Naruto didn't speak right away. Instead, he first showed a hint of embarrassment.
After a moment, he said, "I want to surpass the Hokage and earn the villagers' recognition. To do that, I have to keep getting stronger."
"But the Chūnin Exams made me realize just how many powerful candidates there are. Many of them even harbor hostility toward Konoha. With my current strength, how could I possibly protect the village?"
"Every time I face something like this, the Nine-Tails comes to me and tempts me to use its power. I know that power is evil—but it really is incredibly strong. And then I…"
Coincidentally, his words also echoed into the mental space of the real Nine-Tails.
"…"
Kurama snorted disdainfully and rolled over. He had long grown accustomed to Naruto's nonsense, but lately he had sensed a dense malice within Naruto, which actually made him feel quite comfortable.
"Hm…" Hiruzen murmured softly, his gentle gaze helping Naruto finish his thought.
"So without the Nine-Tails, it would be very difficult for you to achieve your goal, wouldn't it?"
"That's right, Third Grandpa—you really understand me!"
Naruto's brow relaxed slightly, but soon furrowed again. "So… what should I do?"
Hiruzen said nothing at first, only looking at Naruto with warmth, concealing the scrutiny in his eyes.
"Naruto… after all, the Nine-Tails is a tailed beast that once brought catastrophic disaster upon the village. It's normal that you can't control it. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
He spoke softly, trying to calm Naruto, then let out a gentle sigh.
"That was my oversight. How about this—during this period, come to me. I'll teach you how to control the Nine-Tails' power."
Naruto's eyes instantly lit up.
"Really?! Thank you so much!" Joy filled his eyes, and the gloom on his face vanished.
On the other hand, Hiruzen was inwardly grumbling. This kid looked innocent on the surface, but in actual combat he was surprisingly seasoned…
Something didn't quite add up.
Unless Naruto fought purely on instinct—but that didn't explain the maturity of his tactics. He had just fought Kai, and that level of composure didn't belong to someone simple-minded.
Yes—Hiruzen did not completely trust Naruto.
Years of political experience had conditioned him to consider the worst-case scenario. Still, he felt there was no need to drown in suspicion. In his experience, such matters were usually easy to resolve.
Judge by interests.
Naruto wanting to grow stronger wasn't wrong. As long as he didn't hate the village, there was no reason for him to become an enemy.
Give him something to gain.
Hiruzen lit his pipe and slowly exhaled rings of smoke. In the silence, he suddenly asked, "Naruto, do you need any other help lately? I've thought about it, and I feel I owe you some compensation."
Now.
Naruto raised his eyebrows, calmly hiding the slight tremble in his fingers. He didn't answer directly. Instead, he carefully explained his recent battles, his current shortcomings, and emphasized the importance of mobility.
"Third Grandpa, when I was reading the Scroll of Seals, I came across a very powerful technique that perfectly suits my needs. I wonder… would you be willing to teach it to me?"
He lowered his head, trying to appear humble.
"Oh?" Hiruzen asked. "What technique?"
Naruto didn't answer immediately. He raised his head slightly, met Hiruzen's gaze, and revealed a trace of resolve.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique."
Much later.
Hiruzen stood by the window, watching Naruto's retreating figure, his face filled with complex emotions.
Smoke curled from his pipe as hesitation, resolve, and relief alternated across his expression.
"Minato… your son is walking the same path you did. Is this fate?"
Hiruzen promised that starting the next day, he would teach Naruto the Flying Thunder God Technique, as well as how to control the Nine-Tails.
If every ninja had their own unique growth path, then Naruto and Minato Namikaze undoubtedly shared a high degree of overlap in the original timeline—Rasengan, Shadow Clones, Sage Mode, the Nine-Tails…
However, in the original story, Minato had mastered even more techniques than Naruto, such as the Flying Thunder God and various sealing arts.
This was the classic "path of a king," and precisely why Minato's popularity had remained so high for so long.
Now, Hiruzen's decision might allow the name Yellow Flash to reappear in the ninja world once more.
That evening, at Ichiraku Ramen.
"Weren't we supposed to be discussing the mastermind? Why are we eating Ichiraku Ramen instead?"
At the counter, Sakura blew gently on her noodles and asked Naruto quietly in Chinese.
"I lied to you. Let's not talk about work tonight—just relax."
"What?"
Sakura clearly hadn't expected that. She stared at Naruto for a moment before a ridiculous thought popped into her head.
"Y-you're not asking me out on a date, are you?"
Naruto said nothing. He accepted the bowl from the owner, murmured a thank-you, then calmly asked Sakura, "How long has it been since we last relaxed?"
"Does that really matter?"
"It does. The mastermind feeds on negative emotions. Just look at how many times you collapsed while clearing the Forest of Death sub-instance."
Sakura blushed and replied casually, "That was mostly because Jin messed with my mental state…"
"Mhm." Naruto scooped up a spoonful of shimmering golden broth, blew on it, drank, and smacked his lips in satisfaction.
"So maintaining a healthy mindset is crucial for clearing the ninja-world labyrinth going forward. And I suspect the mazes we'll have to clear in the future won't be limited to the ninja world alone."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"That fragment can send us into a time traveler's memory world. So the question is—do we have a chance to use it to return to a memory world and lure out the mastermind?"
"Is that even possible?" Sakura stopped eating, clearly startled by Naruto's wild idea.
"It's just a hypothesis. Hey—I thought I told you not to talk business?" Naruto said, then focused on his noodles.
He realized he'd been liking Ichiraku Ramen more and more lately. Looks like Ōtsutsuki Ichiraku was still in business.
After they finished eating, Naruto said softly, "From now on, we should regularly take time to relax. What do you think?"
"…Yeah." After a moment's thought, Sakura agreed.
"How about a movie tonight? I remember there's a cinema in the village."
"No. I passed by earlier—it looks like they're showing the movie version of Icha Icha Paradise."
"Huh? Is this really the timeline we're in? Then how about something else? Reading? Cards? Another meal together?"
"Team-building activities might not be appropriate yet. Those twelve little powerhouses aren't ready for that."
"Heh. Let's walk and think."
The two strolled through the village, pondering the matter.
Naruto was right. Ever since the Land of Waves mission, the two time travelers had been under constant tension.
They were mentally exhausted.
"Sigh… this ninja world really sucks," Naruto muttered in Chinese. "Not even a fun doubles match anywhere."
Sakura shrugged. "Well, let's call it a night. Walking around with you for a while was actually pretty relaxing."
Naruto was about to leave when his gaze shifted forward—and suddenly, an interesting idea struck him.
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All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this "A Witty Life in the Naruto World" is 30 chapters ahead there