Chapter 5: SchoolingThe next day, Naruto got up bright and early. Today was the day he was to report to the Ninja Academy. After washing up and eating breakfast, Narutoheaded toward the Ninja Academy.Because Naruto had not appeared in public for four years, the legend of the Nine-Tailed had truly become a legend.Danzo Shimura was so angry he smashed countless tables, but he had no way to approach Naruto. After all, the Third Hokage kept him firmly in check; if he dared to reach out, the Third Hokage would immediately slap him back.The Hokage Office had been the scene of countless standoffs.Walking down the street, no one recognized Narutoat all, and he arrived at the Ninja Academysmoothly.However, before he even entered the school gate, he saw a familiar figure under a tree outside."Gekkō Hayate-sensei? Why are you here?"The person was indeed Gekkō Hayate. Seeing Naruto trot up to him, Gekkō Hayate reached out to ruffle Naruto's hair and spoke with a smile."Just here to see you. After all, today is your first day of school."Naruto was stunned for a moment, then revealed a smile just like Minato Namikaze's."Sensei, thank you."Gekkō Hayate smiled and led Naruto into the school.Watching Naruto and Gekkō Hayate arrive together, the Third Hokage wore a gratified smile.However, Naruto and Gekkō Hayate were not so happy. Having experienced school principal speeches in his past life, Naruto knew exactly what the old man on the stage was about to do.As for Gekkō Hayate, he had simply been tortured by the Third Hokage before.Sure enough, when the opening ceremony was announced, the Third Hokage began the most authentic school principal speech."I'll just say a few words here... Let me add a couple more words... Finally, I'll talk about two points..."The entire speech was full of nonsense, leaving both of them drowsy, as was the case for most of the other students.Finally, after the Third Hokage had said enough, the students followed their homeroom teachers to the classrooms, while the parents left the school one after another."Naruto, study hard. I'll come see you again next time.""Okay, Gekkō Hayate-sensei."After saying goodbye to Gekkō Hayate, Narutofollowed Iruka Umino into the classroom.After entering the classroom, the first thing Narutosaw was Hyuga Hinata sitting in the corner. His eyes lit up, and he went straight to sit beside Hinata."Hello there, we meet again." Naruto greeted Hinatawith a smile."Na, Naruto-kun, hello." Hinata's face was flushed red, her fingers twisting in front of her, and she snuck glances at Naruto beside her from time to time."Although I know you're from the Hyuga Clan, I don't know your name yet. Could you tell me?"Indeed, Hinata had never mentioned her name to Naruto. The first time, after Naruto walked her home, he turned and ran. The second time, after Naruto chased away the brats bullying Hinata, he had quite chuunibyou-ishly said: "My princess, your knight will protect you forever. Please do not be afraid; I will always be by your side."Then, he left because it was almost time for training. If he was late, Gekkō Hayate would whip him, in the name of combat training.Both times, Hinata wanted to introduce herself, but this guy turned and ran, forcing the words on the tip of her tongue back down her throat."I, I am called Hyuga Hinata. Please, please take care of me." Hinata said timidly, her voice like a mosquito's buzz.If not for Naruto's strength having increased and his hearing being much sharper, he might not have been able to hear her clearly."Princess Hinata, your knight pledges his loyalty to you." Naruto acted out his delusion with a straight face.Hinata could no longer handle the shyness; she turned into a steaming maiden and slumped onto the desk, motionless.Sitting behind Naruto, Nara Shikamaru's mouth twitched wildly. Does this guy have something wrong with his brain? Is this contagious? Should I stay away from him?In the end, laziness won out, and he did not choose to change seats. Beside him, Akimichi Choji ignored everything outside and focused solely on munching chips from his bag.At the front of the classroom, a cool little guy with black hair looked out the window with a cold expression, surrounded by a group of chattering girls.Iruka looked at the chaotic class and felt exhausted. The thought of having to lead this class for six years made him even more tired, especially since that guy was in the class.Iruka looked at Naruto, who was grinning and teasing Hinata, his eyes filled with complex emotions.In the end, his duty as a teacher prevailed, and he began to restore discipline in the class before arranging for the students to introduce themselves.After everyone had finished their introductions, the formal class began.Halfway through the class, Naruto was already slumped on the desk, looking lifeless with dull eyes."Kurama, I don't want to go to school." Naruto's consciousness slipped into the Sealing Space, where he hugged one of the fox's tails, buried his head in it, and said gloomily."Then don't." After saying this, the fox grabbed a whole roasted lamb from a grill as tall as a person, threw it into his mouth, and took a sip of Erguotou, looking completely satisfied."But I can't just not go to school; the old man Third Hokage will definitely give me trouble." Narutograbbed another of the fox's tails, placed it under himself, and positioned himself between the two tails."Tsk, brats are such a hassle.""Hey, you eat my food and drink my drinks, yet you talk to me like that. Doesn't your conscience hurt?" Naruto sat up and pointed at the fox."I don't have such a thing." The fox glanced at Naruto with disdain and continued eating meat and drinking."You! You!" Naruto pointed angrily at the Nine-Tailed. What was going on with this thick-skinned fox? He clearly remembered it wasn't like this before."Are your Shadow Clones just for show? Can't you send a Shadow Clone to go to school for you?" The Nine-Tailed glanced at the Shadow Clones still working hard and said.But as soon as it finished speaking, it saw Narutolooking at it with an extremely strange expression, which left it very confused.Immediately after, three more gazes fell upon it, making the whole fox shiver. As it turned its head, it saw those three working Shadow Clones stop, staring at it without blinking."...Ahem, pretend I didn't say anything."The whole morning passed with Naruto in a daze. Honestly, regarding what the Ninja Academytaught, if one wanted to be Hokage, they might need to learn more, but he had absolutely no intention of doing that.Judging by Naruto's sickly appearance in Boruto, being Hokage is a job even a dog wouldn't want. He had only one goal: to slaughter gods. After all, that group of Ōtsutsuki Clan members who called themselves gods clearly didn't want him to live out his old age in peace. Since that was the case, he had no choice but to slaughter them all.As for that pseudo-god senior brother, emmm, I'll go check on him when I have time."No, I can't go on like this. It's too much of a waste of time."After lunch, Naruto decided to run away. Whoever wants to attend this lousy school can go ahead; he was done with it.After greeting Hinata, he rushed straight out of the school gate, leaving Hinata, who was still eating, completely dumbfounded.By the time she came to her senses, Naruto was already gone. Looking at the large table of food Naruto had brought out, Hinata fell into deep thought.Meanwhile, the old man Third Hokage watched Naruto leave the school through his crystal ball and immediately felt his blood pressure rise again, so he hurriedly took out his blood pressure medication and popped two pills.Beside him, Gekkō Hayate's mouth twitched. He was here today to join the Anbu, and since the Third Hokage happened to be watching Naruto through the crystal ball, he had come over to take a look as well.This brat, skipping class on the very first day—if I didn't know your identity, I'd really suspect you were my brother.Well, this guy had also skipped class before, and was later caught by Yūgao Uzuki, who dragged him back to school by his ear.Arriving at the training ground, Naruto created a Shadow Clone to practice swordsmanship, while he began physical training.During the afternoon class, looking at the empty seat, Iruka felt completely numb. No, skipping class on the first day? What's the meaning of this? Are you looking down on me?Iruka suppressed his urge to go berserk and continued the class, planning to talk to the Third Hokage about this after class.However, when he arrived at the Hokage Office, he saw that besides the Third Hokage, two other people were there.They were none other than Uzumaki Naruto and Gekkō Hayate.At this moment, Naruto was arguing with Gekkō Hayate about something, but judging from Gekkō Hayate's expression, he seemed to be the one losing the argument.The old man Third Hokage sat at his desk, rubbing his temples with a helpless expression."I've already said it, why do I need to learn that stuff? In the time it takes to calculate shuriken angles, I would have already rushed up and hacked the person to death.""Heh, are you good at fighting? What's the use of being good at fighting? Ninjas rely on intelligence, not on whether you can fight! Concealment, gathering intelligence, and killing with one strike are what Ninjas should do, not rushing head-on like a brute and slashing with a sword.""But, if I can clearly hack the person to death head-on, why waste the time to gather intelligence?""There will always be someone you can't beat, right?""Then I just need to become strong enough that no one can defeat me, right?""You!"Iruka was stunned listening to this; it was his first time seeing such a perspective. Of course, he didn't know that if Uchiha Madara heard these words, he would definitely give Naruto a thumbs up.In the end, the Third Hokage made the final decision: he must attend school in the morning. As for the afternoon, it depended on Iruka's ability. If he could handle it, that would be best; if not, and Naruto left the school, then so be it.Iruka was full of confidence about this. After all, in his view, Naruto was just a six-year-old brat, and he was a Chunin, so there was no way he would fail.As for Gekkō Hayate, he was looking at Iruka with some sympathy. Others might not know, but he was very clear about the situation with this little monster.If he didn't use his sword, the current Naruto might not be able to beat Iruka, but if he wanted to run, Iruka would definitely not be able to catch him. This brat had too many tricks, and he himself had suffered losses when sparring with him.But whatever, anyway, Iruka would be the one suffering. As long as it wasn't him going to catch the kid, he didn't care what happened.
