The strategic sense of accomplishment from the "hero saving the beauty" (drooling bubble version) outside the Hyuga clan's compound hadn't fully faded, and physical training continued under the diaper's embrace.
This day, "Harrier" probably thought I had been a bit "well-behaved" lately (my main energy was spent complaining about the Law of physics and strategizing to win over my future wife), or perhaps it was a routine patrol route rotation.
She pushed a crude, creaking wooden stroller (funded by the Third Hokage?) and brought me to a relatively lively public park in the center of Konoha Village, with greenery and a small sandpit.
Sunlight dappled through the sparse leaves, and the air was filled with the sounds of children playing and the fresh scent of grass, a stark contrast to the previous stinky alley and dusty open ground.
Here… there was Life Qi!
Although that faint, watchful, and disgusted sense of being observed still existed, at least I could see normal children playing, not completely distorted by hatred.
My gaze swept like a radar.
Soon, it locked onto a group of little girls playing house next to the sandpit.
They wore brightly colored dresses, like a flock of chattering sparrows.
Among them, a pink-haired girl was particularly eye-catching.
Unlike the other girls who quietly arranged "tableware," she stood with her hands on her hips, her small face slightly upturned, exuding an Aura that was somewhat deliberate and unbefitting her age.
She was directing another timid little girl: "Hey! Ino! That flower goes here! As a decoration! Don't you understand, you idiot Ino!"
*Sakura Haruno!
Future teammate!
Top student!
And… a violent girl with an extremely terrifying inner personality!
Target locked!
Her iconic cherry-pink short hair was dazzling in the sunlight, and her fair little face had a touch of baby fat, but her emerald green eyes sparkled with a shrewdness far beyond her peers and… a subtle, hard-to-detect desire for "dominance."
Her forehead was indeed very full, so smooth it could reflect light.
Just then, a little girl with pigtails, probably finding Sakura too "bossy," pouted and muttered softly: "Sakura is ordering people around again… Hmph, isn't it just because her forehead is too big, so she acts fierce so people don't stare…"
The voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough.
Especially among girls of this age, any "difference" could become a target for attack.
Sakura's hands-on-hips posture instantly froze!
Her pink hair seemed to bristle!
She whipped her head around, her emerald green eyes glaring fiercely at the girl who spoke, her small face turning from white to red, like a lit firecracker!
Her most sensitive spot had been precisely hit!
"You… what did you say?!"
Her voice rose, sharp and angry from being wounded, her small fists clenching.
"My forehead isn't big at all! You… you're talking nonsense!"
"It is big though! Like a light bulb!"
The pigtail girl was startled by Sakura's Aura, but emboldened by the crowd, she retorted stubbornly and even made an exaggerated funny face.
"Pfft…" The other two little girls nearby couldn't help but giggle.
Sakura's face instantly flushed crimson, and a layer of aggrieved and angry mist quickly clouded her emerald eyes.
She was like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, bristling all over, yet somewhat at a loss from being exposed in public.
She could only bite her lip tightly, trying hard not to let tears fall, her forced "Aura" appearing even more fragile and pathetic.
Opportunity!
*A wide forehead? That's a symbol of wisdom! A future top student!
Time to boost my favorability!
"Harrier" was pushing the stroller, intending to go around the path at the edge of the park, completely uninterested in the squabble between the little girls.
But how could I let this opportunity slip by?
Just as the stroller passed by the group of girls, only two or three meters from Sakura—
I, Uzumaki Naruto, the infant version of a "social butterfly," acted again!
Taking advantage of "Harrier" being slightly Divided Soul, looking at a street vendor selling pinwheels in the distance (?), I suddenly grabbed the low edge of the stroller with both hands, straightened my small waist, and pushed off with my legs!
The rolling over and supporting skills I had diligently practiced in the cradle instantly burst forth!
"Heave-ho!"
A standard "prison break" move, with the unique clumsiness of a baby!
My small body successfully tumbled out of the stroller, landing with a "plop" firmly on the soft grass!
Although I was a bit dazed from the fall, the grass cushioned it, and I was fine.
And, the landing spot… perfect! Right on the edge of the "battlefield" between Sakura and the girls!
"Ah!"
"Harrier" was startled by my sudden movement, let out a low cry, and immediately stopped the stroller, her cold gaze sweeping towards me.
But she didn't immediately come over to pick me up, probably thinking that a fall on the grass was harmless, and there was still some distance from the girls, so there was no "threat" for now.
She just stood there, arms crossed, watching coldly, as if waiting to see what new trick I would pull next.
I ignored "Harrier's" cold gaze and also overlooked the grass clippings clinging to me.
My target was clear—that pink-haired girl, still holding back tears, bristling alone like a wounded little animal!
"Eee-yah… Eee-yah…" I made indistinct sounds, using both hands and feet, and began my signature "full-speed" crawl, with my bottom sticking high up and a hint of going hands-and-feet-together!
My speed wasn't fast, but my direction was straight!
