"Thank you, Hiruzen. From now on, your old friends will keep you company!"
Listening to their grateful words, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath.
With nowhere to vent, he once again controlled his wheelchair to bump Danzo, then returned to his own room.
Chapter 178: Naruto: Why do we have to bring Sasuke back?
On the streets of Konoha Village.
Naruto, who had just learned from Kakashi that Sasuke went to Four Stars Village, was walking aimlessly with his head down.
Sakura, who was following him closely, had a look of disappointment and worry.
The disappointment, of course, was that Sasuke left without saying goodbye or telling them.
The worry was about Naruto's state ahead of her.
Because after walking for so long, she had heard a lot of whispers around them.
"Look, that weird... boy is here again. Should we go apologize?"
"After all, his true identity is the Fourth Hokage's son, who saved the Village. He's a hero's son!"
"Forget it, it's better not to. We didn't do anything wrong; the one who was wrong was the Third Hokage for hiding the truth!"
"That's right, we can't be blamed for this. Who told him he still has fox-like whiskers on his face? It's really disgusting... it's really easy for people to misunderstand!"
"Exactly, and so many people have cursed him. If we go apologize now, he'll definitely remember our faces, and he might even retaliate against us later!"
"Anyway, no one else is apologizing, so I won't either. Besides, these small matters happened so long ago, he probably already forgot."
"Agreed. Don't forget what happened a few days ago with the Shimura Clan. It's said it was because of retaliation..."
"Shut up, don't talk nonsense! Do you want to be invited for tea by Anbu?"
Because Naruto had not yet saved Konoha Village from Nagato as in the original story.
So he was still not accepted; the villagers just stopped cursing him.
And Sakura, who had never walked down the street with Naruto like this before,
listening to these whispers, felt a chill and a sensation as if her whole body was being pricked by needles.
This was with Naruto's identity already exposed, having become the son of a hero.
If it were before his identity was exposed, she could hardly imagine how vicious those words would have been.
Perhaps like her old self, wishing Naruto would just disappear, or even worse?
She finally understood why Naruto's other personality, Feng Xu, was so brutal and indifferent.
On the contrary, Naruto being able to be optimistic and kind as he is now was extremely abnormal!
In short, Sakura felt that if she had experienced all this from a young age,
she would definitely be like Feng Xu, or even crazier!
Just like that Gaara during the Chunin Exams who killed everyone he saw!
Thinking this, Sakura really couldn't stand those strange looks anymore.
She quickened her pace and ran ahead to stop Naruto, who still wanted to keep walking.
"Naruto, Sasuke... we will definitely bring him back to Konoha Village, right?"
Seeing Sakura suddenly in front of him and mentioning Sasuke, Naruto paused.
"Bring Sasuke back?"
"Why do we have to bring him back?"
Naruto looked at Sakura, somewhat bewildered.
"Sasuke won't be in danger. He's just gone to Four Stars Village to find the power to defeat that wanted criminal."
"Once he defeats that wanted criminal named Uchiha Itachi, he'll definitely come back to find us!"
Having met Haku, who was gentle and helped him, and Haku who sacrificed himself to protect Sasuke, Naruto
didn't think Four Stars Village was bad enough to want to harm Sasuke.
He believed Four Stars Village probably just took a liking to Sasuke's powerful Uchiha talent.
Or perhaps they also had a grudge against Uchiha Itachi, so they shared a common goal with Sasuke and wanted to train him.
If it were that weird guy named Orochimaru, who also wanted to take Sasuke and had invaded Konoha Village, and Sasuke had gone to him,
Naruto would then be worried and want to find Sasuke and bring him back to the safe Konoha Village.
"Ah?!"
"Is that what you thought?"
Naruto's answer completely stumped Sakura.
"Then why did you look so distraught after Kakashi-sensei finished speaking and walked for so long?"
Actually, Sakura didn't think Sasuke going to Four Stars Village was very dangerous.
After all, what Naruto saw, she also saw, and what Naruto didn't see, she also saw.
She didn't believe that Four Stars Village would go to such great lengths to save Sasuke multiple times and give him such powerful strength,
just to trick him away and then kill him.
She only said that because she saw Naruto looking worried.
"Distraught?"
"Sakura, are you worried about me?!"
Naruto, realizing this, looked excited, and his expression became lecherous.
"It seems that after Sasuke left, my biggest rival is gone, hahaha!"
