Konoha: I have a gravity training room

Xia Mu was speechless: "Shino, are you here to set up a stall?"

Shino said as if it was a matter of course: "We have a lot of vegetables growing at home. We can't eat them all anyway, so we just took some extra. By the way, let me show you how to make a seal with one hand. See if you have any questions."

This guy is trying to change the subject!

Fortunately, Xia Mu was too lazy to say anything. He watched Shino complete the Three Body Technique with one hand and nodded in approval.

Chapter 11 Hot-blooded Idiot

"Shino, you have indeed mastered the one-handed seal. Just practice it well in the future. By the way, you should be proficient with both hands. Also, try switching to one-handed seals for other ninjutsu to become more familiar with them. You will definitely need them in future battles."

Xia Mu gave a few instructions and then stewed the processed pig's trotters, not forgetting to add orange peels and prepare soybeans.

In fact, it would be better if we had lotus root, but lotus root is so damn expensive. Even if we buy it, we can't buy much. And since Dingci is also attending the dinner this time, it will definitely not be enough. It would be better to use soybeans.

Seeing this, Shino decisively helped to wash the vegetables.

Not long after, Shikamaru came with a large piece of venison, a grill and seasonings, which was a great help.

Although Choji didn't bring many snacks, he did bring a large piece of beef. He drooled and said, "I told my parents that we were going to a friend's house for dinner, and they insisted that I bring beef. Hey, Shikamaru, you brought a grill, so let's grill it together."

"What a hassle! Let me bake it."

Shikamaru is like this, always talking about trouble, but he is unambiguous when it comes to friends.

Xia Mu quickly said, "Give me some beef, I'll make you some other flavors."

Shikamaru and Choji naturally agreed. After all, it was Natsuki who was treating them, so he could do whatever he wanted. They would just help and wait for the meal.

At this time, Natsuki was busy in the kitchen alone, while Shino, Shikamaru and Choji were grilling.

Shikamaru said casually, "Shino, this isn't your first time visiting Natsuki's house, is it?"

Shino nodded, his tone still a little proud: "Natsuki invited me once before. His cooking is delicious. I am the first friend to taste his food."

"Is it delicious? Then I'll eat as much as I can today!"

Shikamaru's stomach was already rumbling, especially the waves of delicious food made his mouth water.

Fortunately, Xia Mu worked efficiently and soon brought the meals to the table one by one. He also prepared a few bottles of juice.

Looking at the dishes on the table: stewed pig's trotters with soybeans, fried bacon with garlic sprouts, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, spicy fried chicken, spicy beef, boiled chicken, stir-fried vegetables, pork and vegetable soup, roast venison, roast beef, and a big pot of rice next to it.

Shikamaru's eye twitched: "T-That's so much, can we finish it?"

Choji vowed, "I'll definitely finish it! And it looks so delicious, I won't leave any behind!"

Shino was also a little greedy. He had been thinking about it since he had eaten it last time. Now there are more varieties of dishes, and they are all delicious, so he thought they would taste good too.

Xia Mu gave everyone a bowl of rice, a large bowl for Choji, and placed a basin of rice next to Choji.

In addition, each person was given an empty bowl and public chopsticks and spoons were prepared. After all, this world is accustomed to the practice of separate meals, and Xia Mu had to adapt to local customs.

"Alright, don't hesitate, let's eat!"

As the host, Xia Mu was the first to pick up his chopsticks after the meal was announced, and the others couldn't wait any longer.

Soon, no one at the table spoke. Everyone was busy eating, fearing that if they were slow, others would grab their food first. The food that they thought they could not finish was soon cleared out. Shikamaru didn't even leave any pig's trotter soup.

As soon as it got dark, the four of them all slumped in their chairs, and the table was a mess.

"Burp - I'm so full! It's so delicious, I want to eat more!" Shikamaru was obviously still not satisfied.

"Natsuki, you're really good at cooking," Shikamaru praised sincerely.

Shino didn't say anything, but just nodded repeatedly, as if he wanted to give ten thumbs up, obviously he was very satisfied.

Xia Mu was also very satisfied. Not to mention that he deliberately made friends with these people, just having dinner with friends made him much happier than being alone as usual.

Sure enough, people don’t like being alone, they still need friends.

"Okay, if you're too full, don't sit there. Get up and walk around to help digest your food, or you'll have a stomachache at night."

Xia Mu urged the three of them to get up, and they strolled around together. Soon they were on the street, and they could smell the aroma of food from the stalls.

Shikamaru wanted to eat more, but was stopped by everyone.

When passing by Ichiraku Ramen Restaurant, he saw Teacher Iruka eating noodles with Naruto. Naruto had a smile on his face and it was obvious that he was very happy to have Iruka accompany him for dinner.

