Ten minutes later, outside the Konoha Ninja Academy, Uzumaki Naruto was walking along with Sasuke, Itachi, and Shisui following behind.
"Sasuke, not bad. To be able to make a friend like this."
"Hmph!"
Uchiha Sasuke snorted coldly, acting extremely tsundere.
However, he did not refute Uchiha Shisui calling Uzumaki Naruto, who was beside him, his friend.
"Sasuke, you have way more bumps on your head today than I do!"
Naruto directly touched a sore spot, pointing out Uchiha Sasuke's pain, making his entire face look much worse.
During the battle with Hyuga Neji, in the final moments, he had become increasingly inflated with confidence. He actually charged right in front of Hyuga Neji, wanting to compete directly in Taijutsu.
The result was that he was beaten by Hyuga Neji's unpretentious Gentle Fist until he was lying flat on the ground—right in front of his brother, Uchiha Itachi. It was mortifying.
After Hyuga Neji had vented his anger, he wasn't as irritable when he beat Naruto, so his strikes were much lighter.
Watching the interaction between his younger brother and his brother's friend, a happy smile appeared on Uchiha Itachi's face. At the same time, he gained a little more confidence regarding the matters between the clan and the village.
Who is Sasuke?
He is the child of the Uchiha Clan Head, Uchiha Fugaku. His words and deeds would, to a certain extent, influence both the village and the clan.
If Sasuke could be friendly with the outside world and make friends with Naruto, could this become a signal to ease the tension between the village and the clan?
Uchiha Shisui obviously thought of this point as well. He even felt that perhaps he could gain more experience from Naruto.
He wanted to see why Naruto would be friends with someone from the Uchiha clan.
If this could lead to more Uchiha ninjas and children having positive contact with the outside world, perhaps the issues between the clan and the village would be much easier to handle!
"Naruto, sorry, forgive my presumption, but I want to know, why are you willing to become friends with Sasuke?"
After Shisui asked this, not only Itachi but even Sasuke pricked up his ears, wanting to listen.
A smile appeared on Naruto's face.
"Actually, at the very beginning, seeing Sasuke walk into the classroom with both hands in his pockets, I also hated him. I thought this guy was extremely smug!"
Sasuke grunted, a trace of awkwardness flashing across his face.
So, in the beginning, was that his image in everyone's eyes?
"But later, when I was being shunned, loathed, and misunderstood by everyone, Sasuke stood up.
Only then did I discover that aside from being a bit of a show-off and a bit tsundere, Sasuke actually has good points.
I think the people in the village are just like I was; they have preconceived prejudices against the Uchiha, against you guys.
Then, because there are few people who can communicate with and acknowledge the Uchiha, everyone's impression of your Uchiha clan remains poor.
However, I actually have a method. Perhaps it can change everyone's attitude towards you..."
"Really?"
Naruto didn't say it, but actually, the shape of the Sharingan that appeared in the Nine-Tails' eyes during the night of the Nine-Tails' Rebellion was the root cause.
As long as the Uchiha clan cannot find intelligence proving Uchiha Obito's involvement, the village's suspicion of the Uchiha clan will not disappear.
Facing the excited Uchiha Shisui and the skeptical Uchiha Itachi, the smile that appeared on Naruto's face gave them both a bad premonition.
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll let Sasuke pass on my method to you."
"Sorry, Sister Shiro is waiting for me at home right now. I have to go home.
Bye-bye, Smug Sasuke. Next time, don't get beaten so badly by Hyuga Neji!"
"You... you just watch, Uzumaki Naruto! Next time, next time I will definitely win against him!"
Naruto parted ways with the three Uchiha. The Anbu ninjas who had been tracking them behind the scenes couldn't help but quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
A masked Anbu ninja glanced at Uchiha Shisui, a trace of fear flashing in his eyes.
The title "Shisui of the Body Flicker" wasn't created by people boasting; Uchiha Shisui had earned it directly while participating in the Third Great Ninja War at a young age!
Most importantly, regarding that terrible chaos a few years ago, most of the existing evidence pointed toward the Uchiha clan.
So, seeing the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki coming into contact with Uchiha clan ninjas...
Even if it was Uchiha Shisui, who was deeply trusted by the Third Hokage, they felt it was extremely dangerous and had made all preparations in the shadows.
"It's a bit... unusual."
A look of curiosity appeared on Uchiha Shisui's face. He had actually detected the Anbu ninjas' tracking.
He just hadn't expected these Anbu ninjas to place such importance on Naruto.
Uchiha Shisui initially thought there was an Anbu mission that needed to be done.
However, those two guys followed them the whole way, and after Naruto left, they quickly left as well.
Thinking of Naruto's identity as the "Demon Fox," Shisui instantly understood a lot. At the same time, a sense of sorrow welled up in his heart at that moment.
It seemed that while they were protecting Naruto, in reality, they were guarding against the Uchiha—guarding against him, Uchiha Shisui.
Ever since that disaster erupted that night, Konoha Village had been guarding against the Uchiha clan, believing that the Uchiha clan had controlled the Nine-Tails to cause that terrible disaster.
Now, were they afraid that the "Demon Fox" Naruto would be controlled, causing that kind of event to happen again?
Whether Lord Third Hokage believed it or not, he didn't know, but the distrust of these Anbu ninjas made Shisui feel uncomfortable.
They were comrades who lived together day and night and executed missions together.
His heart felt a bit blocked, but Shisui quickly adjusted his mood.
He believed in the Third Hokage. He believed that the current higher-ups of Konoha absolutely wanted to make the relationship between the clan and the village more harmonious.
He had to work even harder!
Naruto soon saw the Third Hokage at his doorstep.
"Grandpa Third, did you come specifically to see me?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen quietly breathed a sigh of relief seeing Naruto unharmed, a kind smile hanging on his face.
"Naruto, I had a good talk with your homeroom teacher. Don't worry, he has thought it through. In the future, he won't do that kind of thing."
"Re... really?"
A look of excitement surged onto Naruto's face. After pulling at the Third Hokage and calling him "Grandpa this, Grandpa that" happily for a while, he watched the Third Hokage leave, citing that he had matters to attend to.
The Anbu ninjas also disappeared once again.
It wasn't until Sarutobi Hiruzen's back had completely disappeared that Naruto's eyes became complex as he walked into his house.
The Third... Grandpa, really is a warm person.
All these years, the busy Grandpa Third would always make time to accompany him, care for him, and buy him delicious food.