"Heh heh!" Sakura, who had originally thought the quiet Naruto was somewhat handsome,
immediately broke character. Her forehead pulsed with a vein as she rubbed her fists, looking ready to hit someone.
Seeing Sakura about to hit him, Naruto quickly reverted to his quiet demeanor and said,
"I've been walking on the street like this, actually, I've been thinking about how to train next."
"After all, Sasuke went to that Four Stars Village, where he can gain Tailed Beast Chakra, so he'll definitely become very strong."
"And I can't even control two tails yet, so I'll definitely be left far behind..."
Naruto was indeed walking around and thinking about this matter, then pestering Feng Xu in his mind.
Finally, he shamelessly called him 'dear Nii-chan,' 'Onii-chan daisuki,' and other sickeningly sweet titles.
Feng Xu was so annoyed that he had no choice but to offer a solution.
—It was the same as before: enduring curses to train his mind, using a firm heart to resist the negative emotions of the Nine-Tailed Chakra.
It's just that after these villagers knew his identity, their attacks were too weak, and he didn't feel anything at all.
Sakura: "..."
Even she, the weakest, wasn't worried.
Naruto, who was already far ahead of his peers, was worried about his strength.
That was truly disheartening!
"Tsk, so you were hiding here, you brat. You really made me search for you."
Suddenly, Tsunade's voice sounded beside Naruto and Sakura.
The two turned their heads and saw Tsunade, who didn't look too happy, and Shizune, who was holding a pet pig behind Tsunade.
"Come with me obediently. Jiraiya and I plan to teach you how to train."
Because Naruto had been wandering the streets, Tsunade and Shizune had been searching for a long time, and she was very annoyed.
"Training?" Sakura turned to look at Naruto, her eyes full of confusion: "Naruto, do you two know each other?"
"We know each other, but we're not very close," Naruto nodded and whispered.
"Don't let her youth fool you; she's actually a fifty-something old hag, and also the First Hokage's granddaughter!"
"I think her name is Tsunade, and like the Perverted Sage, she's one of the legendary Sannin."
"It's Lady Tsunade!" Shizune immediately corrected him, while also sweating for Naruto and trying to dissuade Tsunade.
"Calm down, Lady Tsunade, he's just a child!"
But clearly, Tsunade, with her mouth pulled down, eyebrows raised, and a vein throbbing on her forehead, had already heard the words 'old hag.'
And then,
Boom!
The ground was directly stomped into a crater by Tsunade's inherited monstrous strength.
At the same time, a chillingly benevolent smile appeared on her face.
"Whether child or adult, everyone experiences discipline from their elders!"
Saying this, Tsunade grabbed a splash of rocks from the ground and crushed them into dust right before Naruto's eyes.
"Brat, you have three seconds to follow me, or I'll discipline you like this rock!"
Naruto: "!!!"
Sakura: "!!!"
Chapter 179: The Great Toad Sage's Disturbed Dream
Mount Myōboku.
Bang!
After a puff of smoke, Jiraiya landed on the ground from mid-air.
On the ground, an old toad with white eyebrows, a white beard, and a white pompadour, wearing a gray cloak, was frowning in deep thought.
Hearing the movement, he finally looked up at Jiraiya opposite him.
"Little Jiraiya, you're finally here."
Reverse Summoning, and Fukasaku?
Jiraiya was startled at first, then didn't think too much.
Waving his hand happily, he greeted Fukasaku.
"Yo, boss, long time no see!"
"Why are you alone? Where's the old lady?"
"After all this time, she didn't even come to greet me. That's really disheartening~"
"Stop your babbling, just follow me." Fukasaku clearly wasn't in the mood to joke with Jiraiya.
His expression was very solemn. He shook his head and turned to jump ahead, leading the way.
Seeing Fukasaku's demeanor, Jiraiya curiously hurried to catch up and asked,
"Boss, why did you urgently summon me? Has something happened?"
"It's the Great Toad Sage," Fukasaku sighed softly, his expression serious.
His voice held no joy at seeing Jiraiya, but was unusually low.
"His Holiness has been dreaming again lately, several times."
"You know, toads usually don't dream, unless they're foreseeing something."
"Dreamed several times?"
Hearing Fukasaku's words, Jiraiya quickly reacted, his face full of disbelief.
"Did the Great Toad Sage see several futures again?!"
Thinking of the Great Toad Sage's wonderfully expressive face after dreaming these prophecies,
Fukasaku first nodded, then shook his head, and finally let out another long sigh.