Chapter 10
After all, how much this child loved the Village!
"Naruto, you don't have to be too worried. Although as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki you have to face the villagers' strange looks, you are, after all, a hero who protected this Village."
So... Hiruzen Sarutobi: "I am the Third Hokage, but Naruto, you are the true hero."
Naruto: "Old Man~!"
Watching the two of them, so appreciative of each other, Nine-Tailed felt like it was about to throw up!
One of them dared to praise, and the other dared to act.
Hearing Nine-Tailed retching repeatedly, Narutocouldn't help but tell it: "Stinky fox~, you don't understand, this is the bond that only we Konoha Ninja share~!"
Nine-Tailed, you laugh at my acting.
I laugh at your ignorance of the will of fire... At the same time.
Yūgao Uzuki, who had returned home, was greeted with a surprise.
Her childhood friend, Gekkō Hayate, had lit up the living room early and personally cooked a lavish meal.
"Yūgao, you're back..."
Gekkō Hayate, wearing an apron, walked up to her with a smile.
Yūgao, standing at the door, was momentarily stunned.
The table full of dishes, coupled with the warm lighting, created a romantic atmosphere.
Yūgao Uzuki, who hadn't eaten all day, felt like she should have a good appetite.
"Hayate, I'm back."
Yūgao, also smiling, quickly took her seat.
The two sat face to face, across the dining table.
The table wasn't just casually set with food; a white tablecloth was placed underneath.
This made it look even more romantic.
They had grown up together, spending their entire lives in each other's company.
Although they hadn't formally confirmed their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend, everyone knew they were a couple and would eventually end up together.
"Yūgao."
Looking at his beautiful Aoba under the dinner lights.
Gekkō Hayate, having taken off his apron, began to ponder his words.
Meanwhile, his Aoba, who had been hungry all day, casually picked up her knife and fork, ready to eat.
However, her heart full of joy stiffened as she looked at the food.
"What's wrong?"
Gekkō Hayate, also picking up his knife and fork, asked the question.
Seeing Yūgao hesitate, he mistakenly thought there was something wrong with the dinner.
So, he immediately tasted the dishes himself.
How to describe it?
It was delicious.
Just as it had tasted before it was served.
So, Yūgao, this is... "Hayate, I..."
Gazing at the lavish dinner spread, Yūgao, who should have been digging in, suddenly lost all appetite.
Or rather... she wasn't hungry to begin with?
The next second, Yūgao suddenly remembered her experience that day at the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto's house.
When she woke up, he said he had fed her a lot of milk.
So, she had eaten her fill then?
Yūgao Uzuki didn't know that Nine-Tailed's vigorous life force/Chakra had affected Naruto's physique.
Naruto's physique, in turn, affected her, who had drunk the "milk."
Milk alone cannot fully satisfy hunger.
However, Naruto's "milk" was a doctored food.
So... Yūgao slowly took a small bite, then chewed, smiling at her Aoba.
Gekkō Hayate also smiled.
As if nothing had happened, the two enjoyed their dinner.
Of course, for Yūgao, it was pure agony.
An hour later.
Dinner finally ended.
It was late, and after Hayate cleared the dishes, he said goodnight and left.
Looking at the now dark living room, Yūgao could no longer hold back and ran to the bathroom to throw up.
Her appetite was limited after all; forcing herself to eat would result in this.
But to avoid upsetting her Aoba and making his hard-prepared meal go to waste, she had forced herself to eat a lot.
When she had finished vomiting, and caught her breath, Yūgao finally entered the bathroom and turned on the shower.
Splash... As the warm water poured over her, her senses underwent a new change.
"So hot..."
Her body suddenly became intensely hot.
Yūgao, unaware of the reason, had become like this because she had drunk the doctored milk.
Growing hotter and hotter, she quickly switched the shower to cold water.
Only when the cold water hit her body did she feel much better.
"What's... happening to me?"
Yūgao, completely unaware of what was happening to her, couldn't figure it out all night... Chapter Nine. The Coming Shuraba
A week later, in the early morning.
In the small forest near Naruto's house.
Naruto, having further gained the power of the Tailed Beast, had been training his body here for these seven days.
Although this small forest wasn't large, it was enough for Naruto to unleash his full potential.
Loud rumbling sounds constantly echoed.
Naruto moved through it at extremely high speed.
Soon, the area became dusty.
When the broken trees were mercilessly split into several pieces, Naruto nodded in satisfaction.
His clumsy movements and strange techniques couldn't hide the advantage in destructive power.
Nine-Tailed, who had watched Naruto train for a week, after its initial complaints, was left with only silence.
After all, Naruto hadn't entered the Ninja Academyyet, so he naturally couldn't learn standard taijutsu.
Every kick was spontaneous, looking strange and exaggerated.
Bang!
When a one-meter-cube stone was easily shattered, Naruto stopped and began to consider using harder objects to further refine his skills.
The stone crumbled into dozens of pieces, scattering across the ground, and Naruto couldn't help but feel smug.
Nine-Tailed, lazily sprawled behind the sealing iron gate, watched all this unfold.
It noticed that the boy hardly realized he needed a weapon.
While Tailed Beast Chakra could greatly enhance a Jinchuriki's destructive power, when fighting people, efficiency would be further increased with sharp blades like Kunai or small katana.
"Perhaps you need a weapon."
Nine-Tailed offered a sound suggestion.
Most of the time, Ninja faced enemies who were also humans.
Summoning beasts, Tailed Beasts, and even Jinchuriki... were rare opponents.
Nine-Tailed had no way of knowing Naruto's attitude.
Because it found... it couldn't see through this kid at all. It had no idea what he would do next.
This trait of "Surprise NO.1"... was it inherited from his mother, Uzumaki Kushina?
Additionally, it could vaguely sense that Uzumaki Naruto was preparing for something.
It seemed he was anticipating something's arrival, or planning some major event.
"Perhaps."
Naruto looked at the devastated small forest in front of him. If he made any more noise, it would certainly attract unnecessary onlookers and trouble.
So, next time he might have to change locations.
"Weapons..."
The place to sell weapons was naturally the bustling downtown area... which was the "Shopping Street."
That was the center of Konoha, and also where the most people gathered.
But appearing there would mean enduring the negative social gaze that a "Nine-Tailed" should endure.
When... the "Nine-Tailed" openly came to the downtown area, how would people react?
Naruto had faced it many times before.
So, that wasn't a problem.
Most importantly... with Hinata's birthday approaching, various major events would also kick off.
"I am the Child of Destiny, Uzumaki Naruto, the man who will become the Seventh Hokage and change all kinds of tragedies..."
Naruto thought to himself, intoxicated.
The attempt to change the "first tragedy" was right before him.
Also, it was about time to go out and see some blood!
..."Chirp chirp!"
At the same time, on the outskirts of Konoha, at the Uchiha Clan Compound.
The chirping of birds heralded the arrival of morning.
Sako stretched, climbed out of bed, then trotted into the bathroom.
After washing up, she stood in front of the mirror, adjusted her clothes, and then hurried to the living room.
Early in the morning, her stern father sat in the living room as usual, holding the day's newspaper.