Reborn!

16: Santa's Gifts and the Secret Friend

Unaware of the sort of dangerous words Shikamaru was directing towards him in his absence, Naruto arrived in an alleyway in the heart of the shinobi district of Konoha. This was a location where he had previously left one of his markers. Additionally, this spot was also situated behind one particular weapons store. Naruto would go there for his weapons and had also frequented it during the previous timeline.

It was the store that belonged to Tenten's father and the motivation which drove her to become a kunoichi specialising in weapons.

For Tenten, he had prepared a complete and comprehensive set of techniques that would enable her to utilize the qualities of her various weapons to the fullest. There were even several jutsu that were designed to fully bring out the potential of a weapon and some that enabled one to imbue power into them. All of this required a considerable volume of chakra, which Naruto was also aware that Tenten lacked in. He had considered this problem a long time ago and subsequently provided her with several meditation techniques (a relic from ancient times; rare techniques bythat enable the conversion of nature energy into chakra) that he had deemed most suitable for her. He had also secretly helped to widen her chakra pathways in her sleep on several occasions. Another of his previous gifts to her was a vial containing pills that he refined specially to enhance one's ability to absorb energy from nature. Since they were formulated for those who utilised the meditation techniques, these he left in Tenten's room that was situated above the shop.

Next, he walked through the streets of the shinobi district. Somehow, no one even glanced his way despite his odd clothing (it was in the middle of summer, after all). He had no presence whatsoever even as he strolled right into an apartment building on the outskirts of the village. It was a cheap flat with barely the adequate basic amenities to sustain one's daily life. The building was shabby, the paint cracked and peeling in places with ivy growing all over it. It almost looked abandoned, but there were still a few people living in it. Naruto walked in through the main entrance and even openly climbed up the only functional staircase as he made his way towards his goal. He ignored the dirt and grime that covered the floor and walls. It was worse than the apartment that he lived in the last time around, but that was only because it was Jiji's arrangement. If not for Sandaime's help, he would probably have lived under even worse conditions. Even then, he had lived alone with no one daring to reside within the same apartment building as himself. It was sad, honestly.

He soon arrived at a clean but simple-looking wooden door that had been carefully painted green and unmistakably appeared to have received its paint job fairly recently. Naruto did not even knock, turning the knob and opening it as though it was not even locked. This was because the door used a fūinjutsu-type mechanism instead of a physical lock. It was a impenetrable and foolproof lock that would be perfectly secure in any other circumstance. Credibly, it was a type of lock known to others to be impossible for any uninvited guests to bypass. However, it was useless in front of Naruto. He knew that Lee should be running and enjoying the sunset at this time -- he had failed to sense any person within the apartment. As such, he did not even have to sneak into Lee's room to put down a pair of simple-looking gloves that had a function that was anything but simple.

Naruto found it ridiculous that Lee would wear bandages wrapped on his arms. It was true that he concealed weights there and his every finger was covered in scars from his self-destructive training, but that did not stop him from wearing gloves instead. The black gloves were made to channel Lee's innate chakra. The Hachimon technique that Lee practised involved unsealing certain tenketsu. The Eight Gates existed to restrict the flow of chakra within an individual's body. Ordinarily, one could use no more than a fifth of their body's full potential. This was the brain's way of protecting the individual from harming their body by overexertion. With training, one can even learn to remove these limiters. This was referred to as "opening" the gates. With each opened gate, individuals would be given access to more of their body's chakra, thus increasing their physical strength as well as speed. However, this was a terrible thing to do considering the harm it did to one's own body. Moreover, Lee could not channel his own chakra. That was the true reason why he had to rely on the Eight Gates that even he could use. However, these gloves would draw out his chakra and imbue them into his attacks.