During his interactions with the Third Hokage, Naruto had used his hard work ability to improve his acting skills to a very high level.
But he hadn't expected this old man, the Third Hokage, to be so cunning. Every time Naruto asked for money, he would be refused. Instead, the old man would bring small food items and gifts to make Naruto feel grateful.
If the original Naruto truly believed the Third Hokage was kind to him, he might have shed a few tears and said, "Grandpa Third is the best to me!"
But Naruto wasn't that easy to deceive anymore. He kept up the act, which satisfied the Third Hokage, who thought he could fully control Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
The reason Naruto acted like this was mainly to guard against Danzo.
Naruto knew that in the early days, Danzo had never given up on recruiting Uzumaki Naruto into Root.
If Naruto showed any dissatisfaction or coldness toward the Third Hokage early on—if he failed to meet the Third's expectations—Danzo might really get his way.
After all, the village needed to ensure the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's absolute loyalty.
In the early stages, the Third Hokage served as Naruto's protective umbrella.
At four years old, Naruto once again asked the Third Hokage to teach him Chakra refining. This time, the Third did not refuse, since by now most major clans had already begun training their younger generations.
In the Third Hokage's mind, teaching Naruto ninjutsu would only deepen Naruto's sense of gratitude.
However, aside from teaching him how to train, the Third taught him nothing else.
But Naruto was already satisfied. Learning how to refine Chakra was the key to power.
After teaching him, the Third Hokage returned to the Hokage building and looked out at the bustling village with a smile.
This was his era. He was the greatest Hokage.
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and took out a crystal ball. Images began to appear on its surface—it was the women's bathhouse. Staring at the images, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face flushed red.
Clang!
The door swung open violently. The Third Hokage quickly shut off the screen. Seeing who it was, his face darkened. "Danzo! Why didn't you knock?"
???
"Haven't I always entered like this?"
"Hiruzen, hand over the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to me. I'll train him to be a ninja who is absolutely loyal to Konoha!"
Danzo slammed his palms onto the desk and shouted.
"Danzo, Naruto will never be handed over to you, so forget it!" the Third Hokage replied firmly.
"Hiruzen, everything I do is for Konoha. Hand over the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki and I'll train him into a perfect weapon of war!"
Danzo glared at the Third Hokage.
"He's Minato's child. Don't forget that."
"Danzo! Don't forget—I'm the Hokage!"
The Third Hokage stared deeply at him.
"Hmph! You'll regret this, Hiruzen!"
Danzo gave him one last glare and turned to leave.
"That's right! Close the door!" the Third Hokage added sternly.
Danzo paused for a second.
Snort!
With a cold snort, he walked away without closing the door. As he exited the Hokage building, fury burned in his heart.
Hiruzen, I will become Hokage. Only I can lead Konoha to glory. Just wait!
...
On the other side, Naruto was ecstatic after learning how to refine Chakra and couldn't wait to try it out.
To his surprise, his Diligence ability also worked with Chakra refinement.
"Chakra +3, Chakra +5…"
He followed the Third's instructions exactly. According to the Third Hokage, if one could refine Chakra within a day, they had talent. If it could be done within a few hours, they were a genius.
Naruto, with his God's Reward for Hard Work ability, could refine Chakra in a single attempt. It was astonishing.
After a few more sessions, Naruto stopped. The Chakra scroll the Third gave him warned not to over-extract Chakra.
It stated the daily limit was ten refinements—appropriate for his age.
Still, Naruto stopped even earlier.
After all, he already had plenty of Chakra from divine rewards, and with his Uzumaki lineage, overdoing it would raise suspicion.
More important now was learning to control his Chakra.
Naruto tried channeling his Chakra into his hands, but it wasn't as easy as he thought. It was harder than expected. He frowned. For someone with strong spiritual power, this should've been easier.
Then a thought struck him—of course, the Nine-Tails!
In the original story, it was mentioned that the Nine-Tails' Chakra interfered with Naruto's Chakra control. He quickly recalled he was still under Anbu surveillance.
Naruto realized something. Being a genius was fine—after all, he was the son of the Fourth Hokage and Kushina—but acting too monstrous wasn't a good idea.
There were plenty of geniuses in this world, but being too exceptional was not normal.
Naruto acted as if he was still struggling to refine Chakra. After an hour, he pretended to be thrilled. The Anbu watching in the shadows sighed—Naruto really was a genius.
There were four Anbu watching Naruto. Through his Kagura Mind's Eye, he sensed two in the tree outside the window, one in the corner of the room, and one on the roof.
One of them harbored malice toward him. Naruto didn't know why—probably due to his identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
After refining Chakra, Naruto attempted to gather it into his hands. He failed multiple times, but then the voice in his head surprised him.
"Chakra Control +1, Chakra Control +2…"
Hearing this, Naruto felt as though he had practiced dozens of times. Though he still felt clumsy, he was thrilled. This was proof of progress.
Days passed. The Third Hokage was very pleased with the reports he received about Naruto's performance.
He had inherited Minato's talent, Kushina's vitality, and the Nine-Tails' power.
As long as Naruto trusted him, his future would be limitless.
"Danzo! This is how you truly control someone!"
The Third thought of Uchiha Shisui—a talented boy. It was a pity he was an Uchiha. But the Uchiha had to be dealt with.
"All of this is for Konoha!"
The Third Hokage took a long puff of his pipe and exhaled thick smoke…
End of the Chapter.
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