Chapter 50
After Sako, Tenten, Hinata, and Neji, he now knows Shikamaru and Choji.
Among the 12 Genin, only Sakura, Ino, Lee, Shino, and Kiba are left to meet.
"Shikamaru, he looks a bit dumb," Choji kindly warned, implying this blond kid wasn't very smart.
"Hmm, no problem," Shikamaru gave a tolerant smile.
"Akamaru, let's go!"
"Woof! Woof!"
Just then, a boy with a small dog on his head and two small fangs, ran quickly through the small park on all fours.
"Another idiot," Choji looked at the equally not-so-smart Inuzuka Kiba and said again... Naruto played with Shikamaru and the other children from noon until dusk.
They played kick the can, swung on swings, climbed trees... making up for a childhood they lacked.
"Goodbye."
"I'm going home."
At dusk, the sunset glow was bright.
The parents of Shikamaru and the others came one after another to pick up their children.
"Isn't that..."
Nara Shikaku glanced at Naruto, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
The parents of the other children also exchanged glances, seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.
Uzumaki Naruto, the Fourth Hokage's child, had made friends with their children?
They would have to inquire about this matter carefully when they returned home.
After everyone left.
Naruto stood alone in the park, the setting sun stretching his shadow, his laughter gone.
"Heh..."
Nine-Tailed yawned.
"So what if he has no parents? Many orphans in the Orphanage don't have parents."
Just as it was about to continue comforting Narutoto be strong, Nine-Tailed suddenly thought of something else.
So it immediately burst out laughing.
'Haha... his parents were killed by this old man, by this old man!'
Nine-Tailed had a new dark joke.
Of course, that masked Uchiha was also one of the murderers.
Unable to continue comforting Naruto, Nine-Tailedcould only continue resting its head on its paws and closing its eyes to conserve energy.
Many things in this world are jokes, and dark jokes at that.
Living in this Ninja World, filled with hatred and animosity, has never been easy.
In the past, the Sage of Six Paths tried to connect everyone's Chakra to understand each other's hearts, ultimately achieving spiritual understanding.
Which meant mutual understanding.
But the Sage of Six Paths ultimately failed, because the chain of hatred couldn't be broken so easily.
Eventually, the Ninja World turned into its current mess.
"..."
Naruto's naive expression quickly calmed, then went from expressionless to a smile.
"I met so many new friends today, it's really great."
"Meeting once doesn't make you friends, not even fair-weather friends..." Nine-Tailed grumbled.
"No, Nine-Tailed, you don't understand. This is pure childhood friendship. This is a very good start... More and more people are recognizing me. One day, everyone will recognize me, and then I will become the hero of Konoha... and the Seventh Hokage."
Naruto laughed aloud.
"Why the Seventh Hokage?"
Nine-Tailed didn't understand.
Wouldn't the Sixth Hokage be fine?
However, just as this kid said, more and more people were recognizing him [falling for his tricks] and being deceived by him.
This was not good.
Nine-Tailed thought to itself.
Because if you dissected Uzumaki Naruto, he was actually dark.
Once he became the hero of Konoha Village, or even the Hokage, who knew what kind of mess this Village would turn into!
"Ha, whatever... Anyway, if human society ends, it ends..."
Nine-Tailed simply decided to just lie back, give up, and mess around, becoming a beast of entertainment.
Respecting the fate of others, respecting the country, and even the Ninja World... Not long after, Naruto returned home.
The sunset had almost sunk below the horizon, and night quietly descended.
At his doorstep, Naruto met two figures who had come to visit.
One was Yūgao Uzuki in a stylish winter coat, and the other was Yakushi Nonou in a nun's habit.
Dressed in new clothes, Yakushi Nonou exuded a maternal and sacred radiance.
Beneath that gentle demeanor, however, was a figure that was... disproportionate to her holy face!
It was as if an angel was above and a devil below.
Symbolizing how people could reach heaven with one thought, or fall into hell with one wrong thought.
"..."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, continuously scanning and scrutinizing Yakushi Nonou.
Clothes make the man, the saying was indeed true.
Only a few days had passed, and this nun had transformed into a holy woman.
"Naruto..."
Yūgao Uzuki happily introduced Yakushi Nonou's recent situation to Naruto.
She had found a new job, and it was at the KonohaOrphanage.
Those who could take on this responsibility and care for children were, without exception, individuals with extremely clean backgrounds.
This also earned her Yūgao Uzuki's trust.
After all, someone who had passed the Village's political review couldn't have any bad intentions, could they?
Yūgao's attitude couldn't help but become much warmer.
"I've now joined the Orphanage and become an employee caring for children..."
Yakushi Nonou added with a smile.
But as the lie was spoken, the more pain she felt in her heart.
Because, in her opinion, deceiving Naruto, this kind child, was truly a sin.
Kami-sama... please forgive my sins... "That's wonderful!"
Naruto instantly broke into a big smile, his genuine concern for Yakushi Nonou making her almost want to sink into the ground.
And next, she would have to use the Orphanagejob as a cover to continue contacting Naruto and carry out her mission.
"When I was very, very young, I also lived in an Orphanage."
Naruto scratched his head, his expression turning shy.
The 'very young' he referred to was only two years ago.
"I also miss that place. I'll visit when I have time..."
"..."
In Yakushi Nonou's eyes, Naruto was completely an easy target.
Without her even needing to guide him, the child automatically walked into the trap.
"Ms. Yakushi Nonou?"
Yūgao Uzuki was an Anbu after all.
People couldn't always hide their flaws.
After years of being a spy, Yakushi Nonou's heart was already riddled with holes.
She had personally witnessed many colleagues go mad, defect to the enemy, and even commit suicide because they couldn't overcome their psychological hurdles.
She was tired... truly too tired...
"Oh, I was thinking about how to entertain Naruto-kun when he comes."
Yakushi Nonou instantly put on a professional smile, and the momentary flaw disappeared in the next instant.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Yakushi Nonou said she needed to return to care for the children and wouldn't bother them further.
Yūgao Uzuki accompanied her as she left, and Naruto stood at the doorway, his gaze continuously fixed on Yakushi Nonou and her nun's habit.
And... the figure wrapped within the nun's habit!... Konoha entrance.
With the shouts of the on-duty Ninja, the city gate was about to close.
At that moment, however, the appearance of a team caused the gate's closing to be delayed by a second.
After they all entered, they couldn't help but wipe the sweat from their foreheads: "Good... we made it..."
Seven Ninja wore blue-style Ninja uniforms, and their teeth were generally as sharp as a shark's.
This team, clearly not belonging to Konoha's forces, naturally aroused the vigilance of all Konoha guard Ninja.
Fortunately, Hokage-sama had already given advance notice, so they had no absolute hostility towards these arrivals.
The Chunin Exams invitation sent by Konohaoriginally had little hope of receiving a reply.
After all, the other Village had been closed off for years, never interacting with other Villages, which made that Ninja Village across the sea even more mysterious.
Furthermore, they always sent people to harass the border and had been enemies with Konoha for years, so no one believed they would actually accept the invitation.
"Six Genin, one Jonin team leader..."
The Konoha Ninja reviewing the invitation couldn't help but nod.
It bore the personal signature and official seal of the Fourth Mizukage.
This meant that the team before them was indeed sent by Hidden Mist Village to participate in the Chunin Exams.
This was a very good start, and a major diplomatic breakthrough.
"Friends from Hidden Mist Village, please come with us!"
Accommodation was immediately arranged, and the seven Hidden Mist Ninja gradually departed.