Chapter 362: Naruto, Do You Want to Be My Disciple?
"That damned Nine-Tails fox is truly hateful! It's all his fault! My wife died because of him, and I ended up like this, half-dead and wrapped in bandages!" a man snarled as he glared at the small figure walking down the street. His eyes were full of hatred, and thick bandages covered most of his body.
"Yes, it's all his fault!"
More people glared at the small figure ahead. Their fists clenched, their breathing grew heavier, and hatred burned in their eyes. If looks alone could kill, Naruto would have been torn apart a thousand times over.
Naruto lowered his head and shoved his hands into his pockets.
The sun was out, but the winter sunlight could not drive away the cold clinging to his body, much less the grievance buried in his heart.
Naruto did not understand.
He did not understand why everyone treated him this way. People who had once shown him a little kindness would turn cold the next time they met him, their eyes filled with disgust and avoidance. Every time that happened, it hurt.
As for the curses, the blame, the hateful stares like these, he had long since grown used to them.
After all, this was how it always was. Every time he came out, people either avoided him or looked at him like he was filth.
'If I become a ninja... and then become Hokage... everyone should accept me, right?'
That thought flashed through Naruto's mind.
He had heard countless people speak of the Hokage with reverence, respect, and admiration, using expressions he had never once seen directed at him. Without realizing it, Naruto had begun to look up to that title too.
Someone who could be recognized and praised by everyone had to be incredible, right?
But...
He was hungry.
Naruto pressed a hand over his rumbling stomach and swallowed.
A rich, mouthwatering smell drifted through the air. It was Teuchi's ramen. It smelled amazing. Every time he went there, he could eat meat until he was full.
The problem was that he had no money left.
Naruto looked toward Ichiraku Ramen in the distance, swallowed again, then quickly turned and ran away.
He was hungry, and the easiest way to fill his stomach was still...
So Naruto sat down by the river and began his grand fishing operation.
He stared intently at the surface of the water while holding the line, as if his focus alone could force a fish to bite. At the very least, concentrating like this helped him ignore the hunger gnawing at his belly.
Just as Naruto was praying with all his heart for a fish to take the bait, a fragrant aroma drifted over.
Naruto's nose twitched.
For a moment, he wondered if he was imagining things. Why would he smell sukiyaki out here?
But the scent only grew richer and stronger.
Naruto could not help turning around.
Then he saw the older brother he had met before sitting behind him with a steaming pot. That delicious smell was coming from inside it.
"Yo, Naruto. The beef's done. Want some?" Amamiya Kenichi asked with a smile.
Naruto just stared at him blankly.
Kenichi raised an eyebrow.
Had this poor kid starved himself stupid?
The first time they met, Naruto had failed to notice him because Kenichi had quietly dealt with the ANBU watching nearby. But now Kenichi had set up an entire hot pot behind him and had already started cooking beef, yet Naruto still had not noticed a thing until now.
That was a little absurd.
And after finally noticing him, the boy was still frozen in place.
"Big brother!" Naruto suddenly sprang to his feet, his face lighting up with joy.
Kenichi chuckled and handed him a pair of chopsticks. Naruto immediately took them, sat down by the pot, and stared at the meat with eager eyes, though every now and then he still snuck a cautious glance at Kenichi.
That made Kenichi a little speechless.
"Naruto, how's your chakra extraction going?" Kenichi casually picked up a slice of beef for him and asked.
Naruto had just been about to grab it with his chopsticks, but the moment he heard the question, he obediently lowered them again.
"Big brother, I managed to extract a little chakra, but it's only a tiny bit, and I don't know how to use it," Naruto said, scratching his head.
Kenichi was not surprised.
Naruto might have Uzumaki blood and a tailed beast sealed inside him, but that did not mean he was born knowing how to use chakra. The first thing every ninja learned was chakra extraction, even taijutsu specialists.
"Show me," Kenichi said.
Naruto tried.
Then he failed.
Kenichi's mouth twitched. This was honestly the first time he had ever seen someone fail at chakra extraction this badly.
"Forget it. Eat first," Kenichi said, shaking his head.
The moment he gave permission, Naruto attacked the hot pot with astonishing speed. He ate like a starving wolf, shoveling food into his mouth so quickly that he kept gasping from the heat, yet still refused to spit anything out.
This was absolutely the wrong way to eat.
The human esophagus was fragile. Food that hot could easily burn it. Repeated burns and healing over time could even increase the risk of cancer.
But this was the ninja world.
So Kenichi only gave him a few reminders and let it go.
People who had never truly starved could never understand why someone would eat like this.
Kenichi himself ate slowly.
The physical condition of people in the ninja world was generally far better than that of ordinary civilians from his old world. Once Naruto had begun extracting chakra, his body was already different from a normal child's. Even if he scalded his mouth or raised blisters from the heat, he would recover quickly enough.
Originally, Kenichi wanted to see whether Naruto's chakra carried any trace of the Nine-Tails' aura, but now he could only wait until the boy finished eating.
And once Naruto started, he truly did not stop.
He finished all three servings Kenichi had prepared.
Kenichi could only stare at him, dumbfounded, and even began worrying that Naruto might actually eat himself to death. Overeating could genuinely kill a person. If the stomach ruptured, that was the end.
"You alright?" Kenichi asked with a wry smile.
Naruto rubbed his swollen belly and nodded with difficulty.
Kenichi sighed inwardly.
Hiruzen, Hiruzen... what in the world have you been doing?
The Fourth Hokage's only son, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki besides, was living like this?
