Chapter 82: Heading Straight to the Second Floor of the Bookstore

"What the hell is going on?" Shishou thought, perplexed. "Why is my bug clone here? At this time, it should be in the Academy."

Shishou quickly pursued his "clone" to find out what was happening.

"Mr. Lurigan..." Anko, confused by Shishou's sudden acceleration, hurried to catch up.

Soon, Shishou followed his clone to a bookstore. Seeing the clone head straight to the second floor, Shishou wasted no time in following.

"Mr. Lurigan..." Anko hesitated, stopping at the entrance. She recognized this bookstore and knew exactly what was sold on the second floor.

"Does Mr. Lurigan have such a hobby?" she wondered.

Meanwhile, Shishou's "bug clone" grabbed a photo book of car models from the shelf.

"What is this nonsense?" Shishou was dumbfounded. "Is my clone seriously looking at pin-up books? This is ruining my reputation!"

Fuming, Shishou marched over and snatched the photo book from the clone.

"Who are you?" the clone yelled, grabbing the book back from Shishou.

At that moment, the bookstore owner, carrying a pile of books, rounded the corner. Seeing the clone, he shouted, "What are you doing here? Kids aren't allowed!"

The clone, looking like a young child, jolted and with a "poof" transformed back into Naruto.

"Naruto?" both Shishou and the bookstore owner exclaimed in unison.

"Get out of here, now!" The owner put down his books and chased after Naruto.

Naruto stuck out his tongue and jumped out of the second-floor window.

Seeing it was just Naruto causing trouble and not his clone going rogue, Shishou sighed in relief and turned to leave.

"Mr. Lurigan, have you made your selection?" Anko asked teasingly, thinking Shishou had been browsing through the adult section.

Not bothering to explain, Shishou reflected on how he had faced four Akatsuki members without breaking a sweat but nearly had a heart attack because of Naruto's antics. He couldn't help but laugh.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Shishou laughed as he walked out of the bookstore.

"Is this guy nuts?" Anko thought, watching him. "Getting this happy over a dirty book... what a pervert!"

"Naruto, stop right there!" Iruka's voice boomed from afar. "Skipping class again? And transforming into Shishou to cause trouble? You’re not getting away this time!"

Shishou and Anko watched as Naruto ran out of an alley, shouting, "Move aside, move aside!"

Shishou dodged left and right, pretending to accidentally collide with Naruto. Of course, he wouldn’t admit he did it on purpose.

"Naruto, come back with me right now," Iruka said, grabbing Naruto by the collar. "Sorry for the trouble," he apologized to Shishou.

Watching this, Shishou felt a pang of envy. Having a teacher like Iruka was a true blessing for Naruto.

"Darn it!" Naruto yelled, breaking free from Iruka’s grasp. With chakra surging, he quickly formed hand seals. "Sexy Jutsu!"

With a poof and a burst of smoke, the infamous "Naruko" appeared in front of Iruka and Shishou, her barely-covered body seductively posed.

"Iruka-sensei..." Naruko cooed, leaning into Iruka's arms.

"Nosebleed!"

Iruka's nose erupted in blood, and he fainted on the spot. Shishou stood there, dumbstruck by Naruto’s move.

"Heh heh heh!" Naruto reverted to his original form and dashed off, laughing.

"You men are so pathetic!" Anko blushed, grabbing Naruto before he could escape. When Naruto tried to resist, she flicked a small snake from her sleeve, wrapping it around his wrist. "Move, and it’ll bite you."

Terrified, Naruto froze, not daring to move a muscle.

"Whack!" Iruka, having recovered, flicked Naruto on the forehead. "Don’t use such indecent jutsu again!"

After thanking Shishou and Anko, Iruka dragged Naruto back, thinking he might die of stress one day because of his student.

"What are you looking at?" Shishou said, noticing Anko’s peculiar gaze. "I didn’t fall for it!"

"Sure, Mr. Lurigan," Anko smirked. "But you might want to wipe your nose first."

Shishou panicked, quickly wiping his nose but finding nothing. Realizing he’d been tricked, he chased after Anko, who had already started walking away.

"Stop right there! How dare you fool me!"

"So what? Didn’t you purposely block Naruto?"

"Is this how Konoha treats guests?"

"Pfft, someone who goes straight to the second floor of a bookstore doesn't deserve special treatment."

"How was I supposed to know what they sold there..."

"Yeah, right."

The two bickered all the way to Konoha’s bustling commercial street. Walking along, Shishou spotted a large ninja tool shop and wondered if they might sell chakra metal. He decided to check it out.

"Welcome!" A middle-aged man in a robe greeted them warmly from behind the counter.

"This feels like an old inn in the Dragon Kingdom," Shishou murmured, taking in the traditional décor. He then approached the counter. "Excuse me, do you sell chakra metal?"

Chakra metal, when added to ninja tools, greatly enhanced their power, making it very expensive and rare. Even with Shishou's wealth, he had only managed to obtain a small amount, enough to make a single kunai. This was thanks to Mifune, the leader of the Iron Country, who sold it to him as a favor for discounted coal.

Of course, if Mifune knew Shishou planned to use the entire piece to make a tool, he would likely call it a waste and take back all the chakra metal.

Most people only added a bit of chakra metal to enhance their tools, even someone like Asuma Sarutobi. But using a whole piece was unheard of.

"Um, chakra metal is very expensive," the shopkeeper hesitated.

"Money is no issue," Shishou replied confidently, smiling. "Name your price."