Chapter 197: Konohamaru
The afternoon mission was, as always... boring. The mission client was the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen himself, and the content was—babysitting his precious grandson, Sarutobi Konohamaru.
As the Hokage's legitimate grandson, Konohamaru naturally had dedicated shinobi serving as his tutors for theoretical instruction. This seemingly superfluous D-rank mission was most likely the result of Konohamaru pestering the Third Hokage relentlessly until he specially assigned it to Team Seven.
Naruto and Konohamaru's first meeting was during the period after team assignments but before the Wave Country mission departure. That day, Naruto had just completed a trivial D-rank mission and was preparing to head home for rest when this brat suddenly shot out from the roadside like a cannonball, blocking his path.
"Hey! You're that Uzumaki Naruto, right?! Fight me!" Konohamaru struck what he thought was a cool pose, issuing his challenge in a childish voice.
The result—Naruto didn't even lift a hand before the kid stepped on his own overly long scarf with exaggerated movements and face-planted with a solid thud.
"Damn it... was that a trap? When did you set it up?!" Konohamaru lay on the ground covering his bruised nose, muttering to himself in complete confusion.
Naruto recalled that in the original story, he'd apparently taken on a little follower like this. Was it this reckless brat before him?
Naturally, under Konohamaru's chaotic, flaw-riddled taijutsu attacks, Naruto didn't even use ninjutsu. With just a few simple dodges and restraint techniques, he easily subdued his opponent in the blink of an eye.
This feeling of purely bullying a child made Naruto feel somewhat odd.
"So... amazing..." Pinned to the ground, Konohamaru wasn't discouraged at all. Instead, his eyes sparkled with stars. "No wonder Grandpa mentions you all the time..."
After some simple conversation—mainly Konohamaru chattering away—Naruto understood. Konohamaru's goal was no different from the original story; he still dreamed of becoming Hokage.
To that end, he used to run daily to challenge the Third Hokage, only to be easily schooled every single time by the old man's casual moves. Then the Third would earnestly instruct him, "You should learn more from a shinobi named Uzumaki Naruto..."
Because he'd become a "good student," he was being used as a positive example?
In any case, seemingly because he'd both experienced the overwhelming power gap with Naruto firsthand and been repeatedly cited as an exemplar by the Third Hokage, Konohamaru's curiosity and competitive spirit were thoroughly ignited.
He stopped challenging the old man and instead locked his sights on Naruto, wanting to see what he was capable of.
Thus, Naruto's peaceful life began being frequently disrupted by "challenges." The frequency was roughly—a small bout every three days, a major one every five... Basically all one-sided "newbie crushing" by Naruto. Konohamaru repeatedly lost yet repeatedly fought on, showing admirable tenacity.
After this continued for some time, during one instance when Naruto easily deflected yet another of Konohamaru's surprise attacks, a familiar notification suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations host: Initial bond established with canon character "Sarutobi Konohamaru"!]
[Points gained: 150!]
Inside the simple training ground in the Sarutobi residence's back courtyard, two figures—one large, one small—were engaged in so-called "shinobi sparring"—or more accurately described as one-sided shinobi play and power crushing.
"Take this, Brother Naruto! This time I'll definitely make you step back!" Konohamaru puffed out his small cheeks, throwing the wooden shuriken in his hand with all his might.
Naruto watched that wooden shuriken with its clear trajectory and slow speed, easily dodging with a casual sidestep.
Afterward, he effortlessly parried Konohamaru's subsequent chaotic, flaw-riddled taijutsu combo using just one hand.
Though this "sparring partner" duty was indeed somewhat boring, thinking about how the Third Hokage would pay mission fees for it, Naruto was quite willing.
After all, though he'd received Gato's enormous legacy and personally never lacked spending money, behind him was a hungry Ember organization that required massive funding to maintain operations and development.
Moreover, Konohamaru's goals had been continuously "downgrading"—from initially ambitiously wanting to "defeat Naruto," later pragmatically becoming "fight to a draw," to now realistically adjusting to "make Naruto step back once" counting as victory.
This persistent spirit—though the direction was somewhat off—actually made Naruto view him with new respect.
"Go Konohamaru!"