Chapter 6: Hide and SeekThe next day at noon.Iruka guarded the school gate with full confidence, while also deploying several Shadow Clones in the vicinity, just waiting for Naruto to take the bait.However, he waited until almost class time and still didn't see a trace of Naruto. He assumed Narutorealized he couldn't win and had obediently gone to class, but when he arrived at the classroom, well, the seat was empty.But there wasn't enough time, so he had to go to class first and let his Shadow Clones search around, and they actually found something.Beside a wall, a patch of ground had been disturbed. The Shadow Clone dug a bit, and a narrow tunnel leading outside the school immediately appeared.After receiving the message from the Shadow Clone, Iruka couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. "You are the Nine-Tailed, a fox, not a rat. Why are you so skilled at digging holes?"Today's match, Iruka was defeated.Time came to the noon of a new day, and Iruka no longer waited idly for the rabbit.He began to take the initiative, searching for Narutoeverywhere in the school. Since school ended at twelve o'clock, the condition given by the Third Hokage was that he could only leave the school gate at one o'clock, but there was a half-hour lunch break.Therefore, the hide-and-seek battle between Irukaand Naruto lasted for half an hour.Just as he was searching, he suddenly saw a patch of disturbed soil. The corner of his mouth crooked. "Good kid, playing this trick again?"He immediately chased out along the tunnel; however, he had completely forgotten that Narutowas not allowed to go out at this time. He was just blinded by the prospect of victory and had forgotten the details of the rules.Meanwhile, far away in the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage saw him enter the tunnel and couldn't help but slap his own forehead, because he had previously seen through the crystal ball that Narutowas currently eating with Hinata in a hallway.By the time Iruka realized what happened and returned to the school, Naruto had long since disappeared.Iruka was defeated again.Afterwards, the two engaged in a year-long hide-and-seek battle. Honestly, even Naruto admired Iruka's perseverance; for a whole year, he was tireless every single day.Of course, it was also possible that he was just angered by Naruto.Over this year, Naruto had used almost all of the Art of War, and Iruka had never managed to catch him even once, and was even tricked by Naruto's Shadow Clones several times, which made Iruka so angry he was fuming.Of course, that wasn't the most infuriating part. The most infuriating thing was that Naruto had bribed all his classmates with delicious food to help him, directly turning a one-on-one into a one-on-many. However, he used regular ingredients, so there were no special effects.The old Third Hokage couldn't stop it even if he wanted to, because Naruto had bribed him too, using ingredients with special effects.When Iruka came to complain, the Third Hokagedismissed him on the grounds that there was no rule against asking for help.However, this did give Iruka a reminder; he could also ask for help.But then he thought, as a teacher, he couldn't even handle his own student, which was already embarrassing enough. If he were to ask other teachers to help deal with a group of children, that would be going too far.He was righteous, but the Third Hokage was dumbfounded. How come he hadn't noticed before that this kid Iruka was so stubborn? "You've been played by your own student for a whole year, don't you feel ashamed?"The Third Hokage didn't know that Iruka truly didn't feel ashamed. He only felt that his student was quite impressive and would definitely become a powerful Ninja in the future.Unknowingly, Iruka had come to regard Naruto as his student; it was just that the process of this change in mindset was a bit... well.But impressive as he was, classes still had to be attended. What kind of logic was it for a student not to attend class?It must be said, the Third Hokage was right; Irukawas indeed stubborn.Today, just as Naruto walked out of the school gate, he ran into someone who surprised him: Uchiha Sasuke.At this time, Sasuke had long lost his former innocence and arrogance; only a cold expression remained on his face.The reason was that he had just experienced the night of his clan's annihilation and had only just been discharged from the hospital."Please wait a moment." As Naruto passed by him, Sasuke spoke up to stop him.Naruto turned his head, not speaking, just looking at Sasuke with a puzzled expression."Please sell me some of that food of yours." Sasukebowed deeply to Naruto; he was also someone who had eaten Naruto's food.And among all the students, besides Hinata, he was the only one who had eaten the kind with special effects. The reason was that one day at noon, he had forgotten to bring his lunch, and Naruto, seeing his awkward state, had given him some food.It was just because he was preparing food for Hinata at the time and forgot to change the ingredients. By the time Naruto remembered this, Sasuke had already eaten it.Helplessly, Naruto could only tell Sasuke to keep it a secret, and Sasuke indeed hadn't told anyone; he just came over to mooch a meal from time to time.At first, he was indeed quite embarrassed, but this kind of good thing where one could become stronger just by eating allowed him to overcome his inner shyness.Naruto looked at Sasuke, who was bending and bowing in front of him, and couldn't help scratching his head. He didn't dislike Sasuke; after all, bearing the blood feud of the entire Uchiha was a heavy burden, and being unscrupulous was normal.It was just that he liked to act cool a bit too much, but it wasn't impossible to fix; after all, didn't Narutoeventually fix him later?Yes, the only thing Naruto disliked about Sasukewas that this guy was extremely good at acting cool, and often did it suddenly in an intangible way.As for the rest, as the only normal person in the entire Hokage series, he actually quite appreciated Sasuke.And this was a major asset for slaughtering gods in the future. As long as he influenced him subtly, when the two of them joined forces, the entire Ninja World could be said to be invincible.Thinking of this, Naruto patted Sasuke on the shoulder and said, "Do you want to become stronger?"Hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke was stunned, then looked up and saw Naruto's sunshine-like smile.He swore he had never seen such a dazzling smile; it was just like the sun.Well, this was indeed true. After all, it was noon, and from Sasuke's angle, the sun was right behind Naruto's head. When Naruto smiled, it was like the sun was grinning, so it was indeed a sunshine-like smile.It just made his eyes hurt a little."If you want to become stronger, then come with me." Saying this, Naruto turned and walked away. Sasuke was stunned for a long while before following Naruto and leaving the school.Sasuke got what he wanted, but Iruka was about to go crazy. Originally, it was just Naruto skipping class, but now Sasuke, who had just come out of the hospital, was also gone.He was so angry that he immediately created a Shadow Clone to find the Third Hokage. As a result, the Third Hokage told him that Sasuke had been kidnapped by Naruto. He was completely dumbfounded. Didn't this mean the number of people playing hide-and-seek would increase in the future? Could this damn class even be taught anymore?On Naruto's side, when he planned to take Sasuketo train, Kurama started protesting to Naruto in the Sealing Space."Kid, I don't like people from the Uchiha." The fox said, frowning. At the same time, it ate a mouthful of rice with toppings using a spoon; the spoon was crafted by melting a pile of kitchen knives.Before, he used concrete because his body was too small and it was hard to forge, but now that his body had grown, the steel in the system shop became the raw material for him to craft things.The fox's food bowl, wine glass, cola cup, and chopsticks were all replaced by Naruto. It must be said that this made the fox happy for a long time; after all, things made of concrete had a bit of a taste, and the fox's sense of smell was very sensitive."I didn't ask you to teach him anyway." Naruto rolled his eyes and retorted, which made the fox so angry it ate two more bowls of rice.When he brought Sasuke to the spot, Narutodirectly had Sasuke start with physical training, and incidentally, took out one serving each of the three types of dishes that currently had the best effect on improving strength for Sasuke to eat.At the same time, he told Sasuke that this stuff could only be eaten once a day, and eating more had no effect. Sasuke was a bit disappointed by this, but didn't say much. After all, they were not related, and the fact that the other party was willing to help him was already something to be grateful for.Sasuke was still just a child, and the family etiquette of the Uchiha was still maintained. After thanking Naruto, he started to eat.Afterwards, Naruto took Sasuke and began physical training.Soon, an hour passed. Sasuke was already lying on the ground unable to move, while Naruto was still full of vigor, doing push-ups with a huge concrete block on his back.Seeing this, the corner of Sasuke's eye twitched. Is this thing even human? Doesn't he ever feel tired?"Kid, you are really too weak." Glancing at Sasukelying on the ground, Naruto couldn't help but crook the corner of his mouth and said.The tone was exactly the same as when the fox mocked Naruto. Sasuke was speechless, wanting to refute but not knowing how to speak. After all, the comparison was right there. But, you are clearly a kid too, where do you get the nerve to call me a kid? And I'm older than you, okay!"Get up and continue." Naruto continued to speak in the fox's tone.Sasuke's eyelids twitched. Still continue? This guy really doesn't treat me like a human, right?Seeing that Sasuke hadn't moved for a long time, Naruto put away the concrete block on his back, came to Sasuke's side, and scratched his head, looking at Sasuke who was lying on the ground with dull eyes."Why aren't you getting up?"Hearing this, Sasuke glanced at Naruto, then continued looking at the sky.If he weren't unable to move, Sasuke would definitely grab Naruto by the neck and ask him if he was blind, and by the way, drag Naruto down with him.Seeing that Sasuke still had no reaction, Narutosuddenly thought of something, and immediately shouted in his heart."Kurama, lend me some Chakra.""Not lending."The fox refused without even thinking. Are you kidding? It would rather let this Chakra rot in its stomach or throw it away than let an Uchiha kid use it."If you don't lend it to me, I'll cut off your food supply." Naruto narrowed his eyes and said in his heart."Kid, are you threatening me?"The fox, leaning against the wall, slapped the ground, sending the layer of concrete and bricks Naruto had laid flying everywhere.He immediately wanted to get up and give this kid a piece of his mind, but unfortunately, at this moment, he was already a sphere.The entire fox wobbled twice like a turtle trying to flip over, failed to get up, and leaned back against the wall. Then it tried to get up again, two paws stretched out in mid-air, trying hard to push forward, and then failed to get up again, leaning back.This whole process was unbearable for Naruto to watch. Honestly, he regretted feeding this fox.Who could tell him why something that was clearly a Chakra aggregate could actually grow fat?Now this thing was as fat as a ball. If thrown out, no one would think it was a fox. It really is "the bigger the orange, the heavier it is," right?"I say, can you eat a little less? Aren't you afraid of being laughed to death if you go out looking like this?" Naruto looked at the fox struggling to get up and couldn't help but say."Stop with the snide remarks. Just wait until I get up, and see if I don't beat you up.""Alright, you old timer, keep struggling. I'll take the Chakra myself."Naruto entered the Sealing Space, directly placed his hand on the fox, and began to absorb Chakra. Before long, his whole body turned golden.Outside, a layer of red bubbles appeared on Naruto's hand. He placed this hand on Sasuke's shoulder, and immediately, the bubbles began to spread over Sasuke's body.Before long, it covered his whole body, forming a shape similar to a fox.Retracting his hand, feeling the Chakra in his body, Naruto couldn't help but curl his lip. This tsundere fox who says one thing but does another.If it really didn't want to give it, it could have slapped him away when he got close. Now it's still there pretending to be a turtle flipping over; what clumsy acting.Just as Naruto was thinking this, suddenly a tail whipped towards him, instantly knocking him against the wall, and then he fell to the ground."Kid, are you asking for a beating?" Naruto just climbed up from the ground and shook his head when the fox's voice came directly, instantly making Naruto remember something.Uh, forgot that when using the Golden Body Mode, one would share thoughts with this fox. Damn, I was careless!
