Chapter 271: So, How Much Is Naruto's Monthly Living Allowance?
The Fourth Hokage's son. A hero's son.
And yet he had reached the point where he could not even eat his fill.
The Third Hokage had truly gone too far.
Kenichi knew Minato had savings. Kushina had savings too. Add them together, and Naruto should have been able to live comfortably without a single worry. There was no way he should have been reduced to scavenging for food.
Back when Kenichi had been "encouraged" to befriend Kakashi by Minato and Kushina, Minato often dragged him out to eat. After Minato became the Fourth Hokage, Kushina took over that role.
The Akimichi clan's barbecue place was not cheap, but Kenichi and Kakashi went almost ten times a month, and they ate a ridiculous amount each time.
To Minato and Kushina, a meal like that was pocket change.
That alone proved their household had money.
Even if Konoha wanted to conceal Naruto's identity and never publicly announce he was the Fourth Hokage's son, Naruto should still have inherited his parents' assets. Even if they worried he could not manage it, why was there never any arrangement for when he grew older?
If the Third Hokage had simply given Naruto a proper allowance each month, Naruto would not be starving.
But right now, Naruto truly had nothing to eat.
"I… I haven't eaten all day," Naruto admitted, embarrassed. He lowered his head and rubbed his stomach, a shy expression on his face.
Kenichi took a slow breath when he saw that.
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
No matter how many reasons you had, what you did to Naruto would always be an indelible stain.
No wonder, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, when Naruto's inner thoughts were broadcast to everyone, the Third Hokage stayed silent, and Minato's expression turned complicated. Who knew what Minato was thinking then? Maybe he was thinking he should have taken the Tailed Beast Ball and erased Konoha along with himself back then.
The village he protected with his life had rewarded Naruto like this.
"Fish is easy," Kenichi said, forcing himself to stay calm. "You just use chakra."
He raised a hand.
A bolt of Lightning Release chakra snapped into the river. In an instant, countless fish floated belly up, all stunned by the current.
"Ninjutsu!" Naruto's eyes instantly lit up. "Big Brother, what kind of Ninjutsu is that?!"
Kenichi looked at Naruto's excitement and felt both helpless and a little bitter.
This kid was optimistic to an almost absurd degree.
After being treated like trash for years, he still dreamed of becoming Hokage. Still wanted everyone's recognition. Still chased that impossible warmth.
"This isn't a jutsu," Kenichi said. "It's just a basic application of Lightning Release chakra."
He did not dare use anything too strong. Big chakra fluctuations could attract Konoha's attention.
Kenichi also knew the Third Hokage had the Telescope Technique. If the old man got bored and decided to look for Naruto, it would be troublesome. Luckily, Kenichi could still sense the chakra signature of that technique.
"Lightning Release… chakra?" Naruto repeated, completely confused.
That was normal. Naruto probably had not even entered the Academy yet. Of course he would not understand.
"Chakra is what you need to use jutsu and become a ninja," Sasuke cut in proudly.
He understood. Itachi often told him things like that, so Sasuke had learned by exposure.
Naruto looked at Sasuke with envy. He did not know any of this. He only knew becoming a ninja meant recognition, and becoming Hokage meant everyone would finally have to acknowledge him.
He wanted to be acknowledged so badly, it hurt.
"Sasuke's right," Kenichi said, then calmly picked out five fish.
Two for Naruto and Sasuke each.
One for himself.
Kenichi was not particularly fond of fish. Otherwise, he would have taken more. One was enough.
Naruto nodded with a look that screamed I understand.
Kenichi almost laughed.
This kid did not understand at all.
"Let's grill them," Kenichi said. He sat down, cleaned the fish, removed the organs, and skewered them on branches.
Just as he was about to start, he noticed Naruto's gaze drifting toward the fish guts.
Kenichi paused, then immediately understood the implication.
"Naruto," Kenichi said carefully, "fish organs usually aren't eaten. Some are poisonous."
Some fish organs really were dangerous. Kenichi only ate fish he recognized. He was not about to gamble and end up with diarrhea like an idiot.
He remembered a story his teacher once told.
During the Second Great Ninja War, Jiraiya ate something questionable in the morning, got a stomach problem, and ended up sprinting to the toilet again and again during a mission. It almost caused several completely ridiculous incidents.
Since hearing that, Kenichi had been careful about food.
"But… I often eat this fish," Naruto said, swallowing hard.
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
Often?
So Naruto was hungry often.
This was the life Konoha had given him.
Kenichi had briefly considered abducting Naruto and taking him away, but that would mean Konoha lost the Nine Tails jinchuriki. He had no idea what the Third Hokage would do then, or how badly the timeline would warp.
