Chapter One: The Change
A blonde walked down the street on the last leg of his trip to the academy. He was in a foul mood, he decided if the villagers hated him so much then he wouldn't pretend to be happy. He wouldn't pout, he would never let them win, but at least he could have a little angst in his attitude. Not to mention, he could show his true potential and stop having to act like a fool and ask for dates for Sakura.
'I also need to get rid of this jumpsuit' he thought, 'Damn thing is a pain in the ass'.
He rounded the corner and entered the academy. He approached a door that had a sign that said 'Second Year Academy' written on it. He opened it and walked inside. First thing he saw was Sakura and Ino fighting over Sasuke who was just ignoring them while taking a scroll out of his desk. He walked over and approached the group.
"Naruto beat it, I'm not going to go out with you. Just go fail as usual, you retard.
"Don't be so full of yourself, pinky. Nobody would look twice at a fangirl. Except maybe to look at your giant forehead" he stated venomously and took the seat next to Sasuke.
Sasuke, though surprised, didn't show it. Sakura however freaked.
"YOU LITTLE BLONDE BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU! TAKE THIS!" She flung a kunai at his head and everyone expected it to kill him… not gonna happen.
Using Chakra strings he caught the kunai a couple feet from him. He flung it back at her and used it to slice off her kunai and shuriken holsters, as well as her supply pouch. He then used the strings to gather her things and place them in front of him. He emptied the holsters and the pouch and tossed them back at her. He had a decent number of kunai and shuriken in front of him, as well as a couple explosive notes and 20 dollars (in American that is a lot more than ryo or yen. Heck, it's more than Canadian too).
"Nice stash, I think I should hold on to it until you calm down and actually think straight for once" he stated.
Sakura thought of complaining to Iruka, but that would make it look like Naruto was better than her. She could complain to her father, the clan head, but that would make her look weak; she might even be replaced as heiress. Although the Haruno weren't as bad as the Hyugaa, they were still strict. Sighing, she sat down next to another fangirl, on the opposite side of the room away from Naruto.
Iruka walked home after finishing the paperwork after class. He was appalled at Naruto's skill that day. During weapons training, he hit every target at once, not only that, but all the shots were dead center. Then, while teaching the clone jutsu, Naruto filled the room with clones without a sweat.
When speaking to the Hokage, he explained that Naruto dropped his idiocy mask. Unfortunately, with it went his happiness mask.
Meanwhile… (New catch phrase)
Naruto went over what happened. He was happy to show his skill. He didn't even break a sweat either. Although the clone jutsu was useless to him.
'I need a more powerful version of a clone' he thought
All in all, the day was considered okay. Plus, he made so money and gained so much needed equipment. That is until; he learns how to craft weapons. He had a contract with a weapons master to teach him in exchange for 10 bucks an hour and paying for the supplies. He needed money for that. He only got 200 dollars a month (if your American, you know that is usually not enough. I am going by the theory that things cost around what they were in the 40's and 50's) from the Hokage to survive. So he had to get a job since he couldn't ask for money and, even with his angst, refused to steal. Nobody would hire him so…
'That's it!' he exclaimed to himself. 'I will struggle for a little bit, lose a little bit of weight from my 'diet', and have to search for money but it will be worth it. I will open my own weapons booth at school. My sensei may not like that so I might have to split some profit'.
Naruto was willing to share up to 20 of his profit with his sensei. He looked over his money. He had 134 left from his allowance, 20 from Sakura (hehe), and 67 in his own money that he had saved for years. All in all, he had 221 dollars. Deciding he should make a budget, he got out some paper.
(On the Paper)
Food: 3 dollars a day, 4 on Sunday to rebuild strength
Weapon training: 3 days a week, an hour a day (about 40-50 dollars a week)
New Clothes: 2 suits, 50 dollars
Check park, streets, and academy for dropped money.
Satisfied with his list, Naruto went to bed and slept with a smile. He knew things were turning around.