Chapter 7: Unsportsmanlike ConductOutside, Sasuke felt the power surging within his body and stared in shock at Naruto, who was dazed beside him.At this moment, his body felt better than it ever had; his stamina and Chakra were fully restored, and the injuries he had sustained from training were being healed by this surge of Chakra."W-what is this?""Oh, don't worry about that. Get up and continue training now." Hearing Sasuke's words, Narutohurriedly exited the Sealing Space, replied, and resumed his own training.However, Sasuke was still in a state of shock and had no intention of moving. Seeing this, Narutospoke up again."The amount of this stuff is limited. If you waste it, I won't give you any next time.""Huh? Oh, right, thank you." Hearing this, Sasukefinally snapped out of it and hurriedly began to continue his cultivation.The Third Hokage watched the scene in the crystal ball with a complex expression. It was one thing for this kid to train his Taijutsu like a monster, but now he was dragging someone else along with him—an Uchiha, no less. It gave the Third Hokage a headache just watching.He had seen Naruto pull this trick before; he had used it on Gekkō Hayate once, and the Third Hokage had called them both to his office to question them.Naruto claimed it was a trade he made with the Nine-Tailed. The Third Hokage had issued a gag order to Gekkō Hayate and instructed Naruto not to use it recklessly in the future, to which Naruto had agreed readily.Yet now he was using it on someone else again. The Third Hokage rubbed his brow and sighed. He truly couldn't control this child; he might as well dump him on Jiraiya later.As for why Naruto could use the Gold Body Mode, it started back when he was washing dishes and complained to the Nine-Tailed that his body was too small to lift such large plates.The Nine-Tailed simply fist-bumped him, and as a result, he could activate the Gold Body, though it was limited to use within the Sealing Space.The fox's Chakra was still controlled by the fox itself. With the Sealing Space in place, its Chakracould only be transferred little by little, which was why Naruto couldn't activate the Gold Body outside.As for the Chakra Cloak Mode, the control over that actually belonged to the fox, not Naruto. Although Naruto could use it, he had to endure the negative emotions that came with the fox's Chakra first.Therefore, unless he played a game of Chakra tug-of-war with the fox, he could only truly use the Gold Body Mode in the outside world by breaking the seal.As for absorbing the fox's Chakra, that was just the fox being a tsundere.It said it wouldn't give any, but in reality, it rarely truly refused Naruto's requests. It was just that the fox cared about its pride, so Naruto always used this method to give the fox a way to save face.After all, this way, it became a situation of "you snatched it," not "I gave it to you."The fox watched Naruto leave the Sealing Space, curled its lip, and leaned back against the wall. It grabbed a pile of salmon, dipped it in a bit of soy sauce, then added a huge glob of wasabi, and shoved it straight into its mouth, making Naruto's clone feel a tingling sensation on his scalp.Heaven knows why this fox liked eating wasabi. Every time it ate it, its face would contort, and then it would roar, "Refreshing!" Naruto couldn't understand where the pleasure was in that at all.This once made him wonder if the fox had some peculiar fetish.The next day, Sasuke also joined the hide-and-seek battle. Iruka immediately felt immense pressure, while Sasuke was dismissive of this kind of game.Well, the sky cleared, the rain stopped, and Sasukefelt like he could do it again.Therefore, the result was self-evident: Sasuke was caught red-handed in less than three minutes, which left him astonished and also caused him to truly begin taking this behavior he had deemed childish seriously.Evasion and pursuit were also things a Ninja had to learn, which was one of the reasons why Iruka didn't reject the proposal.But it was too late to take it seriously now. He could only watch helplessly as Naruto strode away, while he himself had to sit miserably in the classroom, listening to those theory lessons that now made him drowsy.In the following days, Sasuke began to ask Narutofor advice on how to evade Iruka's capture. Narutodidn't hold anything back, and Sasuke lived up to his name as a genius.On the seventh day, he finally escaped the school. Afterward, Sasuke was only caught a few times when he was careless, and Naruto was also caught once because he tried to save Sasuke.Looking at the smug Iruka on the podium, the students all cast admiring glances at him, which Iruka enjoyed very much. Sasuke, meanwhile, felt uncomfortable under Naruto's resentful gaze and could only turn his head away, refusing to look at Naruto.But since things had come to this, Naruto could only honestly attend class in the classroom, while secretly resolving that if Sasuke got caught next time, he would be a dog if he saved him again.Days passed like this for a year. During this period, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji also joined the game, though those three were purely bored, and they hadn't managed to escape even once.Shikamaru didn't actually want to participate; he was purely accompanying Choji, while Choji had been egged on by Kiba, and Kiba just thought it was fun.And today, Hinata finally mustered up the courage and planned to join in.This gave Naruto quite a shock. One had to know that the Hyuga Clan's family rules were very strict; logically speaking, it should have been impossible for Hinata to engage in such behavior."Hinata-chan, why did you think about joining us?" Naruto, who was eating, looked at Hinata and asked, somewhat puzzled."I... I also want to become stronger. I... I don't want to be left behind by Naruto-kun." Hinata took several deep breaths before stuttering out her reply.She didn't mention the real reason, which was mainly because she had been easily defeated by Neji a couple of days ago, which had left her feeling very hurt.She knew the effects of the meals Naruto made for her every day better than anyone. No matter how much of a genius Neji was, she had been eating these magical dishes for two whole years and was still defeated so easily; she felt she had let down Naruto's efforts for her.In her view, since Naruto gave her this magical food every day, his expectations for her must be high, yet she hadn't made any progress. Even though she was uncompetitive, she felt extremely bad inside.But she didn't know that Naruto hadn't thought of anything at all; he just simply wanted to feed her. As for why it was this special food?Well, that goes without saying! Anyone who has watched Naruto knows Hinata's appetite, and he, Uzumaki Naruto, was dirt poor. Although the old man Third Hokage gave him plenty of pocket money, he saved it all—but wasn't that for marrying a wife in the future?Why would he buy ingredients to cook and feed Hinata when he had free ingredients from the system? Wouldn't that be stupid?Hearing Hinata's words, Naruto was a bit surprised, but then he felt relieved. In the original story, Hinataworked very hard to catch up to Naruto. Moreover, Hinata's talent was also very good; she created the Protection of the Eight Trigrams herself, and based on the Hyuga Clan's high-end Taijutsu, she developed the Gentle Fist: Twin Lion Fists."Sure, then let me tell you, Hinata-chan, about how to evade Iruka-sensei's capture."Naruto was enthusiastically passing on his experience to Hinata, while Sasuke ate silently on the side. It looked quiet and peaceful, but in reality..."I say, Iruka, do we really have to do this?" A teacher looked at Iruka, who was facing the enemy as if it were a life-and-death battle, and asked with some hesitation."Yes, this order came from Hokage-sama. Besides, the young lady of the Hyuga Clan is joining this time, and Hokage-sama has ordered us to capture everyone without fail." Iruka nodded, his face full of seriousness."That little girl from the Hyuga Clan is joining too?" Another female teacher exclaimed."Yes, that's also why Hokage-sama called me over. After all, if this little girl really skipped school, it wouldn't be easy to explain to the Hyuga Clan.""Heh, these brats really know how to cause trouble. But Iruka, you're something else, actually playing along with them for two years.""Don't underestimate those two little guys; they have many tricks up their sleeves. If you're not careful, you'll take a tumble."As they talked in the office, they didn't notice that inside the floorboards beneath their feet, a figure was using a stethoscope pressed against the floor, eavesdropping on their conversation."By the way, how long until it starts?" A male teacher asked, rubbing his hands together in excitement. A female teacher looked at the wall clock and then replied."Ten minutes."On the other side, Naruto had just picked up a mouthful of food and was about to put it in his mouth when his hand suddenly paused, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth."What's wrong?" Sasuke had already finished eating and, seeing Naruto's expression, couldn't help but ask."Heh, the old man Third Hokage is being unsportsmanlike." Naruto put down his chopsticks and said with a smile."What do you mean?" Sasuke frowned and asked."My Shadow Clone just sent word that Iruka-sensei has teamed up with other teachers at the school to catch us together." Naruto rubbed his chin, thinking as he spoke."Ah, this... is it because of me?" Hinata was also shocked by the news. She stopped eating and looked at Naruto with some concern. Sasuke also looked over with a grave expression."Small problem. They can call for help, can't we? Let's go, follow me to the classroom."Saying this, Naruto led the two of them toward the classroom.Soon, ten minutes passed. Some of the teachers in the office disappeared directly, while others stretched their bodies, slowly opened the office door, and walked into the school.A chase between teachers and students officially began.
