Naruto didn't know about the whispers in Yi Le Ramen, and honestly, he didn't care.
In Konoha, not many people truly knew his identity—but definitely more than a few. And of those, only one old man of three generations could actually get close to him.
Naruto was heading home to rest when two kids stopped him. One was munching on potato chips like a vacuum cleaner, while the other slowly extended his hand.
"Hi, my name is Nara Shikamaru, and this is Akimichi Choji. We want to be your friends."
Shikamaru Nara? Choji Akimichi?!
Naruto's mind instantly recognized them—they were the notorious duo from the Twelve Young Tigers. But… this way of making friends? Too casual. At least have a reason!
Nine-Tails growled in his mind: "Little ghost, these two definitely have an agenda."
Naruto sized them up, then shook their hands. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Welcome to the friend club. Let's be good friends from now on."
Just like that, in a few sentences, it was as if they'd known each other for years. They agreed to meet tomorrow in the grove.
Still, Naruto couldn't help glancing at Shikamaru a few times. What kind of shady medicine does that fox have in his gourd?
After parting ways, Choji munched on more chips and muttered, "Shikamaru… making friends like that? Isn't that a little too honest? It's like telling Naruto we wanted to be friends before even trying."
Shikamaru calmly watched Naruto's retreating back. "I thought of all the ways to meet him, but other methods were too obvious. It's better to just say we want to be friends. Besides, our fathers already explained everything."
Choji shrugged and shoved a handful of chips into his mouth—argument lost.
What Shikamaru didn't tell Choji was that he genuinely wanted to be friends with Naruto. After days of careful observation, he realized: though Naruto was called the demon fox, he was just an orphan whose parents had died.
There were hundreds of orphans in the village, but Naruto was the only one who could withstand the villagers' malice and even get the upper hand against adults as a "demon fox." A kid like that? Worth befriending.
At noon the next day, Naruto found Shikamaru and Choji in the grove.
Whether or not they were sent by the Third Hokage, they were definitely following parental guidance. Their parents were former Jonin who knew Naruto's true identity and probably approved of the friendship.
Naturally, the conversation turned to where to play. Naruto suggested the village's popular ninja playhouse.
"Let's pretend to be Hokage and do some ninja combat!" he said, grinning.
Choji's face fell. What? Fighting? I thought we were going sightseeing, eating, and getting fat!
Shikamaru, as lazy as ever, looked regretful. Sparring was too much trouble. But… he couldn't refuse. After all, they had volunteered to be friends with Naruto, so they had to bite the bullet.
Even in a playhouse, ninja kids couldn't escape fighting. At first, it was slapstick chaos. But as they got into the groove, their moves became flashy. Naruto loved it—he could see the gap between himself and his peers, and it motivated him.
Inside the Hokage office, the Third Hokage watched the scene in the crystal ball, smiling. He liked seeing energetic kids—it kept his mind young.
He wasn't surprised Naruto became friends with Shikamaru and Choji. This was part of his plan with the Nara and Akimichi heads—Nara Kakuhisa and Akimichi Choza were Minato's former teammates, and naturally, they'd be happy to see their sons bonding with Naruto.
His only rule: Naruto's true identity had to remain secret. So far, the boys had fulfilled the plan perfectly.
What amazed the Third Hokage even more was Naruto's talent in the playhouse. In less than two months, Naruto had not only successfully extracted chakra, but had also shown excellent physical skills. Mastery of the ninja books and three basic skills, and this kid could practically graduate from ninja school right now.
At his age, such talent was rare. Besides Kakashi and Itachi, few had shown such potential. And Naruto wasn't just any kid—he was a Jinchuriki, son of Minato, and a disciple of Jiraiya. With such ties, he could be trained with confidence.
Still, the bond between them wasn't absolute yet—there was room for growth.
Just as the Third Hokage was mulling over Naruto's future, the office door creaked open.
A bandaged man appeared, leaving only one eye visible, leaning on a cane.
"Sarutobi," he said, frowning at the smoke in the office, "slacking off again? The bad habit of smoking will only increase mission failure rates…"
"I haven't been on the front lines in a while," replied the Third Hokage. "The smell of tobacco helps me think. And young people need chances to perform."
Danzo's one visible eye narrowed. "That's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Naruto? He seems well-grown… but only a true-root Jinchuriki can achieve maximum potential."
The Third Hokage gave him a meaningful look. "You mean, turning him into a killing machine?"
Danzo's frown deepened. "A Jinchuriki is already a killing machine. Training him properly reduces casualties on the battlefield. If we had had a trained Jinchuriki, the Yunin battlefield losses would have been smaller—and we wouldn't have had to negotiate peace under pressure."
"The village lost too many elites the night the Nine-Tails attacked," the Hokage admitted.
Danzo's eye flashed. "That's why I wanted him handed to me. Three years and I could train him to Jonin level—avenge what Yunin did to us."
The Third Hokage shook his head. "Danzo, Konoha doesn't need your cold, ruthless methods. We need balance. Your way cannot cultivate a Kirabi spirit."
Danzo studied him for a long moment before saying in a low voice: "Fine. Seems you still have the judgment and decisiveness of a true leader. Hesitate once… and you're not fit to be Hokage. Then I'll take the Jinchuriki from you."
The Third Hokage stared back. "That day will never come, Danzo."
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