Chapter 9: Hero Saves the Beauty, or an Ability Assessment?
After Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward to shield Naruto from the storm, temporarily blocking the prying eyes of Danzo Shimura and the two KonohaAdvisors, Naruto clearly felt that the atmosphere against him in the Village had weakened significantly.
At the very least, when Naruto walked alone on the street, there were no more sudden attacks, and his pension finally had a place to be used.
Some shops opened by villagers had gradually begun to sell goods to Naruto; it had to be said, this was a very good sign.
Naruto naturally understood that all of this was thanks to Hiruzen Sarutobi, but judging from many traces, Hiruzen Sarutobi was under great pressure.
Because since he received the "residence pass" for Hiruzen Sarutobi's home, nearly half a month had passed, and Naruto had not once received personal instruction from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Most of the instruction Naruto received came from the Old Butler in Hiruzen Sarutobi's home.
Of course, this Old Butler was just doing his job, and his attitude toward Naruto could only be considered average; trying to pry information out of the Old Butler was almost impossible.
The only time he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi was when Naruto had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and saw Hiruzen Sarutobi returning; after the old man and the young boy exchanged a few words, they each went back to rest.
But Naruto did not rest well that night, because a single sentence from Hiruzen Sarutobi made Naruto's heart, which had just relaxed, tighten up again.
"Naruto, you should play with your peers nearby more often. Don't always stay at home by yourself. Balancing work and rest is the right way to go; after all, you don't have any friends yet, right?"
With just that one sentence, Naruto knew that the surveillance around him had not been withdrawn, and it might even have intensified.
Because after Naruto finished learning literacy and reading basic children's books with the Old Butler, he would make excuses to go out and play, running alone to the forests around Konoha Village to practice the cultivation and training methods of the Eight Extremes Fist.
Although he didn't know the specific method of surveillance, Naruto had decided to play the part completely. Although he disdained playing with children whose mental ages were vastly different from his own, the unity of knowledge and action was the true expression of a person.
This was something Liu Renju had told him, and Naruto believed in it deeply. After all, Liu Renjutruly treated Naruto as a Disciple and had no intention of holding anything back when teaching him knowledge.
Since he had to achieve the unity of knowledge and action and play the role of a sunny, honest, and optimistic model youth of Konoha well, Narutonaturally had to integrate into the circle of children in the Village.
For example, by chasing after them to play Ninjagames.
And today was the third day since Naruto became the king of the children in the area around Hiruzen Sarutobi's home; he was followed by four three- or four-year-old boys and girls, looking quite like the captain of a Ninja squad.
"Now, I will assign the mission!" Since they were playing, they had to play for real. Naruto began to assign missions without hesitation, thereby declaring that the Ninja game had officially begun.
"Today we are protecting Er Ya as she returns to her maiden home. Big Cat and I will be the escort Ninjas, and you two will be the bandits blocking the road. Do you understand?!"
"Understood!"
While Naruto was assigning missions, looking at the excited faces of this group of children, his heart was actually breaking down. As someone with a mental age of 18, playing such a childish game of "make-believe" here just to gain Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust was truly difficult for him.
Just as Naruto finished assigning the missions and his little friends took their positions, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was peeping at Naruto from the Hokage Office using the "Telescope Technique," nodded.
"Growing from a bullied character into the leader of this group of children, and using action to influence and words to persuade, with no retaliation afterwards—this child indeed possesses the potential to become an excellent leader and the prerequisites for forming a noble personality."
"However..." Hiruzen Sarutobi took two puffs of his pipe, "Whether Naruto can truly inherit the Will of Fire remains to be seen. After all, he is still too young, his Heart-Nature is not yet stable, and he still needs to be observed for a while longer."
After saying this, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to busy himself with official duties, but the Telescope Technique was not withdrawn; instead, while handling official business, he took time to observe Naruto.
Naruto and his little friends played until near noon, when an interesting event was placed before him, and at the same time, before Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was peeping using the Telescope Technique.
"When encountering bullying among fellow villagers, what will you do, Naruto?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked curiously at the scene reflected in the crystal ball on his desk, even tossing his official work aside to watch patiently.
And as the person actually handling it, Naruto now faced both opportunity and risk.
Knowing clearly that Hiruzen Sarutobi was secretly monitoring him through unknown means, how well he handled this matter would directly determine his rating with Hiruzen Sarutobi, and more directly determine how many resources he would obtain in the future.
This forced Naruto to treat it with caution.
Clearly, the short-haired girl in front of him, wearing a proper kimono with nothing but white in her eye sockets—a "cataract" look—did not come from a simple background. This was not only reflected in her attire but could also be seen from her demeanor and manners.
Children from ordinary families could not possibly have so many rules, nor could they keep their clothes clean at all times; after all, at an age where they loved to play, if they didn't have a good upbringing, they would have long since rolled around and become mud monkeys.
"Looking at your expression, with your intelligence, you should have already guessed that Hyuga Hinata's background is not simple. Facing a dispute between a wealthy family and a commoner, how will you handle it?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke the identity of the girl about to be bullied in front of Naruto; clearly, Hiruzen Sarutobi often used the Telescope Technique to peep at other excellent children around the same age as Naruto.
After all, Konoha was currently in a transitional phase where the new generation had not yet matured; casting a wide net was the optimal choice for a politician, and Naruto was never the only choice from the beginning.
"Stop!" Just as the group of children surrounded Hyuga Hinata and prepared to bully her, Narutostood out in time to stop the farce before him.
"Yo! Isn't this the fox demon that everyone used to want to beat up!" The leading child looked arrogant, "You can barely take care of yourself, and you still want to meddle in other people's business?"
The leading child clenched his fists and approached step by step, "Your little friends have gone home for lunch. Can't you just pretend you didn't see anything and go home? We don't want to start a war with you!"
A child who could become a "king of children" clearly had something in his head; he knew that Naruto was now the leader of a small group, and clearly, he did not want to break ties with Narutowithout authorization.
Naruto naturally understood what he meant, but his every word and action was being monitored. If he didn't perform well, how could he strive for a good, free life in the future?
"You go first, leave the rest to me!"
Naruto walked in front of Hyuga Hinata without showing any weakness, blocking her behind him, and took a stance, looking calmly at the group of five in front of him.
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