It was 2:30 in the afternoon. The sun was high and the heat was intense.
In Konoha.
The big sun was making everyone sleepy.
Naruto, however, didn't go to sleep. A force he called "the need to show off" was driving him to find someone to boast to.
But, "Have I really become a lone wolf?"
Naruto thought about the people he knew, his friends. There were only a handful of them, maybe a dozen or so. Fewer than twenty, even.
"Sigh!"
Naruto let out a deep sigh, a hint of sadness enveloping him.
"Sigh!"
Another sigh came from a distance. Naruto looked up and saw a big head of white hair emerging from the Hokage's office.
The white hair, without a doubt, belonged to Jiraiya. He, too, was sighing with melancholy. Seeing him in such a dejected state, Naruto couldn't help but wonder if the old man was feeling life wasn't worth living because he hadn't learned the "Telescope Jutsu" from the Third Hokage.
"Just what I'd expect from you, Pervy Sage!"
Naruto's sadness instantly vanished as a smile spread across his face, watching the old man's lonely back retreat. The old man had truly "stayed true to his original intention."
He was tempted to go over and show off, but he had only just become a Jonin—there was nothing to boast about to the old man. It was only fun with his peers.
But Naruto went through the list of his friends. He had already found Team 8 and Team 10. As for Rock Lee and Neji's Team 3, they were off on a mission and couldn't be found.
"That's weird, I feel like I'm forgetting someone."
Who was it? Naruto thought long and hard.
He remembered! It was Karin! That redhead from the Grass Village, the one who immigrated to Konoha after her village was destroyed.
In a flash, all the memories came back to him. Because of the background check, she had been cooperating with Konoha's process. Kakashi-sensei said it would be complete after the Chunin Exams. But with all that had happened since the exams, Naruto had completely forgotten about it.
"She should be... right now?"
He closed his eyes and expanded his senses. Her chakra was special, and Naruto could feel it. But she was still in prison? Had no one come to get her?
Good thing I remembered her. I mean, the girl can't just live in a prison forever, can she?
A little while later, Naruto found Karin at the "prison's guesthouse."
"Waaahhh!"
As soon as she saw him, Karin rushed forward and threw her arms around him. Her sobs were heart-wrenching, and in a moment, Naruto's shoulder was soaked. He tried to pull away twice, but she wouldn't budge. He gave up.
Seeing Karin's distinctive red hair always made Naruto think of his mother, and a sense of familiarity warmed his heart. But on his back, where he couldn't see, Karin's sobs were accompanied by a slight upward curl of her lips, her eyes filled with the glee of a successful sneak attack.
She cried for a long time. Just as Naruto thought her tears had run dry and he tried to push her away, he found she was clinging to him like an octopus.
"This girl... something's not quite right," Naruto thought with a black line on his face.
He managed to pull Karin away. She pouted, looking incredibly wronged.
Women, they sure can act.
Naruto sighed but didn't dwell on it. He decided to find her a place to stay. "You don't have a home in Konoha yet, and the house the village assigned you will take a few days. Since you don't have a place to stay now, you can stay at Sasuke's hot springs for the time being."
Hearing this, Karin said anxiously, "Where you are is home! I... I want to live with you!"
Naruto's lips curled into a sneer.
Woman, your name is "shameless."
Under Naruto's gaze, Karin's face flushed, but she still bravely and proactively met his eyes.
Her boldness gave Naruto a slight headache. "You'll stay at Sasuke's place. As for work..."
Naruto pondered for a moment. Work would be difficult to arrange. All the teams were fully staffed for now. Maybe he could place her in the Foundation?
At that moment, Naruto remembered the organization that now belonged to him—the Foundation. From his memories of Danzo, Naruto was very familiar with the organization's location and personnel. He'd have to make the final arrangements tomorrow. This morning, Naruto had asked the Third Hokage to issue a command for all Foundation members to assemble tomorrow.
So he'd have to wait until then. Naruto was planning a major overhaul for the Foundation, and placing a small character like Karin there wouldn't be a problem.
Rejecting Karin's desire to live together, Naruto firmly arranged for her to stay at the hot springs Sasuke owned.
"Karin, tonight I'm treating everyone to dinner at Yakiniku Q. You're welcome to come if you have time." As he was leaving, Naruto extended the invitation. It was a good chance for Karin to integrate into Konoha.
He... is he asking me on a date?
Karin's eyes twinkled with a strange light.
