"Get out here, you've got a customer!"
Early in the morning, the door of Cube Internet Café was knocked on. Kuroda wasn't one to sleep in anyway—he'd been up for a while and went to open the door.
When he did, a blond-haired boy was standing right there.
"I'm telling you how can a businessman sleep in? I know Granny next door—she's up at dawn opening her shop!"
Kuroda was speechless. Ignoring him, he turned and walked back inside. Naruto just grinned mischievously and followed along.
Naruto plopped himself down at the bar counter like he owned the place, then eagerly pulled out his phone to show Kuroda the screen.
[Chūnin II]
Those words glowed proudly on the display.
"Yo, Naruto, already a Chūnin? Not bad," Kuroda said offhandedly.
"Hahahaha! Of course! I'm the man who's gonna become Super Kage!" Naruto declared, proudly thumbing his chest.
Kuroda chuckled and handed him a glass of water.
Naruto took it, carefully examined it, and only relaxed once he saw it was plain water.
They chatted idly for a bit—Naruto didn't say why he was here, and Kuroda didn't ask.
After a while, the game finished updating.
"Oh? Quite a few new ninjas added," Naruto muttered as he scrolled through his phone, noticing that several had been released alongside [Jiraiya].
But he wasn't really interested in that. The High-Class Recruitment rebates were up, and the Duel Arena was open again.
Naruto flashed Kuroda a mischievous grin. "Café boss, I've got something to tell you!"
"If you're here to get revenge, just say it."
"Eh?! You knew?"
"I figured. After all, every Ninja Mobile Game player always gets another chance at revenge."
"Good! You're refreshingly straightforward!"
"I'll give you a chance—but you give me one too. How about a little bet?"
"What kind of bet?"
"If you win, I'll give you a [Jiraiya]."
Naruto's eyes widened, but he didn't agree immediately. He asked cautiously, "And if I lose?"
"Simple. You drink another cup of my special coffee. I just developed it—it's… quite an experience."
"Uh... how about I work for you instead?"
Kuroda rubbed his forehead. He still couldn't tell if this guy was truly broke or just pretending.
"You just reminded me of something, Naruto." Kuroda smirked. "If you lose, you'll do both."
Gulp.
Naruto's heart skipped. Without a word, he turned and made as if to bolt—but froze when Kuroda's voice followed him.
"What's wrong, Naruto? Don't tell me... you're scared? You're supposed to be the man who'll become Hokage, aren't you?"
"Wh-what? Of course not!" Naruto turned back, awkwardly grinning under Kuroda's teasing look. "Your intel's outdated—it's not just Hokage anymore! I'm gonna be Hokage and Game King!"
"Guess I've got to keep my updates in real time," Kuroda said dryly. "So what now? You in or out?"
At that, Naruto hardened his resolve. There were no shortcuts on the road to becoming Hokage. Come what may—he'd face it head-on!
He sat back down across from Kuroda, pulled out his phone, and sent him a friend duel invite.
When Kuroda accepted and began picking his ninjas, Naruto scratched his head and said with a slightly sheepish tone,
"Uh... could you go easy on me?"
"Are those really the words of Uzumaki Naruto?"
"No, no, not the duel! I mean, when I drink your coffee later—leave me alive, alright?"
"Don't worry. You won't die."
[Bless Me] VS [Invincible Hokage]
Round Two—Start!
Kuroda's first ninja: [Jiraiya].
Naruto's: his newly drawn [Might Guy].
A duel between old and new High-Class recruits was about to begin.
...
"Seafood time!"
As soon as the countdown ended, Kuroda charged forward and fed Naruto a shellfish.
Naruto froze in shock.
Wait—he just summoned his beast as an opener? Was he still in the beginner phase?
The so-called beginner phase referred to players new to the Ninja Mobile Game—those who didn't know strategies, blew all their resources at once, and had no tactical flow.
But the game had been out for a while now. Anyone who'd been playing since launch should've long moved past that stage.
If Kuroda could read Naruto's thoughts, he would've told him, "Don't be naïve."
The flow of the Duel Arena changed in an instant. Every summon cast was a deliberate rhythm shift.
And after that rhythm shift—who cared about payback? Kuroda only knew one thing: your health bar's gone.
"Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"
"Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"
[Jiraiya] unleashed both skills for damage, scaring Naruto into immediately using Substitution Jutsu.
Because of skill lag, [Jiraiya] was hit by Konoha Strong Whirlwind. To follow up damage, Naruto used his second skill, Dynamic Prelude.
Kuroda had a Substitution ready but didn't use it. He calmly set his phone down, poured himself some coffee, took a sip, and let out a satisfied sigh.
Naruto stared blankly. There were too many things wrong to even start complaining.
But soon, he realized—Kuroda was waiting for cooldowns.
Too naïve, Naruto thought. He'd nearly closed the HP gap from that summon damage. And next summon rotation—what were you gonna use to fight back?
Poof! (Substitution Jutsu)
Kuroda vanished from the spot, calmly moving away. But Naruto didn't trigger his summon—he held it back tight.
"Not bad, Naruto," Kuroda said with a grin.
"Hmph! You think I'm still the same as last time? Today's the day I get my revenge!" Naruto said confidently.
He wouldn't fall for bait and waste resources again.
"Summoning: Toad Shop Technique!"
Kuroda's [Jiraiya] transformed into a toad and hopped around Naruto's face, making his eyelids twitch.
Not knowing if that toad would suddenly turn and kick him, Naruto hurriedly activated his Secret Scroll.
A massive tornado unfurled from the ground, slowly advancing forward.
Watching [Jiraiya] being forced back by the gale, Naruto grinned smugly—until his smile froze.
[Jiraiya] leaped from the toad's mouth at the very last instant, kicking [Might Guy] straight into the air.
Crap! I cast too early!
Naruto's heart sank. Because Wind Array moved forward, it had left a gap between the scroll and the ninja—exactly the window [Jiraiya] used to dive in with his remaining invincibility frames.
The next moment, Naruto's eyes widened.
"Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique!"
"Hero Jiraiya's Rasengan!"
Naruto's Substitution was nearly ready—but [Jiraiya] unleashed his second skill, summoning Gama, then instantly followed with his Ultimate.
The Ultimate damage, plus Gama's two collisions—
All slammed straight into [Might Guy].
When it ended, [Jiraiya] even finished with a normal attack combo.
"What the heck was that?!" Naruto shouted.
"Because you were too close to the edge of the stage and too high in the air, I could extend the combo with basic attacks before you landed," Kuroda explained casually.
"No, I mean—why did you still have a Chakra Bean after using your Ultimate?" Naruto's face was a mess of question marks.
Indeed, after casting his Ultimate, a single Chakra Bean glowed under [Jiraiya]'s icon.
For reference:
The first-slot ninja starts with two Chakra Beans.
Each skill hit grants one more.
Substitution consumes one.
Using an Ultimate consumes four, resetting to zero.
The second-slot ninja inherits the first slot's leftover beans...
Those were basic rules every Ninja Mobile Game player knew.
But what Naruto couldn't understand was—once you hit four beans, no matter how many times you used skills, the limit couldn't be exceeded.
And he had just used an Ultimate—he shouldn't have any left!
Seeing Naruto's baffled expression, Kuroda smiled.
"Ah, that... That's what we call a Borrowed Chakra Bean Ultimate!"