Leaving Shino in fear, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief, cold sweat trickling down their backs.
"Captain Naruto, why are you afraid of bugs?" Tenyu asked.
Naruto heard this and replied, "I... I'm not afraid of bugs! I just don't want to hurt them. Shino said they're so... cute..."
Maki scoffed, "Cowardly Captain Naruto."
"Bastards, weren't you guys scared to death too?!" Naruto retorted, pointing at them.
He hadn't expected to fail at gathering people and instead get scared himself.
"Us?
We're not even three years old, but you're already six!" Tenyu and Maki said in unison.
Naruto's face instantly drooped, his mouth now flatter than anyone else's.
Damn it, are two-year-olds so great?!
No, I can't get angry at two-year-olds! Ah!
Damn two-year-olds.
Unwilling to admit defeat, Naruto would never concede that he was worse than Kiba and Sasuke; he was the future Hokage!
He then sought out other classmates, hoping they could help him brainstorm ideas.
Unfortunately,
The others, unlike Naruto and Shino, immediately shooed him away upon seeing him.
They didn't welcome him at all.
They even scolded him, telling him he could never become Hokage.
Tenyu and Maki followed behind Naruto, feeling quite sorry for him.
Unlike them, who could just act cute and charming in front of adults to make them happy.
Captain Naruto was truly disliked by everyone, unlike the smiling Naruto who used to constantly visit their home.
The two of them, being just over two years old, didn't think too deeply; they just felt that Naruto must be having a hard time.
They both possessed strong sensory abilities and could perceive the emotional fluctuations in Naruto's heart whenever he encountered someone.
It was as if they were infected by his mood, and afterwards, they didn't mock him. Instead, they would call him "Captain Naruto" every time something happened, which made Naruto very happy.
Naruto even felt that he was being acknowledged, even if it was just by two-year-old brats.
But he was still very happy.
They hadn't been like this before.
"Hey, should we tell him that Dad is Iruka Sensei's teacher?"
"No, I don't think so. He seems to be enjoying himself quite a bit."
"It does seem that way. Then we'll just follow behind him."
Tenyu and Maki exchanged glances, sticking close behind Naruto.
Little Naruto was indeed enjoying himself.
Because he discovered that there were still many people in the Village who treated him like an ordinary person, not a monster.
Like Shikamaru, like Shino...
This made him very happy, and he felt even more motivated for his next actions.
He explored every classmate, male and female.
Eventually, a small chubby boy appeared beside him.
"Naruto, you're amazing! You're not even a Genin yet, and you can already be a captain!" Choji thought Naruto wanted to play Ninja games with him, and he immediately followed when invited.
Because he was too fat, whichever children's team he joined would lose, so other children never included him in games before.
Only Shikamaru was willing to play with him.
So, Naruto's invitation made him very excited.
As for a monster, what was that? Could it be eaten?
"Th-that's of course! I'm going to be Hokage in the future!" Naruto said, a little embarrassed, laughing loudly.
He hadn't planned on inviting Choji, but the feeling of not being seen as a monster was too good.
He hadn't expected Choji to agree to join his intelligence squad as soon as he was invited.
And Choji truly respected him.
"If you become Hokage, then will I be the strategist?" Choji laughed.
"Mm-hmm. So, Choji, how do you think we should find Iruka Sensei's teacher?"
Little Naruto was out of ideas and asked Choji.
Even though he thought Choji could not come up with a better idea than he could
"That's great! So I'm the strategist! How should I find Iruka Sensei's teacher?"
Little Choji fell into deep thought.
Since Iruka Sensei's teacher could create Ninjutsu with that kind of taste, maybe he could create Ninjutsu that tasted delicious.
If he found him, could he just keep eating without getting a stomachache?
Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration.
He said, "Let's go visit Iruka Sensei."
"Visit Iruka Sensei?" Naruto was puzzled.
If Iruka Sensei was going to tell them, he would have already. What good would a visit do?
"Hmm, I've heard that every student who graduates and becomes a Genin
Takes a photo with their teacher. They usually display the photo in a prominent place in their room.
My dad's is like that. We can try that."
Little Choji remembered the many photos on his dad's wall.
The images of his dad's disciples—the bowl-cut kid, the one with the senbon in his mouth, and the scrawny trio—appeared in his mind.
"Eh? Is that so?" Naruto asked.
Tenyu and Maki were relieved that Naruto hadn't been in their dad's room.
Otherwise, the secret would have been exposed instantly.
The two exchanged glances, wondering how they would escape if Naruto found out.
Choji nodded, "That's right. Even if it fails, we can just act cute towards Iruka Sensei. Maybe he'll tell us then?"
"Act cute?" Naruto was stunned.
We're not even three years old anymore, and you're still going to act cute?
If anyone found out, wouldn't it be mortifying?
"That's right, the Ninja Secret Technique: Cutesy Jutsu."
A scene flashed through little Choji's mind.
It was something he saw when he was invited by Shikamaru to play at his house.
Uncle Shikaku, using Transformation Jutsu to become a tiny Shikaku, clinging to Shikamaru's mother's leg and acting cute.
Shikamaru told him it was the Ninja Secret Technique: Cutesy Jutsu. Using a youthful appearance could make people lower their guard and make them unwilling to hit you.
"Alright, since you're my strategist, I'll trust you this once."
Naruto hadn't expected Choji to come up with such a good idea.
It was very likely they would find it.
"But how do we get into Iruka Sensei's room?"
"Look at our two teammates. They're under three, so they can run around freely without any problems.
They can go look."
Choji said, pointing at Tenyu and Maki.
The two two-year-olds were still thinking about how to prevent Naruto and the others from finding out, but they hadn't expected Choji to give them such a good opportunity.
As long as they went in, if they saw the photo, they could hide it.
That way, Naruto wouldn't find out!
So they quickly nodded in agreement.
"Yosh! I didn't expect you to be so smart, Choji! That's awesome!"
Naruto gave Choji a thumbs-up.
Choji rubbed his head bashfully, it was the first time anyone had praised him for being smart.
"Alright, towards Iruka Sensei's house, forward!
The future Hokage will be me!"
Naruto stood on the street, pointing in the direction of Iruka's house and laughing loudly.
This drew a round of scolding.
...
Swish! Swish!
Whoosh!
Hogoromo Clan, night.
Countless dark figures appeared under the moonlight.
They slowly blended into the environment.
Avoiding the Hogoromo Clan's guards and Ninja sentries, as if knowing their routes.
Transformation Jutsu, Cloaking Jutsu, Earth Release Jutsu...
Sizzle!
Splat!
Thump! Thump!
Blood splattered.
The pure white night was stained with crimson light.