In the Hokage Office.
After the Third Hokage instilled a wave of the will of fire into Shisui, Shisui left the Hokage Office with shining eyes.
As soon as Shisui left, Ann appeared before Hiruzen, kneeling on one knee and saying, "Hokage-sama, I have something regarding Naruto that I need to report to you!"
Hearing that it was about Naruto, the Third Hokage's expression immediately turned serious.
"What happened to Naruto?"
Ann organized her words slightly and then explained that Naruto no longer needed protection because he had grown up.
Naturally, Ann also mentioned that she no longer needed to deliver takeout.
The Third Hokage listened to Ann's account but did not immediately respond, instead picking up his pipe and taking a few puffs.
In fact, when Anbu first started monitoring Naruto, it was to observe the movements of the Nine-Tailed inside him. Besides that, it was to guard against Danzo.
At that time, Danzo was very keen on taking Naruto to his Root to be trained as a weapon.
Hiruzen naturally would not agree to train the Fourth Hokage's only descendant as a weapon.
Not only was there the affection for his grand-disciple, but also, if the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki fell into Danzo's hands, Danzo's influence in the Council of Elders would become even greater.
To allow Naruto to live like a normal child, under the pressure of the Council of Elders, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Third Hokage, could only agree to some very unfair conditions for Naruto.
For example, the matter of Naruto being the Fourth's son could not be leaked.
But what the Third Hokage didn't expect was that even after he had agreed to all the necessary conditions, Danzo still hadn't given up on Naruto.
He began to spread rumors in the Village that Naruto was the reincarnation of the Nine-Tailed, hoping to make Naruto develop a sense of disgust towards the Village through the ordinary villagers.
In this way, Danzo could send him to Root on the grounds that the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki's emotions were too unstable.
Fortunately, Naruto did not disappoint Hiruzen and did not turn dark, which also completely foiled Danzo's scheme.
The Third Hokage pondered for a long time. He knew that Danzo had no intention of completely breaking ties with him, so he would not act against Naruto now.
Thinking of this, he agreed to Naruto's request.
"Since Naruto doesn't need protection, Ann, you don't have to go tomorrow."
"It's good not to deliver takeout anymore; this will allow Naruto to go out more often. Staying at home all the time isn't good either."
Ann was also happy to hear this.
She finally didn't have to deliver takeout every day.
But Ann hadn't been happy for too long when she heard the Third Hokage continue, "Ann! I see you have a lot of experience delivering takeout. From now on, my takeout and medicine will be entrusted to you!"
Ann: ...
"Third-sama... I..."
"Ann, you don't need to say more. I know you really like this job of delivering takeout, and you often help your colleagues with takeout when you have time."
"And only you know about the task of buying medicine." At this point, Hiruzen looked at Ann with sharp eyes and continued, "You also know that it wouldn't be good if it got out that I, the Third Hokage, need to rely on medication every day. So... the fewer people who know, the better. From now on, you'll specialize in buying medicine and delivering takeout for me!"
"Naturally, protecting me is also your duty, isn't it?"
Seeing that Hiruzen had said so much, Ann could only reluctantly agree.
She hadn't expected that after escaping the life of delivering takeout for Naruto, she now had to deliver takeout for Hokage-sama.
"Am I destined to only deliver takeout my entire life?"
After receiving the Third Hokage's reply, Ann returned to Naruto's house and found Naruto.
And she told him that Hiruzen had agreed to Naruto's request.
"He agreed, did he?"
"But it's a bit of a shame that you can't continue to deliver takeout to me."
Hearing Naruto's words, Ann's mouth twitched twice under her mask, and she thought helplessly, "I don't have to deliver to you anymore, but now I have to deliver to Hokage-sama! Sigh."
Before Ann left completely, she treated Naruto to a big meal at a barbecue restaurant.
Although Ann had been delivering takeout for the past two years and hadn't taken on any difficult or high-paying missions, she was an Anbu. Even her base salary was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
Treating someone to a barbecue was more than affordable.
During the meal, Naruto also saw Ann's true face.
What Naruto didn't expect was that Ann was actually from the Hyuga Clan.
However, it was normal to send someone from the Hyuga Clan to watch over him.
The Byakugan could easily see the movements of Chakra. If the Nine-Tailed truly showed signs of going berserk, a Ninja from the Hyuga Clan could detect it immediately.
Ann's real name is Shoyo Hinata, a member of the Hyuga Clan's branch family, and he is only sixteen years old this year.
Although Shoyo Hinata was only sixteen, he was already a genuine Jonin and a definite genius within the entire Hyuga.
At the dinner table, Ann told Naruto many things about safety.
The reason for saying these things wasn't because Naruto was the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki, but because Ann truly regarded Naruto as a younger brother.
If it were the Naruto from the original story, he would never have noticed the Anbu around him, and naturally, the two would have no interaction.
But Shoyo Hinata had delivered takeout to Naruto for several years. How could a person be without feelings?
Years of interaction made Shoyo Hinata increasingly fond of Naruto.
However, this affection could not be shown. It was only now that he was about to leave Naruto's side that he could show some brotherly care.
"Haha! Brother Shoyo, instead of telling me to be careful, you should tell yourself that. I know Anbu missions are very dangerous!"
As he spoke, Naruto took a small iron plate with a Grey Wolf's portrait from his pocket and handed it to Shoyo Hinata.
"This is an amulet I made. Take it with you! If you encounter danger, hold it and shout, 'King Grey Wolf is awesome!' It might just save your life."
Hearing Naruto's words, Shoyo Hinata took the iron plate, then hung it around his neck and laughed, "Then thank you!"
Shoyo Hinata naturally didn't care about this so-called amulet, but what he didn't know was that it was genuinely a good item that could save his life.
This was actually an invisibility charm invented by Grey Wolf. As long as it received a voice command, it would activate, and the effect was invisibility.
Although he didn't care about the amulet, Shoyo Hinata was very grateful for Naruto's concern.
The only thing that made Shoyo Hinata a bit awkward was, would his next mission really be dangerous?
Huh? It seems it really could be fatally dangerous, for example, if he accidentally leaked the matter of buying medicine for the Third Hokage...
Thinking of this, Shoyo Hinata shook his head vigorously.
Both Naruto and Shoyo Hinata enjoyed the meal very much.
After eating and drinking their fill, Shoyo Hinata sent Naruto home.
Only after watching the lights turn on in Naruto's house did Shoyo Hinata leave, leaving the place he had guarded for several years.