Chapter 8: Two Years Later"Iruka-sensei!" Just as Iruka stepped out of the office, a student came running over with a look of anxiety on his face."Yamada, what's wrong?" Iruka didn't step forward this time; instead, he took two steps back.He couldn't help it. He had been tricked too many times. Usually, he was fine, but at this hour, he became wary of all students.Conversely, the other male teacher who had come out with him stood still."Iruka-sensei, it's bad! That Hyuga Neji from the Hyuga Clan is fighting with Naruto!"At these words, Iruka was stunned. After all, Hyuga Neji was a grade ahead of Naruto. Why would they suddenly start fighting?Although he had considered whether this might be a trap, Naruto had never before enlisted the help of students from higher or lower grades.Therefore, he only believed it thirty percent. As for the remaining seventy percent of distrust, it was partly due to the timing, and partly because the teacher beside him, Kimura, was Hyuga Neji's homeroom teacher.For those two to suddenly start fighting at this exact time, even a fool could see something was wrong.But no matter how suspicious he was, due to his position as a teacher, he had to go and check it out.Thus, Iruka and Kimura exchanged a glance and followed Yamada toward the playground.By now, the playground was crowded with students, and in the center of the field, two people were fighting fiercely—it was indeed Hyuga Neji and Naruto.However, there wasn't a single teacher around. But because both Iruka and Kimura were focused on the two in the center, they didn't notice this.It could only be said that having been teachers for so long, the vigilance most crucial to a Ninja had been worn away significantly."Stop!" As soon as Iruka reached the playground, he hurriedly shouted.However, the two were already too heated. Hyuga Neji had even used the Eight Trigrams Palms, and Naruto had pulled out a wooden sword, completely ignoring Iruka.Seeing that shouting was useless, Iruka rushed forward with Kimura to pull them apart.But the moment they touched the two, Iruka and Kimura suddenly felt a sharp pain in their bodies. Their vision blurred, and when they opened their eyes again, they felt themselves tied to chairs.Just as they tried to mobilize their Chakra, they felt the Chakra in their bodies like stagnant water, with absolutely no reaction."Teachers, don't struggle. The Hyuga Clan's acupoint striking isn't so easy to break through."A voice came from above them. The two looked up and saw Naruto sitting on the office desk, his right foot stepping on the desk, his left foot dangling in mid-air, his right hand resting on his knee, and his left hand supporting him on the desk. He was posturing like a big shot, full of swagger.Sasuke stood on Naruto's left, arms crossed, his eyes crimson with spinning tomoe—it was undoubtedly the Uchiha Bloodline Limit, the Sharingan.Hinata stood on Naruto's right, with her Byakuganactivated, veins bulging around her eyes. She was still in the stance of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist Art. Clearly, the pain they had felt earlier came from this young girl."Genjutsu, right?" Seeing that he couldn't break free, Iruka calmed down, looked at Sasuke, and asked."Correct." Sasuke's flat tone left Iruka feeling both gratified and melancholy."When did you awaken it?" Iruka asked with some curiosity."...Three months ago." Sasuke replied with a constipated expression. He really didn't want to mention the process of awakening it. Being beaten into awakening it by that damn blondie, he truly felt humiliated. He had been beaten up and had to listen to the blondie mocking him the whole time; he had really wanted to just blow up with the blondie right then and there.It was a good thing for students to get stronger, but his temperament was a bit too cold. What he didn't know was that Sasuke was just putting on an act.Kimura sighed helplessly. Originally, he had scoffed at Iruka for always failing to catch his students, but now he understood just how monstrous these two little guys were. They had planned everything from the start and had even specifically used the Sharingan to construct an illusion.What he didn't know was that this illusion was actually constructed by Naruto and Sasuke together. By connecting their illusions through the Nine-Tailed's Chakra and utilizing the Sharingan's special boost to illusions, they had accomplished the scene he and Iruka had witnessed earlier.Looking at the three in front of him, Kimura felt melancholy. Having been a teacher for so long, he hadn't expected his strength to decline so severely that he was taken down by a brat who hadn't even graduated yet. This time, he had really lost face."Your acupoint striking technique is good. Keep it up." Iruka looked at Hinata and said with a smile."Th-thank you, teacher." Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and replied timidly."As for Naruto, the plan was good. Next time, if there's a chance, I hope you can show me your true strength." Iruka looked at Naruto and smiled, then frowned and added, "But don't sit on the desk in the future. Your posture is a bit asking for a beating."Naruto, having just jumped off the desk, was choked by Iruka's words. He lost his footing and almost fell to the ground, but fortunately, Hinata was quick-witted and caught him."Uh, okay, I'll find somewhere else to sit next time." Naruto steadied himself and said to Iruka with black lines on his forehead."Alright, we're off. Goodbye, teachers." With that, Naruto grabbed Hinata and Sasuke and jumped out the window.Watching the three leave, Kimura couldn't help but say, "Your student has quite the personality."Iruka rolled his eyes at Kimura, then looked at the ropes on his body and said, "By the way, how do we get out of this?""Emmm, how about we wait for them to come and rescue us?"In the end, the two did not wait for any help from other teachers. Apart from the fact that those teachers were still searching for the traces of Narutoand his group, Hinata could currently only seal them for three minutes. After three minutes, their Chakrarecovered, and they broke free themselves.Even after breaking free, the two didn't continue to chase after anyone. After all, according to the rules of the battlefield, they could be considered dead now.As for the other teachers, they experienced the same pain Iruka had once suffered, all of them being pranked by Naruto in various ways, with each person experiencing something different.It infuriated the group of teachers. Although they ultimately let the three of them escape the school, it also stirred up the teachers' competitive spirit. After all, Hokage-sama didn't say this would only happen today.Thus, the next day, the three of them were caught off guard. This time, the teachers didn't talk in the office; instead, they were all rubbing their hands and fists, silently waiting for the time to come.Naruto didn't manage to gather any intelligence, so this time, he was caught. Naruto was so angry he shouted about them not playing fair.On the third day, he once again enlisted his classmates to help, and this time he even took quite a few of these students out with him.Those who were willing to return to class went back to the classroom after leaving the school. For those who wanted to go out and play, Naruto secretly sent a Shadow Clone to protect them, while he took Hinata and Sasuke to continue training.After this, there was a two-year-long chase, which even involved the entire school, turning into a battle between teachers and students.Many parents submitted complaint letters to the Third's desk, causing the old man so much worry he started losing hair. His blood pressure medication even increased to a bottle a day. If it weren't for Naruto's food keeping him alive, he probably would have been angered to the point of going to meet the First and Second Hokage.One day, Naruto was sparring with Hinata, while Sasuke was watching from the sidelines."Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!" Hinata activated her Byakugan, assumed the Eight Trigrams Palmsstarting stance, and attacked Naruto.Naruto, unhurried, struck at Hinata's forearm, neutralizing her attacks one by one.Facing the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Palms, the best method, besides dodging, was to attack the opponent's forearm. After all, this thing had the effect of sealing acupoints. Once hit, the acupoints in the struck area would be sealed, affecting Chakracirculation.Unless one's strength was far superior, once hit, one would inevitably take all subsequent attacks.Seeing her attacks blocked, Hinata immediately turned her palms into fingers, bringing her index and middle fingers together, and poked at the acupoints on Naruto's body.Naruto and Hinata had been sparring for two years, and he was already intimately familiar with her moves. He dodged slightly, then closed in, slamming into Hinata with a shoulder bash.Hinata couldn't dodge in time and could only block with her remaining hand, only to be knocked back several steps by Naruto. If Naruto hadn't used much force, Hinata would have probably flown several meters away from that single hit.Naruto took this opportunity to step forward and threw a punch toward Hinata's face.Hinata's pupils constricted. She leaned back sharply while simultaneously striking upward with a knee toward Naruto's stomach.Naruto noticed Hinata's movement, pulled back his punching hand, and slammed his elbow downward, colliding directly with Hinata's knee.Feeling the force from her knee, Hinata didn't retract her leg. Instead, she straightened her bent leg and kicked upward.Naruto suddenly felt a chill in his lower body. Terrified, he immediately jumped backward, breaking out in a cold sweat. Sasuke, standing nearby, subconsciously squeezed his thighs together, looking at Hinata with an expression like he'd seen a ghost."Stop, stop, stop!" Seeing Hinata still planning to attack, Naruto hurriedly called for a halt."Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" Hinata stopped and asked, looking at Naruto with a puzzled expression."Hinata-chan, who taught you that move just now?" Naruto caught his breath and asked with a strained smile on his face."This? I learned it from my younger sister," Hinatasaid somewhat embarrassedly."Uh, I remember your younger sister is only five, right?" Sasuke walked up, his eyes filled with a hint of fear as he looked at Hinata.After spending these few years with Naruto, although Sasuke hadn't turned into a sunny, cheerful boy, he was no longer as gloomy as before."This, that..." Hinata's eyes drifted, and she stammered for a long time without being able to say a word."Speak more gently. You scared my wife, you know that?" Naruto walked up, pushed Sasuke aside, put his arm around Hinata's shoulder, and glared at Sasuke.Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto and then didn't say anything more. Hinata, meanwhile, shrank into Naruto's arms, covering her face with both hands, her face bright red, and steam rising from her head."Hey! You blondie! Let go of my sister!"
