Shisui, who was following behind the Third Hokage, soon realized that his speed was about to surpass the Hokage's.
He immediately slowed down, deliberately keeping pace with the ANBU beside him, not daring to make any sudden moves—lest he accidentally irritate the old man.
Before long, the Third Hokage, Shisui, and the others arrived at the outskirts of the Uchiha clan.
In a hidden alley, Moonlight Hayate and Yūgao Uzuki, who were responsible for monitoring Naruto, were anxiously awaiting orders.
If anything happened to the Jinchūriki inside the Uchiha clan, the two of them would definitely be dragged into it—and they could forget about any future promotion to Special Jōnin.
While waiting, Moonlight Hayate said impatiently, coughing lightly,
"The Jinchūriki is usually pretty withdrawn and never runs around. I don't know what went wrong today for him to wander into the Uchiha clan. Someone must have influenced him—this kid really knows how to cause trouble."
Unfortunately for him, this sentence was heard clearly by the Third Hokage, whose expression instantly became… complicated.
After all, Naruto's legal guardian was him.
If anyone had the greatest influence on Naruto, it was definitely the old man standing right there.
Yūgao Uzuki noticed the Hokage's presence and quickly signaled with her eyes. Moonlight Hayate realized something was wrong, turned around, and said respectfully,
"Hokage-sama, you're finally here. I was just about to report the current situation—"
After listening to Hayate and Yūgao's explanation, the Third Hokage's brows gradually relaxed, and the tension in his heart eased quite a bit.
So it was just an invitation between two children. The Uchiha clan itself wasn't involved at all.
In other words, he had overthought it again—and Naruto had simply listened to his advice, become less withdrawn, and accepted Sasuke's invitation.
In the end, this whole situation was caused by him as Hokage…
The Third Hokage felt a little helpless.
At this moment, accompanied by sharp sounds of air being cut apart, several figures instantly appeared nearby. They were all ANBU ninjas directly under the Third Hokage's command.
Looking at the subordinates in front of him, the Third Hokage felt reassured and briefly considered whether he should enter the Uchiha clan personally and bring Naruto back.
After a moment of thought, he abandoned the idea of entering the Uchiha district.
From the current situation, the Jinchūriki was not under the control of the Sharingan, and the Uchiha had no immediate signs of launching a coup. Rushing in would only worsen relations.
On the other hand, if real evidence of rebellion were found inside Uchiha territory, it would also be disadvantageous to the village.
Instead, letting Naruto visit Sasuke's home could serve as a probe into Uchiha Fugaku's attitude. It could even be seen as using Naruto to give both sides a chance to communicate.
The only pity was that he hadn't prepared Naruto with a few questions in advance. The kid probably wasn't thinking that far.
With that in mind, the Third Hokage signaled for his subordinates to stand down, walked over to Shisui, and said with a smile,
"Shisui, forget about going in as guests. Let the children handle children's matters."
Shisui wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded repeatedly.
...
Inside the Uchiha clan, more and more people noticed Sasuke and Naruto, and doubtful gazes began to gather around them.
How did the second son of Captain Fugaku end up walking around with the demon fox?
Some Uchiha jōnin even frowned openly, wondering if this was the clan head's plan. They knew very well who the so-called "demon fox" really was—the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki of the village.
Whoever could control that walking nuclear weapon would gain the power to flip the table entirely.
Sensing the growing number of eyes on them, Sasuke and Naruto didn't really care.
Inside Naruto's mind, Kurama couldn't help complaining,
"What kind of damn place is this? Sharingan everywhere. I really don't like it."
Naruto replied with a grin,
"This is the Uchiha clan. Of course there are Sharingan everywhere."
After thinking for a moment, he added,
"Besides, ordinary Sharingan shouldn't be able to control us. I read in books that tailed beasts can help their Jinchūriki break out of genjutsu."
Kurama snorted,
"Ordinary Sharingan can't control us, sure—but they still make me uncomfortable. Let me put it this way: would you eat your lunch in the bathroom?"
That metaphor was… disturbing, to say the least.
Kurama continued,
"You still haven't answered me. Why did you come here? You've been hanging around that Uchiha kid a lot lately, and now you've walked straight into the Uchiha nest."
Naruto didn't hide anything,
"Didn't I tell you before? I wanted to show you the scenery outside."
Kurama paused.
"I remember. But what does that have to do with the Uchiha?"
Naruto explained calmly,
"As the Jinchūriki, I can't just leave Konoha openly. Even sneaking out would immediately alert the Third Hokage. So I need something—or someone—to draw his attention elsewhere."
Kurama narrowed his eyes.
"So you chose the Uchiha to be the distraction?"
"Exactly," Naruto said. "Besides me, the so-called demon fox, the villagers also hate the Uchiha Police Force. From the looks of it, the Uchiha and the old man are going to clash sooner or later. The moment before and after things really explode is the best time for us to leave Konoha."
After hearing Naruto's plan, Kurama stared at him for a long time, eyes half-lidded.
It had always thought Naruto wanting to leave was just idle talk. It didn't expect the brat to already be planning it seriously. That was… unexpected.
While Kurama was deep in thought, Sasuke had already led Naruto to his courtyard.
Before entering, Naruto said internally,
"Big Fox, if someone uses genjutsu on me later, remember to help me break it."
"Got it, kid," Kurama replied irritably. "You really like ordering me around."
Sasuke's house was huge—far bigger than Naruto's shabby rented apartment. It was practically a standalone mansion, complete with artificial hills, flowing water, and even a pavilion for enjoying the breeze.
When Sasuke said, "I'm back," Naruto finally saw Sasuke's parents.
Sasuke's father, Uchiha Fugaku, looked like a strict middle-aged man—the kind who could scare kids into silence just by standing there.
His mother, Uchiha Mikoto, on the other hand, had a gentle and kind demeanor.
Seeing her son and Naruto—who oddly resembled Minato—enter together, Mikoto smiled warmly and said,
"You must be Naruto, Sasuke's friend from school. I often hear Sasuke mention you. Welcome."
Sasuke felt a bit embarrassed and muttered in a low voice,
"My mother is always like this. I barely talk about school, but she fills in everything herself without caring about my feelings."
Naruto ignored Sasuke's quiet complaining, raised his head, and said cheerfully,
"I've also heard Sasuke talk about Uncle and Aunt. He said that although Uncle is strict, he always cares about him—and that Aunt is the best mother in the world."
Sasuke's face instantly turned red, and he was completely unable to say a single word.
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