"I... I will definitely be there!"
Karin thought it was a private date with Naruto, but when she arrived, the situation was completely unexpected. There were so many people! Besides her, there were twelve others! She had dressed up meticulously, but she was squeezed into a corner of the table.
As the guest of honor, Naruto was naturally the center of attention, surrounded by people offering their congratulations. As an outsider, she could only watch the glowing man from the sidelines.
At that moment, Naruto looked around at the gathering of friends, a surge of ambition rising in his heart. Learning from his last failure to become Hokage, Naruto realized there was no other reason than his small support base in the Jonin ranks. If he could train these twelve people to become Jonin and make his faction the majority, who would dare defy his orders then?
"Naruto-kun!"
As Naruto was lost in his grand ambitions, a shy, timid voice sounded next to him.
He turned to look. Hinata had her head bowed, her beautiful white eyes afraid to meet his. She tremblingly offered him an exquisitely decorated box. "To celebrate your promotion to Jonin, this is a gift..." Her voice grew softer with each word, a faint blush spreading across her face.
Naruto chuckled.
Sure enough, compared to Ino, he preferred the shy Hinata.
"Thank you!" Naruto accepted the gift with a big grin. The moment their fingers touched, Hinata's face turned even redder. She immediately lowered her head even further.
Everyone at the table was eating and chatting. After talking to Sasuke for a bit about the aftermath of the Chunin Exams, Naruto looked back to see that she was still looking down.
"Don't just keep your head down, eat something. Aren't you hungry?"
"O-okay."
She picked up her chopsticks, her face so red she didn't lift her head, and brought a piece of food to her mouth.
"Woah, that's raw!"
Huh?
Hinata looked up, dumbfounded, her confusion momentarily overriding her shyness.
"Quick, drink some water to calm down," Naruto said, quickly handing her a cup.
Hinata gulped it down.
"Ah? I grabbed the wrong one. I think that's my water cup."
Huh?
Hinata was dumbfounded again, her dazed face immediately turning a deep red as if she was about to turn into a steam engine.
"Sorry, I'm just kidding," Naruto laughed heartily.
This was too much fun.
As the meal went on, the table grew louder. The conversation drifted to all sorts of topics. Naruto would interject a couple of words, but his chopsticks never stopped moving, constantly flipping pieces of meat and vegetables. While he ate, he also put food on Hinata's plate.
At their last get-together, Naruto had been surprised to discover that Hinata had a massive appetite, even though she never showed it. He suspected the girl must have been starving herself. So, worried she wouldn't get enough to eat, he made sure to keep giving her food.
In reality, most of the food he cooked was stolen by Choji across the table. That was exactly why Choji had chosen that seat.
Choji: Man, you don't get it. Everything Naruto touches with his chopsticks tastes amazing. It's so good it makes you want to cry. Eating yakiniku with Naruto is heaven!
The night grew deeper.
The party came to an end. After paying the bill, Naruto realized Choji was a true glutton. No, Hinata was even more of a bottomless pit. Looking at the seemingly plain girl, Naruto felt like she had a stomach like a black hole.
But remembering her cute face when she burped, Naruto smiled.
"See you tomorrow!"
After saying goodbye to his friends and teachers, Naruto started walking home alone. He looked back and realized he wasn't alone; two shadows were following him.
"What do you want?"
It was so late; what were these two doing following him instead of going home?
"We're going to see sensei," Sasuke and Sakura said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Right.
Naruto felt a headache coming on. He'd completely forgotten about that. However, it did remind him that if he wanted to strengthen his twelve friends' combat power, special training in the training space was essential. But he couldn't just get a giant communal bed and drag them all into the training space.
I need to figure something out. Naruto muttered to himself and continued walking.
Four hours later.
Slam!
Naruto firmly rejected Sasuke and Sakura's request to stay the night, shutting the door on them. Besides, he had a mission tonight. There was no way he could let them stay.
The night was pitch black; not a moon or a star was visible.
"When the moon is dark and the wind is high, it's time for murder and arson."
Heh heh heh...
Naruto put on a mask and set out!
Location: The Konoha Prison.
This was a sunless dungeon, a place of eternal gloom. With a flash of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu and a genjutsu to handle two guards, he arrived at the front of the dungeon.
He stared coldly at the disheveled figure behind the bars, a wicked smile spreading across his face.
"Orochimaru, do you have a dream?"