After waiting a while longer, Naruto finally managed to extract a thread of chakra again. Kenichi watched closely this time, but he still did not sense any evil or malevolent presence mixed into it.
"It seems the seal is very stable," Kenichi muttered, glancing at Naruto's stomach. A faint look of excitement appeared in his eyes. He really did want to study the Nine-Tails sooner or later and see just how powerful it truly was.
"Big brother, where do you live in the village?" Naruto asked curiously.
He had actually tried to find Kenichi before.
After all, Kenichi had shown him no malice at all. To a child who had lived under hatred and cold eyes for so long, that alone was already something precious.
"I used to live in the village," Kenichi said with a shrug, "but not anymore."
"Oh!" Naruto nodded as if he understood, though he clearly only half understood.
He was still just a child. Children in the ninja world might mature earlier, but that did not mean they could grasp every complicated thing adults said.
Kenichi looked at Naruto for a moment.
This time, he had originally come only to see Naruto and take a few things while he was here.
Even though Edo Tensei now seemed to be under the Six Paths Sage's notice, that was both a bad thing and a good thing. Against certain troublesome enemies, using Edo Tensei would still not be a loss.
So during this visit, Kenichi had also planned to collect some things and keep the technique for himself.
Obito was most likely after Edo Tensei, and since using the technique required tissue samples from the deceased, Kenichi had come early to take what he needed. Anything he could not take, he planned to destroy on the spot.
There was no need to take much. The Kage corpses were the important ones. The rest were not worth much.
"Naruto," Kenichi said with a smile, "do you want to be my disciple?"
Naruto blinked.
"Be your disciple?"
He did not fully understand the phrase, but he understood that it was close to being a student under a teacher.
So Naruto nodded.
Kenichi chuckled and ruffled his hair.
Although he had now taken Naruto in as a disciple, there was not much he could teach him immediately. Naruto was still too young, and receiving proper ninja training now would be difficult.
He also could not simply hand the boy money. If Naruto suddenly became well off, the ANBU would notice immediately. That would not help Naruto. It would only bring more trouble.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was not some kindly old grandfather. On that point, Kenichi was very clear.
Just as Kenichi was about to say more, he felt a familiar fluctuation of chakra.
He glanced upward.
So this area was within the range of Hiruzen's surveillance technique too?
It had to be said, that technique really was a perfect tool for a peeping paparazzi. With it, you could know what someone was doing in their room at any time.
"That old bastard..." Kenichi clicked his tongue.
Then, after glancing at the confused Naruto, he suddenly thought of something amusing.
"Naruto," he said with a smile, "do you want to come with your teacher? If you come with me, you'll be able to eat your fill every day, and nobody will avoid you anymore."
Naruto hesitated for only a moment before nodding.
He had never had any real sense of belonging to Konoha anyway.
That was perfectly normal. No one could expect a child raised under constant hatred and rejection to develop loyalty to the village that treated him like filth.
And what good would staying in Konoha do him?
None at all.
In the original story, Naruto's miserable childhood was mostly treated as background flavor. Even so, countless viewers had asked the same question.
How had a child who lived such a miserable life grown up to become the Seventh Hokage?
Anyone else might have turned bitter, dark, and vengeful.
In the end, many people chose to believe that people like Iruka and Teuchi had given Naruto enough warmth to keep him from falling apart. Others believed it was because he was Asura's reincarnation and was naturally optimistic and mentally resilient.
But had Konoha truly protected Naruto?
Judging by how he lived, clearly not.
He could not even eat his fill. He was ostracized and cursed as the Nine-Tails itself.
Where, exactly, was the fairness shown to the Fourth Hokage's son?
Now that Kenichi possessed both Mangekyo Sharingan and Wood Release, taking Naruto away was no longer particularly difficult. And in any case, the future of the ninja world had already gone wildly off course.
One more change meant little now.
"Teacher," Naruto said hesitantly, "can I go say goodbye to Teuchi first?"
"No," Kenichi replied, ruffling his hair again. "There isn't enough time."
Naruto hesitated.
"Wouldn't it be better to come back after you've become an outstanding ninja?" Kenichi added.
Naruto thought about it for a moment, then decided that made perfect sense.
Children really were easy to fool.
So Kenichi picked Naruto up and stood where he was.
"Is Naruto fishing again?"
Back in Konoha's makeshift Hokage office, Hiruzen had just finished handling a pile of work.
Rubbing his temples, he decided to take a look at what Naruto was doing.
The moment the image appeared, Hiruzen, who had been sitting in his chair, shot to his feet.
Then he stared at the scene before him in shock and fury.
Naruto was being held in the arms of someone familiar.
Worse, that person seemed to have noticed the technique and had actually looked up into the sky and waved at him.
Then the image shifted, and both of them vanished.
Hiruzen rushed out at once.
He could not sit still anymore. Even if the Heavenly Demon really was Amamiya Kenichi, the boy had crossed his bottom line this time.
But when Hiruzen arrived, all he found were unconscious ANBU and a bubbling beef hot pot that had not gone cold yet.
The pot burbled away merrily, as if mocking him to his face.
"Heavenly Demon!" Hiruzen nearly ground his teeth to dust.
That was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
He should have made the decision back then. He should have replaced the Jinchuriki and hidden him away under secret protection.
That Amamiya Kenichi bastard had truly known Naruto's identity all along.
Hiruzen's face darkened completely.
For the first time in a long while, he deeply regretted that he had once softened his heart just because Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son.
.....
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