For Hiruzen Sarutobi, finding a Ninja Dog was quite simple.
Konoha Village has the Inuzuka Clan, which specializes in raising, training, and cultivating Ninja Dogs.
For any Ninja clan to grow stronger, money is indispensable.
All the Ninja clans in Konoha Village basically have their own industries.
The Inuzuka Clan's industries also include selling Ninja Dogs, and helping Ninja cultivate and train Ninja Dogs.
Kakashi's Ninja Dog was bought from the Inuzuka Clan.
In fact, Ninja Dogs are naturally suited to be Summoning Beasts; even if not used for combat, they are excellent for tracking.
After all, not every Ninja possesses outstanding sensory abilities.
And a considerable portion of Ninja missions require tracking capabilities.
Furthermore, canines are naturally loyal and obedient.
Therefore, in Konoha Village, quite a few Ninja keep a Ninja Dog as a Summoning Beast.
Rare things are precious and difficult to obtain.
Common things like Ninja Dogs are easy for Hiruzen Sarutobi to acquire.
However, to compensate Uzumaki Naruto and make him even happier, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and nodded: "Not a problem at all."
"Naruto, you want a powerful Ninja Dog, but the concept of 'powerful' is too broad."
"Moreover, for a Summoning Beast like a Ninja Dog, it's best to raise it from a young age."
"How about this: tomorrow night, I'll take you to the Ninja Dog selling store, and whichever one you like, I'll buy it for you."
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's immediate agreement and his offer to let him choose a Ninja Dog from the store, Uzumaki Naruto was truly overjoyed.
His smile was absolutely radiant.
Although Uzumaki Naruto was a bit puzzled as to why there was a store selling Ninja Dogs in Konoha Village, these details no longer mattered.
As for the Ninja Dog being best raised from a young age, Uzumaki Naruto felt this wasn't a big problem.
Because during his conversations with Bai Xuan, Uzumaki Naruto had learned some things about Bai Xuan.
He knew that Bai Xuan was an orphan and that Hayate had grown up with Bai Xuan since childhood.
Since Bai Xuan was able to train Hayate to be so powerful from a young age...
Even if he didn't know how to train a Ninja Dog himself, he could always ask Bai Xuan.
This would also give him an excuse to chat with Bai Xuan more and see Bai Xuan more often.
"Thank you very much, Third Hokage." Uzumaki Naruto bowed his head in gratitude.
Seeing Uzumaki Naruto so happy, Hiruzen Sarutobi's sense of guilt seemed to dissipate considerably.
With an increasingly kind and benevolent smile, Hiruzen Sarutobi repeatedly nodded and replied, "These are all minor matters."
"As long as there's anything you want, Naruto, just tell me, and I'll do my best to fulfill it."
"Naruto, besides a Ninja Dog, is there anything else you want?!" After a slight pause, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to ask.
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Uzumaki Naruto felt a warmth in his heart, but after thinking about it, he didn't want anything else.
So, after gently shaking his head, Uzumaki Naruto replied directly, "No, I only want a Ninja Dog."
After hearing Uzumaki Naruto's reply, Hiruzen Sarutobi gently nodded, then chatted with Uzumaki Naruto about when they would go to buy the Ninja Dog tomorrow night, and said some casual words of concern before bidding Uzumaki Naruto farewell.
After Hiruzen Sarutobi left, Uzumaki Naruto's eyes still held intense excitement and exhilaration.
Just thinking about soon owning a Ninja Dog made Uzumaki Naruto truly overjoyed.
The arrival of Bai Xuan is destined to change this world.
Because of the Nine-Tailed, the Nine-Tailed Chakra interferes with Uzumaki Naruto's ability to use Ninjutsu.
Therefore, Uzumaki Naruto finds it very difficult to learn most Ninjutsu, and coupled with his single-minded, even somewhat foolish personality, Uzumaki Naruto is also not very suitable for Kakashi's technical style.
Uzumaki Naruto, possessing a Sage Body, might be very suitable for Taijutsu and the forbidden Ninjutsu, Eight Gates Formation.
With the assistance of a Ninja Dog, Uzumaki Naruto might no longer be a dead last.
After all, academic performance is performance, and combat performance is also performance.
Of course,
Performance is not the most important thing.
The most important thing is naturally power, true and undeniable power.
After being excited for a long time, Uzumaki Naruto slowly drifted off to sleep.
...
...
Bai Xuan's home.
After finishing his training, Bai Xuan closed his eyes after a thorough wash.
Before falling completely asleep, Bai Xuan recalled his gains from the day, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly upward.
A second Summoning Beast, the evolution of Shadow, a Black Concealment talent for stealth and concealing presence, three Black Feather talents, Leaf Style Taijutsu, and seventeen Wind Release Ninjutsu.
Now, I am truly getting stronger and stronger.
Chapter 20 Naruto's Future
The next morning.
"Bai Xuan, good morning!"
"Good morning, Oni-chan!"
"Hmm, good morning."
When Naruto saw Bai Xuan and Tenten, he spoke with excited enthusiasm, like a child showing off a toy: "You know what, Third Hokage promised to give me a Ninja Dog."
"Tonight, I'll be able to get my own Ninja Dog."
"Hahahahaha!!!" As he spoke, Uzumaki Naruto couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Then congratulations, Naruto."
"However, there's one thing I need to tell you in advance."
