Perhaps because in the world of Naruto, ninjutsu and ninja were the mainstream of the world, technology and industry were not especially developed or widespread.
As a result, although people here basically relied on their legs to travel, the dense forests that had almost completely preserved their original ecology opened Naruto's eyes wide after his previous life, where he had been used to modern "forests" made of reinforced concrete.
Not long after leaving the village, Naruto was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. His eyes widened as he looked here and touched there, having the time of his life.
In comparison, Itachi and Shisui, who were carrying heavy luggage, were not nearly as carefree. Even though there was plenty of shade along the road, the heat rising as the sun climbed higher still gradually left both of them drenched in sweat and quite miserable.
Even the chakra in their bodies, which they used to maintain body temperature and ease the burden of the luggage, was nearly exhausted after continuous consumption.
Because of this, they had to face the reality that their chakra was about to run dry.
The taciturn Shisui had no choice but to give up. Even a certain jealous bro-con, who had secretly set out with the intention of competing with Naruto, could only do the same.
After all, Sasuke had recently become more and more dependent on Naruto and seemed to have somewhat neglected his proper older brother.
In the end, both of them gave up before Naruto's relaxed appearance as he continued advancing at high speed.
"Hah... No more, no more. I can't, Naruto... Mmh... Hah, hah. Let's... let's rest for a while..."
"Oh? You can't keep going already, Itachi-san? I thought you would last longer~"
"Tch... you... do you think everyone... is like you, some kind of monster who's shamelessly strong...?"
Panting with heavy, short breaths, Itachi quickly threw his heavy backpack to the ground and collapsed backward, sliding down the tree trunk behind him without caring about his image until he sat on the ground. Using this chance to steady his breathing a little, he met Naruto's smiling gaze and waved a hand in annoyance.
"I really... really don't know where you get that stamina... This isn't something someone your age should have, you know."
"Is that so? I think this level is still pretty normal. Compared with Per..."
Seeing Itachi's continuous, imagination-stirring panting, Naruto's smile grew stronger. While deliberately tilting his head innocently, he subconsciously wanted to push the blame onto Jiraiya, who was far away.
After a short pause, perhaps because his conscience awakened, and because he worried the two would misunderstand Jiraiya's image—well, it might not count as a misunderstanding—he forcibly swallowed the nickname already at the tip of his tongue and changed his words.
"Compared with the special training Grandpa Jiraiya arranged, this doesn't count as much, you know!"
"Hah? The special training Jiraiya-sama arranged... What exactly did you two little guys experience this past year...?"
Hearing Naruto's words and then thinking of his younger brother, who had always vaguely felt more grown since returning from training, Itachi could not help growing curious about the contents of the special training personally guided by one of the Legendary Sannin.
As he thought, he subconsciously lifted the hem of his clothes and fanned it, trying to bring himself a little coolness.
"Haaah, it's so hot... No wonder you asked if we'd regret it. So after seeing the things we prepared, you had already expected this situation and were waiting to watch us embarrass ourselves, right, Naruto?"
"Huh? Did I? How could that be... Come on, you must be overthinking it, Itachi-san."
The moment he heard Itachi guess his true intention, the smile on Naruto's face froze. He stiffly turned his head bit by bit and guiltily avoided Itachi's silent, accusing stare. After a brief pause, he seemed to remember something.
He took the map out of his backpack again, spread it open, and pretended to examine it while nodding repeatedly with a smile.
"Mm-hm, I see... Looks like we're lucky. There's a small village not far ahead where we can buy some supplies. How about this? I'll leave my luggage here. You two stay here and rest, and help me watch my things. I'll go to the village ahead and see if I can buy something cool to help you beat the heat."
As soon as he finished speaking, before Itachi and Shisui could react, Naruto, eager to escape Itachi's questioning, dropped his luggage. Then, like an arrow loosed from a string, he shot into the dense forest with a swish and vanished, leaving the two unfortunate best friends sitting there in a daze.
They looked at each other. Compared with Itachi, who was more familiar with Naruto, it was instead Shisui, who had been silent along the way, who spoke first and broke the awkward atmosphere.
"This Naruto... his stamina really isn't ordinary. Although the luggage he's carrying is indeed lighter than ours, if it were me, I definitely wouldn't be able to maintain such a fast speed like he has."
Shisui had been observing secretly along the way, and the fact that Naruto possessed energy far beyond an ordinary person was obvious to anyone.
Although that could not represent the entirety of a person's strength, that alone was enough for Shisui to set aside the pride the Uchiha Clan was born with and sincerely praise him. After a short pause, he seemed to remember something.
