"The message has been delivered, Hokage-sama."
In the Hokage's office, Yamanaka Inoichi looked at Hiruzen and reported respectfully.
Although his voice was calm, his heart was in turmoil.
At the age of 12, defeating a Chunin without injury—what an extraordinary child.
Even though Naruto's achievements weren't as great as Kakashi, who became a Jonin at 11, or his classmate Minato, who killed a Jonin at the same age, one must remember—Naruto was born in a time of peace!
Moreover, Inoichi knew Naruto's previous situation.
Naruto had always been the dead-last student in class, his abilities were average, and nothing stood out.
And now, suddenly, he received news that the boy everyone underestimated had defeated a Chunin?
From what Inoichi heard, Naruto used a technique never seen before!
This meant that there was a possibility that Naruto had created his own technique at such a young age! A talent like that was on par with Kakashi and Minato!
"Alright, you may go now."
"Yes, Sandaime-sama."
Inoichi nodded and left the Hokage's building.
After walking for a few minutes, he arrived at his home.
"Welcome back. How was work today?"
As soon as he sat down, his virtuous wife came from the kitchen, carrying a tray with tea.
"As usual, exhausting."
"But today, an interesting kid showed up."
Inoichi took the teacup from his wife and spoke after sipping the warm tea.
"Oh? What happened?"
Lady Yamanaka raised an eyebrow, sitting across from her husband with keen interest.
"You must remember Uzumaki Naruto, right?"
Instead of answering his wife's question, Inoichi mentioned a name.
"Uzumaki Naruto?"
"The Kyubi Jinchuriki? That Naruto?"
Upon hearing the name, Lady Yamanaka's expression grew complicated.
Although she didn't know Naruto's identity as the Hokage's son, as the wife of a clan leader, she knew about Jinchuriki.
She didn't hate Naruto like the villagers did. Maybe she feared the monster inside him, but most of her feelings toward Naruto were respect and pity.
Since childhood, Naruto had been bearing a great burden, protecting the village in darkness without even knowing it himself.
"A few hours ago..."
Inoichi recounted what he knew, starting from Mizuki's scheme to deceive Naruto to Naruto's retaliation, which left Mizuki nearly dead.
Yes, Mizuki was incredibly lucky and managed to survive in the end.
However, as Naruto thought, sometimes death was preferable to life.
Now, Mizuki was alive, but his body was completely paralyzed. For the rest of his life, he could do nothing but lie in bed and wait for death.
"Defeated a Chunin without a single injury?"
"That's right, that's what Hokage-sama told me."
Inoichi sipped his tea again, confirming his wife's words.
As the two talked, a small blonde figure pressed against the wall, a surprised expression on her face.
"Naruto?"
"He defeated a Chunin?"
"That's impossible! Is he really that strong?"
Ino's eyes sparkled with surprise, clutching her head in disbelief.
Memories of six years at the Academy flashed through her mind.
"I! Uzumaki Naruto, will become Hokage!"
"Sakura-chan, I will definitely protect you."
"What is this? I don't understand, hahaha, whatever, I'll become Hokage!"
"What are you saying! I'll become Hokage!"
"Naruto! Get out and reflect on your actions!"
"Naruto, you doodled on the blackboard again!"
Memories of Naruto's countless foolish acts replayed in her head like a never-ending film.
Ino shook her head, unable to accept that the fool she knew could defeat a Chunin.
Moreover, Naruto didn't even graduate yesterday!
"Never mind, let's sleep for now."
"Tomorrow, everything will be clear—I'll investigate this myself!"
With growing curiosity in her heart, Ino returned to her room, intending to sleep.
However, she had yet to realize that tonight was destined to be a sleepless night for her.
…
"Where do I live?"
After receiving his forehead protector and eating ramen courtesy of Iruka, the corners of my mouth twitched as I looked at the deserted street outside the ramen shop.
I don't have Naruto's memories—how am I supposed to go home? Even though I'm an anime fan, there's never been a scene where Naruto walks from his house to a location, right?
Every scene in the anime always skips directly to the destination.
"Huft~ Let's just search for it slowly."
I didn't plan to ask others, as that would be suspicious. After all, to everyone else, Naruto is still the same Naruto. If he suddenly forgot where he lived, people would definitely realize something was wrong!
So, unwillingly, I started wandering around Konoha in search of Naruto's apartment.
Although I didn't remember the exact path, I did remember the iconic shabby look of Naruto's apartment.
"Haha, finally found it!"
Two hours later, as the night deepened, I finally spotted the familiar apartment in the distance.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I ran toward it and went straight to one of the rooms on the upper floor.
Upon arriving in my room, I saw the soft bed and immediately threw myself onto it as if I had found my soulmate.
…
The next morning…
"Are you ready?"
An old man looked at Naruto while adjusting a retro camera on a tripod.
"Ready."
Naruto nodded slightly and answered, then looked at the camera with an evil grin.
With his blonde hair and sharply downward-angled eyebrows, Naruto looked like a delinquent at first glance.
Not the prankster kind, but the type who loved to fight and pick trouble with others.
However, any Dragon Ball fan would recognize that Naruto's smile resembled that of a proud Saiyan.
"3...2...1… Say cheese!"
Click!
The camera flash went off, and the image was frozen into an eternal photo.
With the photo session done, Naruto's ninja registration was complete, and his exciting ninja career began!
…
"Naruto, can you tell Grandpa how you defeated Mizuki?"
In the Hokage's office, Naruto sat on a small chair facing Hiruzen, who sat at his desk.
After the photo session, Naruto went to the Hokage's office to receive the Hokage's signature.
"Um... I think I used a technique recorded in the scroll."
Hearing Hiruzen's question, I put on a confused expression for a moment before lying.
"But there was no such technique in the scroll."
Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, looking at Naruto with curiosity. Although he had used a fake scroll to fool Mizuki, the techniques inside were real.
Of course, because it was a fake, aside from the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu prepared for Naruto, all other jutsus were incomplete and only had brief descriptions.
"I don't know about that. I just saw a technique called the Eight Gates Release."
"The scroll said that the Eight Gates Release was a technique that could multiply power several times over."
"I tried it, and it worked!"
"You wouldn't believe it, Hokage-sama."
"This technique is super strong! My power increased dozens of times when I activated the Eight Gates Release!"
Using my terrible acting skills, I exaggeratedly praised the Eight Gates Release with a fascinated expression.
"Did this child create an extraordinary skill just from a little inspiration?"
"Incredible! Has the God of Wisdom finally shown Naruto mercy?"
Hearing Naruto's explanation, the corner of Hiruzen's mouth twitched several times as he marveled at the thought.
"Naruto, you're truly amazing!"
"Remember, the power you used before wasn't the Eight Gates Release—it was a brand-new technique!"
"Grandpa is proud of you. You'll surely become an outstanding Hokage in the future!"
Hiruzen looked at Naruto seriously, sincerely praising him.
However, Naruto was completely unmoved, nor did he show any sign of being flattered.
As someone from the modern era and a hardcore hater of Hiruzen, there was no sentence that could make Naruto smile if it came from Hiruzen's mouth.
"Then, Naruto, as a future great Hokage..."
"It's only natural for you to contribute to the village."
"You want the village to become stronger, don't you?"
Sure enough, upon hearing the monkey hypocrite's words, Naruto could already predict what he was going to say next.
"In order to make the village stronger, could you, Naruto-chan, tell Grandpa the training method for your technique?"
To be continued...