Chapter 228 Naruto's Ninja Way
When Uchiha Touko was instructing the three little ones, Kurama (the Nine-Tails) listened in the entire time.
His attitude towards what Uchiha Touko taught changed from initially thinking, "Let me see what kind of profound theories this Uchiha clan lunatic can come up with," to later realizing that what he said seemed to make some sense, and finally, Kurama discovered that everything he had witnessed in his long life could be answered by the theories taught by Uchiha Touko.
Therefore, Kurama didn't refute Naruto's words at this moment.
The two, human and fox, stared at each other across the seal. After a while, Naruto suddenly revealed a bright smile and said, "Brother Kurama, what do you say, how about we travel around the ninja world together?"
"What?" Kurama was stunned.
"Although my teacher said that one person can't stop the tide, now that I've learned such a miraculous technique, I feel I should do something too." A resolute glint flashed in Naruto's eyes. "If future wars are inevitable, then I want to protect as many people as possible."
Kurama looked at Naruto's serious face, and the image of a boy in his mind slowly overlapped with the Naruto in front of him.
[Ashura?]
Kurama's momentary silence caused a hint of displeasure to flash across Naruto's face. Naruto pouted and said unhappily, "Brother Kurama, I'm serious! How about we go and see every corner of the ninja world together?"
"Have you forgotten your identity? Do you think your teacher will let you run around the world like this?" Kurama couldn't help but remind him after regaining his senses.
"That's a problem." Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "Then let's sneak around. Teacher is busy dealing with the aftermath of the war these days."
"For the system of your ninja village, you must know the implications of what you're doing, kid. Are you planning to become a rogue ninja?" Kurama reminded him.
Having his most crucial point revealed by Kurama, Naruto let out a long sigh, the smile on his face vanishing instantly. "To be honest, I'm not ready. This village not only has my respected teachers and elders, but also my childhood friends. If I leave, they'll probably be in a difficult position."
"However, it seems that future war is inevitable. Although my teacher and Sasuke say it's the only way to true peace, I don't want my chakra to become part of the killing, especially after I learned about its other use." Naruto said, looking at the chakra on his right hand connected to Kurama through a Ninja Sect secret technique, "Just consider it me trying to escape."
"So, what do you plan to do? Rebuild Ninjutsu?" Kurama asked Naruto with an intrigued expression.
"No." Naruto shook his head. "Since Ninjutsu has already failed once, there's no point in rebuilding it. If there must be a war on the road to peace, then I want to ensure that the majority of innocent people in the ninja world are spared from harm in that war."
As soon as Naruto finished speaking, his chakra surged, but his azure eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"If there must be pain on the road to peace, then I am willing to bear it all alone. This is my ninja way."
Inside the sealed space, a golden light flashed across Naruto's body. Naruto suddenly felt that a portion of the power hidden within his body had been unlocked. It seemed that the voice that had been speaking within him also acknowledged his answer.
"Interesting brat." Kurama grinned, baring its teeth. "So, when do you plan to leave?"
"In the next couple of days." Naruto clenched his fist and smiled. "Before I leave, I want to say goodbye to my friends properly."
"Whatever. If you need anything, just call me." Kurama finished speaking, lay down, and closed its eyes.
...
After leaving the sealed space, Naruto began to take stock of all his current assets.
First was the limited-edition instant noodles he had hidden in various corners of his house, all his treasures from over the years. After packing them up, Naruto went to the Senju clan's territory that very night and found Karin.
"So... you came to find me in the middle of the night just to seal all these things?" Karin, who hadn't even changed out of her pajamas, was woken up in the middle of the night by her idiot clan leader and thought it was something important. Looking at the pile of instant noodles in front of her, her fists clenched.
"Please, you know my sealing techniques are terrible. It would be such a waste if these got ruined," Naruto said, clasping his hands together. "As a thank you, just pick a few boxes from here and eat them. I guarantee they're all top-quality."
"Idiot, girls will get pimples from eating too much of this stuff!" Karin couldn't help but give her silly clan leader a smack on the head, but in the end, she still followed Naruto's instructions, packing up the limited-edition ramen and sealing it away.