"My Hayate can possess such great power because I have a special ability to evolve Summoning Beasts." Bai Xuan explained while stroking Hayate's head.
"Three days ago, Hayate was only this big." Bai Xuan gestured, allowing Uzumaki Naruto to more intuitively understand the change in Hayate's size after evolution.
Then he continued to add, "And Hayate was already four years old at that time."
"That is to say, after you get a Ninja Dog, you will need to raise it for at least five or six years before it can have a certain level of combat power."
Listening to Bai Xuan's explanation, Uzumaki Naruto's expression involuntarily changed.
However, upon closer thought, Bai Xuan hadn't lied to him; these were all obvious facts.
It was precisely because of this that Uzumaki Naruto couldn't help but feel a sense of discrepancy between his expectations and reality.
Seeing Uzumaki Naruto's expression, Bai Xuan smiled slightly, then directly comforted him: "Naruto, don't be disappointed."
"There are actually many types of Ninja Dogs: small Ninja Dogs, medium Ninja Dogs, large Ninja Dogs, and giant Ninja Dogs."
"If we're just talking about size, you can quickly get a Ninja Dog similar in size to Hayate; just buy a giant Ninja Dog and train it for two or three years."
Although he said that, Bai Xuan couldn't help but secretly think, "Although Ninja can have multiple Summoning Beasts."
"But with a Ninja Dog, will Naruto still get a toad, as in his original destiny?!"
"If he does, then both Naruto and Sasuke will have two Summoning Beasts."
"Note: Uchiha Sasuke possesses not only [Snake] but also [Hawk]."
But no matter what Bai Xuan thought, Uzumaki Naruto's expression instantly brightened again after hearing Bai Xuan's explanation.
A child is a child; the current Uzumaki Naruto is indeed a bit naive.
"Alright, chat time is over, let's quickly begin our youthful training!" Might Guy, like a green phantom, swiftly rushed in front of Bai Xuan, Tenten, and Naruto, shouting these words with burning passion.
"Yes, Guy-sensei!!" Uzumaki Naruto immediately responded with full energy.
"That's right, this is the feeling of youth! Let's start by running ten laps around the forest to warm up!" Might Guy extended his thumb.
"Yes! Guy-sensei!" It was still Uzumaki Naruto's energetic response.
And then.
Bai Xuan and the others began their training for the day.
When you fully immerse yourself in something, time passes very quickly.
Soon.
The morning training time passed.
During the lunchtime break, because Bai Xuan fed Shadow, Might Guy, Tenten, and Naruto chatted with Bai Xuan about Shadow.
However, this was not a big deal, so Bai Xuan generously introduced Shadow to the three of them.
Bai Xuan had nothing planned for this afternoon, so he continued to train with Might Guy, Tenten, and Naruto.
They didn't part ways until the sun set.
After returning home, Bai Xuan naturally continued to study and train after dinner.
And at Naruto's house, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived as scheduled.
"Naruto, let's go look at Ninja Dogs." Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile was still kind and benevolent.
"Mm." Uzumaki Naruto still nodded excitedly.
On the way.
Uzumaki Naruto recalled what Bai Xuan had told him, and then he asked Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Third Hokage."
"Bai Xuan said that Ninja Dogs are divided into small, medium, large, and giant Ninja Dogs, and that a giant Ninja Dog can become as big as Hayate after being raised for one or two years."
"Does that Ninja Dog store sell giant Ninja Dogs?!"
Hearing Uzumaki Naruto's question, Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into thought.
He also heard that Uzumaki Naruto wanted a giant Ninja Dog.
In Hiruzen Sarutobi's opinion, a giant Ninja Dog was not suitable for Uzumaki Naruto.
Uzumaki Naruto, as the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki, was destined to become a Ninja.
Due to the interference of the Nine-Tailed Chakra, it was already very difficult for Uzumaki Naruto to become a Ninjutsu-type Ninja.
Furthermore, Uzumaki Naruto had already received Taijutsu guidance from Might Guy.
Combining Uzumaki Naruto's personality, Uzumaki Naruto should become a relatively "reckless" Ninja.
Such a Ninja does not need a close-combat type Summoning Beast.
And a giant Ninja Dog is a close-combat type Summoning Beast.
As for tracking-type small Ninja Dogs, Uzumaki Naruto is from the Uzumaki Clan, and it is unknown whether he can awaken the Uzumaki Clan's talent and possess powerful sensory abilities.
If he awakened it, then Uzumaki Naruto would have no use for tracking-type small Ninja Dogs.
Large Ninja Dogs are also close-combat types, so they don't need to be considered.
Auxiliary combat-type medium Ninja Dogs seem quite good.
However, that also requires playing tactics, for example, Kakashi can make a medium Ninja Dog burrow underground for a sneak attack, and then, at the moment the medium Ninja Dog restrains the enemy, kill the enemy.
But such tactics also seemed unsuitable for Uzumaki Naruto.
Thinking this way, Hiruzen Sarutobi actually felt somewhat relieved.
Since a Summoning Beast like a Ninja Dog was fundamentally unsuitable for Uzumaki Naruto, there was no need to consider practical issues.
As long as Uzumaki Naruto himself liked it, that was enough.
Thinking this, Hiruzen Sarutobi replied with a chuckle, "Yes, the Inuzuka family's Ninja Dog store has all types of Ninja Dogs."
Chapter 21 Naruto and the Ninja Dog