"That's right! Show Naruto the results of your special training!"
Behind them, Konohamaru's two little companions—the perpetually snotty Udon and pigtailed Moegi—waved their small fists vigorously, cheering Konohamaru on.
Beside them stood a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses—Konohamaru's tutor, Ebisu.
Incidentally, Naruto had been quite surprised when he first met Ebisu. Because this guy's attitude toward him... was actually pretty good? None of that rigid disdain from his memories.
This was because in the original story, Ebisu's prejudice toward Naruto stemmed not mainly from the "Nine-Tailed Fox demon" rumors, but rather because Naruto had been a complete "dead-last failure," ranking bottom in both theory and practice, completely failing to meet his standard.
But now, Naruto had been famous during his Academy days as a "hardworking genius," with excellent grades and outstanding abilities. Naturally, this made Ebisu, an elite teacher who valued both talent and effort, regard him with respect from the start, his attitude considerably friendlier.
Though the system displayed only 10 bond points.
Some distance behind Naruto, Sakura looked at Kakashi-sensei leaning against a large tree beside her, absorbed in reading Make-Out Paradise and completely uninvolved, asking somewhat uncertainly.
"Kakashi-sensei... is this really okay? This mission, are we just here... slacking off?" She looked at the scene that was completely Naruto's personal show, feeling like the other three of them had zero presence.
Kakashi's gaze didn't even leave his book as he answered in his trademark lazy tone, "Can't be helped. The Third Hokage's explicit requirement was 'have Naruto spar with Konohamaru.' Our mission is 'protection.' Since no threat to the client has appeared, strictly speaking, doing nothing is also fulfilling our duty. Besides, Naruto's handling things well, isn't he?"
But beside Sakura, Uchiha Satsuki slightly clenched her fists hanging at her sides, her gaze closely following that effortlessly moving blonde figure on the field. In this situation, she actually really wanted to cheer Naruto on, even knowing he was guaranteed to win.
But... if she actually shouted encouragement, wouldn't Sakura beside her, Kakashi-sensei, and Konohamaru's group look at her with those strange, suggestive stares?
Thinking of that possibility, the courage Satsuki had finally mustered deflated like a punctured balloon. She could only continue maintaining her seemingly calm exterior, silently swallowing those cheers back down.
On the practice field, Konohamaru was already gasping for breath, his small face flushed red. In contrast, Naruto remained calm and composed, not even breaking a sweat, as if the previous activity was mere warm-up.
This despairingly vast power gap made Konohamaru steel his resolve and decide to bring out his ultimate trump card that he'd painstakingly practiced and "combat-tested"!
Actually, the inspiration for this "trump card" came from Naruto himself. Shortly after Konohamaru and Naruto first met, Konohamaru had asked in distress, "Brother Naruto, what should I do to defeat Grandpa?"
Naruto had stroked his chin, recalling a certain classic scene from the original story, and offered his suggestion with a mischievous smile. "With your current strength... a frontal assault definitely won't work. What you need is a... well... very special jutsu with extreme 'impact'! A technique that could catch even experienced shinobi like the old man off guard!"
Naturally, Naruto was referring to that Sexy Jutsu he "himself" was infamous for, though in this world he'd never actually practiced it. He'd only mentioned it casually, never expecting Konohamaru to take it seriously and secretly practice it diligently.
And the "combat" effectiveness of this technique had already been verified on someone—none other than Konohamaru's tutor, Ebisu! During a certain training session, Konohamaru suddenly used this move with devastating effect, causing the normally serious Ebisu-sensei to spray a nosebleed and freeze on the spot, leaving an extremely profound impression on Konohamaru.
It also made Ebisu's subsequent education of Konohamaru much stricter.
At this moment, Konohamaru once again mustered his courage and charged toward Naruto, his hands already forming seals rapidly mid-sprint! His face wore an expression mixing determination and anticipation as he shouted loudly.
"Take this, Brother Naruto! This is the ultimate ninjutsu even Ebisu-sensei couldn't resist!"
"Ninja Art: Sexy Jutsu!"
POOF!
White smoke instantly exploded, completely enveloping Konohamaru's figure!
****
70+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces