Chapter 63: Young Master Is Truly a Man of Great Talent and Strategy—We Were Right About You All Along
The group returned to Konoha at night.
When parting,
Sasuke kept looking at Naruto with deep, resentful eyes.
Naruto got goosebumps from being stared at like that.
He wondered if this guy had awakened some weird fetish during their fight.
Not that Naruto was actually afraid of Sasuke.
The strength gap between them was obvious.
Rather, Naruto was pondering something important.
"This Sasuke guy is so annoying!"
"Should I trick him like I did with Konohamaru—make him cross-dress for power?"
"Female Sasuke would have that vibe… just change his name to Uchiha Sako too!"
In that moment, Naruto suddenly had a bold idea!
But then he thought of wild elephants.
Nah… forget it.
Besides, he really didn't have that kind of interest.
Unless the system actually released some item that turns Sasuke into a girl.
Once turned female, her mindset would gradually shift too.
No need to worry about that.
But Naruto wondered—did the system have something like that?
Even if it did,
he probably wouldn't use it.
Anyway—right after returning,
the ANBU squad leader who had previously pledged loyalty to Naruto
appeared with several unfamiliar faces.
Upon seeing Naruto, the squad leader—Yamamoto Yukimasa—dropped to one knee!
"Young Master! All the tasks you assigned us these past days have been completed!"
"We wanted to report earlier, but discovered you had left on a mission with Captain Kakashi."
"So we took the liberty of visiting tonight. We hope we haven't disturbed you?"
Naruto waved his hand casually and invited the masked ANBU into the room.
As soon as they entered,
they removed their masks.
This was a sign of trust and respect toward Naruto!
It also showed they were willing to stand openly by his side.
Besides squad leader Yamamoto Yukimasa,
there were two men and two women.
Naruto didn't ask questions first.
They tactfully waited on the side.
But the excitement and adoration in their eyes
couldn't be hidden.
Previously they hadn't known Naruto's father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
So they hadn't paid much attention.
Some were even meeting Naruto for the first time.
But at this moment, looking at Naruto,
they saw the shadow of that great man!
The man they had sworn to follow to the death—the Yellow Flash of the Leaf, Minato Namikaze!
Naruto looked surprised and asked one question first.
"You just said 'Captain Kakashi,' right?"
"Yes. I once worked with Captain Kakashi, though I never joined his squad."
Yamamoto Yukimasa explained briefly.
Naruto nodded in understanding and lost interest in that topic. What he cared about more was:
"You said you investigated the ANBU and high-level village ninjas—how many are willing to follow me?"
Yamamoto Yukimasa's expression turned serious. He placed his hands behind his back
and began reporting the results!
"We handled this matter with extreme secrecy. Only a very small number of trusted people know about it!"
"Beyond that, no one else is aware we're seeking to serve you, Young Master."
"Through careful probing, roughly two-fifths of ANBU are willing to follow you!"
"One-fifth are still observing and hesitating. The other two-fifths…"
Yamamoto Yukimasa saw Naruto shake his head slightly and stopped on that topic.
He continued with other information instead.
"As for the village's high-level leadership, some are also willing to follow you, Young Master!"
"Another portion is still observing and waiting to see your true strength before committing."
At this point,
he paused. Yamamoto Yukimasa's eyes flashed with ruthlessness as he spoke coldly:
"They all deserve to die! Especially those who received great favors and benefits from the Fourth Hokage back then, yet still remain neutral and refuse to openly stand with you, Young Master!"
The other four ANBU members
didn't speak,
but their facial expressions
showed they shared Yamamoto's thoughts.
Naruto felt his current life was quite comfortable and relaxed.
He wasn't in a hurry yet,
but his subordinates were already getting anxious.
Naruto grinned and said lightly:
"No need to be so worked up. I can understand why they hesitate to pick a side."
"If I were in their position, I'd probably do the same."
This was sincere.
The ninja world had always run on one principle: whoever has the bigger fist speaks the loudest!
Those people had families besides themselves.
If a real power struggle broke out in Konoha,
their families would inevitably get dragged in.
Picking the wrong side could doom an entire household to ruin.
Or lead to meteoric success.
The latter would be fine.
If Naruto truly demonstrated power capable of overturning everything,
they could immediately and without hesitation choose his side.
But Naruto hadn't shown that yet!
They didn't know!
Besides, Naruto himself still had his own plans.
Take Gato's shipping company as an example.
Building a force required not just strength, but also money.
Anyway—
even if Naruto seized power, so what?
He was lazy by nature.
Piles of official documents as tall as mountains?
Forget reading them—he couldn't even be bothered to look.
Besides, the Chūnin Exams were coming up soon.
Gaara from the Sand Village—his older sister Temari—would also come to participate.
But he could just play around a little.
Although Shikamaru was destined to become his number-one strategist,
he and Temari didn't know each other at all right now!
Even though they were strangers—just passersby~
No spark means no spark…
So where does the "Cao thief" meme even come from?
Where does "friend's wife" come from?
Joke!
cough cough…
Moreover, if Konoha underwent another major upheaval,
the village would be vulnerable.
The other four great ninja villages would surely band together to attack.
What Naruto wanted was a strong and prosperous Konoha.
What he wanted was a comfortable, idle life—watching cute girls every day, cultivating his mood.
And the Hyūga side still hadn't started moving yet.
Although Hiashi had the intention to reform the Hyūga clan,
Naruto knew full well
that the main family higher-ups who had long enjoyed the benefits of the Caged Bird seal
would never agree to his father-in-law's "absurd" idea!
In the worst case, they might even incite other main family members
to go down together in mutual destruction!
The Hyūga clan would end up in ruins.
Then what would happen to Naruto?
On one hand, he didn't want Hinata to be sad or heartbroken.
On the other hand, the Hyūga clan's strength
would be very intimidating if pulled out as his elite enforcers later.
In short—everything comes down to people first!
But after Naruto finished speaking these words,
including Yamamoto Yukimasa—all five ANBU members—
thud thud thud…
dropped to their knees on the spot!
Their faces were filled with fanaticism.
"Young Master is truly a man of great talent and strategy! You are as benevolent and wise as the Fourth Hokage—we were right about you all along!"
Their voices were extremely excited.
Naruto was full of question marks.
What did I even do?
How did I suddenly become a man of great talent and strategy, benevolent and wise?
I didn't—I'm not—don't slander me!!!
This group of people seems… to have completely misunderstood his intentions…
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