Chapter 9: Hanabi and Neji"Hey! That yellow-hair! Let go of my sister!"A sudden, sharp shout drew everyone's attention, and the three of them turned in unison toward the source of the voice.A long-haired little girl in a training outfit was glaring angrily at Naruto. It was easy to see from the bulging veins around her eyes that she had the Byakugan activated."Little brat, who are you?""Hanabi? Why are you here?"Naruto and Hinata spoke at the same time, then looked at each other. Naruto looked embarrassed, while Hinata narrowed her eyes slightly.Well, calling someone a little brat right in front of their sister—it was a testament to their good temper that she hadn't attacked yet."Uh, Hinata-chan, if I said it was a slip of the tongue, would you believe me?" Naruto scratched his head, looking embarrassed and awkward.Hinata let out a soft huff upon hearing this, then pulled away from Naruto's embrace and trotted over to Hanabi."Heh, that's what you get for speaking without thinking. Looks like you've hit a wall this time," Sasuke teased softly from the side. Naruto rolled his eyes at him and didn't respond."Sister!" Seeing Hinata approach, Hanabi lunged into her arms."Hanabi, why did you come here?" Hinata caught her sister, gently rubbed the top of her head, and asked softly."I missed you, so I snuck out of the house." Hanabinuzzled against Hinata, then looked up and gave an embarrassed smile."You, really. Father will be angry if he finds out you snuck out." Hinata affectionately flicked Hanabi on the forehead as she spoke."Ugh, but home is no fun at all. Father just makes me train every day." Hanabi pouted, looking a bit dejected."So that's Hinata's sister?"On the other side, while Hinata and Hanabi were chatting, Sasuke elbowed Naruto and pointed at Hanabi, asking."Yeah, what's up?" Naruto nodded, looking at Sasuke with confusion."Nothing." For a fleeting moment, Sasuke's expression turned gloomy, then dark."What are you trying to say?" Naruto was left speechless by Sasuke's behavior. Was this guy asking for a beating? Didn't he know that leaving sentences half-finished was a good way to get punched?"It's nothing, just asking." Sasuke waved his hand dismissively.Seeing him like this, Naruto suddenly seemed to realize something. He hooked his arm around Sasuke's neck and said fiercely, "Don't you go thinking any weird thoughts! She's only five! Do you even know that's a capital offense?""What kind of nonsense is that? You don't actually think I'm interested in this little kid, do you?" Sasukebroke free from Naruto's grip and rolled his eyes at him."Heh, what else?""...Have you forgotten why I approached you in the first place? I won't have any other thoughts until I've killed that guy.""Uh... well, if I said I actually forgot, would you believe me?""..."Sasuke was completely speechless. Naruto was a strange one; you couldn't say he was unreliable, as he could clearly map out a plan for getting stronger.But you couldn't really call him reliable either, given that his brain occasionally short-circuited, making it hard to take him seriously.However, Sasuke didn't even realize that his own brain had started to short-circuit from time to time as well.Just as Naruto had killed the conversation, Hinatawalked over, holding Hanabi's hand."Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, let me introduce you. This is my sister, Hanabi.""Hello, I'm Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke nodded at Hanabi; he was quite reticent with outsiders."Nice to meet you, I'm Hanabi. Please treat me well." Hanabi bowed to Sasuke."I'm Naruto, your sister's boyfriend." Naruto grinned broadly at Hanabi."Hmph!" Hanabi, however, wasn't having it. She huffed and turned her head away."Hanabi, don't be rude." Hinata rubbed Hanabi's head and said softly."Ugh, I'm Hanabi. Please treat me well."Facing her sister, Hanabi had to concede. There was no helping it; her sister usually looked gentle and weak and doted on her, but if she truly got angry, she would actually hit people.Thinking of this, Hanabi felt a phantom pain in her little bottom.After hanging out with Naruto for two years, Hinata, while still maintaining her gentle nature, had shed her former weakness.She no longer stuttered in fear when facing her father, and when sparring with Neji, it was now an even match. Even when Neji gave it his all, he could only eke out a narrow victory; he could no longer win easily as he had before.This surprised Hiashi greatly, leaving him both gratified and troubled.He was gratified that his daughter finally showed promise, but troubled that she had been spirited away by that yellow-hair.Indeed, no one in the Hyuga Clan was unaware of this. It could even be said that the entire Konoha Ninja community knew that the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan had her heart set on a certain yellow-hair.Whenever a Hyuga Ninja got into an argument and couldn't win, the other party would always retort, "Your clan's eldest daughter ran off with that yellow-hair."Who could stand that? As a result, the entire Hyuga Clan now disliked "yellow-hairs," and the YamanakaClan suffered collateral damage as well. Well, what could they do? They were also yellow-haired.It was only because the Hyuga Clan had strict discipline; otherwise, given the current state where the Hyuga Ninja wanted to slap any yellow-hair they saw, it was unlikely anyone would dare to team up with them for missions.Our old Sandaime was also worn out from worrying about this. There was no help for it; this yellow-hair was someone he had watched grow up. Given his current health, it was hard to say how many years he had left. If he didn't settle this matter for the yellow-hair, he wouldn't have the face to meet the Fourth Hokage and his wife in the afterlife.Although his health had been ruined by the yellow-hair, in truth, the kid hadn't done it on purpose. After all, if he hadn't peeked, he wouldn't have been so angry. Furthermore, the yellow-hair brought him takeout every day to keep him going. Reasonably and emotionally, he had to see to it that the yellow-hair and the Hyuga eldest daughter's affair was handled properly.Sigh, our Sandaime really had it rough.Of course, whether the Sandaime had it rough or not aside, Naruto was having a hard time now. As for the reason..."Hey! That yellow-hair! Get away from the eldest and second young ladies!" A handsome young man with long, straight black hair was currently glaring at Naruto and the others with his ancestral Byakugan activated, looking furious."Seriously, who is this now?" Naruto was going crazy. Would this ever end? And why did everyone call him "yellow-hair"? What did that mean? What did yellow hair ever do to offend them?Neji rushed in front of Hinata and Hanabi, blocking them, and stared intensely at Naruto."Are you sick? Dragging away the little one was one thing, but what's the deal with dragging away the big one?" Naruto felt that the way Neji was looking at him was like looking at a hooligan harassing a respectable young lady."What do you mean? What's this about dragging away the little one?" Before Neji could speak, Hanabi exploded. She ducked under Neji's arm, stood in front of Naruto, and glared at him angrily."Isn't that obvious? You're not my girlfriend, so why would it matter to me if you're dragged away or not?" Naruto rolled his eyes and retorted irritably."But I'm your sister-in-law!" Hanabi blurted out without thinking.Everyone else went silent for a moment, all staring at her blankly."W-what? Is there a problem?" Seeing everyone looking at her, Hanabi scratched her head and asked, confused."So, you're admitting that I'm your brother-in-law, right?" Naruto came back to his senses and said to Hanabi with a grin."No!" Hanabi froze for a long moment before finally realizing what she'd said. She hurriedly ran to Hinata's side, hugged her, and glared at Naruto.Naruto was amused by the girl and just laughed, then turned his attention to Neji."Neji, what do you want here?" Over the past few years, Naruto had made quite a name for himself at school. He could run the teachers in circles and command all the students; the aura of a leader had already formed around him.Neji and some older students had once been dealt with by Naruto for not cooperating. Others compromised after being handled once or twice, but only Neji had been beaten several times.Because Naruto would give them delicious food after beating them, the others eventually had no complaints. Neji, however, was different; he refused to compromise. Later, seeing how stubborn the guy was, Naruto switched to special food.This instantly stunned Neji. Later, he agreed to help because Naruto promised to give him this food if he did. Plus, having been beaten by Naruto so many times, and with Naruto giving him "ideological education" whenever he had the chance, Neji no longer talked about fate like in the original story. The current Neji was no longer the old Neji; he was Neji2.0, determined to break free from fate, and for this, he decided to work for Naruto."Hmph!" Neji snorted coldly and didn't answer."...Are you asking for a beating?" Naruto narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists."Wait, what are you doing? A gentleman uses his words, not his fists! Ah! Help! Eldest Young Lady, save me!" Neji was dragged away by Naruto and beaten up.When the two returned, Neji was in tatters. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Narutohad done "something" to him."That's what you get for not speaking properly and acting all high and cold in front of me." Narutowalked back, looking refreshed and carefree."Naruto-kun~"Hinata's voice echoed eerily in Naruto's ear."You should walk properly." Hinata was smiling, but the bulging veins at the corner of her eyes made Naruto shiver, and he immediately stood at attention."Neji-nii, is there something you need here?" Hinataturned to Neji. Neji was also startled by his cousin; he had never seen Hinata like this before."Gulp... well, the Clan Head sent me to find the Second Young Lady." Neji swallowed hard and said."Why is Father looking for me?" Hanabi leaned her little head over and asked."...What do you think?" Neji gave a forced smile.When Hiashi learned that his second daughter had snuck out of the house, he was nearly driven mad with rage. His eldest daughter was already a handful, and now his second daughter was starting to rebel. Were all of Hiashi's daughters just leaky, heartless cotton jackets?
