Chinya left, and Naruto Uzumaki made his way back home alone.
Naruto Uzumaki sat on a chair, resting his chin in his hands, deeply thinking about what Chinya had just said.
"Trying to please others..."
As Naruto Uzumaki was carefully considering how to please others, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
Naruto Uzumaki's body trembled slightly. He immediately guessed that the person knocking could only be Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Naruto Uzumaki took several deep breaths, mentally preparing himself.
When he opened the door, Naruto Uzumaki's guess proved correct — standing outside was indeed Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Naruto Uzumaki with a kind and gentle gaze, asking, "Naruto, what were you doing? Why did it take so long to open the door?"
Naruto Uzumaki glanced at his own dirty clothes and pointed at them while saying, "I was trying to clean the dirt off myself when Hokage grandpa arrived."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded when he saw the filthy Naruto Uzumaki.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Naruto Uzumaki entered the room.
Naruto Uzumaki stayed silent, not knowing what to say to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Looking at the stains on Naruto Uzumaki's clothing, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked knowingly, "Naruto, did you get into a fight with someone?"
Naruto Uzumaki replied with a sense of injustice in his voice, "No fight — they just attacked me."
Hiruzen Sarutobi advised, "Naruto, it's normal for friends to roughhouse sometimes. Don't blame them. You need to learn tolerance and acceptance."
Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, anger instantly rose in Naruto Uzumaki.
Easy for him to say — unless the fists hit him, he wouldn't understand the pain!
But soon, Naruto Uzumaki calmed down.
Because he remembered what Chinya had told him.
Think before you act. Control your emotions.
As long as he controlled his emotions, Chinya would tell him all the truth and even teach him cultivation techniques.
For the truth and cultivation, Naruto Uzumaki knew he must hold himself back.
At the same time, Naruto Uzumaki once again thought of Chinya's advice about pleasing others.
Lifting his head, Naruto Uzumaki stared intensely at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "Hokage grandpa, I don't blame them because you once told me that everyone in Konoha is family to me, so I won't blame them."
When Naruto Uzumaki said this, Hiruzen Sarutobi was very surprised.
These were always the words he spoke to Naruto Uzumaki. This was the first time Naruto Uzumaki had said them himself.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt extremely pleased in his heart. This meant that his education of Naruto Uzumaki had finally taken effect.
Naruto Uzumaki noticed the smile on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face and realized this approach was working.
If it worked, then great.
Because Chinya had also warned that if Hiruzen thought he was obedient, then any requests Naruto Uzumaki made would likely be fulfilled by Hiruzen.
Wouldn't asking to train get the old man's approval?
Naruto pressed his advantage, saying, "Grandpa Hokage, you once told me to search for answers in the Will of Fire. When I find those answers, I'll have earned the right to train.
I didn't get it back then, but I get it now. Training shouldn't just be about not being pushed around — it should be about protecting Konoha, protecting our family in Konoha, and ensuring no one ever gets bullied again!"
Naruto's words left Hiruzen Sarutobi genuinely stunned.
This was beyond surprising for Hiruzen. Had Naruto truly embraced the Will of Fire completely?
But Hiruzen quickly regained his composure.
Something felt off. Naruto seemed to have changed far too quickly — so abruptly that it caught Hiruzen completely off guard.
Just earlier when he had spoken to Naruto about the Will of Fire, Naruto had looked annoyed and impatient.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly, giving a rather intimidating stare as he asked, "Naruto, who put these words into your mouth? Chinya?"
If anyone had instructed Naruto to say such things, it could only have been Chinya.
Naruto's heart skipped a beat. He immediately shook his head, replying, "No way! This is all my own understanding."
But current Naruto was still too inexperienced. His unusual behavior gave off enough signs for Hiruzen to suspect something — it must've been Chinya who taught him!
Besides, Naruto was acting far too eager. The shift in attitude came too fast, making it impossible not to detect something suspicious.
And facing someone like Hiruzen, a sly old fox himself, made things even worse.
Internally, Hiruzen grew somewhat irritated — whatever Chinya had said to Naruto about the Will of Fire couldn't possibly come from good intentions.
However, Hiruzen showed no visible reaction. Smiling, he said to Naruto, "To derive such insights from the Will of Fire — Naruto, you're growing up. Grandpa Hokage feels genuinely pleased. I hope in the future, you can discover even greater truths through the Will of Fire, continuing its legacy.
Alright, why don't you go take a nice shower now and wash away all that dirt? Grandpa Hokage needs to leave now."
Naruto stared at Hiruzen blankly. "Huh? You're leaving already, Grandpa Hokage?"
In Naruto's plan, since Hiruzen seemed satisfied, he should've gained permission to start training — that was the expected next step, wasn't it?
Pretending to be confused, Hiruzen asked, "Is there something else, Naruto?"
Something about Hiruzen now felt strange to Naruto. Though smiling, his eyes held no warmth or sincerity.
So Naruto said nothing more and simply said goodbye. "No...nothing. Goodbye then, Grandpa Hokage."
After leaving Naruto's apartment, the smile vanished from Hiruzen's face, replaced instead by grave concern.
At this moment, Hiruzen resolved — Chinya absolutely must never contact Naruto again.
It had been a while since Hiruzen last saw Chinya.
Chinya had stopped taking missions entirely, choosing instead to remain idly at home.
Even when meeting Naruto required reporting in, Chinya simply contacted an Anbu member instead of appearing personally.
Truthfully, Hiruzen himself hadn't wanted to meet Chinya either, so he allowed things to go on like that.
Chinya, we really need to talk now.
...
Back at home, Chinya sat rubbing his forehead, clearly annoyed.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi may be old, but he's no fool—he'll catch on right away. Still green behind the ears."
Chinya had a few snakes slithering around Naruto Uzumaki's place. While Hiruzen Sarutobi was chatting with Naruto Uzumaki, Chinya piggybacked on a snake's senses to eavesdrop on Hiruzen Sarutobi and Naruto Uzumaki's conversation.
At first, when Naruto Uzumaki told Hiruzen Sarutobi that everyone in Konoha was like family and he wouldn't hold any grudges, Chinya thought it was brilliant.
If he'd just stopped there, that would've been perfect. But then Naruto Uzumaki opened his mouth again and spoiled the whole thing.
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