Chapter 14: Naruto’s Art of Painting

After some exploration, Naruto discovered the specific purpose of the Sharingan.

“It’s not just enhanced dynamic vision; these eyes are a natural medium for casting genjutsu,” he thought.

Just one glare could trap an enemy in an inescapable illusion. The Uchiha ninja must be masters of genjutsu, no doubt.

After fiddling with the Sharingan for a while longer, Naruto deactivated it and hurried to school.

Although, given his strength, the teachers probably couldn’t teach him much more, the school offered systematic knowledge that Naruto urgently needed.

Besides, the ninja academy was his only window into understanding this world.

As for skipping class?

In his previous life, Naruto was a good student. Though this time he pretended to be a fool and didn’t score high on exams, he still listened attentively.

Skipping class?

That was only because the early lessons at the ninja academy were too easy.

Perfect.

Naruto planned to use this relaxed period to change his homeroom teacher.

Otherwise, it was foreseeable that his six-year journey would be marred by discrimination.

If the homeroom teacher’s attitude inadvertently influenced the classmates, there would be no place for him in this school.

Would he then have to resort to drastic measures?

Neither would the Third Hokage agree, nor would Naruto himself.

So, the homeroom teacher must be changed!

Upon arriving at school and settling in, Choji came over.

“Naruto, did you skip class yesterday? Teacher Oda searched all over the school and couldn’t find you,” Choji said while buying potato chips.

“Standing on punishment duty was too boring, so I went fishing. Caught several big fish,” Naruto exaggeratedly gestured as he spoke of his catch.

Hearing this, Choji was quite envious.

Such big fish must taste delicious—just thinking about it made his mouth water.

As they chatted, Naruto noticed Sasuke sitting at his desk, still wearing his usual cold, aloof expression.

Several girls crowded around him, vying for his attention.

Naruto felt indifferent toward that group of little girls.

He only liked girls aged eighteen to twenty-five.

Now, in the future, and probably even when he was old.

Looking at it this way, he never changed his mind.

At this moment, his eyes were fixed solely on Sasuke.

Naruto stood and walked over.

“Yo, Sasuke-kun, today…”

Bang—

Before Naruto could finish speaking, Sasuke slammed money down on the desk.

It wasn’t until Naruto returned to his seat that he realized something.

Could it be that Sasuke didn’t find him annoying and paid for some peace and quiet?

That was indeed possible.

‘This brat!’

The class bell rang.

Splash—

As soon as Teacher Oda opened the door, a bucket of water drenched him thoroughly.

Naruto turned to Choji and muttered with some disbelief, “Such a dumb teacher, falling for the same trap twice.”

This time, even without a traitor, Oda Ichiro already knew who the culprit was.

“Naruto Uzumaki!!! Get outside and stand in punishment!”

Outside, noticing the corridor was empty, Naruto thought for a moment and then vanished with a Flying Thunder God Technique.

Teacher Oda was still fuming.

This kid—no, this Nine-Tails fox—was truly infuriating!

Though repeatedly ordered from above not to treat Naruto differently, this brat was just too mischievous.

From now on, he wouldn’t bother with him anymore!

Let him fend for himself.

With that thought, he gathered himself and resumed the lesson.

“Last time, we talked about chakra. There are a few more points to note when refining chakra.”

Teacher Oda picked up a piece of chalk to write on the blackboard.

Suddenly, the chalk transformed into a snake and lunged toward him.

Having been a schoolteacher for a long time, Oda Ichiro's ninja alertness had long faded. The snake bit him, and its venom took effect instantly, causing him to collapse unconscious.

“Teacher Oda~” echoed multiple voices.

However, all this was unrelated to Naruto for the moment.

The poisonous snake was specially chosen; after all, it wouldn’t kill anyone.

He was just playing a prank.

Once one gets used to mischief, it’s hard to stop—like the Hokage Rock. He had gotten so accustomed to drawing it that going a week without sketching made him feel restless.

But today’s style was a bit of a mix.

