Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

'One, two, three, four, five... A total of eight reward items!'

'As expected of the system, it's ridiculously generous!'

'Not only are there a lot of items, but these eight items are all valuable.'

In fact, it was an entire outfit set.

'In my past life, I spent so much on your upgrades, and who would've thought we'd pick up right where we left off in this life!'

Naruto thought, feeling exhilarated.

Among the rewards from the system, he'd previously received skills from League of Legends' champions.

Since then, Naruto had been looking forward to something else, a reward from his all-time favorite game, the Dungeon & Fighter.

This game had been a major part of his childhood, and he hadn't let go of it even into his working years. Raiding dungeons and bossing abyssal levels were among his few pleasures back then.

His only regret? Despite his relentless attempts, he had never managed to loot the legendary 'War God Earrings'.

Although this system reward is not an equipment piece, it was an essential fashion item.

[Artifact Clone Costume (Transparent Sky): 8-piece outfit set with parts for Hair, Hat, Face, Chest, Shirt, Waist, Pants, and Shoes, does not include Skin. This is one of the highest-grade game outfits, featuring the best stats and customizable appearance.]

[8-piece Set Effects:

Strength +50

Intelligence +50

Vitality +50

Spirit +50

Attack Speed ​​+3%

Movement Speed ​​+3%

Casting Speed ​​+3%

All Attribute Resistance +15

All Attribute Enhancement +10

Town Movement Speed ​​+100%]

Since Naruto is the Shinobi World now, he might never get another chance to acquire any more outfits like this, but with a full set, he had all he needed.

Unlike typical outfits, this set offered an extraordinary ability, as it allowed him to freely change its appearance without losing any of the set's attributes and could be endlessly cloned.

In short, it combined top-tier attributes with the freedom to choose his own look.

Whatever he wore could be cloned with the legendary outfit's stats, so he'd always benefit from its properties.

Though it already was so late, Naruto found he couldn't sleep at all. After cloning a set of casual clothes with the legendary outfit, the originally transparent set transformed to match his exact casual wear.

The moment he put it on, Naruto felt a stream of warm currents surged through his body, flooding his limbs with a sensation like he was soaking in a hot spring, which is deeply soothing and refreshing.

Yes, he has become stronger again!

Even though Naruto didn't know exactly how much impact that Strength +50 would make in the Shinobi World, but he understood one thing clearly: the boost in attack, movement, and casting speed would make him faster and more aggressive in battle.

As the old saying goes, 'In the martial arts, speed is the undefeated'. It's a truth that never changed.

No one may believe it, but Naruto actually spent the whole night fussing over this transparent set.

In the past, even though he'd grown more handsome, he didn't give much thought to his image. Yet the additional stats on this transparent set brought him back to those early days of gaming, to the thrill of acquiring his first legendary outfit, enjoying the fun of mix-and-matching for the best look and effects.

He might only have a dozen or so outfits, but perhaps this was the simple, pure joy for a guy like him...

"Zzz~"

Naruto was sound asleep when Boruto suddenly woke him up.

"What is it?" Naruto asked with a frown.

He was known for his cranky wake-ups. If someone dared disturb his sleep, he didn't care who it was, they were in for it. Besides, Boruto was his son, so disciplining him was Naruto's right as a father, and no one, not even the gods, could interfere.

Boruto held an alarm clock in front of Naruto's face, complaining, "Look at the time, it's already three-thirty in the afternoon! If you keep sleeping, the whole day will be over!"

"Ah, this…"

Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment. He'd stayed up so late last night, and he hadn't realized he'd sleep until the afternoon.

'No wonder Boruto was upset.'

"You must be starving. Give me a minute, and I'll get cleaned up so we can go out..."

Naruto suddenly paused mid-sentence, as a new thought dawning on him.

'I was too into the role of a father and was only concerned with being nice to Boruto.'

'No, I had to show Boruto what it meant to have a strict father!'

Clearing his throat, Naruto said seriously, "Do you know why I have been sleeping until now?"

"Why?"

Boruto's curiosity piqued. From his memories, when his father come home, he'd always immediately crashed, and looked constantly exhausted. Boruto had assumed it was just due to the stresses of work, but now, it seemed Naruto had always enjoyed long naps.

He really wanted to know the real reason.

Naruto maintained a serious expression as he explained, "Getting enough sleep lets a tired body fully recover, what they call 'recharging your energy'. Now that I'm completely recharged, I'm prepared to show you the reality of true rigorous training!"

"Rigorous training? What does that have to do with me? I'm just a performer."

Although Boruto is very interested, he is very clear about his current position and cannot show too much interest in Shinobi life, otherwise, Naruto might notice the clues and hand him over to Sandaime.

His goal coming here is to protect Naruto, which meant he couldn't let him out of his sight, even for a moment.

However, Naruto was unaware of Boruto's true intentions, and assumed that his son was simply a playful spirit who didn't enjoy training. Especially since he had heard that Boruto cheated in Chunin Exams in his previous life.

In his opinion, Boruto is a spoiled kid in need of discipline.

'He must be brought back to his senses and made aware of the benefits of being strong so that he can protect himself in the future.'

'Being a father is not an easy task, but I'd say I'm doing pretty well.'

Naruto thought proudly, but his face became even more serious, "Even if you are a performer, having weak skills can still make life harder. I've noticed you've got a good heart, so I can't stand the thought of you getting pushed around. Anyway, just come with me to learn some self-defense skills, it can only do you good."

"Fine, I guess."

Boruto replied, feigning reluctance. Inside, however, he was thrilled, eager to see how tough this 'rigorous training' would be.

After freshening up and grabbing a quick snack, Naruto took Boruto to the third training ground.

Just as Naruto expected, the group of young Shinobi was still hard at work, undeterred even after the Chunin Exams had ended.

"Youth!" Guy shouted.

"Youth!"

Lee responded, matching Guy's enthusiasm.

"With his current state, why is he still training?" Boruto's eyebrows knitted as he watched Lee, with a look of confusion on his face.

Because he had pushed himself to his limit and opened the sixth gate during the Chunin Exams, Lee's whole body was still wrapped in bandages, and he was trembling as he did the rehabilitation training.

With every small step Lee took, his body felt intense pain. Beads of sweat the size of beans kept appearing on his forehead.

But even so, his spirit remained unwavering, his voice ringing out strong as he shouted the training chants.

"Youth!"

"Youth!"

Seeing the opportunity, Naruto couldn't help but preach, "Now this is what a real Shinobi looks like: never relaxing, never slacking, using every single second to get stronger. A person like Lee, who works this hard, is destined for greatness. Boruto, your natural talent is better than his. If you quit the performer gig and focus on being a Shinobi, with even a tenth of Lee's dedication, you could really make something of yourself."

"Uh…"

Boruto lowered his head.

He had only heard rumors about Lee before, knowing that he was a top Taijutsu user and thought he was also a talented person, but he didn't expect that Lee had been so hardworking since he was young.

'Sure enough, there is no shortcut to success.'

Boruto resolved to put more effort into his own training after returning, keeping his playful habits in check.

Just as he was thinking about it, a light, slightly teasing sound came from not far away.

"Naruto, what's got you showing up here today?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Boruto looked up. After seeing the other person clearly, his eyes widened in surprise and he blurted out, "Master… why did you become smaller?!"