Naruto's past few years in the village couldn't exactly be described as good. After all, he was an orphan with no family. No matter how you looked at it, as long as he didn't cause any huge trouble, it could already be considered that the village had nurtured him extremely well.
Naruto was pretty much in this state: no major faults, but constant minor mistakes. Even with Lord Hokage's frequent support and favoritism, Naruto was "somewhat famous" in Konoha Village for his pranks of one kind or another. You have to know, he hasn't even performed an official mission yet!
In a ninja village, how could a young ninja who had just graduated recently possibly be remembered by anyone? Unfortunately, Naruto's talent and strength were far inferior to his prank-pulling ability. This was true both during his time at the ninja academy and when training under Kakashi-sensei.
To be honest, if Naruto didn't have a naturally optimistic personality, anyone else might not have been able to bear this kind of pressure. Naruto was like that; he could always find the bright, gentle spot in life that excited and cheered him up. If one had to say it, this might even be considered a special kind of talent.
The Anbu ninjas discovered by Luffy were in an awkward situation at this moment. They were not actually there by the Hokage's order, but had received instructions from Lord Danzo. But they hadn't expected that they had hidden well enough, yet were still recognized at a glance by this outsider! How did he do it?
Anbu ninjas are naturally proficient in the use of chakra, and can even, to a certain extent, suppress their chakra fluctuations to a level inferior even to ordinary people. Through these methods and techniques, they can maximize their chances of not being discovered by enemies. But unfortunately, Luffy found their precise location and discerned their exact numbers,
but what he relied on was not the power of the ninja world at all; he didn't understand chakra in the slightest! Luffy's Observation Haki sensing ability was top-tier back in the Grand Line. What's more,
he himself had awakened and begun to master the ability to hear the voice of all things... To try to use any stealth methods in front of Luffy was simply like trying to hide in plain sight in front of someone with perfect vision.
Being discovered by the enemy... or rather, by the target. For the Anbu ninjas, this mission could basically be declared a failure. Plus, earlier, when the Anbu ninja following Luffy was escorting him to his specially arranged residence under Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders, that Anbu ninja also discovered his comrades after Luffy's reminder.
And after Luffy entered the room, he quietly made a hand sign. The meaning was, "No matter what you're doing, Lord Hokage will know." Their actions were exposed this time, so they naturally couldn't continue.
They had no choice but to go back and report what happened here, because the importance of the detailed information they discovered completely surpassed Danzo's orders. This was the only thing they could do... He never thought this outsider actually had some real skills.
Anbu's stealth methods were completely useless in front of him... Just by his perception ability alone, this guy was almost ridiculously strong! Luffy hadn't even laid down yet when he immediately sat up, extended his arm, and wordlessly pulled open the door.
"You brat, what are you doing running to my place in the middle of the night?!"
It turned out that Naruto was just raising his hand to knock on the door.
"Mr. Luffy!" Naruto was extremely excited. "It's almost dawn! Haven't you rested yet?"
Luffy pouted. Earlier, the Hokage had picked out a residence for him, and during that time, he had rambled on about this and that, and about his identity as an elder. Luffy didn't remember any of it, but time had indeed been spent.
Now, it was almost dawn, and he was just about to rest. However, resting and sleeping were completely non-issues for the Monkey D. family. Even during fierce battles, rapid running, or even eating… as long as the mood struck him, Luffy could fall asleep whenever he wanted! This was also his special ability!
"Yes… it's almost dawn. Why are you still coming to my place?"
Naruto grinned widely, practically exposing all his teeth.
"Mr. Luffy… Didn't we agree before? If you stay in the village, and if ramen counts as delicious food, then you have to teach me fighting skills!"
Naruto came looking for Luffy in the middle of the night, astonishingly, because he wanted to train and cultivate!
"Huh?! Just for that?" Luffy blinked. He looked the little ninja up and down.
"He's truly a hardworking kid… He seems even more diligent than I was back then!"
"This…" Luffy scratched his head. Honestly, even if he wanted to rest now, there wasn't much time left until dawn. Alright, since this kid came looking for him, he might as well fulfill his promise! Luffy wasn't the kind of person who procrastinated either. He acted on impulse! "Sure! So, let's start training here then?"
Luffy had a large amount of Konoha Village's prepared resting places for himself. Honestly, the conditions here weren't bad. "Let's go to the forest! It's not easy to disturb others there!" Naruto was overjoyed. He knew that Luffy saying this meant he had accepted him. And it seemed he was going to teach him fighting skills right now!
Compared to Luffy, Naruto was naturally a local, a native. Plus, since he had no elders to discipline him at home since he was little, the teachers at the ninja academy basically indulged Naruto a lot, even more than actual older brothers and fathers would.
But after all, it was impossible to constantly keep an eye on Naruto. Therefore, in these past few years, Naruto had almost explored every corner of Konoha Village, including the surrounding dense forests!
If you wanted to talk about these young ninjas being the most knowledgeable about Konoha Village and its surrounding environment, then Naruto really had to be recommended!
So, led by Naruto, Luffy followed him into the dense forest beside Konoha. Konoha 0.0's name wasn't given for nothing. The forest resources here were exceptionally rich and abundant. If one were to disappear into the forest,
it would probably be difficult to find them again! However, for Naruto, these things naturally didn't matter. In a few quick moves, Luffy and Naruto had already arrived deep within the dense forest.
"This guy, sure enough, he made his move in the middle of the night. And… why does he always choose the same spot? There's absolutely no creativity!"
Naruto thought to himself that this small clearing he picked in the dense forest was already "quite good" for him. But he hadn't realized that ever since he first saw this clearing in the forest, this little secret of his had already been known by his classmate, Sasuke, who was also studying ninjutsu under Kakashi-sensei now.
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