Naruto was unaware of the conversation inside Ichiraku Ramen shop, and even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared much.
In Konoha Ninja Village, not many people knew his true identity, but it wasn't exactly a secret either. However, the only person who had direct contact with him was the Third Hokage.
At that moment, just as Naruto was about to head home to rest, two peers blocked his way.
One was munching on some potato chips, occasionally putting them into his mouth, while the other looked at Naruto and slowly extended his hand.
"Hello, my name is Nara Shikamaru, and this is Akimichi Chōji. We want to be your friends."
Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chōji?!
Naruto knew those names too well—they were part of the "Ino-Shika-Cho" trio and important members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
But was this way of making friends a little too casual? At least have some kind of reason, right?
The Nine-Tails inside Naruto's body also grumbled, "Kid, those two definitely have an ulterior motive."
Naruto glanced at Shikamaru and Chōji a few times, then stretched out his hand. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Welcome to being my friends. From now on, we're good friends."
In just a few words, the three seemed to have become longtime friends and arranged to meet the next day in the small forest.
However, during this time, Naruto deliberately looked at Shikamaru a few more times, unable to figure out what exactly was going on inside the village's strategic mind.
Could it be said that he truly lived up to the reputation of the Nara clan, known for their clever tactics?
After they parted ways, Chōji looked puzzled at Shikamaru. "Shikamaru, is this really how you make friends? Isn't this way too straightforward? It's basically telling Naruto outright that we're the ones approaching him."
Shikamaru glanced at Chōji, then looked at Naruto's retreating back.
"I thought about many different ways to meet him, but other methods felt too forced. It's better to just tell him the truth—that we want to be his friends. Besides, our elders' orders are already fulfilled."
Chōji opened his mouth but had no words to argue, so he just shoved a handful of chips into his mouth.
What Shikamaru didn't tell Chōji was that he didn't want to anger Naruto by being too secretive. After all these days of observation, he genuinely intended to become Naruto's friend.
According to his investigation, although Naruto was called the "Nine-Tails," he was just an orphan who had lost both parents.
There were dozens, maybe even hundreds, of such orphans in the village.
But Naruto was the only one who could withstand the villagers' hostility and fight back against the adults while bearing the "Nine-Tails" label. A person like that would certainly have a remarkable future, worthy of Shikamaru's initiative to befriend him.
…
The next day at noon, Naruto met Shikamaru and Chōji in the small forest.
Whether Shikamaru and Chōji were sent by the Third Hokage was uncertain, but they definitely had the backing of their parents, who happened to be among the elite jonin aware of Naruto's identity.
In a way, this represented the village's current attitude toward Naruto.
Naturally, the new friends gathered and discussed where to go play. Smiling, Naruto suggested playing the popular village game—ninja roleplay.
They would act as the village's Hokage and engage in ninja combat.
Hearing Naruto's suggestion, Chōji's expression darkened. In his mind, "playing together" meant casually wandering around, eating and drinking, and trying to gain some fat.
But why practice fighting? They were still kids who hadn't even entered the ninja academy…
Thinking this, Chōji gave Shikamaru a somewhat resentful look. Shikamaru, looking listless, seemed to regret it too. Fighting was just too much trouble.
Still, neither could find a reason to refuse Naruto's proposal.
After all, since they took the initiative to befriend Naruto, they had to grit their teeth and be his opponents as they played ninja games.
Even in pretend ninja play, fighting was hard to avoid.
At first, the battles were lighthearted and simple scuffles, but as they got into the spirit, their moves became more skillful.
This was exactly what Naruto wanted to see; he wanted to measure his own gap against his peers.
Inside the Hokage's office,
The Third Hokage smiled as he watched the scene inside a crystal ball. As he aged, he liked watching lively young people—it helped keep his spirit youthful.
He wasn't surprised that Naruto had become friends with Shikamaru and Chōji.
This was the result of his discussions with the heads of the Nara and Akimichi clans. Nara Shikaku and Akimichi Choza, former teammates of Minato, were naturally glad to see their sons befriending Naruto.
His only condition was that Naruto's true identity must not be revealed to Shikamaru and Chōji.
Now it seemed they had perfectly carried out his plan, quickly becoming friends with Naruto and playing ninja games.
What surprised the Third Hokage even more was Naruto's ninja talent displayed during their play.
It had been less than two months since he gave Naruto ninja books. In such a short time, Naruto had successfully refined chakra, and his taijutsu looked promising.
To be blunt, Naruto had mastered the academy-level knowledge and the Body Replacement Technique well enough to graduate as a genin.
At this age, children with such talent were rare.
In his memory, aside from Kakashi, only Itachi Uchiha had similar potential—the former the youngest jonin, the latter showing outstanding promise.
Moreover, Naruto was a jinchuriki, Minato's son, and Jiraiya's disciple's grandson. With such connections, he was considered one of their own and could be nurtured with confidence.
However, Naruto's bond with him still needed strengthening—not yet absolute.
Just as the Third Hokage was envisioning the future, the office door opened. A heavily bandaged elderly man, with only one eye visible, limped in with a cane.
Seeing the smoke curling inside, the bandaged man frowned and said,
"Sarutobi, you're slacking off again. Smoking only increases the chance of mission failure…"
"I'm no longer on the front lines, Danzo. The smell of tobacco helps me think better. Besides, the young ones should have their chance to shine."
Danzo said nothing, glancing at the crystal ball's image.
"So this is the Nine-Tails jinchuriki Naruto? Seems like he's growing well under your care. But I still think only a jinchuriki in Root can get the best training."
The Third Hokage looked Danzo in the eye.
"And then become your killing machine?"
Danzo scoffed.
"A jinchuriki is a killing machine by nature. Training him into a proper blade reduces casualties on the battlefield. If we had a jinchuriki at the Battle of the Hidden Cloud, we wouldn't have suffered so many losses and wouldn't have been forced into negotiations."
"That's because the village lost too many elite shinobi on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack…"
Danzo's eyes gleamed sharply.
"Exactly why you handed the jinchuriki over to me. I only need three years to train him into a jonin to take revenge on the Cloud."
The Third Hokage said meaningfully,
"Danzo, Konoha doesn't need Old Purple and Han from Iwagakure. What we need is Killer Bee. You won't raise a Killer Bee with your methods."
Danzo stared at the Third Hokage for a long moment before replying in a low voice,
"Good. Seems you still have clear judgment and the decisiveness of a leader. If one day you hesitate, then you're unfit to be Hokage. I'll take the jinchuriki from you."
The Third Hokage stared back deeply.
"That day will never come, Danzo."
(End of Chapter)
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