"Ding-ling-ling..."
The school bell rang, and Uzumaki Naruto shot out of the Academy like an arrow.
"Naruto..."
Just as Umino Iruka called out, he realized Naruto had already disappeared.
"Why is he running so fast? And in that direction—is he planning to go to the forest behind the mountain?"
Iruka sensed something unusual about Naruto's behaviour and decided to find him the next day to ask what was happening.
Naruto ran energetically to the spot where he had met Shihouin Naraku yesterday, but unfortunately, he found no one there.
He even ran around the entire area just to be sure, but still couldn't find anyone.
After muttering in disappointment for a while, Naruto regained his spirits, ran to the large tree from yesterday, and looked up at the marks he had scratched on the trunk.
"All right! Today, I'll definitely succeed!"
Forming hand signs and concentrating chakra on his feet, Naruto once again rushed toward the tree.
When focused on training, time passes quickly. After three hours of intense practice, Naruto, now breathless, took a temporary break.
"Man, I'm starving."
Naruto had rushed to train immediately after school. He hadn't had time to eat, so after such strenuous exercise, he naturally felt hungry.
After jumping into the river and catching a fish, Naruto lit a fire and began grilling his catch.
From time to time, he would lift his head and look around, hoping to see Shihouin Naraku and Hatake Kakashi appear. But even by the time the fish was fully cooked, no one had arrived.
"Brother Naraku and the others are Jōnin, so they must be very busy. They'll definitely show up when they're done with their missions!"
Trying hard to suppress his disappointment, Naruto encouraged himself with the thought that when Shihouin Naraku and Kakashi next appeared, he would surprise them by showing how well he could climb the tree.
"Hehehe..."
Thinking about this gave Naruto renewed strength.
Just as he was about to stand up and continue practising on the tree, a figure appeared before him.
"Grandpa Hokage..."
It was the Third Hokage who had appeared with a kind smile on his wrinkled face. He approached and gently patted Naruto's head, then sat down beside him like a caring grandfather.
What followed was a warm conversation between grandfather and grandson. Naruto happily bounced around as he told Sarutobi Hiruzen everything that had happened to him recently.
Shihouin Naraku, hiding in the shadows and observing without revealing himself, couldn't help but smirk.
This old man was truly crafty.
He allowed others in the village to reject and despise Naruto, while Sarutobi Hiruzen himself played the role of the kind grandfather who genuinely cared for the boy.
The contrast was masterful!
Over time, their bond would only grow stronger!
Sarutobi Hiruzen was inadvertently teaching Shihouin Naraku a lesson in how to win people's loyalty.
"Lord Hokage!"
As Sarutobi Hiruzen and Naruto were chatting happily, an ANBU ninja suddenly appeared with food in his hands.
The ANBU operative, code-named Elephant, placed the food nearby, then turned and vanished.
This was the second time he had been sent to buy food. His mission was to monitor the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, but now he was reduced to delivering meals for the boy.
"Come, eat with me!" Sarutobi Hiruzen invited.
"I've been busy working all day and haven't eaten yet."
The Hokage emphasized his hard work a little, then invited Naruto to join him for the meal.
"Oh, thanks!"
Naruto gratefully accepted the food Sarutobi Hiruzen handed him and began eating.
Both Shihouin Naraku and Sarutobi Hiruzen understood why it was important to bring food to Naruto!
Since Naruto was now practising the tree-climbing exercise, his chakra and physical energy consumption had increased significantly. At this stage, he needed to eat well, or even better than usual, to maintain proper nutrition.
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't eat much; Naruto consumed most of the food.
"Hey, Grandpa Hokage, watch this!"
After a while, Naruto couldn't wait to show off to Sarutobi Hiruzen. He grabbed a kunai and rushed toward the tree.
"Ha!"
A new mark appeared on the tree trunk.
This time, Naruto reacted quickly. When he could no longer maintain the chakra flow to his feet, he rolled in mid-air and landed firmly on the ground. Unlike the previous night, he didn't fall badly.
"How was that? Pretty great, right?"
Naruto laughed happily, reaching up to scratch the back of his head while looking expectantly toward Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"That's amazing! Many Academy students can't do this!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was generous with his praise and added with a smile, "But you still need to be careful. Don't fall when you can't hold on any longer."
"No matter how badly I get hurt, I'll be fine after a good night's sleep," Naruto replied carelessly. Getting injured wasn't a big deal to him.
"Just be careful, anyway!"
"I know."
Watching Naruto charge toward the tree once again, Sarutobi Hiruzen was pleased with his persistence. He remained seated by the fire, observing.
However, unlike Naraku and Kakashi, Sarutobi Hiruzen occasionally called out tips about the tree-climbing technique. With his guidance, Naruto made rapid progress.
"Well, my teaching ability is clearly better than Kakashi's and Naraku's!" Sarutobi Hiruzen thought smugly, puffing on his pipe.
This was indeed true. Everyone acknowledged Sarutobi Hiruzen's teaching skills—after all, he had trained the legendary Sannin, renowned throughout the shinobi world.
Shihouin Naraku leaned against a tree trunk, watching with interest as the Third Hokage taught Naruto.
"Is the old man Third trying to compete?" he wondered to himself.
Despite his skills as a teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen was elderly and still serving as Hokage, so he had many responsibilities and couldn't spend all his time with Naruto.
After staying with Naruto for a while longer, Sarutobi Hiruzen departed, and Naruto continued practising his tree climbing.
...
"Today, we'll be holding practice spars..."
Umino Iruka took out a clipboard and pen, made a few notes, and assigned the sparring partners.
The students huddled together, whispering among themselves, completely ignoring Iruka's calls to line up and assemble.
"Inuzuka Kiba!"
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
"And you..."
"I SAID ASSEMBLE!!!"
Iruka roared, finally managing to quiet the rowdy students.
"The first sparring match will be..."
"Uchiha Sasuke!"
"Nara Shikamaru!"
As Iruka announced the names, amid the excited squeals of the girls, the handsome Uchiha Sasuke stepped forward with his hands in his pockets and a cool expression on his face.
"Shikamaru, if you dare hurt Sasuke, you're dead!" Yamanaka Ino cheered for Sasuke while warning Shikamaru not to hit too hard.
"What a drag... Are these girls crazy?" Shikamaru clearly didn't want to participate in the spar and stood motionless with a look of reluctance on his face.
"Bang!"
Someone slapped him directly on the back, pushing a startled Shikamaru out of the line.
Shikamaru stumbled forward, nearly falling to the ground.
Who pushed me? he wondered.
From within the group, Naruto shouted, "Go get him, Shikamaru!"
"Beat that jerk!"
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