Knock, knock, knock...
Naruto was quickly washing his clothes, preparing to wring them out and find a place to dry them, while Sasuke was busy tidying up the room.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Who is it?"
Naruto's voice rang out from inside, tinged with confusion.
Outside the door, Hiruzen Sarutobi's stern expression softened, replaced by a warm smile.
"Naruto, it's me," he said, his tone brimming with kindness, like a caring grandfather.
"Grandpa Hokage? I'll open the door for you right away," Naruto replied softly, his expression shifting slightly.
However, he didn't move, continuing to focus on his laundry, determined to finish before doing anything else.
Sasuke noticed Naruto's lack of urgency and felt a twinge of nervousness.
Hiruzen had once asked him about his opinion of Naruto, and now here he was, standing at their door. It was frustrating, but Sasuke, resigning himself to the situation, walked to the door.
With the calmness of someone facing an inevitable task, Sasuke gently opened it to avoid keeping Hiruzen waiting.
"Grandpa, it's pretty late. What brings you here to see Naruto?" Sasuke asked as soon as he saw Hiruzen's familiar face.
Hiruzen, startled by Sasuke's proactive question, momentarily froze. That was exactly what he'd intended to ask Sasuke.
But Sasuke had beaten him to it.
"Something happened to Naruto today. I came to check on him and find out what's going on," Hiruzen said after a moment's pause, stepping inside. He glanced at the broom in Sasuke's hands and hesitated slightly before continuing.
"It's nothing too serious. No need to make it into a big deal," he added, downplaying the situation.
His main reason for visiting was to inspect the seal on Naruto's stomach. Everything else was secondary.
"Oh, Naruto's still doing laundry," Sasuke replied nonchalantly, losing interest in the conversation as he resumed cleaning.
Hiruzen found it odd to see Sasuke doing housework but decided it wasn't a bad thing for the boy to have such an experience.
Taking a seat, Hiruzen resolved to wait until Sasuke finished his cleaning before sending him off so he could speak with Naruto privately.
Today, Naruto had unintentionally leaked the power of the Nine-Tails but had remained conscious. To Hiruzen, this hinted at Naruto's potential.
An uncontrollable Nine-Tails was a ticking time bomb.
But if Naruto could harness its power, he could become a formidable asset.
Now, Hiruzen needed to consider how to shift the villagers' perception of Naruto, should he decide to nurture him further.
"Sasuke, you should head home. You have class tomorrow, and I need to have a private chat with Naruto," Hiruzen said as Sasuke finished cleaning and Naruto wrapped up his laundry.
"Fine. But come back soon, okay? You haven't finished your dinner yet. I'll ask the servants to reheat it for you," Sasuke replied before turning to leave.
"Thank you, Sasuke. I'll be back soon," Hiruzen said with a warm smile, genuinely grateful.
His demeanor, gentle and kind, carried a depth of sincerity that set it apart from mere pretense.
Bang.
The door closed softly.
Hiruzen, without speaking, quietly sensed Sasuke's presence.
Some things were better kept from the boy for now.
This precaution ensured Sasuke wouldn't eavesdrop.
Once Sasuke's presence faded, and the ANBU confirmed his safety, Hiruzen let out a sigh of relief.
"Naruto, are you done?" he asked, turning his attention back to the boy.
"Yes, Grandpa Hokage. What's the matter, visiting me so late?" Naruto asked, his voice polite and obedient as he approached and sat on the bed, looking at Hiruzen expectantly.
"I heard you had a rough day. Can you tell me what happened?" Hiruzen said gently, walking over to wrap a blanket around Naruto's shivering form.
It was cold, and with Hiruzen present, Naruto hadn't dared to use chakra to keep warm. His shivering was genuine.
"Well, Grandpa Hokage, I don't remember everything clearly. After school, I went to practice the Shadow Clone Jutsu you taught me near the sewer. It's quiet there, and no one bothers me. But then, I ran into a creepy old man. He looked at me like he wanted to eat me alive.
He picked up a rock and tried to hit me, but his legs weren't very steady. I managed to escape..."
Naruto looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi's pensive expression, feeling a slight sense of unease.
Would this explanation be enough to convince Hiruzen Sarutobi?
"And then?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled the fishing device near the tree, his brows furrowing deeply.
That fishing device was likely from the old man Naruto mentioned, but what did that strange old man look like? Why didn't he take the fishing device with him?
If someone couldn't catch up with Naruto, they should have appeared to be ordinary. The scattered bone fragments and blood on the ground likely belonged to that old man.
So who was the real killer? Why use such a cruel method to kill the old man?
Could there be a hidden force in Konoha protecting Naruto's safety? Was it Minato's people?
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought about how Naruto was unharmed and suddenly remembered what the intelligence bureau officer had said earlier. In the stack of documents, there were people Minato had worked with in the past.
He became thoughtful, but the situation was still shrouded in layers of mystery, obscuring the truth from his sight.
In his view, the Nine-Tails chakra surging out might have been an automatic protective response, triggered by Naruto being frightened. That was possible.
As for the old man's death and the two Anbu members pinned to the trees, there was much more to that.
But what about the incident near Naruto's house?
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt like his head was about to explode.
There wasn't a single clue to be found.
After circling around the issue repeatedly, all he could confirm was that the old man had turned into a bloody mist and shattered bones.
Beyond that, he knew nothing. For something like this to happen in Konoha was utterly inconceivable.
What troubled him most was that even the Inuzuka clan's ninja dogs couldn't pick up the scent of a stranger. Not only had the perpetrator evaded the senses of countless ninjas, but even the keen noses of the ninja dogs had been deceived. This went far deeper than he could comprehend—deep and unfathomable.
He didn't dare think further. Even shifting the blame to Minato's former subordinates seemed implausible.
He knew full well whether Minato had such capable people under him.
…
"There's nothing more. I was so scared that I fell several times and ran back without looking back."
Naruto thought for a moment, then softly answered, his body trembling as if he were recalling the events of the afternoon, utterly terrified.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Naruto with a complicated expression.
Seeing that Naruto didn't display any signs of the seal on his stomach and that he hadn't sensed the Nine-Tails' chakra all this time, Hiruzen sighed.
"Good child, Grandpa will make sure the culprit is punished properly. You should get some rest now; you have school tomorrow. Don't go to such desolate places again, understand?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi gently patted Naruto's head and spoke softly.
This matter required more investigation. At the moment, he had no leads.
"Okay, Grandpa Hokage," Naruto nodded in response to Hiruzen's words.
…
Walking out of Naruto's house, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as if his head was about to split. His steps were slow as he walked under the night sky, his gait unsteady, exuding a strong air of old age.
"Ah, I'm really getting old. My brain just doesn't work like it used to…"
Halfway along his walk, Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the moon in the sky, his tone filled with helplessness and melancholy as he sighed.
It was clear that this incident had taken a heavy toll on him.