After saying goodbye to Naruto and Sasuke, Hinatacarried Hanabi and returned to the Hyuga Clan with Neji.As for why she was carrying her, it was because Hanabi did not want to go home so early and was preparing to slip away, but she failed, and was grabbed by the scruff of her neck by Hinata."Sister, can I walk on my own?" Hanabi was currently being held by Hinata like a caught kitten."No. I am afraid you will sneak off again." Hinatasaid this in the gentlest tone, but with the most ruthless words."But I am the second young miss of the Hyuga Clan! If people see me like this, how can I face anyone in the future?" Hanabi started struggling frantically, looking just like a kitten trying to break free from a merciless iron grip.However, Hinata ignored her and continued carrying her sister as she walked home.Neji, following behind, had his eyelids twitching wildly; today's Hinata made him feel like a stranger, and this appearance was truly too scary.When they returned to the Hyuga Clan, Hiashi was already waiting at the door, but seeing his elder daughter carrying his younger daughter made his mouth twitch uncontrollably.Honestly, Hiashi did not feel it was strange, and aside from being a little speechless, he did not think there was anything abnormal about the scene.After all, anyone who had spent a long time in contact with Naruto was more or less a bit abnormal, and these people did not even realize it themselves, nor did they think there was a problem.His daughter, Hinata, used to be a girl who spoke softly, was quite insecure, and was extremely introverted.After interacting with Naruto, although she still spoke gently and usually appeared virtuous, she had also developed a temper of her own.Hiashi had once been fortunate enough to see Hinata disciplining Hanabi, and that sight had startled him as he hid on the side watching.His nephew, Neji, had originally been a serious and cold person, filled with hatred for the Main Branch in his heart, and constantly thinking about taking revenge on the Main Branch.After interacting with Naruto, he became much more cheerful, even a bit goofy, turning his hatred into motivation and focusing entirely on strengthening himself to find a way to remove the Caged Bird.Yes, Neji wanted to remove the Caged Bird, and Naruto had promised to help him, although Nejiheld doubts about it, it did not stop him from trusting Naruto once.After all, in Neji's view, although Naruto was unreliable, he always kept his word, and his miraculous food had made him much stronger; otherwise, he might not necessarily be able to beat Hinata now.Hiashi was noncommittal about Neji's approach; he actually did not like the current system either, but as the clan head, he could not find a way to protect the Byakugan and could only go with the flow.As for Hizashi's letter, it had been given to Neji a year ago, and now, although the uncle and nephew were not too close, Neji no longer hated Hiashi's family."You three, come with me."After Hiashi finished speaking, he turned and walked into the house, but as he walked, he felt something was not quite right.Hiashi looked back and found no one behind him; he suspiciously activated his Byakugan to look, only to find Hinata and the others walking in another direction.This angered Hiashi quite a bit, and he used a Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of the three.Hinata and Hanabi were talking about something, while Neji was walking with his head down, his right hand resting on his chin, deep in thought while following the Hinata sisters.Veins were popping on Hiashi's forehead; he was just about to speak when Hinata and Hanabibumped into him, knocking him back a step."...Where do you three want to go?" Hiashi steadied himself, suppressing the urge to beat them up, and asked coldly."Ah, Father, weren't we following behind you the whole time?" Hanabi rubbed her head, which had been bumped and was a bit sore, and said."You... why don't you look at your surroundings before saying that?" Hiashi rubbed his brows; honestly, if it were not for the Hyuga Clan's good upbringing, he would have already cursed out loud.The three of them looked around, then looked at Hiashi, who was currently activating his Byakuganand emitting cold air from his whole body, and could not help but shiver, lowering their heads and not daring to speak."If you go the wrong way again, you will be dealt with by family law!" Yes, family law, not clan rules. Hiashi left a cold sentence and turned to walk away.The three of them exchanged glances and hurriedly followed.After arriving at the main hall, Hiashi sat directly on the main seat, while the three siblings knelt before him."I called you here today to ask you, what are your thoughts regarding the clan heir?"Regarding the Hyuga Clan's heir, it should have been Hinata, but now that Hinata's heart was entirely on Naruto, Hiashi was afraid that if he really let Hinata inherit the family business, the Hyuga Clan would be packed up by Hinata and handed over to Naruto overnight.As for Hanabi, this girl only had her sister in her heart; besides her sister, no one else was important, and even if it was him, this father, if he let her inherit the family business, it might end up in Naruto's hands in the end.As for Neji, actually, it was not impossible; the Caged Bird was not something that could not be removed, it was just that the method of removal was only known to the successive clan heads.However, if it were really removed, he was afraid that other clansmen would riot, and given the relationship between Neji and Naruto, it was hard to say whether the Hyuga Clan would still end up in Naruto's hands by then.Hiashi thought of this and nearly collapsed; why did this Naruto seem to be everywhere? It was so annoying...Looking at Hiashi's constipated expression, the three siblings looked at each other, not knowing how to speak for a moment."Um, Clan Head, this question does not seem to have anything to do with me, right? Can I leave first?" Neji looked at the Hinata sisters, then at Hiashi, and said."Call me Uncle! Also, you are also a candidate, don't think about running." Hiashi glared at Neji and scolded."No, why don't you look at what this is before you say that?" Neji pulled off the bandage on his forehead, pointed at the Caged Bird mark, and said speechlessly."I have my own plans for this. Anyway, don't think about running, just stay here honestly." After speaking, Hiashi stopped looking at Neji and turned to look at Hinata."Hinata, what do you say?""Um, whatever Father decides is fine, I am okay with anything." Hinata lowered her head and said cautiously."Look up and state your true thoughts. You only have this one chance." Hiashi said in a stern tone.Hinata took a few deep breaths, then slowly looked up, her Byakugan activating unconsciously."Father, I want to be with Naruto. Although I do not mind inheriting the family, I am afraid I will not be able to help myself from beating up those few old stubborn fools."Hinata's tone was firm, carrying a trace of killing intent, and a bit of dignity.Looking at this daughter who was revealing her fierce edge, the corner of Hiashi's mouth could not help but twitch.This daughter's courage was getting bigger and bigger; although he could not stand those old fogies either, was it really okay to say it so directly?He waved his hand wearily, then looked at Hanabi.Hanabi saw her father looking at her, pointed at herself, and asked with a confused face."Me?"Hiashi did not speak, nodding to signal."I do not want it. Sister is here, and you also said Neji is also one of the heirs, I do not want to be tied up in the clan." Hanabi pouted, her tone full of disdain for inheriting the family business.Hiashi rubbed his temples with a headache; he just did not understand, the Hyuga Clan was at least the number one clan in Konoha, why did these three dislike the Hyuga Clan one after another?Was the Hyuga Clan really that hated by its clansmen? Hmm, it seemed quite hateful; after all, he did not like these broken clan rules either."Sigh, alright, you guys can go." Hiashi waved his hand wearily, signaling the three could get lost."Okay!"The three said in unison, got up, and walked out the door; their cheerful steps made Hiashi especially want to take two blood pressure pills."Sister, there's a lantern festival tonight, will you accompany me to play?" After going out, Hanabipulled her sister's hand and started acting coquettishly."Okay, then I will call Naruto along." Hinata said with a smile."Ah? Why? Can't just the three of us go?" Hanabisaid unhappily."Three? I have to go too?" Neji pointed at himself; he had no interest in this, he just wanted to cultivate and become stronger.From Hiashi's words just now, he got a piece of information that the Caged Bird could be removed, so he wanted to grow up quickly and find a way to get the removal method."Yes, we three have never gone out to play together." Hanabi looked at Neji with hope; she looked just like a coquettish kitten."Fine, fine then." Neji looked at Hanabi's appearance, unable to say no, and could only agree helplessly."Yay! Sister, what about you?" Hanabi jumped up happily and looked at Hinata with the same gaze."Okay, then the three of us will go together."