His expression turned strange as he looked back at his close friend. His lips parted hesitantly and then quickly closed again. After staying silent for a long time as if he wanted to speak but did not know whether he should, he finally gritted his teeth and asked softly,
"By the way, I remember you told me before that Naruto was a child even younger than your little brother... If I'm not wrong, Sasuke is only five now, right? Then doesn't that mean Naruto is..."
"Exactly what you're thinking, Shisui..."
Hearing his close friend's question and the naked reality he had unintentionally pointed out, even Itachi, who had been praised as a genius by his clan since childhood, could not help doubting the authenticity of his own title. The corner of his mouth twitched.
He raised a hand as if unable to bear looking at reality and covered his eyes, then opened his mouth with some hesitation and continued weakly.
"Don't blame me if you find it hard to believe. Even I still find it hard to believe now... Ignoring the appearance he's using the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself with... Naruto is still a little guy who isn't even five this year."
Even though Shisui had mentally prepared himself in advance, after truly hearing his friend's confirmation, he stood there dumbfounded. In his heart, there came a series of creaking sounds.
That was the mournful wailing of the worldview and understanding Shisui had built since childhood being struck apart by cold reality until they collapsed into pieces.
"...Not even five... Ha, haha... So my stamina can't even compare to a five-year-old child...?"
"...It's fine, Shisui... When I first learned these things, my reaction was the same as yours... But now I know, as long as we learn to accept it, everything is fine. After all..."
Seeing Shisui's shaken expression after learning the truth, his worldview crumbling and refusing to accept it, Itachi, who deeply understood and sympathized with him, felt pity.
At the same time, because he had spent a long time with Naruto and had read Naruto's memories several times, Itachi's expression, having been subtly changed by Naruto's influence, grew stranger. After a short pause, he raised a hand and patted Shisui's shoulder in comfort.
Driven by an unknown impulse in his heart, the corner of his mouth lifted as he deliberately sighed.
"Don't forget, the original leader of Root, Danzo, was also killed by Naruto."
"Hah, that's true. Thank—"
Hearing his friend's comforting words and seeing the sympathetic gaze of someone who had gone through the same thing, the desolation in Shisui's heart eased quite a bit.
After a brief pause, holding onto the thought that there was always a higher mountain beyond the one before you, he comforted himself and raised his head, instinctively preparing to thank Itachi.
But when he heard the second half of Itachi's sentence, not only did the words at the tip of his tongue freeze in his throat, his entire body also petrified on the spot.
"...No... no... that's not fair, Itachi..."
"...Pfft... Pffthahaha! So messing with someone a little is this fun. No wonder Naruto always likes pulling pra— Uh, cough, cough. I mean..."
Facing the aggrieved look Shisui cast at him, as if he had just experienced life's greatest rise and fall, Itachi seemed to understand why Naruto always liked acting outside expectations. It was as if a door to a new world had faintly opened before him.
The corner of his mouth rose into a teasing smile. Only when he saw Shisui's increasingly dangerous gaze did he awkwardly restrain his smile and quickly change his words to make up for it.
"Sorry, sorry. I just happened to think of it and said it casually."
"Mm-hm? Is that so? Suspicious..."
For some reason, Shisui suddenly began to feel that the close friend he knew was slowly becoming dangerous. He raised a brow and responded half-believingly while narrowing his eyes, his gaze sharp as a blade as it locked on Itachi's face.
"I feel like what you said just now... was intentional."
"Uh... haha. Of... of course not. H-how could I possibly do it on purpose~ We've known each other for so long. Do you think I'm the kind of person who would deliberately mess with you?"
Facing his close friend's questioning gaze, the guilty Itachi immediately broke into a cold sweat. As he stammered awkwardly, he kept moving his eyes, trying to escape his current embarrassment. Unexpectedly, he spotted Naruto returning. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and naturally changed the subject.
"Look, Naruto really moves fast. It's only been a short while, and he's already back."
"Already back? Stop joking. Even if you want to find an excuse to change the subject, at least find a reasonable one..."
Hearing Itachi's obvious attempt to shift the topic, Shisui, who had just been "accidentally" stabbed by Itachi's words, naturally would not believe him. He snorted without hesitation while perfunctorily turning his head and following Itachi's gaze.
"Unless the village Naruto mentioned is right up ahead, how could he possibly be back so quickly—"
Unfortunately, just as Itachi's earlier backstab had been the truth, this time, honest Itachi—at least, for now—was still telling the truth.
Because the instant Shisui turned his gaze behind him, the first thing he saw was Naruto standing there somewhat awkwardly while holding two small bowls. Shisui involuntarily petrified again, and faintly, it was as if he could hear the loud slaps of reality smacking his face.
