Naruto strode upstairs, heading toward Inari's room.
Knock knock. He rapped on the door. "Inari, we need to talk."
"No!" came the shout from inside.
"You don't want your mom to get hurt, do you?" Naruto wasn't in a rush. He knew Inari was overly emotional in the original story too.
"There are risks in staying here. If we want to protect you, we can't let the enemy know your location," Naruto explained patiently.
A very soft voice responded from within. "So what…"
"What?"
"I said SO WHAT!?" Inari roared. "Anyone who stands up to Gato ends up dead anyway! Dead is dead. You think some hero's gonna come save us!?"
"Konoha's military strength is the top in the whole ninja world. Want to bet if we can save you or not?" Naruto replied, getting annoyed. It was fine if Inari wanted to throw a tantrum by himself, but dragging his family into it, talking about death like it was casual—
Couldn't he talk like a normal human?
Naruto, who knew a bit of child psychology from his medical training, concluded the patient needed a personality-correcting fist-based therapy.
"You want your mom to live?"
"No!"
"Then you wanna die too?"
"Fine, whatever! Just get out of here!!" Inari's voice was already tinged with sobs.
Naruto smiled slightly. He was ready to enter his mental space and feed Inari a Nine-Tails-brand fire dragon fruit.
Yep. Kid still hasn't been punched enough.
"Sakura," Naruto turned when he heard her voice. She came upstairs, indicating she wanted to talk to Inari instead.
"You sure?" Naruto lowered his voice. "That brat is more stubborn than an ox."
Sakura replied calmly, "You forgot the real issue. His dad is the key. Besides, the way you talk is too gruff—leave it to me."
"Oh, right." Naruto nodded, admitting his talk-no-jutsu still needed work.
Alright, if Sakura couldn't do it either, then he'd just knock the kid out and move house.
He headed downstairs to Kakashi's room.
"Boss, you awake?" Naruto quickly pushed Kakashi back onto the futon, signaling for him not to get up.
Kakashi glanced at Narusa. "Good job. I heard what happened. Moving is the right call. After that, we'll find a place to train and level you two up a bit more."
He was referring to tree-walking training—sustaining chakra under your feet to walk up vertical surfaces.
"Got it, Boss. I'll go check out Gato's movements in town. Scout things out a bit."
"You're going alone?" Sasuke asked, turning his head.
"You stay and look after the Boss—and guard the base," Naruto said, patting Sasuke on the shoulder.
Sasuke looked like he wanted in. "Let me go with you. Sakura should be fine on her own."
"She's not some nurturing housewife, you know."
Sasuke blinked in confusion. Housewife? What's that supposed to mean?
I'm a guy, aren't I?
Naruto quickly left the house.
…
The Streets of the Land of Waves.
As a small and remote nation, its streets weren't wide. Old wooden houses in gray and brown hues lined both sides of the stone-paved roads, making the area feel even more cramped.
Fishing gear hung from eaves. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and a faint trace of fish.
Naruto found a straw hat to cover his eye-catching long hair and swapped into plain clothes. Now he blended right in with the crowd.
Occasionally, thefts broke out. Thieves stole openly. Beggars sprawled on the streets, and no one paid attention.
Everyone's face showed fatigue and numbness.
"Doesn't seem that different from the original," Naruto observed carefully, looking for anything unusual.
At the same time, he began to think from another angle—
If I were Gato, what would I do now?
Everyone knew Tazuna was the biggest threat. So the top priority would be to deal with him.
What else? Zabuza was a massive liability—he'd cut people down at the slightest provocation, and his combat power rivaled a small army.
If I were Gato, I'd leave Zabuza alone for now and let him recover in peace.
No wait. If I were Gato, I'd run for the hills right now. Going up against the protagonists? That's just asking for death!
Yeah… That guy's logic clearly works on a different frequency.
As he was thinking, Naruto suddenly noticed a large group of people heading his way, all dressed like mercenaries.
"Crap!" Naruto cursed inwardly. Gato's making his move on Tazuna already!
Okay. First, lure them into an empty area—then treat them to some Nine-Tails-brand fire dragon fruit. Naruto immediately drafted a counterattack plan.
But he needed to confirm their objective first.
Because Naruto's straw hat was a bit oversized and he was on the shorter side, he hadn't noticed the flyers the mercenaries were holding.
He watched as they began systematically handing out leaflets to the townspeople.
"Hello, please take a look at our candidate for president of the Land of Waves," said a man with a massive scar across his face.
"Uh, okay…" a trembling citizen took the flyer, which bore a man's portrait.
"Who's this?"
"This is Mr. Gato, the new presidential candidate for the Land of Waves," said Scarface, his expression full of reverence.
"Let me introduce Mr. Gato's vision," he continued.
"A lot of people believe Mr. Gato is the source of chaos in the Land of Waves, but that's simply not true. This country has long suffered from corruption. Mr. Gato saw the people's suffering and decisively launched a revolution!"
"I mean, how can you run a decent government when you're surrounded by a bunch of leeches?"
"Besides, there was an armed resistance not long ago—those weren't just regular citizens. That kind of threat needs a heavy-handed response!"
Then, he handed the citizen a small bag of food.
"Anyone who supports Mr. Gato will receive ample supplies and wages!"
"Giving money and food to the elite is called bribery—but giving it to the people? That's called a stimulus!"
Naruto silently listened to Scarface's rants, stunned speechless.
What kind of nonsense is this?
The Springtime of the Land of Waves?!
Naruto couldn't help stepping forward. "Excuse me, who are you guys?"
Scarface immediately turned and shouted, "Loyalty! Devotion! We are Mr. Gato's presidential advisory committee. Please support Mr. Gato!"
Naruto took a flyer. The image of Gato on it looked extremely confident and full of vigor.
"I have a question," Naruto said slowly. "How many candidates are there in this election?"
"Just Mr. Gato. Once the others heard he was running, they all withdrew!"
"...So what's the point of this propaganda then?"
"It's to help the public understand Mr. Gato's ideals," Scarface said seriously.
"Mr. Gato says a president without popular support is just a rootless drifter. And future laws and reforms also require public approval."
Naruto felt a slight toothache. "You know what? That… actually kinda makes sense."