Through the grass, over a few fallen leaves, under the curious gazes of the surrounding girls, I crawled directly towards Sakura!
Sakura was immersed in immense shame, indignation, and grievance when she suddenly felt movement by her feet.
She instinctively looked down—
A pair of wet, sky-blue, large eyes, full of pure curiosity (at least on the surface), were looking straight up at her.
A golden little head was resting by her feet, clad in small sandals.
"?" Sakura's anger and grievance were interrupted, and a flicker of confusion crossed her emerald eyes.
Who was this suddenly appearing baby, who looked much younger than her?
What did he want?
In the instant Sakura was dazed, I extended my chubby little hand.
Target: her small, baby-fat-cheeked face, puffed up with anger… more precisely, her smooth, full forehead!
My movements were slow, with the unique clumsiness and hesitation of a baby.
Sakura probably thought I had no ill intent (what malice could a baby have?), and coupled with her recent grievance, she instinctively craved a bit of "harmless" contact, so she didn't dodge.
Thus, under the curious gazes of the few little girls around, and "Harrier's" cold observation, my chubby little index finger, covered in grass clippings and a bit of drool, gently and tentatively poked Sakura's smooth, full forehead.
*Squish.
The sensation… soft, springy.
Hmm, indeed… quite wide.
*Inner monologue: Future top student's CPU heatsink! Potential marked!
One poke didn't seem enough.
I awkwardly, as if confirming some new and interesting thing, rubbed my fingertip on that smooth skin… a rub?
My movements were extremely natural, with the focused intensity unique to a baby exploring the world.
Sakura was completely stunned!
Her emerald eyes were wide open, and tears of recent grievance still clung to her long eyelashes.
She had clearly never encountered such a situation.
Being ridiculed for her forehead by her peers, she could be angry, she could argue.
But being poked on the forehead by a passing, seemingly innocent little baby… what was that supposed to be?
There was no ridicule, no malice, only pure, slightly silly curiosity.
Just as Sakura's brain briefly crashed due to this unexpected contact, I lifted my small face.
And grinned!
A super-duper silly smile, utterly guileless, unreserved, and even squeezing out a tiny snot bubble from trying too hard!
My sky-blue eyes curved into crescent moons, as if filled with all the sunlight (and drool) of the entire park, "smashing" into Sakura without reservation!
"Eee… giggle giggle…" Accompanied by meaningless laughter, drool bubbles shimmered with colorful light in the sunlight.
"…" Sakura looked at the small face before her, adorned with a silly grin, snot bubble, and drool, yet with unusually "clean" (?) eyes.
She felt the lingering touch on her forehead, warm and moist from the baby… The blush on her face, caused by anger, was quickly replaced by another, deeper blush, tinged with a bit of bewilderment!
Like a stone dropped into a lake, ripples of embarrassment spread out in circles.
Her clenched little fists unconsciously loosened, and the tears she had been holding back seemed to retreat.
"You… you little dummy! Why did you poke my forehead?!"
She instinctively mumbled softly, her tone devoid of the sharp anger from before, instead carrying a soft, chiding note that even she didn't notice.
She didn't even immediately retreat, just puffed out her cheeks slightly, looking down at the golden-haired baby who was "grinning" at her.
*Nice! Initial impression established!
*Blushing! She's blushing again! Plan successful!
*Inner monologue: Top student + violent girl, extremely high investment value! Wide forehead? That's a symbol of wisdom! Poke it, preemptively reserve a spot for a future teammate!*
I ignored Sakura's soft "protest," maintaining my "innocent" smile, and even extended my small hand, seemingly wanting to "research" this interesting "wide forehead" again.
"Hey! You…" Sakura instinctively took a small step back, her face even redder.
"Harrier's" cold voice rang out at the opportune moment, interrupting this "warm" (?) scene: "Let's go." She stepped forward a few paces, picked me up from the grass unceremoniously like a little chick, brushed off the grass clippings, and roughly stuffed me back into the creaking stroller.
"Wah!" I let out a timely, dissatisfied wail, protesting.
"Harrier" pushed the stroller, leaving the small sandpit without looking back.
I tried hard to twist my head, and through the gaps in the stroller's railing, I took one last look at Sakura Haruno, who was still standing there, her pink hair slightly disheveled, her small hand unconsciously touching her recently poked forehead, her small face flushed, and her eyes looking somewhat bewildered and complexly at the direction I was leaving.
In those emerald eyes, the previous grievance and anger had long vanished, replaced by a naive, novel, and even slightly "offended" but strangely not disliked feeling.
I slumped contentedly in the hard stroller, letting "Harrier" push me towards the next unknown point of complaint (or conquest).
On my small face, the lingering snot bubble popped with a "pop" in the sunlight, leaving behind a silly grin understood only by myself, full of "strategic foresight."
Uzumaki Naruto, his achievement and name (and snot bubbles) deeply hidden, added a rich and colorful (drool version) stroke to his "Konoha Future Core Team Building" plan in the creaking stroller.