Chapter 109
2-in-1-chapter
-----------------
Naruto spotted Uchiha Fujika pushing a wheelchair from afar and immediately waved enthusiastically and ran over. Kakashi hesitated for a couple of seconds, ultimately remaining where he stood; socializing among children wasn't something he should interfere in.
But was Naruto's only friend a child from the Uchiha clan?
Unconsciously, Kakashi thought again of Obito crushed beneath the rocks. He hadn't kept his promise to Obito, hadn't protected Rin... Every time he thought of this, a dull ache spread through his heart, and a heavy, somber atmosphere settled over him again.
"Fujika, long time no see!"
Naruto smiled brightly.
"Naruto?"
Fujika blinked in surprise. "Why are you here?"
Sitting in the wheelchair, Kurama Yakumo also looked curiously at Naruto. Though young, she was precocious and extremely intelligent, having read many books. Her father, Kurama Sōun, often spoke to her about village matters. She vaguely understood that Naruto's status was unusual and that he ordinarily shouldn't be allowed to leave the village easily.
"..." Naruto was stumped by the question.
Why was he here? He thought for a moment and realized he didn't really understand why himself. It seemed like he had just been spacing out in the park, then encountered Fujika's grandfather. After exchanging a few words, Fujika's grandfather had asked whether he was afraid of death. When Naruto said no, he was invited to observe the shinobi battlefield.
After that,
Somehow even the Fifth Hokage got involved. Naruto didn't really understand the whole "acting Hokage" situation, only that the Third Hokage had passed away and that this chubby old man was the new Hokage. The Fifth Hokage gathered a group to accompany Naruto. Among them were some familiar faces like Uchiha Shisui, but most he didn't recognize.
In any case, he had just agreed without much thought.
Things like shinobi wars and battlefields weren't really on his mind; he only remembered that he was here to find his friend.
But now that they had met, he felt too embarrassed to say all that.
"Sigh! Still as clueless as ever! You don't even know why you're here?" Fujika sighed deeply, exasperated. Having such a dim-witted tagalong was really troublesome. "Forget it. No matter why you came, since you're here, I'll watch out for you."
The little girl spoke confidently, taking full responsibility.
"Okay!"
Naruto replied with a grin, scratching his head, his face glowing with a bright smile.
"What are you smiling about! This is the front line! Let's see if you can keep smiling after seeing corpses!" Fujika shot Naruto a glare and continued pushing the wheelchair toward the castle gates. Today's operation required their participation too. According to Rēn's plan, they would infiltrate Kirigakure's command center—a rare opportunity to broaden their horizons.
As for whether bringing the little ones along would be a burden,
Of course not.
Wiping out the entire Kirigakure would certainly be troublesome, but if Rēn took it seriously, wiping out just the force led by Yagura Karatachi was no challenge at all. But slaughter was never Rēn's goal; he wasn't some bloodthirsty maniac. War was never the objective—only a means to achieve objectives.
Wiping out this Kirigakure force would do little more than give him a fearsome reputation.
Rather than annihilate them, it would be better to try taming them.
If he could truly forge a firm and stable alliance, then he would not only gain a powerful ally to bolster his influence, but also have a force that could prove useful in the future against organizations like Akatsuki or individuals like Black Zetsu.
...................
......
.
Outside the castle's main gate.
Ninja skilled in Earth Release had already leveled the ground on Rēn's orders. On the now flat and spacious ground, many people had gathered: Jōnin from clans like Uchiha, Hyūga, Aburame, Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Kurama, and others.
Among the crowd, Uchiha Fujika and Kurama Yakumo easily spotted Uchiha Chihaya.
Even among so many Jōnin, Chihaya stood out, not only because of her beautiful face but primarily due to her "keep away" aura. Even within the Uchiha clan, few liked dealing with this candid and tactless beauty, whose blunt remarks often unintentionally struck people's sore spots.
"Chihaya-nee."
Fujika greeted Uchiha Chihaya obediently.
"Yakumo, Fujika, and... little blondie." Uchiha Chihaya thought for two seconds and, failing to recall Naruto's name, simply referred to him as "little blondie." This made Naruto a bit upset, and he softly said, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto!"
But mentioning his name immediately brought to mind a certain rumor.
If he remembered correctly, wasn't the Fourth Hokage's surname not Uzumaki?
Did it mean he really was not the son of the Fourth Hokage...?
.................
It was still early, and Uchiha Rēn's figure was not yet in sight. Uchiha Chihaya led the three little ones under the shade of the trees. Around them stood many towering ancient trees, their dense green canopies like wide-open umbrellas shielding them from the scorching sunlight.
Naruto hesitated, wondering whether to tell Fujika about that rumor now.
Looking at the situation,
if he didn't speak up now, there probably wouldn't be another opportunity for a while.
