Chapter 65 The First Meeting Between the Fourth Hokage's Former Retainers and Naruto
Uchiha Touhuan ultimately didn't make everyone work overtime all night. After spending 100,000 ryo to hire a handyman from the Security Department to make a deluxe bowl of ramen for each of the overtime workers, Uchiha Touhuan told everyone to go back and rest.
The next day, on a large open space of about 1,000 square meters on the east side of the Uchiha clan's territory, the non-ninja members of the Uchiha clan were busily preparing the venue. Normally, this place was used for weddings of young members of the clan, but today, their clan leader was hosting a banquet here to entertain the enthusiastic ninjas who had helped in suppressing the thugs who attempted to damage the reputation of the village's heroes with rumors, thereby undermining the purity of the Will of fire. Therefore, the entire Uchiha clan was
busy early this morning. Meanwhile,
at the Hatake family's ancestral home, Kakashi also dragged Naruto, who had been given a day off due to the previous night's martial law and wanted to sleep in, out of bed early in the morning.
"What are you doing, Kakashi-nii!" Naruto had been worried about Kakashi going out in the middle of the night and hadn't gone to sleep until Kakashi returned. Being dragged out of bed so early in the morning was naturally annoying, but Kakashi was already pulling clothes over his head without a word.
"I'm taking you out for a big meal today. If you don't want to get up, that's fine," Kakashi said.
"A big meal?" Naruto perked up at the mention of that, quickly dressed, and followed Kakashi out the door.
Kakashi first found Yamato, who lived not far from his house, and pulled him along before heading towards the Uchiha clan's compound.
As they walked, Naruto realized something was wrong and looked up, asking, "Where are we going? Before, whenever I went this way, an Anbu uncle would come out and tell me I couldn't go that way."
"You'll see when we get there," Kakashi said. "Also, from now on, there'll be nowhere in the village you can't go."
"Really?" Naruto's eyes lit up.
"Of course, it's best not to go there for pranks, otherwise it'll be too embarrassing for me to go to the police station to bail someone out," Kakashi said.
The two of them, along with the silent Yamato, walked for a while before encountering Genma Shiranui and Raido Namiashi.
When Genma Shiranui and the others saw Naruto's blond hair, a look of disbelief appeared on their faces.
"He really does look like him…" Raido Namiashi remarked, watching Naruto laughing and joking as he walked towards them with Kakashi.
These former subordinates of the Fourth Hokage all knew that the Fourth Hokage had left behind an orphan, but after the Fourth Hokage died in the Nine-Tails' attack, their positions became somewhat awkward.
If the Fourth Hokage hadn't died, these original members of the Shadow Guard would probably be holding important positions in the Anbu or the Jonin ranks by now.
However, the Fourth Hokage died in the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, which put them in an awkward position. They were all promoted by the Fourth Hokage, and being commoners or from minor ninja clans, they had no real power base within the village. While the Third Hokage didn't specifically target them after regaining power, his faction would intentionally or unintentionally marginalize them when assigning tasks.
They were helpless in this situation. Although they knew the Fourth Hokage had an orphan, Naruto's identity was too special. They couldn't even offer help when they themselves were in danger. At most, they could secretly teach a few troublemakers a lesson, and even then, they couldn't let them know why.
But now that Kakashi was willing to step forward and carry the banner, everything would be different.
After Kakashi brought Naruto to the group, Genma Shiranui was the first to pat Naruto's head, and then it was unstoppable. Naruto was dragged around like a rag doll, passed from person to person, until his blond hair was a complete mess.
"What are you doing? Who are you all?" Naruto was naturally very unhappy after being patted on the head. He pouted and glared at everyone, but his expression made everyone burst into laughter. "Naruto, these older brothers and sisters were all your father's subordinates back then," Kakashi said with a smile.
Kakashi understood perfectly. Now that he was officially in the spotlight, aside from giving the Third Hokage some face and not directly revealing Naruto's father's true identity, there was no need to be too guarded around Naruto. It was time for Naruto to be exposed to this kind of thing. After all, what he inherited from his teacher would ultimately be returned to Naruto, the true bloodline of his teacher.
"Eh? Really?" Naruto was taken aback upon hearing this, then looked at Genma Shiranui: "So, you all know my father?"
"Yes, your father was a very great ninja," Genma Shiranui smiled.
"Then can you tell me who he is?" Naruto pouted.
"Of course... not!" the rather irreverent Genma Shiranui teased. Everyone knew their place, knowing that the Third Hokage was still alive and they had to give him some face.
"You're not going to say again that my dad's old enemies were very strong, so you can't tell me for my safety?" Naruto said angrily.
"Oh, you're a smart kid, you've even learned to answer before me!" Genma Shiranui laughed.
Everyone laughed heartily, but Naruto, surrounded in the middle, was already turning red.
"Alright, Naruto, your father's situation isn't that simple. Once you truly become a ninja, you'll naturally discover his identity." Kakashi squatted down and said.
"Then what about what you said before? About my dad's enemies." Naruto pouted unhappily.
"Oh, those were lies." Kakashi said, "So many people in the village are willing to protect you, those enemies are nothing to fear, right?"
After Kakashi finished speaking, he looked at Genma Shiranui and his group.
"Of course." Genma Shiranui replied with a smile, "Little Naruto, grow up quickly. When you find out who your father is, you might be surprised yourself."
As Genma Shiranui spoke, he unconsciously looked in the direction of the Hokage Rock.
"Hmph! You guys are going too far! Trying to fool a child! I'm not talking to you anymore!" Naruto was extremely annoyed by this group of riddle-tellers. He immediately broke free from their grasp and ran towards the Uchiha clan's territory.
"That kid's got some energy," Kakashi said with a smile, watching Naruto's retreating figure.
"But Kakashi, is it alright for you to bring him to the Uchiha clan's territory like this?" Genma Shiranui asked seriously after Naruto had run off.
"No problem," Kakashi replied. "The Uchiha are our people."
Remembering that the Security Department was the first to stand up for Kakashi during this incident, Genma Shiranui nodded. "It's good that you know what you're doing."
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(End of Chapter)