This pair of people, who are not father and son but will be better than father and son in the future, probably began to develop feelings for each other at this time.

Shikamaru glanced at Naruto's back and casually asked, "Natsuki, what do you think of Naruto?"

I see with my eyes!

Natsuki was somewhat speechless, but he could probably understand Shikamaru's thoughts. After all, Shikamaru came from a prominent ninja family, was intelligent, and knew a lot, so he probably had mixed feelings about Naruto. Currently, Shikamaru and Choji hadn't become friends with Naruto, nor had they skipped classes together. Perhaps Shikamaru wasn't quite sure how to interact with Naruto.

As the eldest son of the head of the Nara clan, who is affiliated with the Sarutobi clan, it is quite difficult for him to be approved of interacting with the Jinchūriki without permission.

"Just a hot-blooded fool."

Xia Mu gave his own answer.

Yes, to a child, if you ignore the villagers' fox demon opinions, Naruto is not a Jinchuriki, but just a hot-blooded fool.

After all, Shikamaru is from a big family and is from the Hokage line, so he doesn't need to worry too much.

If Shikamaru was not allowed to make friends with Naruto, the elders in the family would have told him so long ago. There was no need for Shikamaru to let his imagination run wild. Shikamaru was just too smart and fell into this misunderstanding.

"Hot-blooded idiot?"

Shikamaru chewed on this and smiled, "Haha, indeed, this evaluation is very appropriate. Everyone says that I am very smart, but in fact, Xia Mu, you are not stupid either, maybe your IQ is higher than mine."

Xia Mu waved his hand. "I don't believe in IQ data. As the saying goes, even the wisest man makes mistakes, while the foolish man gains something. I just know that you need to think more. And you, Shikamaru, are really smart. Sometimes you don't need to think too much, or overcomplicate things. Instead, you should try to find the essence of things."

Shikamaru was even more surprised when he heard this, as if he was meeting Natsuki for the first time: "The essence of things? What is it?"

Xia Mu smiled and pointed at Shikamaru: "This is hard to explain, but I can give you an example. For example, you, Nara Shikamaru, are the eldest son of the head of the Nara family and are recognized by everyone as a smart person, but in essence you are just a salted fish with some brains. Salted fish find it troublesome and are too lazy to turn over, but they are forced to turn over and bask in the sun until one day they are completely dried out."

Shikamaru patted his forehead and couldn't help laughing: "Your description of me is very appropriate. Maybe I am really a salted fish. However, I understand the essence of things."

Essence is not a superficial adjective, but the real truth.

Just like Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage, the Jinchūriki, and Sakura's bootlicker, all of these are superficial. In essence, he is just a hot-blooded idiot.

PS: The contract has been signed successfully, please feel free to read.

Chapter 12 Group fight

Time flies, and more than twenty days have passed.

During this period of time, Shikamaru seemed to have figured out a lot, and somehow he became friends with Naruto, perhaps because they skipped class and were punished to stand together.

As a result, Choji also became friends with Naruto.

Although Inuzuka Kiba is not as good as Akamaru, he often goes out for a walk during class time and forms a truant quartet with Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji.

Even Natsuki and Shino, because of their relationship with Shikamaru and Chouji, would occasionally team up with Naruto to play by the river or go shopping together. Even if they were not close friends, they were familiar with each other.

For Naruto, his current campus life is already very happy.

Not only does he have teachers who care about him, but he also has friends who do not discriminate against or hate him. In addition, he has a girl he likes, and they play and have fun together every day, which makes him immersed in happiness.

Xia Mu adhered to his usual attitude, not being close to Naruto, but also showing friendship.

Moreover, he is only familiar with Naruto because of Shikamaru and Choji. I believe that Sarutobi Hiruzen and even Shimura Danzo would not be crazy enough to suspect that he deliberately approached the Jinchuriki.

But Xia Mu didn't have time to think so much.

He is now practicing according to the plan. Although he cannot become stronger quickly in a short period of time, his daily progress is very significant.

For example, the increase in physical strength and the gradual increase in chakra, coupled with his continuous and active absorption of knowledge in school and the library, have led to great growth in his body and mind.

Today is the first of the day again, and tonight is the time when the second special laboratory state will be activated.

This is very important to Xia Mu, and he has already prepared a research project. He is now checking for deficiencies and filling in the gaps in his research, striving to achieve complete success by evening.

Suddenly, there was a noise, which made Xia Mu frown.

"What happened?" Xia Mu asked dissatisfiedly.

"It's on the school training ground."

Shino rested a returning insect on his fingertips, reading the message it conveyed. "Seven second-year students are trying to bully Naruto, and he's currently arguing with them. Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba have already rushed over to try to mediate."

"Let's go too!"

Xia Mu didn't feel good, not only because his thoughts were interrupted, but also because he felt that a fight might break out.

