"But the ice cream is pretty good though." Kidomaru said, "Are we really going to wait here for him?"
"Orochimaru-sama's orders were for us to pose as orphans and infiltrate Konoha, and to take advantage of the Chunin Exams to carry out the Konoha Crush Plan."
"But it seems like there's still some time before the Chunin Exams start. Konoha seems to have attracted a lot of attention these days."
"I'm not waiting anymore. Can't keep up this act." Sakon and Ukon said, "I'm going to wander around."
"Well, it's not like we'll really starve to death without that guy." Kidomaru then shouted to Sakon and Ukon, "Wait for me!"
The two left, leaving behind only Jirobo and Tayuya in child form.
"Hey, Tayuya," Jirobo looked at their departing companions, "You're not seriously waiting for him, are you?"
"Mind your own business!" Tayuya scowled and walked off in a different direction alone.
Meanwhile, Naruto returned to the class at the Academy, using Transformation Technique to cover for Sasuke and Sakura in class.
At the lectern, the female instructor, Suzume, was preaching about the Will of Fire. Despite her melodious voice, it couldn't compensate for the outdated ideals of the Will of Fire, and Naruto found himself dozing off.
In a daze, he fell asleep right on his desk. When he woke up again, the classroom was already empty, and the sunset glow seeped in through the windows.
"Oops, I messed up. I had plans to eat barbecue with those four," Naruto muttered to himself. He really had been idle lately, and having a few people to hang out and eat with was nice.
Training was out of the question, and he didn't have to do D-rank missions anymore, just waiting for the Chunin Exams. In the meantime, Naruto had already figured out how to waste his time.
But now the situation was a bit awkward, as he had overslept.
"Oh no, it's so embarrassing, I overslept." Naruto hastily wiped his drool, then rushed out of the door, "I wonder why I've been so sleepy lately."
While grumbling, Naruto dashed out of the Academy. When he arrived at the place they had agreed to meet in the morning, there was no one in the dusty land dimmed by sunset.
'Come to think of it, who would wait from noon to afternoon? They would definitely think they were being fooled, right? Or they would think that the person simply didn't care about the appointment.'
Naruto sighed softly. His newfound food buddies were gone, but since things had come to this, he might as well eat first.
Just then, his stomach growled loudly, coincidentally followed by another set of growls from behind a nearby stack of cardboard boxes.
Hearing the noise, Naruto was also stunned.
A girl came out timidly from behind the cardboard boxes.
At the barbecue restaurant.
The sizzling meat emitted a tantalizing aroma as it touched the hot-oiled grill. Naruto grilled the meat and placed it into his and the girl's bowl.
"Dig in, dig in." Naruto couldn't help but start eating himself.
After a few bites, the girl suddenly looked up at Naruto and asked in confusion, "Isn't barbecue expensive?"
"It's not expensive." Naruto said vaguely, "Don't worry, I can totally afford it."
The girl nodded and started eating the barbecue slowly. After they finished, Naruto asked if she needed to bring some food back for the other three.
"No need, I think they might have found something to eat already." The girl said with her hands behind her back and smiled.
"Alright then. By the way, if come back tomorrow morning, just wait for me here." Naruto scratched his head and said, "I will be here early. Today is an accident."
"Okay!" The girl nodded earnestly.
After the two parted ways, Naruto walked home at his usual leisurely pace, while Tayuya turned towards an alley and quickly disappeared into the darkness.
"Tayuya? Did you really wait there for an entire afternoon?" Kidomaru asked disdainfully, "Did you end up meeting him?"
"Yeah, and we had barbecue, but none for you." Tayuya replied casually.
"Do you really think you're an orphan? Don't forget Orochimaru-sama's mission!" Kidomaru warned, "One meal of barbecue and you're bought off!"
"Yep." Tayuya said, " One meal of barbecue, and I'm bought off. I got to eat it, you didn't."
"You…!"
"Orochimaru-sama's mission hasn't started yet, I know what I'm doing." Tayuya said, "You don't need to lecture me. Just take care of yourselves."
"Tayuya, since you said so…" Kidomaru looked at Tayuya and seemed to be hesitant to speak, and finally said nothing.
The next day, after waking up, Naruto did not update the Shinobi God's Diary as usual because he was visited by the Anbu.
"Hokage-sama wishes to see you."
"Oh."
On the way, Naruto remembered his promise from yesterday and felt a bit irritated. He hoped this meeting would not take up too much of his time, otherwise he would break his promise again.
After entering the Hokage's Office, Naruto met the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. The old Hokage was sitting at the Hokage table, smoking a pipe and looking at Naruto up and down.
"Naruto, a lot of things have happened in the village recently." Hiruzen began, "What do you think?"
"I haven't noticed much difference." Naruto replied indifferently, "Anyway, the village is safe with Hokage-sama here."
"I saw your name on the list for the upcoming Chunin Exams." Hiruzen glanced at Naruto and said.
"Given the current state of the village, and your importance to it, I hope you'll withdraw from this exam."
"Okay." Naruto barely hesitated, "Can I go now?"
"Don't you want to know why?" Hiruzen looked at Naruto in surprise and said, "I originally thought you would not be able to accept it. The Chunin Exams a great opportunity for a Genin to showcase their skills."
"Nothing to ask." Naruto answered in a proper manner, "The village must have its reasons for making such arrangements. I don't mind."
"The essence of a Shinobi is obedience, right? I don't mind anymore."
Hiruzen's expression grew serious, but he couldn't find the words to respond. He looked at Naruto, and Naruto also looked at him.
"Hokage-sama, may I leave now?"
"You may."
After receiving the affirmative response, Naruto turned around and left without any hesitation. Before closing the door, he heard Hiruzen sigh.
Perhaps Sandaime didn't want Naruto to become just a weapon for the village, but the current Naruto didn't have such an optimistic view.
He saw the village's attitude towards him, and he didn't want to sacrifice himself for Konoha.
With the system, he didn't need others to teach him Ninjutsu, nor external help to control the Kyubi. If he wanted, the system could completely skip the Kyubi and directly extract its power.
As long as he wanted to, Naruto doesn't need to rely on anyone and can live as he pleases.
Kyubi is just a fox living in his body, so why should he avoid him?
With the system in hand, there was no reason to avoid it?
Sooner or later, one day, he'd crush the Kyubi with a single punch.