ayumi asked, sitting down across from me.

"Just great, Ayumi-san. Anything new? No troublemakers?" I asked, taking a sip of my drink.

"No, nothing like that so far, but…"

"But?" I looked at her with interest.

"Some customers are complaining about the limited menu. Women mostly ask about salads - the food is pretty heavy, and their kids are always begging to come here. The men… they want more drink options. According to them, our food would go perfectly with alcohol."

"I see," I sighed. "Well, I don't mind adding a salad to the menu - I even have a good recipe. We'll just need to get Ponfu lettuce, it's crunchier and better for salads than what we use in the burgers. As for alcohol, there's nothing I can do - our place is aimed at kids and young people, and this isn't the place for drunks. But we can add a few more drinks, like iced tea or fruit juice. We'll have to water it down and sweeten it, though, or it'll be too expensive. Overall, are people happy?"

"Yes, more than happy. The kids love the play area, and everyone else likes the atmosphere. Some of the men, especially from the Akimichi clan, even have contests to see who can eat the most burgers."

"Oh, that's great! I've got an idea - next time you see people competing like that, tell them that whoever breaks the burger-eating record… well, we'll put their name up on the wall in a frame. For now, hang up a frame with Naruko Uzumaki's name and the number twelve in parentheses. If people ask what it means, just explain."

Ayumi blinked a few times and nodded.

After eating, I made the girls in the kitchen happy by showing them how to make Caesar salad. Aside from the croutons and crunchy lettuce, we had everything we needed. The recipe was simple, so after watching me mix everything together in a bowl, they got the idea.

The salad would probably be on the menu by tomorrow - Ayumi promised to find a supplier quickly.

Satisfied and full, I went home. There I was, sitting at my desk, working on my book and sipping tea, when a thought hit me so hard my hand flew to my forehead.

Chakra control! Yeah, I'm proud of myself for studying fuinjutsu and starting physical training, but since I'm not a Konoha shinobi, I can't openly study or practice jutsu. But what's stopping me from improving my chakra control? It's the foundation of being a shinobi, right after physical fitness! Maybe it's even more important, and here I am, just sitting around drinking tea and wasting time.

And I know exactly how to train it! Ahaha, and the best part is, I don't even have to do it myself! My clones can practice holding leaves on their foreheads while drawing kanji. How? They'll figure it out.

The next few days, I didn't do much - Guy's training really takes it out of you. After those workouts, you don't want to do anything, but I forced myself to at least make the clones work, keeping myself entertained with reading or writing the sequel to "In Search of Truth."

I only stopped by the restaurant once and saw that Ayumi had handled everything perfectly. By the way, there was already a new name in the frame on the wall, and who would've guessed - it was an Akimichi, with a record of thirty-eight burgers. I wonder if I should prepare a prize for whoever manages to eat a hundred burgers at once? I'll have to think about it.

Of everything that happened in the last five days, I was happiest about the clones' progress with chakra control. Of course, I want to be able to run on walls and water already, but reality is as harsh as ever - after five days, all I'd managed with the clones was to hold a piece of paper on my forehead for a little while. And I mean a regular piece of paper. For some reason, leaves from trees are harder to "stick" with chakra. 

Maybe it's because they have chakra in them, but I can't say for sure. If one of my clones hadn't remembered that weird thing called the concentration seal, I'd probably still be struggling to feel and direct chakra. I still don't really get how seals work - I wish I had a Byakugan and a list of all the seals to study how hand signs affect the chakra system, but I have neither.

Man, if only I had a system, life would be so much easier. I'd just train myself to exhaustion, leveling up my stats. But no, there's no system, and my muscles still have limits.

Ugh, I should stop thinking about what I don't have - it's bad for my mood. Better to… mmm, what's that amazing smell?

Wandering around the "village," I didn't even notice I'd ended up in the northeast district. That area's known for its bars, and on one street, the smell of grilled meat caught my attention. Judging by the crowd inside the "grill bar," it was a popular spot.

Why not? One burger and a mojito won't fill me up, and I bet they serve good meat here.

As soon as I walked in, I heard someone laughing loudly at the back. Scanning the room, I saw a couple of workers happily drinking beer. The other customers were a bit quieter, but even so, in my restaurant, their volume would've definitely caught Ayumi's attention.

I found a quiet spot away from the noise and placed my order. Five minutes later, just as I thought my food had arrived, someone gently tapped my shoulder from behind.

"Excuse me, you must be Akira Zoldyck, right?" I looked over my shoulder in surprise and turned to face the speaker.

"That's right. Do we know each other?" You didn't have to be a genius to recognize a Nara by that pineapple hairstyle. Specifically…

"Officially, no, but we crossed paths near the Hokage's office. I'm Shikaku, from the Nara clan."

Sometimes you can tell what kind of person someone is just by their eyes. From Shikamaru's father's gaze, I could tell he never complained about his intelligence, but judging by his tired eyes, life's hardships were another story. Then again, all the Nara seem to have that look - it's just more pronounced with Shikaku.

"Yeah, I remember. Nice to meet you. Want to sit down?" I gestured to the chair across from me.

"Likewise. Actually, I was hoping to invite you to join my group. Of course, if you just wanted a quiet meal, I won't insist." He glanced over his shoulder, and following his gaze, I saw a table for four with a sofa on each side and a grill right in the middle. Sitting there were two more people I recognized from the Naruto series.

"Well then, Shikaku-san, I'd be happy to join you."

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Thank you so much for the power stones! I really appreciate the support!