"Um..." Naruto gathered his courage. The matter had been weighing on his heart for days. It wasn't as if he believed being the Fourth Hokage's child would mean much, but he simply wanted to confide in a friend about his frustrations.
"What's wrong?"
Fujika was checking her equipment.
Short sword, shuriken, explosive tags... Though she would likely just observe throughout, Rēn had fully armed her nonetheless. All standard weapons a Konoha shinobi should carry were present—explosive tags, flash bombs, smoke bombs. Only the Konoha shinobi vest was missing.
The little girl was wearing the Uchiha clan's traditional black long robe for women, clearly not something stitched by their mother, a full-time editor, but rather tailor-made from a shop within the clan. The family crest of the flaming fan was prominently displayed on her back.
Not only Fujika, but even Kurama Yakumo, sitting in a wheelchair, cast a curious glance.
"Aren't there always weird rumors in the village? Those gossiping ladies often get together to chat. I, um, I happened to, happened to overhear them saying that I... that I..."
"What? What did those ladies say about you? Naruto, hurry up and spit it out! You're being so annoying with all this hesitation!"
The straightforward, blunt little girl stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at her hesitant companion.
"They said I might be the child of the Fourth Hokage!" Naruto blurted it out at last. But, being a child, he still felt embarrassed, afraid others would think he was boasting. Children cared about their dignity too, and their pride could be even more sensitive than adults.
However, Fujika hadn't thought that at all.
Her wide, dark eyes were filled with surprise as she sized Naruto up. "Your dad is the Fourth Hokage? I didn't expect you to be so amazing!"
"It's just a possibility! Honestly, I don't even believe it myself."
After saying it, Naruto truly felt relieved. It had been suffocating him these past few days, with nowhere to confide. He looked up at the dense canopy overhead and muttered softly, "How could the child of a hero be a Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki? These rumors... they're all lies."
"Not necessarily."
Kurama Yakumo looked Naruto up and down with a curious gaze.
"The Fourth Hokage died young. None of us have seen him in person, but my father once told me the Fourth Hokage was known as the 'Yellow Flash' and had the same hair color as you!"
Naruto froze and scratched his hair.
"Blond hair isn't rare in the village, right? Isn't Ino blond too? Besides, I remember from ninja academy classes that the Fourth Hokage's surname was Namikaze, and I'm Uzumaki Naruto." At this point, Naruto tried hard to deny any possible connection with the Fourth Hokage.
Humans are strange creatures, and children are no exception.
"The Fourth Hokage's wife was from the Uzumaki clan."
Suddenly, a strange voice came from nearby.
"Who are you?"
Naruto looked warily at Yagura, who had approached unnoticed.
"I mean no harm."
Yagura raised both hands to show he was unarmed. "I just happened to overhear something interesting and got curious." As he spoke, his gaze lingered on Naruto, observing him carefully.
So this was Konoha's current Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki? Though the hair color didn't match, the vitality unmistakably marked him as a descendant of the Uzumaki clan.
Though the Three-Tails sealed inside him was dormant and unusable, his own abilities remained intact, and at such close range he could clearly sense Naruto's unique presence.
"Naruto, it's fine. He's my brother's prisoner; you don't have to worry about him doing anything bad."
Fujika knew Yagura.
After all, Yagura had spent the past two days as Rēn's neighbor. The two had idled away their time playing shogi together, and before long, even Fujika had become familiar with the prisoner. This was why Uchiha Chihaya hadn't intervened when Yagura approached the children—Rēn himself had assured them that Yagura wouldn't cause any trouble.
If he dared to harm Fujika or Yakumo, or tried to take them hostage and escape, he would not escape unscathed.
Uchiha Chihaya, who trusted Rēn completely, naturally paid no mind to the Fourth Mizukage. Fortunately, Kakashi happened to be absent. With so many Konoha Jōnin nearby, he wasn't too concerned about Naruto's safety and had taken the opportunity to return to the lodgings to drop off luggage and change clothes.
Otherwise, if Kakashi had seen Yagura approach Naruto, he'd probably have responded with a Chidori immediately.
"Prisoner?"
Naruto looked at Yagura in confusion.
Was any prisoner this free to move around?
"Mizukage-sama, just now you said the Fourth Hokage's wife had the surname Uzumaki. What did you mean by that?" Yakumo pressed Yagura about what he had just said.
"Well..."
"Mizukage-sama, if you're truly bored, how about I send you into a dream?" A lighthearted voice from behind made Yagura's expression tighten, and he swallowed back the words he was about to say. He turned to see Rēn, his doll-like face showing a forced smile. "Uchiha Clan Head, are we departing?"
"Immediately."
Rēn replied without looking at him, turning his gaze instead toward the three children, or rather, at Naruto specifically. Though he had only caught part of their conversation, he could already infer what they had been discussing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can read 40 high quality advanced chapters as well as 2 daily chapters on!
P@tre0n/IDKjust