If Hiruzen went completely unstable, or if Nagato's moves happened earlier, it would be a nightmare.
And if Naruto stayed with Kenichi, it would only take one day of Obito and Black Zetsu noticing for everything to explode.
Too many variables.
"Don't eat them next time," Kenichi said instead. "They usually taste bad anyway."
Whether Naruto would listen was another matter. This brat was famously stubborn.
Grilling fish was simple. Heat control, turn it, season it.
The "taste" was mostly seasoning.
Soon, five grilled fish were ready. Kenichi handed two to Naruto, two to Sasuke, and kept one for himself.
As they ate, Kenichi observed them.
Sasuke ate slowly, chewing carefully.
Naruto devoured his fish like his life depended on it.
Strangely, Naruto did not choke on bones. He spit them out with smooth, practiced ease, as if he had done this a hundred times.
So he really did eat grilled fish often.
Kenichi, meanwhile, was still picking bones out of his mouth.
"Naruto," Kenichi asked, "is your monthly allowance not enough? Why are you out here fishing?"
Naruto brightened. "Grandpa Hokage gives me five thousand ryō every month! But I use it…"
Kenichi froze.
Five thousand?
What could five thousand buy?
A bowl of Ichiraku ramen cost sixty ryō. The larger ones were seventy or eighty. Even if Naruto ate three bowls a day, that was one hundred eighty ryō a day.
And that was only ramen.
Naruto still needed milk, groceries, supplies, everything.
No wonder he was starving.
Kenichi scratched his head, almost in disbelief. Five thousand ryō.
Sometimes, a single barbecue meal could cost Kenichi over a thousand.
And the Third Hokage gave Naruto five thousand for an entire month?
It was incomprehensible.
But Naruto spending it quickly also made sense. He bought tools to train. Five thousand was never going to last.
If he stopped buying supplies, he might eat enough, but then he could not train.
"Sasuke," Kenichi asked casually, "how much is your monthly allowance?"
"Oniii chan gives me thirty thousand ryō," Sasuke answered without thinking.
Then he paused.
He glanced at Naruto's stunned face and quickly corrected himself, expression stiff with determination.
"No. It's three thousand ryō."
Kenichi was not surprised. Sasuke was considerate. He was not the cold avenger yet.
But thirty thousand was clearly the real number, and Sasuke had instinctively covered it up.
Kenichi thought back to Sasuke buying the mask earlier.
No, that was not right. Sasuke's expression had looked like he was waiting for permission, not waiting for Kenichi to pay.
So Sasuke probably needed Itachi's approval before buying anything.
Itachi really was a strict older brother.
"Hehe, I have two thousand more than you!" Naruto instantly cheered up.
At the mention of thirty thousand, he had nearly short-circuited.
That was enough ramen to drown in.
But now it was "only" three thousand, and even two thousand less than him, so Naruto's pride snapped back into place.
Sasuke looked at Naruto's happiness and allowed himself a small smile. He knew the truth. His allowance for one month equaled six months of Naruto's.
But Sasuke remembered his mother's teachings and did not show off.
"Naruto," Kenichi asked, "do you want to learn ninjutsu?"
Naruto froze, then stared at Kenichi. His eyes were full of excitement, but also fear, like he was terrified this was a joke.
"I… I can learn ninjutsu too?" Naruto asked, tentative.
Kenichi nodded. Whether Kenichi taught him or not, Naruto would learn once he entered the Academy. There was nothing forbidden about it.
"Of course. We'll start with chakra extraction."
Kenichi pulled out the textbook he had used before.
It was compiled by Orochimaru.
The notes inside were sharp and practical. The chakra extraction section in particular was far more effective than anything the Academy used. Even teachers like Iruka did not understand chakra at Orochimaru's level.
This kind of book could help someone grasp extraction faster and enter the "real" ninja threshold sooner.
That was the difference a true teacher made.
It was also why squads mattered so much later. Shinobi assigned under Hokage-line mentors often grew faster. A teacher could change your entire life.
But as soon as Naruto began practicing, Kenichi noticed something was wrong.
Naruto's chakra fluctuations were unstable.
His steps were correct. Kenichi even mirrored them to confirm.
Yet Naruto's expression tightened with pain the moment he tried to draw chakra.
Kenichi's gaze drifted to Naruto's stomach.
"The Nine Tails…" Kenichi thought.
Kurama's presence interfered with Naruto's chakra flow, making it easy for him to fail jutsu and lose control. In other words, Naruto's training difficulty was abnormally high.
That was likely why Naruto would become the dead last in the Academy.
Until he learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu by accident.
Until Kakashi and Jiraiya finally guided him.
Only then did Naruto truly become a "real" ninja.
.....
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