The First and Second Hokage were rendered in a delicate, almost romantic style—sharp eyebrows, starry eyes, and the natural-colored stone statues were so lifelike under his brush they resembled two handsome men.

With the Third Hokage still alive, Naruto chose to be more respectful, depicting him in a rugged style, angular and tough-looking.

The Fourth Hokage was drawn in a Nordic Viking style, complete with a meticulously painted mustache and an eyepatch over his left eye.

He looked unmistakably like a pirate.

However, the returns from such pranks had been diminishing.

Now, his doodling was almost a public service, but he couldn’t resist the fun.

After finishing, Naruto admired his masterpiece.

But then, glancing at his skill panel, he could hardly contain his disbelief.

Whether from drawing too much or because of his extraordinary talent, he had maxed out his painting skill.

[Painting: 10,000/10,000 (Perfect)]

Unconsciously, his random prank doodles had pushed his painting skill to its peak.

Even Naruto was speechless.

Similarly, his fishing and cooking skills were also maxed out.

Now he hardly wanted to fish anymore since every cast hooked a fish.

It was simply too dull.

What to do next?

“Forget it, I’ll go fishing again.”

Meanwhile, through the window, the Third Hokage, gazing at the Hokage Rock, struggled to suppress a smile.

Though usually stern, seeing the First and Second Hokage—two so righteous and serious—depicted in such ridiculous styles made anyone who knew them laugh out loud.

“I didn’t expect this kid to have such a talent for painting,” he murmured, taking a drag from his old pipe and falling into thought.

Elsewhere.

Due to the homeroom teacher being hospitalized, Choji and Shikamaru were on break and found themselves appreciating Naruto’s artistic antics.

“Shikamaru, look!”

During a leisurely stroll, Choji suddenly pointed at some chaotic graffiti by the roadside.

“What is it?”

“Don’t you think it looks great?”

Shikamaru took a closer look.

Usually, he paid little attention to such roadside scribbles.

But now, upon careful observation, the chaotic colors surprisingly harmonized. Despite lacking compositional technique, there was a raw, unrefined beauty to it.

Though Shikamaru had no formal art education, he could tell at a glance it was genuinely good.

“Is this Naruto’s work?” Shikamaru asked curiously.

“It seems he’s the only one in the village who does this.”

Suddenly intrigued by Naruto, Shikamaru asked, “What is he doing now?”

“After being kicked out of class yesterday, he went fishing. Probably still fishing now.”

“Fishing, huh…”

Shikamaru recalled a fishing trip with his father—a pastime that was mostly just a way to kill time.

Except it wasted time and yielded nothing.

“Why don’t we go too?”

Choji suggested, “Naruto said he caught a big fish yesterday, as big as a person.”

“Idiot, that’s impossible. We don’t have fish that big here—unless it’s by the sea.”

After a moment’s thought, Shikamaru added, “But it’s so boring anyway; might as well take a look.”

Despite firmly believing such a big fish was impossible, Shikamaru’s expression when he first saw Naruto was one of utter astonishment.

“What a coincidence you two came.”

Naruto was just hauling a fish longer than himself ashore when he saw them.

“Wow, that’s a huge fish!”

Excited, Choji abandoned Shikamaru and ran over, shouting happily.

“Naruto, can you cook fish?”

Choji was at a loss about how to handle such a big catch.

“Of course,” Naruto said, pointing nearby. “I have a camp base over there where I can grill this fish.”

“You two are in for a treat this time.”

Thinking of his grilled fish, Naruto was even impressed with himself.

He couldn’t believe the taste was that good—just sprinkling some stuff made it surprisingly delicious. Naruto found it hard to comprehend.

This was probably the caprice of a maxed-out skill.

Sure enough, after tasting Naruto’s grilled fish, both of them began questioning their lives.

Between bites, Choji wept, “I’ve never tasted anything this good in my life.”

“Naruto, from today on, you’re my best friend!”

Choji declared that Naruto was officially his friend now.

As for Choji’s former best friend, Shikamaru, he said nothing and simply focused on devouring the fish.