"Jii-san… how much for this Yakitori?"

"Hai… fifty Ryo for one serving." ​​

"Give me two servings."

"Coming right up…"

Naruto forks out Hundred Ryo from Gama-chan and hands it over to the food vendor.

"Thank you for your patronage."

Chomp… Chomp…

Naruto takes big bites from the Yakitori as he eats the grilled meat.

"Mmm… it is good… but nothing can beat the Ichiraku Ramen in terms of taste and flavor."

Naruto slowly walks through the streets of the village as he enjoys his Yakitori.

'Hmm… these people have been chasing me for a while. From the looks of it… their intentions are not good. Let me see what they want.'

Ffwwhheuu….

Naruto walks towards a deserted alley as he whistles and enters the alley.

"Now is our chance. This kid has lost his way and entered an isolated place. We can rob him easily and nobody would notice it."

One of the thug signals to his partners.

"Let's go. We are going to hit big today. There would be enough money for alcohol and women for next month."

The other thug rubs his hands and follows Naruto.

Inside the alley,

Naruto kicks away an empty metal can as he walks deeper.

"Why Nii-san has to seal my chakra? I want to do some cool jutsu and beat that Sasuke to a pulp."

He walks towards the corner and takes support against the wall as he waits for the thugs.

A moment later,

The two thugs enter the alley as they surround Naruto.

"Oye… Kid… My friend over here doesn't like small kids. He would pummel them the moment he notices any kid. The people of the village call him the boogeyman of the village."

One of the thugs threatens Naruto.

"Huh… What? When did I have such a name in the village?"

The other thug points towards himself as he questions the other thug.

"And… what's with this boogeyman? I have never heard of such a term."

"Shh…" The other thug signals his friend to shut up.

"… anyway… kid if you want to protect yourself from my friend over there… then hand over your wallet to us. Otherwise… he will beat you up."

The thug advises Naruto.

"Yes… If you don't listen to him… then I will beat you up."

The other thug clenches his fist and makes a fierce expression.

"…"

Naruto silently stares at their little skit. He takes out Gama-chan from his pocket and jiggles it in front of the thugs.

"Oh… you two want to be Gama-chan's friend."

Jiggle… Jiggle…

He jiggles Gama-chan again.

'Money… lots of money…'

The expression of two thugs changes as greed overwhelms them.

Swish…

Naruto tosses Gama-chan in the air as he signals to the thug.

"Then you can be his friends."

"Yes… yes…"

The thug dashes towards Gama-chan to grab him.

Swoosh… Bam…

Naruto spins and delivers a round-house kick to the thug.

Bam…

The thug is sent flying from the kick as he lodges into the wall and passes out.

"WHAT?"

The eyes of the other thugs widen in surprise as he stares at his friend and Naruto.

"You… you…"

He weakly points a finger towards Naruto as he dashes out of the alley.

"Damnit… this kid is a ninja. We picked up on the wrong target."

"Oh crap!… he figured out my identity. Izuna nii-san would be angry." Naruto scratches the back of his head as he stares at the fleeing thug.

"Oh… I got it. What if I beat this guy too and tie them up?" A 'brilliant' idea pops out in Naruto's mind.

Whoosh…

He dashes towards the thug and reappears in front of him. The thug is startled to see Naruto.

"Wait… wait… we can talk about it. How about you let go of me?"

The thug tries to negotiate with Naruto.

"No… No… Not happening."

Bam…

Naruto punches the thug in the guts.

Bleurgh…

The thug vomits out lots of saliva and passes out. Naruto drags the thug and ties him together with his partner.

Naruto rubs his palms together and walks out of the alley.

"Yoshaa… That was easy."

Swish… swish….

Multiple kunais target Naruto from all angles.

Hmm…

Naruto notices the kunais thrown towards him.

Whoosh…

He performs a backflip and dodges the kunai.

"Who is there?"

He takes out a kunai from his pocket and warily stares at his attackers. He spots two shinobis dressed in black clothes perched upon an electricity pole.

He notices the crossed-out mark on their headband.

'Rogue Ninjas…'

Hmm…

Naruto frowns as he raises his guard.

"What do you want? Answer me."

Clank…

Naruto deflects another shuriken with his kunai as he backs down a little.

The Rogue Ninjas launch another volley of shurikens at Naruto without responding.

