As soon as Naruto saw the board, he let himself go. He went on a strange dream. A dream where he saw himself. However, this Naruto was different. This Naruto was the one without the power. This Naruto was the brainwashed fool that ended up being a prankster.
Naruto looked at him with disdain. He can not guess how he could be so stupid. Why is he still screaming about being the Hokage? Why is he painting the Hokage faces? How the hell does the Anbu not catch him?
Naruto was thoroughly confused.
[It's the power of his destiny. Unlike you, this Naruto went with his destiny. By accepting me, you went to create your own path.]
Naruto was deep in contemplation.
[You should sit back and relax. This is one of your paths after all. The main path to be specific but there are others.]
Naruto: "Others? Like me?"
[No. The others are deviations from the original while you are a completely unique existence. If you reach the Pinnacle of power in this timeline of yours, you can perhaps go to the other timelines to explore.]
Naruto: "Why would I do that?"
[For fun I guess.]
Naruto looked back at main Naruto. He saw that this other counterpart is much skinnier and smaller than him. Not only that, he has a strange obsession with ramen. That Naruto eats it daily!
Naruto can only facepalm due to his stupidity.
Naruto: "By limiting him...me. Do they intend to control me like that?" He pondered. "I bet the Nine-Tails that this Naruto will not obtain any education nor any training from the academy. And then some teacher would probably manipulate him into doing something stupid. I bet he doesn't even realize that he has Kurama.
Kurama: "Hey! Why would you bet me! Am I a toy to you?" Kurama grunted.
Naruto: "Hm? You're here? How?" Naruto was baffled.
[I let him.]
Naruto: "Makes sense."
Kurama: "Who are you talking to brat?"
Naruto: "Myself." 'He doesn't know you are here?'
[Yes. It is deemed unnecessary for him to know I am here.]
Naruto: 'Okay.'
Kurama: "Don't you know it's rude to be sarcastic to someone for no reason."
Naruto: "Don't you know it's rude to take a child away from his parents?
Kurama: "...touche."
Naruto: "You know it." Naruto smiled as he turned back to the show. "What are the chances that your other counterpart is going to die from the sheer stupidity of the other me?" 'I can only imagine how angry this other me could make him. Death by anger. Suits him.'
Kurama: "Hmm...I don't know." He paused and then looked at Naruto. "What are the chances of you infuriating me to my own grave?"
Naruto: "85% more or less."
Kurama: "Then I would say a 60% percent chance for the other me."
Naruto: "I see." Naruto thought about it and then nodded and it made sense. "Isn't it kind of strange to you that we are discussing how you're going to die?"
Kurama: "Not really. You may give me a migraine but that would be it. I've heard and seen stranger things."
Naruto: "The show? Oh man, I can't wait for season 3."
Kurama: "What! No! Not the show. I meant that I experienced weird things in my life."
Naruto: "Oh. Nevermind then." They went back to watching the original do pranks. Both were quite impressed, to say the least. The boy is a pranking genius. Kurama boasted about how their clever nature affected his mind and Naruto just rolled his eyes.
After a few minutes, there was a slight shake in the area they were in.
[It's time to wake up.]
Naruto saw it and then turned to Kurama.
Naruto: "Looks like I'm waking up. See ya later." Without giving the fox a chance to say anything, he vanished.
Kurama: "Like father like son. Always have to be the one to get the last word." He smirked.
When Naruto woke up, he was still in the training room.
[Only an hour passed. 1 minute passed in real life.]
Naruto: "That's the ratio of time for this space?"
[No. I just made an exception. Don't do it again.]
Naruto: "Alright." Naruto made the sign for the shadow clones and this time, 200 clones came to be. If Naruto wished, he can go and make about 2 grand without breaking a sweat but he still has his mind to worry about. "Alright, boys. Let's max out the shurikenjutsu." All of them nodded and went to their stations. Main Naruto even joined them and they got working. Hours after hours and only when their Naruto's stomach rumbled that they stopped to take a break.
[(I)Shurikenjutsu Level 20, Exp-45%]
Naruto: "Alright clones. Groups of 3 and in 5 minutes. Starting now." And soon came the pain. It was easier to handle this time around but it was still painful. Imagine someone striking in the head with a hammer continuously while you can not do anything to stop it. That's what Naruto is feeling. Gamer's mind is helping somewhat in keeping calm but the pain was getting worse and worse. Soon, he started feeling more relaxed as the levels started catching up. Even though there still 140+ clones left, the pain was significantly gone. "Stop." said Naruto to the 102nd clone.
He was currently looking at his board.
[Durable Shadow Clones Level 15, Exp-87%]
[(I)Shurikenjutsu Level 40, Exp-100%] --> [(A)Shurikenjutsu Level 2, Exp-68%]
[Mind Resistance Level 50, Exp-100%]
[Can become Mental Fortress skill or level up this skill to level 100 in order for a better skill and the Mind Fortress Skill.]
Naruto: "Bear the pain or stop it." Naruto sighed. "No pain, no gain. Hope this is worth it. Second option."
[Mind Resistance Level 56, Exp-0%]
Naruto: "Alright guys. Continue." And so they did. 92 clones later.
[Durable Shadow Clones Level 20] --> [Battle Shadow Clones Level 2, Exp-45%]
[(A)Shurikenjutsu Level 12, Exp-91%]
[Mind Resistance Level 64, Exp-5%]
Naruto: "This hurts like %*#$!" Naruto was lying on the floor. Staring at the empty skies. Rational thoughts once again filled his head. "The more I do this, the more benefits I can gain for the future. The higher my survival rate..." He sighed and he stood up and evoked the clones once more. "Alright, boys. Last round of the day and then dinner. Work hard men. We can do this. We need to do this." The clones understood. They went to their respective positions and continued the shurikenjutsu.
Their forms now like more refined as they throw and their accuracy increases with every strike. In the beginning, Naruto missed 8 out of 10 but now it has been consistently 10 out of 10. He also learned that his own body has its accuracy but at the same time, the skills add a percentage of a boost to it. The higher level up it is, the more the percentage increases.
Approaching 9 at night time, Naruto called the clones to stop.
Naruto: "I summoned 300 of you guys this time. Just like before. Start." And the dispelling started. Every clone filled Naruto with skill experience and headaches. Each headache, however, has gotten better than before is slowly becoming less of a burden for him. 'Good. Mind Resistance is very worth it. This will help with anyone who thinks I am just physically strong in the future.'
Rest of the clones later...
[Battle Shadow Clones Level 26, Exp-72%]
[(A)Shurikenjutsu Level 30, Exp-100%] --> [Perfect Shurikenjutsu Level Max]
[Perks Flexible Wrists and Flexible Fingers gained.]
[Mind Resistance Level 88, Exp-46%]
Naruto: "Oh cool. New perks." Naruto learned ID Escape from Cain while the clones were training and he used it now. Dragging his tired body from the bed to the groceries, he picked up the pan, eggs, oil, rice, and some veggies that he robbed. Following the cookbook's instructions, he started making fried rice. He summoned his clones to do the preparation work while he does the main part of the cooking himself. "First crack egg and th-wait...I can't even reach!" Naruto looked indignant and then he facepalmed. "Note to self. Still an 8-year-old."
Heyo. A lot of positive reviews so I decided to upload chapter early. Thank you for your support. Hope you enjoy the chapter. Point out any mistakes. I'll fix it.
Any other fans that like my other work, I will soon jumpstart that so if you liked Versatile Gamer, I'll continue it and if some of you are expecting A Destination, it will make its debut soon. Once again, have a good day.