"What do you mean?"
Naruto looked down, disappointed. "In your eyes, I'm not even a Shinobi?"
"Of course that's not what I mean."
Takumi smiled and came before him, lifting his head. "You are an excellent Shinobi. No one can deny that."
"But everyone has their own strengths. Learning from others' strong points is not a bad thing. You can completely incorporate them into yourself, allowing yourself to grow more."
"Kiba's extraordinary sense of smell, Hinata's astonishing observational power with her Byakugan, Sakura's excellent Chakra Control, Shino's unique Ninjutsu and his faint presence, Shikamaru's intellect and Shadow techniques – these are all their unique advantages and their specialties."
"And Naruto, what is your specialty? Have you ever carefully considered that?"
Takumi's words left Naruto somewhat at a loss.
To gain recognition from the people in the village, he had always hoped to become a Shinobi.
And after becoming a Shinobi, the situation didn't improve as he had expected, but he still firmly moved forward.
He believed that as long as he became Hokage, he would definitely gain everyone's acknowledgment.
So, after becoming a Shinobi, he had consistently worked hard on his training.
During this time, he received help from Kakashi and also from Jiraiya, learning the Rasengan.
He had consistently been striving to improve himself.
But he had never thought about what his own advantages were compared to others.
"I don't know."
He shook his head, confused.
"Your specialty is your persevering spirit."
Takumi said seriously. "You never give up when faced with setbacks. No matter how many dangers lie ahead, you are not afraid. That is your greatest advantage."
"You will definitely gain everyone's recognition. As for my recognition, you already have it."
Takumi's final words were spoken very gently.
At that moment, Naruto's eyes instantly moistened.
This was the first time someone had said such things to him.
In that instant, the impression of Takumi in his heart completely changed.
No longer just a peer of great strength, but a gentle and reliable older brother leading the way.
Tears blurred his vision. He wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out.
But he was, after all, a man. He didn't let the tears fall from his eyes. Instead, he proudly raised his head and revealed a brilliant smile. "Recognition from just you alone isn't enough!"
"I look forward to the day you gain recognition from everyone in the village."
Takumi smiled slightly, seeming even more confident than Naruto. "I think that day won't be too far off."
This warm scene brought knowing smiles to the faces of the director and others.
But in the eyes of the women present, Takumi at this moment was radiating a bright light.
Their gazes were hazy, their eyes filled with emotion as they looked at Takumi, their expressions sparkling with unusual brilliance.
Even Konan, who had arrived unnoticed, marveled at the remarkable leadership skills Takumi was displaying at this moment.
'In time, he will surely become the most excellent Hokage in Konoha.'
Konan sighed like this, even though she knew clearly that Takumi was a huge obstacle for the Akatsuki.
But at this moment, she couldn't help but feel immense admiration for Takumi.
The women marveled inwardly.
Shikamaru and the others looked thoughtfully at Takumi and Naruto.
Indeed, as Takumi had said, they each had their own characteristics.
But aside from Sakura, all of their characteristics were closely related to their clans, not to them personally.
Perhaps Shikamaru's remarkable intelligence could be considered a personal advantage, along with Kiba's confidence, Shino's low presence, and so on.
But compared to Naruto's indomitable spirit, they all fell slightly short.
At this moment, they couldn't help but think: What was their own unique advantage, truly theirs alone?
Without relying on clan secret techniques, what abilities would allow others to recognize them?
Unconsciously, they fell into deep thought.
"Alright, time to set off."
Seeing everyone lost in thought with heads down, Takumi clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention. "Don't forget the mission we're on."
He looked at Temari and asked, "Where is the main force of your Sunagakure's Shinobi? Didn't you notify them earlier?"
"We're here."
Before Temari could answer, a deep voice reached Takumi's ears.
Then Gaara, leading Kankuro and many Sunagakure's Shinobi, arrived.
"Quite a few people came."
Takumi smiled slightly. "Does the Land of Wind's side no longer need defending?"
"There's no need for me to worry about that."
A trace of killing intent appeared in Gaara's calm gaze, clearly very angry about what the enemy had done in the Land of Wind. "I just need to find their leader and kill him."
A faint killing intent swirled around him with his words.
The Konoha's Shinobi all looked at Gaara with caution.
Among those present, the only one who could consistently defeat Gaara was Takumi.
Moreover, Gaara had previously transformed into a monster and caused destruction during the Chunin Exams.
To be honest, Shikamaru and the others were very worried about whether Gaara could control himself.
But Gaara had indeed grown quickly recently.
The killing intent came and went just as quickly.
It was as if the person radiating killing intent moments ago wasn't him.
"Alright then, let's go."
Takumi said with a smile. "We've already delayed long enough."
The group set off.
Finally, as the sun was setting, they arrived at the bottom of the cliff.
Coincidentally,
At the bottom of the cliff, there was a traveling merchant caravan resting.
Among their group, they had coincidentally rescued the blonde boy who had jumped from the cliff.
"Hello, everyone. I didn't expect to see so many people on this night."
The caravan's elder, a white-haired old man, came forward to greet them. "I am Kahiko, the elder of this caravan. May I ask... oh?"
Seeing the forehead protectors on Takumi and the others, he immediately understood and said, "So you are from Konoha. Have you come looking for little Nerugui?"
"Little Nerugui?"
Sakura was utterly confused.
Her reaction made the excited face of the elder Kahiko instantly fall.
"Naruto, take out that ferret."
Takumi said to Naruto, who was standing there blankly.
"Huh? Oh."
Naruto, not understanding, took down the backpack he was carrying. As soon as he opened the zipper, the ferret quickly ran out.
"Wait!"
Naruto panicked. This was the target of their mission. If it ran away in the night, it would be hard to find again.
But after the ferret ran out, it immediately stood affectionately on the elder Kahiko's shoulder, rubbing against his cheek.
"Little Nerugui!"
Kahiko looked at the ferret with delight. "I didn't expect you to have found it already. Thank you so much."
"So the old man was the client?"
Shikamaru immediately realized. "I saw the village destroyed and thought the client had already been killed."
"The village was destroyed?"
Kahiko's eyes instantly became serious, but quickly returned to their usual vague state. "That is indeed frightening. But we left before that happened."
"We are a traveling caravan; we don't stay in one place for too long. It seems we were very fortunate this time."
Just then, the ferret on his shoulder seemed to sense something and jumped down from his shoulder.
"Little Nerugui?"
He watched with some surprise as the ferret ran deep into the caravan.
"We came this time not only to deliver the ferret entrusted by the elder, but also for another matter."
Takumi said. "I wonder if the elder has seen a blonde-haired boy?"
"A blonde-haired boy?"
Kahiko frowned slightly, pondering whether to tell the truth.
"There he is!"
Temari suddenly pointed towards the direction of the caravan.
Kahiko turned back and saw the blonde boy, his upper body wrapped in bandages, already awake and walking out.