"He's... he's... he's already back? That fast?!"
"Uh... hi? Looks like... I may have come back at the wrong time?"
Because Naruto had no idea what had happened during the brief time he was gone, seeing Shisui looking so deeply struck left him somewhat at a loss.
While secretly wondering whether he had once tricked Shisui somewhere, or whether the long heat had made him suffer heatstroke to the point of mental abnormality, Naruto cautiously stepped a little closer and handed the two extra bowls in his hands to Shisui and Itachi.
"Well, luck was good. Someone in the village ahead had just made iced red bean soup, and it was already chilled through... Eat it while it's still cold and refreshing. Cool yourselves down."
"Hm? Oh, okay..."
After suffering blow after blow, Shisui was now like Itachi when he first came into contact with Naruto; his entire consciousness had begun to drift in a daze. It was unclear whether he had really heard Naruto's words.
He instinctively answered while taking the bowl filled to the brim with iced red bean soup from Naruto. After a short pause, he used the small spoon in the bowl, scooped up a bite, and directly put it into his mouth.
"...Mmh! So sweet and so cold! Haha! This bowl of iced red bean soup tastes amazing! Being able to eat this on such a hot day is really a rare pleasure... Hehe, Itachi! Try it quickly! The taste... it's almost exactly the same as the iced red bean soup your mother makes!"
"Huh? Exactly like Mother's iced red bean soup? How is that possible..."
Seeing Shisui instantly recover his spirit and lower his head to eat with satisfaction, and hearing his repeated praise that the taste of this purchased red bean soup could rival Mikoto's cooking, Itachi could not help imitating him. He tentatively scooped up a spoonful and put it into his mouth while mumbling unclearly.
"...Mmh! It's true! Whether it's the degree of chill or the sweetness, this bowl of red bean soup really tastes exactly like Mom's homemade iced red bean soup!"
But soon, Itachi's lingering doubt and confusion were completely defeated by the sweet flavor spreading through his mouth. Crying out in disbelief, already exhausted from walking for so long, he lowered his head and began eating in big mouthfuls like Shisui.
While narrowing his eyes and carefully savoring the wonderful taste blooming on his tongue, he began muttering inwardly.
'B-but how is this possible... red bean soup bought from the roadside can taste exactly like Mom's homemade red bean soup... Isn't that way too much of a coincidence? Could it be... something Naruto carried from the start? No, that isn't right...
Not to mention that Naruto didn't bring any luggage when he left to buy red bean soup just now, even if he had brought it from the start, after this long, it would have warmed up and couldn't possibly have kept this icy texture... Wait, a village ahead?
I've passed this road several times on missions. How come I never knew there was any village ahead...?'
Just as Itachi enjoyed the cool, heat-dispelling, sweet deliciousness of the iced red bean soup and secretly doubted its origin, Naruto, who seemed to be standing there with an innocent face, was already clutching his stomach and laughing inside.
The reason the iced red bean soup he gave Shisui and Itachi could taste exactly like the iced red bean soup Mikoto personally cooked was actually very simple.
Because this was, in fact, iced red bean soup Mikoto had personally made!
Earlier, Naruto had seemed to leave quickly to buy heat-relief items from a nearby village. In reality, after using the bushes to block the two from seeing him, he casually left a Flying Thunder God mark by the roadside for positioning and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Silently, he instantly teleported to Fugaku's residence. After happily eating a round of iced desserts, he brought these two portions of iced red bean soup back with him, creating the scene that left Itachi and Shisui completely unable to understand what had happened.
This was also the important reason Naruto dared to pack a few random items and go on a spontaneous trip.
Having the Flying Thunder God Technique was, to Naruto, whose heart belonged to a modern shut-in, almost equivalent to owning the classic tool from a certain blue robotic cat's series: the Anywhere Door.
Silently, Naruto could completely travel by day, then at night, when it was time to rest, casually make a mark and return home to sleep comfortably. After recovering his energy, he could teleport back and continue traveling the next day refreshed.
In addition, as his Flying Thunder God Technique improved again, Naruto could already try bringing others with him during teleportation.
In other words, all the full preparations Itachi and Shisui had painstakingly made were, in a certain sense, completely unnecessary. That was also the real reason Naruto had warned them not to regret it before setting off.
However, faced with Itachi and Shisui now wolfing down the iced red bean soup in front of him, Naruto, whose desire to survive was extremely strong, decisively chose to hide the truth.
After all, if they learned that everything they had worked so hard to endure and carry could have been discarded from the very beginning...
Mm. Shisui and Itachi, humiliated into rage, would probably immediately join hands and skin Naruto alive to vent their anger.