What was supposed to be morning training ended up going straight into the morning because of the Hot-Blooded Headband, causing Jokichi to become overly excited. He trained all the way until noon, only lying down on the lawn to rest after his body was completely exhausted.
He stared blankly at the blue sky and white clouds, feeling the gentle breeze blow by, while his sweat-soaked clothes brought a chill.
Jokichi shivered and suddenly sat up from the ground.
"No, this thing is a bit problematic."
He shook his head, suppressed the urge to train again, and took off the Hot-Blooded Headband.
Immediately, his impulsive brain cleared up a lot.
Looking at the red headband in his hand, Jokichi could not help but show a bitter smile.
He had a very good training plan.
But getting carried away in training this time directly shattered his training schedule for the day. If this kind of impulsiveness became a habit...
Imagining himself turning into a foolish character like Uzumaki Naruto or Rock Lee, Jokichi quickly shook his head, erasing the image from his mind.
This was very bad.
Therefore, this item had to be used systematically.
Just as Jokichi was planning how to use the headband, a loud and careless voice sounded not far away.
"Hey, why are you here alone?"
Jokichi looked toward the voice, only to see a blond, blue-eyed child of the same age, wearing goggles and shit-yellow clothes, with whiskers on his face, looking his way.
With those signature whiskers and clothes on his face, even someone who had not watched Naruto would often see his image on the internet.
Although Jokichi was not a Naruto fan in his past life, he liked to watch anime and entertainment in his spare time. Having finished watching the Naruto anime, he naturally knew Uzumaki Naruto.
In fact, this was not the first time Jokichi had encountered Uzumaki Naruto, but he had never gone over to greet him.
Because Uzumaki Naruto's identity was too sensitive, he was worried that rashly contacting Uzumaki Naruto would attract too much attention, and he had some secrets he did not want others to know.
However, if someone came looking for him, that was a different matter.
Jokichi looked left and right, and there was no one else around but himself.
He pointed at himself in astonishment and asked, "Are you asking me?"
"Is there anyone else here besides you?"
Uzumaki Naruto stared at Jokichi with an expression that seemed to say, are you an idiot, which left Jokichi speechless.
The reason this guy was ostracized was probably partly due to himself, aside from the Nine-Tails factor!
He was acting exactly like a brat, too annoying.
However, Jokichi did not mind. He shook his head gently and said, "I do not like being disturbed when I train, so I deliberately found the relatively remote 14th Training Ground to train."
Uzumaki Naruto was stunned. He did not expect Jokichi to answer him, let alone not cast disgusted and cold glances at him like the others did.
A joyful expression appeared on his face as Uzumaki Naruto pressed, "Are you a student at the Ninja Academy?"
"No, I am just preparing in advance to become a ninja."
"But everyone else gathers together to play, aren't you lonely training by yourself?"
"Lonely..." Jokichi touched his chest, then smiled softly. "Of course, but precisely because of that, I need to become stronger."
Uzumaki Naruto froze; he did not understand the meaning of these words.
Obviously, training alone would be lonely, yet training to no longer be lonely, wasn't that self-contradictory?
Jokichi saw Uzumaki Naruto's confusion and smiled lightly. "During the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack four years ago, more than half of the village was destroyed by the Nine-Tails, and many people died because of it. My parents were among them. If I had power, then this kind of thing would not happen again in the future."
Uzumaki Naruto was shocked.
His blue eyes opened wide, staring at Jokichi with a slight tremble.
Why did the people in the village hate him so much? Why did everyone say he was the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox?
At this moment, hearing Jokichi's words, Uzumaki Naruto made many connections.
He grabbed Jokichi's shoulders and asked eagerly. Because he was too frantic, his expression even looked somewhat ferocious.
"What do you mean by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack?"
Jokichi did not answer. Instead, he grabbed Uzumaki Naruto's wrist and twisted it backward, forcing him to let go of his shoulders.
He looked at Uzumaki Naruto calmly. "I do not know why you are so excited after hearing about the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack, but this is something everyone in the village knows."
Saying that, Jokichi released Uzumaki Naruto's wrist.
Uzumaki Naruto regained his composure. He flexed his scratched wrist and looked at Jokichi apologetically. "Sorry, I was too impulsive just now."
"It is nothing."
"Then can you tell me about the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack?"
"There is nothing much to say. It was just one night four years ago, a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox suddenly appeared in the village, causing massive destruction and killing many villagers and ninja. In the end, the Fourth Hokage appeared and destroyed the Nine-Tails."
"And then what?"
"And then?" Jokichi looked at Uzumaki Naruto weirdly and said, "What do you mean 'and then'? The story ends there."
"Ah?"
"It just ended like that?"
Uzumaki Naruto was stunned.
He had originally thought that the reason all the villagers hated him and treated him as a demon fox must be related to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack four years ago.
But after hearing the story, he gained nothing.
Could it be that he just became a substitute for the villagers' hatred?
"Do you have anything else to ask?" Jokichi suddenly asked.
Uzumaki Naruto snapped back to reality. He looked at Jokichi, who was about the same age as him but had an expression as calm as water, and subconsciously waved his hands. "No, nothing else."
"Since you have no questions, then I will be leaving first. I have been training since early morning, and I still have not eaten breakfast!"
Saying that, Jokichi waved to Uzumaki Naruto and then walked away.
Watching Jokichi's retreating back, Uzumaki Naruto hesitated to speak several times.
He really wanted to tell Jokichi that the people in the village called him a demon fox, the adults hated him, and the children ostracized him.
There were countless people in Konoha, but he felt like he was living in a world where he was the only person. He really wanted to talk to someone, to play with someone.
But the words reached his lips and he could not say them.
Because Jokichi did not look at him with disgust and coldness like the other villagers, nor did he ostracize him like the other children.
Although his attitude seemed very indifferent, Uzumaki Naruto could tell it stemmed from his personality and was not directed at him.
But precisely because of this, he did not dare to say these things.
Because Jokichi had mentioned earlier that his parents also died in the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack four years ago. If he told him that he was treated as a demon fox by the villagers...
Then the only person in this village who looked at him with normal eyes besides the Old Man Third Hokage would become just like everyone else, right!
...
Hokage Building.
Having just finished dealing with official business, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was relaxing and resting, prepared to check on Uzumaki Naruto's daily life.
Through the crystal ball, he saw the encounter between Uzumaki Naruto and Jokichi, heard their conversation, and saw the scene where Uzumaki Naruto reached out to Jokichi's back to say something but withdrew his hand when they finally parted.
Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, his murky eyes flashing with a complex, weathered look, but in the end, he just let out a long sigh and turned off the image on the crystal ball.