Chapter 11: Thunderclap and FlashAt this moment, Naruto had no idea that his sister-in-law had snuck into his territory; he was currently locked in a heated spar with Sasuke.After three years of inhuman training, Sasuke's physical fitness was no longer what it used to be. Although he couldn't compare to Naruto, he was still more than a notch above most Genin.His Chakra reserves had reached nearly twenty Kakas; among his peers, aside from Naruto, he possessed the most, even more than Hinata.Meanwhile, Naruto's current Chakra reserves had already reached one hundred and fifty Kakas, even though he was only ten years old.Neji would often sigh and remark, "With so much Chakra, how come your body hasn't exploded?""Clang!" The sound of metal colliding rang out in the forest. Naruto sent Sasuke flying with a single strike of his blade; he didn't use any technique, just pure force.The sword in his hand was custom-made for him by Gekkō Hayate as a tenth birthday gift.Sasuke, on the other hand, was wielding a blade he had dug out from his home. The Uchiha clan had their own sword techniques, but he hadn't learned much of them yet and was currently in the learning phase."You call that sword technique?" After being sent flying, Sasuke rolled a few times on the ground before scrambling up, looking at Narutospeechlessly."Just tell me whether I used a sword or not." Narutocasually twirled his sword, making Sasuke's eyes light up. 'That's a nice move, it's mine now.'"What happened to sparring with me on sword techniques?" Sasuke rubbed his slightly numb arm, staring at Naruto with blood-red eyes."Fine, you asked for it." Naruto grinned. His internal Chakra surged wildly into the long sword in his hand, and accompanied by a series of heavy, rhythmic breathing sounds, the blade in his hand ignited.Sasuke, with his Sharingan active, could clearly sense the massive amount of Chakra swirling around that blade."W-what is this?" Sasuke stared at Naruto's blazing long sword in astonishment, feeling completely overwhelmed."I asked you to spar with me on sword techniques, not on special effects, hey!""Enough talk! Take this! Hinokami Kagura: Waltz!" As Naruto's voice fell, he used a Body Flicker technique to appear right in front of Sasuke, swinging his long sword down directly at him with the intensity of someone trying to cut him down for real.Before Sasuke could even say anything, Naruto's attack was already at his face, leaving him no choice but to raise his sword to block.However, having acted in haste, he hadn't exerted much strength and was immediately sent flying by Naruto's strike. The hairs on his body were curled by the fire-attribute Chakra attached to Naruto's blade.Sasuke had just landed and hadn't even steadied himself when the fire on Naruto's blade instantly transformed into cyan-green wind."Wind Breathing, Second Form: Claws-Messy Wind!"Naruto used the Body Flicker technique again to appear in front of Sasuke. The humming long sword in his hand flashed with a cyan-green light as he slashed down, sending three wind blades in a claw formation flying toward Sasuke.The tomoe in Sasuke's eyes spun wildly. Gritting his teeth, he raised his sword to block again, but the wind blades pierced directly through his sword, leaving trails of bloody cuts on his body."Fine, fine, fine! So that's how you want to play!" Sasuke sheathed his sword and quickly formed hand signs."Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"A massive fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth, striking straight toward Naruto."Heh, well-timed! Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"Naruto switched his Chakra attribute once more. The previously humming wind blades transformed into a deep blue torrent of water.He leapt into the air, the long sword in his hand crashing down with a surging flow of water, kicking up a towering column of water that directly intercepted the Great Fireball."You're just spewing Chakra, aren't you! What kind of sword technique is this, dammit!" Sasuke roared at Naruto in frustration."Just tell me whether I used a sword or not!" Narutolooked at Sasuke with a smug expression. The sword in his hand was changing colors wildly—Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning—the five attributes shifted constantly, flashing so fast it looked like a walking neon sign."Can you be serious for once! Are you making a monkey out of me?" Hearing this line again, Sasukecompletely broke down, and the two tomoe in his left eye instantly morphed into three."Oh ho, unexpected gains! Not bad, not bad. Keep it up, aim for three tomoe in both eyes by graduation." Naruto said with a grin, infuriating Sasuke to no end.If he weren't unable to beat him, he would have really wanted to drag this jerk out and beat him to a pulp."Alright, alright, don't be angry. I'll teach you something powerful." Seeing that Sasuke was completely "red-lining" from anger, Naruto stopped teasing him and waved his hand at Sasuke."What kind of powerful thing?" Sasuke asked, sounding somewhat suspicious."A move that you can learn."After speaking, Naruto sheathed his sword, lowered his body into a forward-leaning stance, and assumed a posture for a quick-draw strike. His lips parted slightly, and two wisps of white smoke slowly appeared at the corners of his mouth.Subsequently, a deep, rhythmic breathing sound emanated from Naruto, followed immediately by a sound of thunder echoing from within his body as arcs of electricity flickered around him.A powerful aura, like that of thunder itself, erupted from Naruto, making it difficult for Sasuke to even breathe."Th-this is what?" Sasuke tremblingly drew his sword from his waist. Looking at the figure before him who seemed like a god of thunder descended upon the world, a sliver of fear actually welled up in his heart."Sasuke, watch closely. This strike will be very cool!"Naruto's voice suddenly rang out, sounding like a low, rumbling thunder."Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"As the words left his lips, Naruto snapped his head up. His entire body transformed into a bolt of lightning, appearing instantly behind Sasuke. Before Sasuke could even react, his vision blurred, and Naruto had vanished.A crisp "ding" sounded from the sword in Sasuke's hand. Immediately after, the blade snapped into two pieces, the broken portion falling to the ground with a light clatter."Rip." The sound of fabric tearing came from Sasuke's chest. A massive gash had been cut across his clothes from his left shoulder to his right waist, and on the skin beneath was a thin, thread-like wound, with beads of blood welling up."You... you this..." Sasuke struggled to turn his head to look at Naruto, while Naruto remained with his back to Sasuke, holding the same quick-draw stance, the sword in his hand looking as if it had never been drawn at all."How was it? Was it cool?" Hearing Sasuke's voice, Naruto finally straightened his posture, turned around, and looked at Sasuke with a proud expression."Cool? Cool your head! You jerk, pay for my sword!" Sasuke threw away the broken blade in his hand, rushed over, grabbed Naruto by the collar, and roared frantically."I went through so much trouble to find that sword at home, and you just went and snapped it! What am I supposed to use now?" The two tomoe in Sasuke's right eye spun wildly, and soon, a third tomoe was born amidst the rotation."Uh, my bad, my bad. Stop shaking me. I'll get you a good one later." Naruto, dizzy from being shaken by Sasuke, quickly made a promise to get him off his back, finally causing Sasuke to let go."You said it. If you don't, I'll hang myself at your doorstep!" Sasuke said the most vicious words in the fiercest tone."...Fine!" Naruto gritted his teeth and agreed. There was no helping it; this kid had a history.He had done it once before, and Naruto didn't want to experience the sight of legs dangling in front of him the moment he stepped out the door ever again."By the way, what was that move you just used? A quick-draw strike?" Sasuke touched the cut on his clothes and looked at Naruto with some curiosity."You want to learn? I'll teach you.""Are you sure this thing can actually be learned?" Sasuke carefully recalled that strike just now, feeling a slight tremor in his heart.It was just that Naruto often came up with some bizarre moves that no one else could learn, which led to Sasuke having little trust in Naruto now—at least, only regarding sword techniques."Of course you can learn it, okay? This is just an ordinary sword technique." Naruto confidently fed Sasuke more empty promises."Hmm, alright. What do I need to do?""Come, come, I'll teach you. It's very easy
