"In that case, scour the areas you've already cleared for weapons and the like." he suggested, "You found Toradora in one of the areas by happenstance, right? Now that you've eliminated the mutants in the first two areas, you can search to your hearts content for any kunai, shuriken and the like that might be there. I doubt you'll be lucky enough to find another regular weapon, but you never know."
"Awesome! I never thought about it like that." Naruto exclaimed, "Thanks Iruka-sensei!"
"No problem Naruto." Iruka replied, "No problem at all."
Later
Sub-Area 1, Training Field 13
Naruto was quite pleased with himself. Thanks to his use of Shadow Clones, he had reached Level 7 in [Calligraphy] already, in addition to creating [Self-Taught Nitō Ryū Tantō Kenjutsu] and [Self-Taught Kodachi Kenjutsu]. His [Kage Bunshin no Jutsu] had even levelled up once he beat the crap out of the four clones and dispelled them.
If Naruto was any judge, with Shadow Clones, the longer they existed, the more experience he gained in the skill. He had no idea exactly how much EXP was made per minute or hour, but it had been enough to get his Level 1 skill up to Level 2. Maybe the twenty-odd clones that he made yesterday had something to do with it? So creating and maintaining the clone, the clone dispersing AND the chakra and memory return function all had something to do with how much experience [Kage Bunshin no Jutsu] received? Sounds like a theory.
"Still…what the heck?" he muttered as he looked around the Sub-Area. It looked exactly the same as before, except…less intimidating. There wasn't that odd sensation that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
[Observe] has levelled up!
Ignoring that his [Observe] skill had levelled up to Level 9, Naruto made several Iwa Bunshin and equipped them with Gansetsukon.
"OK you guys!" he called out to them, "Spread out and find any weapons, chests or whatever looks like it doesn't belong here. Shout out if you find something!"
"Got it, Boss!" the clones chorused back at him.
'At least Iwa Bunshin don't talk back if you give them orders!' Naruto thought in relief.
For the next few minutes, all was well. Occasionally, a clone discovered a shuriken or a kunai and they were placed in Naruto's inventory.
Then…
[Warning! Random Encounter Initiated!]
"What the…whoa!" Naruto exclaimed as the scenery around him blurred and he was in the middle of the Sub-Area, where he had fought the [Berserk Fox Squirrel]. He was accompanied by his confused and bewildered Iwa Bunshin in short order.
[In areas not full of Chakra Mutations, the [Random Encounter] system is active. This can go off at any time and will drag you and any members of your party, including clones, into the [Random Encounter Zone], which you may only leave if you either defeat the enemy or use the [Escape] skill.]
[Have fun!]
"I'll show you 'have fun' you…!" Naruto muttered, but got distracted by a puppet appearing in front. It was about his height and had no face. It didn't look like a marionette or a bunraku puppet…what the heck was it?
[Possessed Mokujin]
Level 8
A tree that has been possessed by a lingering evil chakra, it has transformed into a Mokujin and will relentlessly attack any who go near it.
'Probably the residual chakra of the Kyūbi no Kitsune from the Field Boss.' Naruto though darkly. Leaving the chakra out here was a bad idea. He should have done something before, and now there was a possessed tree on his case.
"Time to fell this tree!" he declared, "Attack!"
With a roar, his Iwa Bunshin Squad charged the [Possessed Mokujin], which chattered a series of wooden clicks before counter-charging…very slowly. Naruto stayed at the back and lent support to his Iwa Bunshin with his [Hikō Yoshin Shurikenjutsu] and occasionally his [Fūton: Kaiten Shuriken no Jutsu] as well.
The Mokujin was slow, but had a ridiculously high defence. The Gansetsukon couldn't cut it and the punches were about as effective as bad language against it. Ditto for the kunai and Shuriken.
"Use [Doton: Dangan no Jutsu] on it!" Naruto ordered. That was the heaviest hitting jutsu in his repertoire and this thing was slow enough that it had a good chance of being crushed by the rock missile.
Two Iwa Bunshin fell back and made the two handsigns that were for the earth jutsu before slamming their hands on the ground before them and calling out, "Doton: Dangan no Jutsu!"
Two large menhir erupted from the ground and sailed through the air to smash into the Mokujin with the sound of splitting and splintering wood. The two Iwa Bunshin crumbled into dust as they had used the last of their chakra.
[Possessed Mokujin] Defeated! You Gain 125 EXP!
"Whew…" Naruto had to wipe his brow at the defeat of the Mokujin. He wandered up as the body crumbled away, revealing…
"A bokuto?" Naruto had to blurt out. It was indeed a wooden sword, designed for training with swords. He [Observed] it.
[High-Quality Bokken]
Training Weapon
A wooden sword, carved from wood to train in swordplay. Sturdy as it is, it is not really meant for combat situations outside of randori, but in an emergency situation, it can be turned to a weapon of last resort for self-defence.
Bludgeoning Damage: S+10
"Huh…not bad." Naruto commented as he deposited it in his inventory. He then found himself standing back where he had been before the random encounter, which was more disorientating than a Side-Along Shunshin.
In the next half-hour, he got dragged into three more fights with [Possessed Mokujin] and came away with another [High-Quality Bokken], a [Wooden Charm] that added one to his Stamina, not that he needed it, and a pair of [Wooden Gourds].
The last one was confusing, until he realised that if he could find a cork stopped, he had a pair of homemade water bottles, which would save him a bit of money…now, where to find corks?
The constant use of the [Doton: Dangan no Jutsu] had levelled it up to Level 3, just as the constant use of Doton Ninjutsu had levelled up his [Secondary Earth Affinity] and [Doton: Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu] as well.
The haul from the weapons search had yielded ten kunai, nine of which were good enough to be added to his stores, twelve shuriken, all of which were in good condition, and one chest.