Meanwhile at the Hokage's residence.
Hiruzen sat in a chair, surveying the surroundings of Konoha. At first, he was quietly watching the local bathhouse with an inadmissible expression on his face, but after calming down after a while, he continued to watch. Eventually he came across an interesting scene where a boy about three or four years old in Uchiha clan garb was looking around the streets and people, and after casting a single glance at the residence, he made his way to what appeared to be a small restaurant serving delicious ramen. This was are Teuchi and his daughter, who was else in elementary civilian school. Upon entering there, he ordered eight servings of ramen, which seemed a bit much for his age. But Teuchi, as usual with his enthusiasm that was not inferior to a certain Green Leaf Beast to Taijutsu, rushed to the kitchen to prepare his splendid dishes.
The young boy seemed to sense something and turned to the two children to his left, who were at the edge of the room and staring at him almost unblinkingly, making him grin. The two were Teuchi's daughter - Ayame and the son of his late successor as Fourth Hokage - Naruto.
The boys looked at each other for a while and began their conversation, which soon turned into a childish quarrel that was amusing to watch. Even he grinned, not expecting them to find common ground so quickly. And as Ayame said, they were like brothers or best friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time, but then returned to their friendly quarrel. Which was strange, because it was obvious that this was their first time meeting. After it had subsided and the kids had gone to the kitchen to wash up, the little Uchiha finished his second bowl ramen and told Teuchi. As a token of their new friendship, he would like the remaining six bowl ramen to be share between Naruto and Ayame.
Hiruzen thought to himself:
- "What a good sapling. Even among these arrogant turkeys, there's a child with a little bit of Fire Will in him. Let's hope he doesn't lose it as he grows up. Hmm. I think we should keep an eye on him from time to time. And don't let Danzo have any influence on that kid. It's Decided."
Standing up from behind the table and hiding the orb, he walked to the window with his hands clasped in back, and ordered:
- Boar!
Just then, a man in a Boar mask and special ANBU outfit appeared from around the corner.
Getting down on one knee and bowing his head still in the mask in front of the table clearly answered:
- Yes!
- When a boy of Naruto's age appears on the street....
At this point regret flashed across his face for a moment. He continued:
- He's from the Uchiha clan, keep an eye on him and report any important moments. I want to see if he can be raised under my guidance and if he can soften the relationship between the clan and the village in the future. Proceed.
Boar:
- Yes!
And quietly disappeared.
Hiruzen said to himself:
- Hmm. I hope you don't disappoint me.
********
Sasuke turned to Teuchi:
- Thank you. I'm full. And the remaining ramen, I'll leave three portions each for my new friends. Naruto and Ayame. And seeing Naruto's condition.
Sasuke dug into his pockets and took out eight hundred ryo and said, handing it to his uncle with words:
- Seeing his condition, I felt sorry for him. Therefore, I want to help him a little. Let this money be used for him to eat as much ramen as he can. And don't tell him, just tell him that it's at the expense of our Friendship, that you're willing to feed him to his heart's content for free. And thank you, your food is truly incredible! I'll come again!
With those words he jumped from his stool and walked. Almost reaching the exit he heard Teuchi's warm voice:
- I'm glad Naruto and my Daughter have such a Friend. In honor of that, there will be a discount next time. Rest assured, that money will go to the right place. And you're always welcome here! Come again!
Smiling, Sasuke walked out and headed home. This first half of the day had turned out to be surprisingly busy and enjoyable. He was glad that at least for a moment he could just relax and be himself.
Finally getting home, the first thing he did was head to wash his face, meeting Mikoto on the way.
Mikoto decided to ask:
- How was your walk? Did you make any new friends?
Sasuke:
- Yeah. When I heard about people talking about the most delicious ramen, I was curious and wanted to see if it was true first. And it was indeed a very tasty ramen. I also met two new friends there. Ayame, the daughter of the ramen manager. And Naruto. I had a little "socializing" with them. And because we became fast friends, I decided to treat them to some ramen. Afterward, I left. It's been a busy day, I'm going to my room.
Mikoto initially flinched when she heard about him meeting and befriending Naruto, for his status is very delicate. She was even turned down when she tried to adopt him so that he could grow up in wealth and love. But those stupid old men didn't like it. Which became what it is now. It made her sad again. But when she heard that her son had befriended him and even gave him a treat, she was glad she had such a kind child.