Chapter 12: Learning Breathing Style"Uzumaki Naruto! I can't believe I trusted you! Don't you dare come over here!!"In the forest, Sasuke ran frantically ahead, turning his head from time to time to curse.Behind him, Uzumaki Naruto followed closely, holding a bucket of paint, chasing him while shouting."Don't run away! It's just dyeing your hair, isn't it? Are you really that resistant?""What kind of decent person uses paint to dye their hair?!""I didn't have any hair dye on hand, did I? Just make do with it. Do you still want to learn Thunder Breathing or not?""What kind of sword training requires dyeing your hair?""This is a feature of Thunder Breathing, a necessary training ritual. I'm being very considerate by not striking you with lightning, okay?""I don't believe a word of it! You just want to mess with me!!"In the end, Sasuke could not escape the fate of having his hair dyed with paint.There was no helping it; the stamina of the beast behind him was simply too good. He himself was exhausted and collapsed, while that bastard was still jumping around, barely even out of breath.Looking at Sasuke, with his head covered in yellow paint and a look of utter hopelessness on his face, Uzumaki Naruto couldn't help but burst into laughter."Just you wait. Just wait until I get stronger; I'll definitely kill you." Sasuke made a feeble threat while lying motionless on the ground."Alright, alright, the ritual is over. Now I will teach you Thunder Breathing."Afterward, Uzumaki Naruto began to explain the principles of the Breathing Style he had learned from videos and anime in his previous life, combining it with Chakra to create his own version. (I don't know Breathing Style either, just read it casually.)Currently, he had only developed Thunder Breathing; the others were all just for show and still in the research and development stage.As for where this multi-attribute Chakra came from, his system, which had been dead for many years, had something called a Character Panel. The basic attributes displayed showed his attributes as Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, and Yang.Wind and Lightning were innate to him, while Fire, Earth, and Water were all bestowed by the system—after all, it was a Cooking God System, so those who know, know. Yang was bestowed by the fox and Ashura Chakra.Because he possessed all attributes, the old man, the Third Hokage, specifically taught him his signature technique, the Five Elements Great Elemental Barrage.Watching Uzumaki Naruto giving Sasuke a lesson in the crystal ball, the Third Hokage silently turned it off, reached for the medicine bottle on his desk, poured out two blood pressure pills, and swallowed them.He truly couldn't understand what was going through Uzumaki Naruto's head. Why not learn proper Ninjutsu instead of messing with these flashy, useless things?He thought he was just playing around, at most suffering from a bout of chuunibyou, but who knew he could actually come up with something real.He had also seen that sword strike earlier. To be honest, he saw it very clearly, but he knew Uzumaki Naruto hadn't used much strength. Otherwise, Sasuke would definitely have been cut in two, and the cut would have been incredibly smooth.If that happened, Itachi would probably go insane. But with Sasuke the way he was now, it would be hard for Itachi not to go insane anyway, since his younger brother was almost starting to take on the shape of a blondie.Thinking of this, the Third Hokage couldn't help but pour out two more blood pressure pills and swallow them, then sighed deeply. If the future of Konohawas like this, did Konoha even have a future?Ignoring the Third Hokage, who was currently emo, Sasuke had already started to seriously consider the Breathing Style that Uzumaki Naruto had mentioned.To be honest, Thunder Breathing was really suitable for him. The extreme speed brought terrifying power, and for someone like him who lacked offensive means, this was undoubtedly a very good technique.However, no matter how he looked at it, this thing seemed like something from those Samurai. He was a Ninja, after all; was there really no problem with learning this?"What are you afraid of? Offensive means don't care who they belong to, as long as they are useful, isn't that enough? Don't worry about whether this is for Samurai or Ninjas; as long as it can kill the enemy, then it's a useful and good technique."Regarding Sasuke's doubts, Uzumaki Naruto waved his hand indifferently and said."Hmm, what you said makes sense. Then let's continue."At night, back home, Sasuke grabbed his stiff, paint-caked hair, cursing Uzumaki Naruto in his heart. He used who knows how many methods before he finally managed to get the paint off his head.For this, he sacrificed quite a bit of hair. Looking in the mirror at his hairstyle that looked like it had been gnawed on by a dog, Sasuke was so angry he almost ran off to assassinate Uzumaki Naruto.After finally finding a barbershop that was still open and getting his hair fixed, he stepped out and saw the three Hyuga siblings strolling through the lantern festival."What are you guys doing?" Sasuke watched the three of them eating grilled squid in perfect unison, and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth."Sasuke-kun, goo, good evening." After reacting, Hinata bowed slightly and greeted Sasuke."Good evening. We are strolling through the lantern festival. Want to join us?" Neji swallowed the squid in his mouth and said to Sasuke."No thanks. I trained all day today and I'm a bit tired, so I'll head back to rest." After Sasuke finished speaking, he bowed slightly and was about to leave, but suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask."By the way, isn't that guy Uzumaki Naruto with you?""Hmph, I don't want that guy who stole my sister to be with us." Hanabi said, turning her head away unhappily."...Well done! Keep it up!" Sasuke was silent for two seconds, then looked at Hanabi with an appreciative gaze before turning and leaving, leaving the three siblings looking at each other in confusion, completely bewildered.As for Uzumaki Naruto, since he hadn't received an invitation from Hinata, he had zero interest in today's lantern festival. After returning home, he lay on the fox's belly in the Sealing Space researching Breathing Style, completely unaware of what he had missed.The next day, neither Sasuke nor Hinata mentioned the lantern festival from the previous day, and only Uzumaki Naruto was kept in the dark, knowing nothing.Thunder Breathing was easy to learn if you said it was easy, but it was indeed difficult if you said it was difficult. It took Sasuke about half a month to master the essentials of the Breathing Style, and he hadn't even touched the techniques yet.Uzumaki Naruto made him learn the Breathing Style first; without the assistance of the Breathing Style, the techniques were just for show.During this half month, besides teaching Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto had been researching other Breathing Styles. Currently, he had developed Wind and Water. He really couldn't understand the Earth one; he was a bit confused about whether it was really just "pure strength" as mentioned in his previous life, or if there was a corresponding breathing method.In short, the development progress of Earth was stuck. He didn't quite understand the essentials of Hinokami Kagura either; he could use it, but the effect was significantly worse than the other Breathing Styles.As for making Rasengan? How could that thing be cooler than playing with a sword? You have to know that being strong is only temporary, but being cool is for a lifetime.Besides, Jiraiya wasn't around, and there was no one to teach him. He might as well play with Breathing Style; at least he could feel that he truly had talent and was genuinely getting stronger.Today was the stage where Sasuke began to learn the techniques. Hinata and Neji both wanted to come and see what this so-called Breathing Styleactually was.After all, Uzumaki Naruto had only shown it to Sasuke and the fox; the Third Hokage's viewing counted as peeking.And there was another little potato landmine, who was looking at Sasuke, who was practicing drawing his sword on the training ground, with a look of disdain."Isn't this just a normal sword draw? What's so interesting about it?" Hanabi pursed her lips and muttered softly.She originally planned to go out and play with her sister today, since her sister finally had a day off. But who knew that this blondie would say he wanted to show her sister an especially cool move, and her sister just followed the blondie away.This made Hanabi furious, so she dragged Nejialong to follow them. She wanted to see exactly what could make her sister care so much.As a result, after arriving, all she saw was that Uchiha practicing drawing his sword.This made her feel deeply disappointed, while also thinking that her sister was too easy to fool. This blondie could trick her out with just a random sentence; what would she do in the future?It was just because she was young. If she were older, or had someone she liked, she would know that even if Uzumaki Naruto said his cat could do a backflip, Hinata would believe it.This is the unconditional trust of a girl in love for her boyfriend.