"U-uh… it was kinda my fault…" Naruto stammered, scratching his head awkwardly. The merchants in Konoha wouldn't sell him anything to eat, so he had no choice but to come catch fish by himself. He never thought something so simple could almost get him killed.
"What an idiot!" Sakura said, looking at Naruto's thin frame with a hint of sympathy. As a boy, he was even skinnier than her—clearly showing how hard his daily life must be. It must have been solely because of the Uzumaki clan's strong vitality that he had barely survived this long.
"A-ah, sorry…" Naruto flinched slightly at Sakura's words. His bright golden hair seemed to dim a little.
"Why are you apologizing?" Sakura asked as she reached out and touched Naruto's wet hair.
"I-I'm the demon fox, right? I must've scared both of you." Naruto forced a smile, his blue eyes avoiding her gaze.
"You're definitely not a nine-tailed fox spirit or anything like that."
Sakura extended her finger and gently lifted Naruto's chin, making him meet her eyes.
"Look, real fox spirits are always incredibly seductive. If they looked like you, they'd be out of a job!"
"Really? I'm not the demon fox?!" Naruto hesitated, hope sparkling in his eyes.
"This is what a real fox spirit looks like, understand?"
Suddenly, Sakura pulled out a blank piece of paper. Drawn on it were many figures with fox ears and tails. Without exception, these figures wore revealing clothes, striking seductive poses with extremely attractive bodies.
As soon as the paper appeared, Sakura sensed waves of shock and agitation from the many hidden Anbu members around them. Even some from Root showed signs of inner turmoil.
"I really don't look like this at all."
At this age, Naruto was still quite innocent. After seeing the pictures Sakura brought out and comparing them to himself, his eyes lit up instantly. So he really wasn't the demon fox!
"Ah, Sakura, why do you carry stuff like this with you?" Ino blushed furiously. Her mind tended toward more mature and suggestive thoughts, unlike Naruto who was still quite innocent. Seeing these images only fueled her wild imagination.
"Come on, Ino, it's just a few pictures. Is that kind of reaction really necessary?!" Sakura put on her best innocent face. These were almost all fox-themed characters from the anime or games she used to watch in her past life. Okay, fine—some might've come from those not-so-family-friendly adult shows, but seriously, was that kind of reaction necessary?
"But, this, this…" Ino stammered, her face still flushed.
"Cough, anyway, Naruto, take a look." She cleared her throat. "They're the ones who can truly be called fox spirits. And you? No fox ears, no tail—how could you possibly be one?"
Sakura covered her mouth and coughed lightly, shoved the paper into her pocket, and secretly used the Reality Stone's power to destroy it instantly. It would be better not to let Naruto and Ino see too much—misleading them would only end up giving them the wrong impression.
"So that's how it is? Then I'm not a demon fox. I'm not a demon fox."
Suddenly, Naruto hugged Sakura and started crying. As a child, he constantly endured psychological abuse and even physical attacks from the entire Konoha village. Naturally, his emotions had been deeply repressed. Yet Sakura's words were like a beam of light illuminating his heart, turning this moment into one of the most vivid memories in Naruto's life.
"That's right. You're Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha—not just some demon fox."
Taken back by Naruto's sudden hug, Sakura stiffened for a moment but then smiled and gently patted his head as she said, "Hey, from today on, I'll be your friend. Let me introduce myself—I'm Haruno Sakura. You can just call me Sakura!"
"And me! My name is Yamanaka Ino, so you can just call me Ino!" Ino also chimed in with a smile while introducing herself.
"Yeah! I'm Naruto Uzumaki—you guys can just call me Naruto!"
Naruto wiped away his tears and flashed a radiant smile—as bright as a little sun.
Chapter Four: Ichiraku, the Otsutsuki-style Ramen Shop
"Guruguru~"
Just as Naruto was laughing happily, his stomach made an untimely growling sound.
"Let's go—I'll treat everyone to celebrate us meeting today!"
Sakura stood up while holding the umbrella. Although the Haruno family wasn't as wealthy as the major clans, her parents did run a small shop in Konoha, making them comfortably middle-class. Due to Sakura's long-time hikikomori tendencies, her allowance had barely ever been touched, so treating Naruto and Ino to a meal was no problem at all.
"Minato...I've failed you..."
In the Hokage office, the Third smoked quietly as the crystal orb before him displayed images of Naruto, Sakura, and their group. At the exact moment he saw Naruto smiling brightly while introducing himself, the Third unconsciously sighed deeply, his forehead wrinkling even further.
"But still, Naruto has made friends now—Yamanaka Inoichi's daughter, and that girl Haruno Sakura. He sure knows how to win over girls—just like you did."
Recalling how popular that little ray of sunshine had been during his days at the Ninja Academy, the Third felt an overwhelming swirl of complex emotions inside. Minato had been Jiraiya's disciple—and therefore his grand-apprentice—but ultimately, he hadn't managed to protect either his grand-apprentice or the orphaned son left behind.
As for the Third Hokage monitoring them, Sakura had a vague sense of it but wasn't surprised in the least. As the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, Naruto was always under layers of surveillance, and any interactions he had would definitely be reported promptly. She already knew about the Third's crystal orb that could monitor all of Konoha—it was probably what gave her that faint sense of being watched.
Ichiraku Ramen Shop, a location that frequently appeared throughout the Naruto series, had also become a favorite spot for jokes among fans. Especially the store owner Teuchi, who always seemed to have his eyes narrowed shut, had jokingly earned the nickname "Otsutsuki-style Ichiraku."
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