Meanwhile, the parents of the Konoha were also waiting at the village entrance for their triumphant return.
At this moment, they all wore expressions of joy, after all, they had repelled the legendary Akatsuki.
First was Kiba Inuzuka's mother, Tsume Inuzuka, who looked at her son with a smug expression.
"Well done! You're a true son!"
Inoichi Yamanaka, standing to the side, also looked at his daughter with excitement. "Everyone in the Akatsuki is a monster, I mean in terms of strength."
Naruto watched them enviously from the Naruto. He wished his parents were there with him, praising him.
[Kushina: Naruto...]
Looking at Naruto was so lonely, Kushina fell silent.
That's indeed true. Ever since Lord Jiraiya left, Naruto has...
"Should we submit a Jonin application to the Lord Hokage?" Inoichi Yamanaka excitedly asked.
"Jonin?" Ino Yamanaka said incredulously. Could they really become Jonin?
In that case, they'd be on the same level as their parents.
"You're quite confident, aren't you? This is the consensus of all of us," Tsume Inuzuka explained from the side.
These parents all had some connections, so it was perfectly reasonable for them to jointly apply Jonin the Lord Hokage for Jonin status.
Naruto suffered a second blow at this moment; he probably wasn't included in the "everyone" they were referring to.
[Rin: Naruto, he really seems lonely, and why does he seem so out of place Naruto everyone right now?]
[Obito: If Minato-sensei were here, Naruto probably wouldn't have ended up like this.]
What Jonin application form? Minato Namikaze wrote the report for his own son and then stamped it himself?
What's wrong with the Hokage using a little bit of special privilege?
While Naruto was envying everyone else, Sakura wasn't having an easy time either.
My parents are Tenten nagging and talking nonsense, and I've already Chunin.
Sakura, who was even being beaten to a pulp by Naruto, naturally didn't give her parents a kind look.
"Dad and Mom are so long-winded, they're like complete idiots!" Sakura scolded.
[Hozuki Mangetsu: That's brave! Does he think he's talking to Naruto?]
[Uchiha Fugaku: This girl definitely has some issues. Even if her parents are nagging, they shouldn't say things like that.]
Fugaku said with some concern, "Won't this young girl beat them up after she becomes my daughter-in-law?"
At this moment, Naruto heard Sakura arguing with her parents and rushed over to mediate.
"Stop making so much noise! Mind your own business!"
That one sentence completely shut Naruto down.
That's true. I'm neither their partner nor their family member, so what right do I have to interfere?
Embarrassed, Naruto could only walk to the side and look at Sai, who was also alone with him.
Sure enough, my good brother is still the same as me; I'm not alone.
My good brother, Genin for life.
However, Naruto was just saying it; he still wanted to become Jonin, so Naruto went up and started talking to Sai.
He had no relatives among those present, and staying there would only bring him suffering, so he might as well leave quickly.
"Everyone has their own parents' recommendations, what will you do?"
However, Sai wasn't worried at all. Promotions within their Root were different from those in other places; they didn't require this kind of recommendation process.
So? Everyone else has a path to becoming Jonin, but I don't.
[Kushina: Isn't Kakashi there? Can't Kakashi vouch for us?]
[Obito: I have a question.]
At this moment, the clever Obito suddenly realized a problem: to be promoted to Jonin, one needs to Chunin, right? What is Naruto doing?
Should he consider being promoted to Chunin before even thinking about Jonin?
[Hozuki Mangetsu: I definitely felt that too. I remember Naruto has always been Genin, so it doesn't matter who applies for him.]
At this moment, Kushina also remembered that Naruto seemed to have really forgotten that he was just a Genin.
What they didn't know was that Naruto didn't aspire to become Jonin; rather, he longed to have his parents by his side, instead of always being alone after completing a mission.
When Naruto returned home that evening and looked at the empty room, a strange sense of loneliness welled up in his heart.
Looking at the trash all over the floor, well, that's because I was too lazy to clean it up.
Okay, let's go out and have some fun.
Naruto has very few ways to make himself happy, so he chose to ask Iruka-sensei to Ichiraku Ramen again, since Iruka-sensei was the only person he could ask for help.
Unsurprisingly, Iruka was taken aback when he heard Naruto's request, before explaining that Naruto was currently only Genin.
"What kind of Genin writes a Jonin application?" Iruka firmly rejected Naruto's request.
However, Iruka didn't notice that Naruto's mental state was somewhat unstable, and it was obvious to everyone that Naruto was the great hero who had saved Konoha from Pain.
Becoming Jonin is a certainty; it's just a matter of time.
However, they were thinking about completely different things. What Naruto wanted to express was his inner loneliness and his longing for the love of his parents.
However, Iruka interpreted it as Naruto wanting to become Jonin ahead of schedule, something that a mere Ninja Academy teacher like himself could never accomplish.
As expected, Naruto's spirits immediately sank after hearing Iruka's refusal. At this moment, Iruka was still lecturing Naruto about his father Minato Namikaze.
"And then it became a statue carved on the Hokage Rock." Naruto said somewhat defiantly. He had heard enough about heroes; what he wanted was parents he could see every day when he came home, not a cold, lifeless statue.
[Minato Namikaze: Naruto, he...]
Minato also seemed a little downcast. He longed to stay by Naruto's side, to teach him, and to accompany him, but as Hokage, he had responsibilities he couldn't avoid.
[Kushina: How could Naruto say such a thing about Minato!]
Kushina was also a little angry; Naruto's simple words ignored everything Minato had done.
"Iruka-sensei's parents were too, right?" Naruto said, then slumped heavily onto the table.
"Have you said enough?!" Iruka rarely lost his temper at this moment.
In a moment of excitement, he stood up and shouted loudly at Naruto.
"What's wrong with you today?" Iruka asked, puzzled.
"It's nothing." Naruto was never willing to reveal his true thoughts.
[Ōnoki: I think Naruto is just feeling envious after seeing other people having such heartwarming moments with their parents.]
[Hozuki Mangetsu: I see now. Next time, show off your love at home. Don't do it in public like this.]
The way you're doing this will easily make those without parents genuinely jealous of you. You should know that there are many geniuses in the Shinobi World who don't have parents.