Chapter 3
In the Hokage's office, the night dragged on.
Stacks of paperwork covered the desk, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had momentarily set his brush aside. He reached for his crystal orb — a habit formed from years of worry, especially when it came to one particular boy.
"Let's see where you've gone off to this time, Naruto," he murmured softly.
He channeled chakra into the orb. At first, nothing appeared. Naruto wasn't in the village. Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
"Please… be somewhere within range," he whispered.
The image in the orb shifted again — trees, grass, a campfire — and finally, the old Hokage spotted him. There was Naruto, laughing, carefree, chatting animatedly with… someone unfamiliar.
A man. Tall. White-haired. A stranger.
Hiruzen leaned forward. Every alarm in his mind went off. "Who is that?"
He scrutinized the man's posture. Relaxed. Comfortable. Not aggressive. And Naruto — Naruto looked genuinely happy. At ease. Trusting.
Still, it was a risk.
With a flick of his fingers, Hiruzen raised a hand.
A moment later, a masked figure materialized silently behind him, cloaked in black and white.
"What is your order, Hokage-sama?" the ANBU asked, kneeling.
Hiruzen's gaze didn't leave the orb. "Go to this location. Shadow Naruto Uzumaki. Do not engage unless that man poses a threat. Protect the boy — without being seen."
The ANBU vanished like smoke.
Back outside the village, Gojo Satoru felt it.
A flicker. A shift in the air. Like being watched through a telescope.
He didn't turn his head. He didn't scan the trees. But inside, his guard quietly went up.
"There's someone — no, multiple someones," he thought. "Careful. Too sudden a reaction might put the kid in danger."
To Naruto, he looked completely at ease, sitting lazily, tossing pebbles into the fire.
But beneath the surface, he was reading every particle of cursed energy — or what felt like the equivalent in this world.
"This energy… it's different, but similar. Powerful too. If I had to guess — special grade. Though... I can't use my world's standards here."
Two were easy to locate. He had already marked their positions, their movements minimal but not quite invisible to someone like him.
But there was a third.
This one was good.
Hidden even from Gojo's Six Eyes — or perhaps just careful enough to leave barely a trace.
"This one knows what they're doing," he thought. "They're here for a reason. They're not attacking. Just watching… watching? "
Still, he allowed them to observe, not letting on that he knew.
It was a dance of silence. A test of intentions.
And then—
"W-WHAT? It's that late already??" Naruto shouted, leaping to his feet.
Gojo blinked. "Time really flew, huh?"
"I gotta go!" Naruto said, grabbing his half-eaten fish and panicking slightly. "The old man Hokage will kill me!"
Gojo stood up and brushed the grass off his pants. "Then I'll walk you back. Can't have you getting eaten by a wild bear or something."
Naruto grinned. "You're not bad, mister!"
They walked side by side through the moonlit woods, fireflies dancing in the distance.
Gojo kept his senses on high alert the entire time. The three presences shadowed them but never intervened. Still, he didn't relax. Not until the great wooden gates of Konoha came into view.
Naruto pointed excitedly. "There it is! That's the Hidden Leaf Village!"
Gojo followed his gaze. Massive gates. Tall walls. A sprawling hidden world inside.
He smiled, then ruffled Naruto's hair. "Thanks for the tour guide service, short stuff."
Naruto chuckled, ducking away. "Hehe, you're weird, mister."
"Want me to come in?" Gojo asked.
Naruto paused, hopeful. "You want to?"
Gojo shook his head. "Next time. For now, go on. You'll be fine."
Naruto nodded and ran off, waving as he disappeared through the gates.
As soon as he was gone, Gojo stopped and closed his eyes.
All three presences vanished.
Gone without a trace.
"So they were here to protect him," he thought. "Good. He's not entirely alone."
He stood there for a moment longer, watching the gates of the village quietly.
Then he turned, hands in his pockets, and walked back into the night.