Naruto opened the door and saw Hiruzen Sarutobi. His expression didn't change in the slightest.
Facing this old man, he didn't even want to bother pretending anymore.
The Third still wore his kind and gentle smile, sniffing the air.
"Naruto, did you make this yourself? It smells wonderful. Grandpa hasn't eaten yet either, could you let me join you for a meal?"
"I only cooked enough for myself," Naruto replied directly.
Hiruzen gave a dry chuckle, lifted the bag in his hand, and said with a smile, "No problem, Grandpa brought some dishes too. Let's eat together."
The food was set on the table. Hiruzen had brought tamagoyaki and white radish stew.
Under the warm light, he looked every bit the kindly grandfather as he picked up dishes for Naruto.
At first glance, it really looked like a grandfather and grandson sharing a meal together.
Hiruzen picked up a piece of Naruto's grilled fish and placed it in his mouth. He was instantly stunned by the taste.
The skin was crispy, the flesh tender and fresh with no trace of fishiness. In terms of both texture and flavor, it was the best fish he'd eaten in his decades of life.
"This fish is incredible. By the way, Naruto, do you have a habit of naming your dishes?" Hiruzen suddenly asked, as if something occurred to him.
Naruto thought for a moment, a spark lighting up in his mind. He seemed to trigger some hidden switch, becoming excited, and instantly came up with a name.
"Golden Dragon Spiral Hyper-Sensation Dance—Melts-in-Your-Mouth Style."
…
Hearing such a ridiculous, chūni name, Hiruzen stared at him, dumbfounded for several seconds.
Then his face softened with relief. [Minato… he really is your son.]
"Good, a very good name!"
The Third laughed warmly.
After dinner, Hiruzen didn't leave.
Sitting on the sofa, he carefully chose his words."Naruto, Grandpa heard that yesterday you injured many people by throwing stones. Is that true?"
At this, Naruto's heart sank slightly.
He didn't answer, nor did he deny it.
But that was already an answer in itself.
Hiruzen continued, "They're actually pitiful people. I'll warn them not to bother you again. Can you promise Grandpa not to hurt innocent people anymore?"
Hearing this, Naruto couldn't help but laugh in anger.
"Pitiful? Innocent? What about me? What did I do wrong? Why should I have to smile at them after the way they treated me? Am I supposed to just endure this for the rest of my life?"
Naruto's barrage of soul-piercing questions left Hiruzen speechless.
That's true… he looks mature for his age, but he's still only eight years old…
A trace of guilt flickered across the old Hokage's heart.
"Grandpa understands. Don't worry, I promise you this won't ever happen again."
Sensing the tension in the air, Hiruzen quickly changed the subject.
"This is a birthday gift from Grandpa. See if you like it."
He produced a scroll and placed it on the table.
Naruto didn't hesitate, grabbing and opening it.
Recorded on it was a B-rank ninjutsu.
'The Shadow Clone Jutsu!'
Seeing what was written on the scroll, Naruto was a little surprised.
This was the jutsu that ran throughout the entire story of Naruto—immensely practical.
Not only could it be used in combat, but also to aid training, scout without risk, and gather information.
Especially for someone like Naruto, with enormous chakra reserves, it was practically a divine technique.
And he thought further—if he combined Shadow Clone with Illusionary Transformation, he could finally shake off Kakashi and the other two and do what he really wanted.
Noticing Naruto staring blankly at the scroll, Hiruzen chuckled."You like it, don't you? I thought this jutsu suited you very well."
Naruto nodded. Shadow Clone really was vital for him.
With the mood eased, Hiruzen casually asked,"By the way, Naruto, those sword techniques you've been practicing lately—why can you unleash such powerful wind blades without forming hand seals? What's the principle behind it? Could you tell Grandpa?"
'Of course… I should have known you weren't just giving me this as a birthday gift, old man. You were waiting for this moment.'
Naruto casually brushed it off."Oh, that? I just swing my sword and the wind blades come out. Isn't that normal?"
Hiruzen's mouth twitched.
Looking at Naruto's innocent expression, he couldn't tell whether he was being truthful or playing dumb.
In the end, the Hokage failed to get the answer he wanted. After a few more words of advice, he reluctantly left.
The next morning, just as Naruto finished washing up, the system's voice rang out.
"Self-Discipline Mission Activated: Over the course of one year, master all seven chakra natures and max out both Shape Transformation and Nature Transformation proficiency."
Naruto clicked his tongue in disbelief. This mission was a little much.
Not only did he have to master all seven natures, he also had to max out two different transformations.
But then he remembered the Shadow Clone Jutsu and relaxed a little.
With clones assisting in training, his speed would increase several times—dozens of times even.
With some time left before school, Naruto decided to try learning the jutsu right away.
That way he could have a clone attend class while he focused on chakra training—just like that Uchiha who fought seven opponents alone.
Two and a half minutes later.
Naruto formed a hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With a poof, smoke exploded beside him.
An identical Naruto appeared.
Unlike the regular Clone Technique, this one had substance.
The clone had half of Naruto's chakra.
Nearly 38 points.
Other than not having the Nine-Tails inside, it was practically no different from the original.
"Go to the Academy," Naruto ordered.
The clone nodded without a word and walked out the door, looking rather aloof.
Naruto gave a satisfied nod.
Seems like his Shadow Clone understood things better, unlike those noisy ordinary clones.
"If I had Shadow Clone in my past life, I'd have sent them to work while I relaxed. That's every wage slave's dream," Naruto muttered wistfully.
On the rooftop next door, Kakashi and his two teammates watched Naruto leave and prepared to follow as usual.
But Yamanaka Kei, responsible for sensing, suddenly raised his hand to stop them.
"Wait! Something's wrong! Inside the house, I still sense Naruto and the Nine-Tails' chakra. The one who just left didn't have the Nine-Tails' chakra!"
Kakashi fell into thought. His combat intellect was sharp, and he quickly pieced it together.
"In that case, the one who just left should be a Shadow Clone."
"Split up. Shin, follow that Naruto who just left. Kei and I will stay here."
The young ANBU named Shin nodded and disappeared, tailing the Shadow Clone.
The ones who stayed behind knew very well—Naruto with the Nine-Tails' chakra, the real body, was the real priority.