If it was just Naruto fighting, Natsuki could ignore it, but if Shikamaru and Choji went, they would definitely be involved, and as a friend, he couldn't just ignore it.

Shino probably could have guessed it, so he didn't object.

The two of them quickly walked out of the classroom and ran directly to the training ground.

At this time, there were already quite a few people gathered in the training ground. Naruto's dissatisfied shouts could be heard, as well as some people's curses, which were nothing more than "Damn fox demon" and "Why don't you just die".

Logically, the Sandaime had already issued instructions that the word "fox demon" should not be mentioned in front of Naruto, and that no one should bully Naruto, even by students at school. But these guys, perhaps out of rage, actually dared to curse him out loud and publicly. They were really brave.

What Naruto is most sensitive about is his identity as a "fox demon". He doesn't know how to refute when being scolded, and even feels the ridicule and disgust in the eyes of the people around him. For a moment, he seems to be isolated again.

At this time, Dingci quickly intervened: "Well, we are all classmates, there is no need to be like this..."

The leader immediately glared at Choji: "Fat pig! Don't meddle in other people's business, or I'll scold you too!"

"Fat...fat pig? How dare you call me a fat pig?"

Shikamaru was pushed to the limit and immediately became angry. He rushed forward and punched the man in the nose, causing him to bleed. This stirred up a hornet's nest. The seven opponents were furious and rushed towards Shikamaru.

Shikamaru's tone was filled with dissatisfaction: "What a hassle, what do these guys have to do?"

He said it was troublesome, but he immediately rushed towards Shikamaru. He would definitely fight with his friends, and if the other party dared to scold Shikamaru, he would be seeking death.

Inuzuka Kiba was excited and rushed forward decisively, shouting, "Naruto, you're such a coward that you need our help! Just watch as I knock these guys away with one blow! Just stand by and watch!"

"Humph! I won't just stand there and watch!"

Naruto reacted and was touched by his friends' help. With red eyes, he rushed forward and yelled, intending to beat up those guys who scolded him.

However, there are people who are faster than them.

Just as an older child was about to reach out and hit Shikamaru, a dark shadow suddenly flashed forward and grabbed the older child's wrist.

"Bullying the weak? I won't be polite!"

Xia Mu snorted coldly, and pinched the older child hard, causing him to cry out in pain. With his other hand, he slapped the older child in the face, causing him to stagger and fall to the ground.

Another older kid rushed over to grab Xia Mu, but was kicked down from behind. Shino arrived at some point.

When Shikamaru saw his two friends coming, his confidence suddenly increased and he decisively fought with them.

However, the seven opponents were at least second-year students. Not only did they have some advantages in height and strength, but their punches and kicks were also more powerful than Shikamaru's. In addition, they were not allowed to use chakra, so for a while Shikamaru's side was at a disadvantage.

On the other hand, Natsuki and Shino were actively practicing, so they were not panicked at all when facing opponents who were one grade higher than them. Instead, they suppressed their opponents.

Of course, Xia Mu could obviously defeat the seven opponents by himself, but he couldn't do that. Instead, he would occasionally take a few punches and kicks. Otherwise, if he performed too well, he would easily be targeted by the rats in the dark.

It's better to be safe than sorry. Who knows what the mouse is thinking.

Be careful to make a thousand-year ship.

Fortunately, the commotion here was quite serious and the teacher was quickly attracted over.

"What are you doing? How dare you fight in school? You are so arrogant, aren't you? I will tell the Hokage about this. You can expect to be punished!"

Teacher Iruka brought up the Hokage, and both sides immediately stopped fighting.

Although the Hokage is only the village chief, he is undoubtedly the highest authority in the entire village and the idol of many ninjas and students. Once the Hokage knows about a group fight, not only will his impression of him be reduced, but he may also be criticized, which is very embarrassing.

In less than ten minutes, the onlookers left, leaving only the two fighting parties.

Iruka was furious and demanded loudly, "Tell me! Why are you fighting?"

Xia Mu took the initiative and raised his hand decisively: "Teacher, Shino and I heard that the second graders were bullying Shikamaru and Choji, so we ran over to help. As soon as we arrived, we saw that they were about to hit Choji, so Shino and I rushed over to stop them, but they were too aggressive and refused to give up, so we had to fight."

Shino nodded repeatedly: "That's right. Teacher, you know me. I'm usually very well-behaved and I won't fight."

Shikamaru took the opportunity to speak: "Teacher, you know me. I'm usually lazy and like to skip classes, but I have never quarreled with my classmates, let alone fought. This time, the other party was looking for trouble, and we were forced to fight back."

Dingci: "Teacher, you know me well. I only like eating, not fighting."

Chapter 13 I shadow you and regret it