Clank… Clank…

Naruto barely deflects the kunais as he predicts their next attack.

'I can't use Ninjutsu because of Nii-san's seal. Nii-san… where are you? I need your help."

Clank…

He clashes with one of the rogue Ninjas in close combat.

Clank… clank… Bam…

After multiple clashes with the rogue ninja, Naruto is able to land a punch on him.

Bam…

The rogue Ninja is pushed back from the attack.

"Enough fooling around… Capture him immediately… we can trade him for the intel."

The partner of the Rogue Ninja rebukes him.

Slick…

The rogue Ninja licks his kunai as he stares at his partner.

"Don't ruin my fun. I like this feeling when I go easy on prey and give him a chance to struggle. They will struggle till their last moment as they foolishly think they have a chance to resist; only to shatter it in the blink of an eye. Kuhaha…"

The Rogue Ninja laughs sadistically as he infuses lightning chakra in his kunai and attacks Naruto.

"This is bad."

Naruto barely avoids the kunai. Sweat drips from his face as he struggles to dodge the attacks.

"Haha… haha…"

The rogue Ninja continues to throw one lightning infused kunai after another.

"Haha… look at this poor kid. I bet he hasn't even graduated from the academy yet. Haha…"

The Rogue Ninja laughs hysterically.

'Oye… Nine-tail fox… lend me some chakra. I can't use my chakra… give me yours.'

Naruto enters his mindscape as he begs the Nine-tails for Chakra.

"Hmph… brat… why would I give my chakra to you? Ask your big brother for help? If it wasn't for him… then you won't have fallen in such a situation."

The Nine-tails harrumphs and shuts his eyes and turns away from Naruto.

"Damn it… you freeloader."

Naruto angrily kicks the cage and walks out of his mindscape.

"This brat…"

Nine-tails opens one of his eyes and stares at Naruto's back.

"Looks like… Chomei is nearby… which means this brat is out of danger. Also, with him around nothing would happen to this brat."

Yawn…

Nine-tails yawns lazily and closes his eyes.

Outside in the real world,

Naruto continues to back down as his back hits the wall.

"Now… now… where would you dodge? I guess… all they taught you in the academy is just how to dodge enemy attacks. Haha…"

The Rogue Ninja infuses chakra in his kunai and attacks Naruto.

"I guess… one or two scratches won't matter during the trade… if he is still in one piece."

"Aree… what's going on here?"

A petite, mint-haired girl with tan-skin enters the alley. The girl has short hair and orange eyes as she curiously stares at the group.

There is a Yakitori in both of her hands and some grease is smudged around her chin.

The rogue ninja stops in his tracks as he stares at the girl.

The girl flops towards them as she looks at them.

"Uncle… are you a bad guy?"

The girl questions the rogue Ninja. She hands over one of her Yakitori to Naruto.

"Hold it for me."

She places her hand on her waist.

"Uncle… you shouldn't bully others. Big Brother Shibuki tells me it is a bad thing."

"…"

Naruto and the rogue Ninjas silently stare at the girl.

'What's with this girl? Why do I feel like she is similar to me?'

Naruto closely inspects the newcomer girl.

"Don't be a bad guy. You should make friends with others. Would you be Fu's friend?"

Fu passes another Yakitori to the Rogue Ninja.

"Haha… Me? Friend?"

The Rogue Ninja laughs at her as he swats away the Yakitori.

"Listen… girl… I am a rogue Ninja… a criminal… we don't have friends… only enemies."

"Stop bantering' with the girl. Just capture her too… we are already running out of time." The other rogue ninja reminds his partner.

Whoosh… whoosh…

The Rogue Ninja makes some hand signs as he releases toxic gas from his mouth.

Ahh…

"Fu feels so dizzy." Fu clutches her head as she passes out.

"Nii-san… save me," Naruto yells loudly before passing out.

The Rogue Ninja grabs them and flickers out of the alley.

Outside the alley,

A man dressed in a yellow kimono jacket, light gray pants, and a turquoise haori is worriedly searching around.

"Fu… Fu… where are you, Fu? This girl… I told her to not leave my side. Now where this girl ran off to. I have to meet with the informer and get the intel from him."

The man clutches his fist as he searches around.

"Fu's safety comes first… I have to search for her at all cost."

Whoosh…

The man jumps on top of a house and disappears.