After leaving one for Karin, Naruto took the dozen or so sealing scrolls to the streets of Konoha. After forming hand seals, he summoned more than ten shadow clones, each carrying a sealing scroll to their friends' homes.
His own body, however, arrived at the Uchiha clan's territory, in front of Fugaku's residence.
Standing at Sasuke's door, Naruto hesitated several times, but still didn't knock to wake Sasuke. He simply placed a sealing scroll at Sasuke's door.
Meanwhile, within the Hyuga clan's territory, the shadow clone in front of Neji's house was doing the same thing.
"I thought you'd say a proper goodbye to this Uchiha brat," Kurama's voice rang in Naruto's ears.
"Forget it, Sasuke's so smart, what if he figures something out?" Naruto scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly.
"We should get going, Kurama-nii-san." The sun slowly rose on the horizon, and Naruto arrived at the west gate of Konoha.
"Young Master Naruto? Good morning! Where are you headed?" Two ninja from the guard team greeted Naruto with smiles upon seeing him.
While there were still some people in Konoha who dared to call Naruto the Demon Fox, they were few and far between. Who in Konoha didn't know that Uzumaki Naruto was the head of the Uzumaki clan, the second-in-command of Konoha, and the young master of the Hatake clan, whom the guard captain Hatake Kakashi treated like a younger brother?
"I heard there's a new ramen shop in a town to the west, and I wanted to try it," Naruto said with a smile.
"I see." The other ninja nodded, but Naruto was still stopped at the paperwork check.
Although Konoha had developed over the years and its thick walls had been demolished, those with ninja status still needed paperwork to leave the village.
"I just want to go out for some ramen, is it really necessary to go through all this trouble?" Naruto was somewhat exasperated after being stopped; his travel plans had been thwarted before they even began.
"Young Master Naruto, this is just the rule. You should go to the security team to complete the formalities; they shouldn't stop you there," said the ninja guarding the checkpoint.
"Alright," Naruto nodded and turned to leave through the main gate of the west gate.
Afterward, Naruto lay in wait in the west for a while, then ambushed a group of genin who were heading to the western forest to help the Daimyo catch crickets. He knocked them unconscious, used the Transformation Jutsu to transform into their appearance, and then used their token to leave Konoha.
Meanwhile, Sasuke had already gotten up and saw the sealing scroll placed at his doorstep. Sasuke recognized it as the kind Karin often used and picked it up, somewhat puzzled.
"What's going on?" Sasuke frowned, opening the sealing scroll. However, the next moment, his expression changed drastically.
The scroll contained ten boxes of limited-edition Ichiraku ramen. Sasuke recognized several of them; these were ramen where one person could only buy two boxes. He'd only agreed to queue up with Naruto after training because Naruto had begged him for a long time.
But now these things were here, and considering Naruto's unusual behavior these past few days, a bad feeling rose in Sasuke's heart.
"Sasuke!"
Just then, Neji and Hinata rushed over, each holding a similar scroll.
"You have one too?" Neji asked, surprised to see Sasuke's scroll.
"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke asked quickly.
"I've already looked for him, he's not home," Neji said, shaking his head.
"Go check on the others, I'll go find Karin," Sasuke said hastily.
"Okay," Neji nodded. "Meet at Central Park in half an hour."
...
Half an hour later, everyone gathered at Konoha's Central Park, each holding a scroll.
"What on earth is Naruto doing?" Sasuke gritted his teeth, gripping the scroll tightly in his hand.
"There's bad news." Neji, who arrived last, walked over with a serious expression. "A team of genin who just graduated this year was attacked inside the village. The attackers knocked them unconscious and stole their exit permits. The security force is investigating."
"Could it be Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, frowning.
"Where were they attacked?" Sasuke asked.
"West Gate," Neji said.
"I understand." Sasuke nodded. "You guys search the village again. I'll go west. Neji, go tell our teacher."
"Are you sure that person is Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.
"It's very likely him," Sasuke said. "Whatever he's trying to do, I have to bring him back."
…
🚀 Can't wait for the next chapter?
100+ advanced chapters are already available on Patreon!
👉 patreon.com/Horizons685
(End of Chapter)