Sasuke, seeing the emotion on her face, didn't bother her and went to his room. He took off his unnecessary clothes and lay down on the bed, thinking:
- "The contact with Naruto was surprisingly successful. I'm also sure that old pervert was watching me. For I could feel the back of my head staring at me. As I entered Ichiraku, I noticed the children, but I didn't let on and sat down. As if tired of that unpleasant feeling of being watched, I turned sharply toward the children. The feeling of point blank observation subsided a little bit. It was as if this old man had decided to see what the interaction would be like and I'm sure he played it well. And the cherry on the cake was that after noticing Naruto's condition, I left my portions of Ramen and Money for them to eat heartily and left on a warm note, conducting this whole naturally game. At least I'm sure this Hokage won't decide to prevent me from being friends with Naruto, for we're only three years old and any weirdness on my part he doesn't expect. That's good for me."
- "Next then. I'll just go outside every now and then and play with them in the park. In between, I will continue to build up power in my room and playground, disguising them as children's games. At some point, when I feel the surveillance from the ANBU will stop. Which I'm sure it will, since everything happens monotonously. One of the days when Naruto's Chakra will naturally awaken, for she has so much of it that the channels simply can't block it for long. After she is stabilized, in the park, I will ask Naruto for some of his blood and cells. How will he give it to me? I'll go outside and buy one small syringe at the Hospital. Once I find the right time, I'll ask him for his blood, in exchange I'll always treat him to ramen when I go out to play with him."
- "This short term goal is ready, we are about to turn four years old. It's the beginning of July. It's my birthday in three weeks. I will invite Mom, Brother, Shisui, Naruto, and Ayame to Ichiraku to celebrate my birthday and further strengthen the bonds that will benefit me. Namely Naruto, but even more importantly, Shisui. And the family, so they don't stand out thinking there's some purpose behind it. There's no point in inviting Fugaku, because he's in the Konoha Police building all day and won't be free until the evening. And I'm not very social with him. So it doesn't matter. That's it. The idea is in place, the plan for this period of time is ready, all that's left is to follow it and adjust it if necessary."
With these thoughts, he drifted off to sleep and slept until dinner. Sasuke woke up to a knock on the door where Itachi was calling him.
Itachi:
- Wake up, Sasuke. Dinner's ready, mom's calling for dinner. Come on downstairs, we'll be waiting.
Sasuke is a little sleepy:
- Okay, I'll be right down.
Putting on his slippers, he hurried into the kitchen where his family was already waiting for him. Quickly sitting down at a vacant seat, he folded his arms and said:
- Bon Appetit!
The others also following the ritual, wished him a Bon Appetite and started eating.
Finished eating, Itachi asked him smiling:
- How's it going? Did you make any friends while you were out in?
Sasuke replied:
- Yes. Two New Friends! The boy's name is Naruto, he's my age. He has a whiskers like a cat, I asked him if his parents were cats. Which made him wonder, but afterward he denied it, saying he's human and it's just like a mark. He also has an interesting combination of wheat hair and blue eyes. When I walked the streets of the village, I didn't see anyone else with that combination. He's also a bit too noisy, but we seemed to become friends.
The other was a girl - Ayame, but she seemed to be a bit older than us. She had brown hair and black eyes like us. She looked comical when I saw her and her father wearing the same clothes, only her father had a cap and she had a bandana. She acted like Naruto's older sister, constantly rebuking him and lecturing him, which made it even funnier. When they finished bickering, they went to the kitchen, and I left six portions of ramen, three for each of them, as a token of our new friendship, and left, thanking Uncle Teuchi for the delicious food. Here.
Itachi said, smiling warmly:
- Well done, Sasuke, I'm glad you've made friends. And you did the right thing to treat them after making friends. That was really worth celebrating. I hope your friendship lasts for a long time.
Mikoto, who was washing dishes, heard their conversation and added in a cheerful voice:
- That's right. I'm very proud to have such a kind and outgoing child. Itachi, I hope you'll take Sasuke's example and make friends besides Shisui too. You're still young, and it's okay to take a break from training every now and then. After all, overtraining is bad. I was a ninja too, after all, and I know it.
Itachi smiled at first, but then that smile faded. It was normal to set an older man as an example to a younger man. But this was the first time he had ever encountered it happening exactly the opposite. Not knowing how to react, he looked at Sasuke.
Sasuke smirked:
- Just accept it!
He turned up his nose and puffed out his chest and walked to his room as if he had won a great victory. The family watched with amusement. They smiled and went to their rooms to sleep and face the next morning.