Early in the morning, Hagoromo stepped out of his house dressed for training.
He made his way through the streets toward Naruto's home, occasionally responding to villagers who greeted him as they passed.
Passing a vegetable shop, Hagoromo stopped and went inside.
When he came out again, he was carrying a bag packed full of ingredients.
Following the address Naruto had given him yesterday, Hagoromo headed straight for the top floor.
As for whether Hagoromo had reported his visit beforehand—
The Third Hokage had already given him instructions a few days ago, when he came to the Ninja Academy at lunchtime.
Apparently, Naruto had once skipped lunch to take a nap, making Hiruzen Sarutobi aware of his own oversight.
Besides, whatever else could be said about Hagoromo, he was the only person so far who could have a proper conversation with Naruto.
And so, Hagoromo had been given the task as well.
He had also received two thousand ryo in mission funds.
Upon reaching the top floor, Hagoromo looked at the clearly visible Hokage Building and Hokage Rock not far away.
It had to be said that, judging by the city's layout, Naruto's home was definitely in Konoha's central district.
Knock, knock, knock!
Hagoromo rapped on the door and called out,
"Naruto! Are you home?"
Before long, footsteps sounded inside the apartment, running closer to the door.
"Teacher Hagoromo?"
Dressed in pajamas, Naruto opened the door a crack. He looked at Hagoromo standing outside and asked, a little incredulous.
"What? Aren't you going to invite me in?"
A smile spread across Hagoromo's face as he asked, amusement in his voice.
"N-no, that's not it!"
"Teacher, come on in!"
Hearing that, Naruto hurriedly threw the door wide open and invited Hagoromo inside.
As Naruto stepped aside and opened the door, Hagoromo raised an eyebrow.
The state of the room that greeted him was really a little too messy.
Even so, Hagoromo didn't slow down. He bent down to take off his shoes, then walked inside.
Hagoromo looked around the room, and Naruto, standing beside him, gradually grew nervous.
"Naruto..."
After a long moment, Hagoromo finally spoke.
"Huh?!"
"Yes, teacher!"
Still nervous, Naruto hurriedly answered.
"Next time you have a guest over, you should at least get them a glass of water first."
Hagoromo pointed to the rather cluttered surface of the dining table nearby.
"Oh? Right! Teacher, I'll get you a glass of water now!"
Only then did Naruto realize what he meant and hurry toward the kitchen to see if there was a cup.
"All right, go wash up first."
Hagoromo caught Naruto and ushered him into the washroom.
Only then did he set down the things he'd bought in the kitchen.
Rolling up his sleeves, Hagoromo decided to tidy the apartment while Naruto washed up.
After all, he was something of a neat freak, and standing in Naruto's room for even that short while had made him uncomfortable.
In the washroom, Naruto remembered that his teacher was still outside.
He quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face, then changed his clothes.
He pushed open the washroom door, only to freeze on the spot the next second.
He looked at Hagoromo, who was hard at work, and at the room, which was gradually becoming clean and tidy.
It was as if Naruto had gotten sand in his eyes; their rims gradually reddened.
"Naruto, now that you're ready, come help me clean up."
Hagoromo was rather enthusiastic at the moment. After all, when Naruto opened the washroom door,
Hagoromo had received feedback from the system.
[Disciple 'Naruto Uzumaki' detected to be deeply moved. Reward: 50 Chakra points!]
That had made Hagoromo a little excited, although that hadn't been his intention when he started.
But if he could also earn rewards by interacting with his disciple, that was a good option too.
"Okay, teacher!"
Naruto, who was usually exceptionally talkative, seemed like a different person today.
That was all he kept saying in response to Hagoromo.
"Naruto, you need to throw milk away when it expires."
"Otherwise, it'll upset your stomach."
Hagoromo opened the refrigerator and, seeing the expired milk inside, spoke to Naruto.
"Okay!"
Naruto, who was carrying a large bag of trash to leave by the door, answered as soon as he heard him.
Watching Naruto walk out the door, Hagoromo muttered with a hint of exasperation,
"Is that kid really so excited?"
Anyone could see that Naruto was in a great mood. The six whisker marks on his cheeks were twitching nonstop.
After quite a while, the room that had been bustling with activity finally grew quiet again.
Hagoromo was now sitting upright on the edge of Naruto's bed, holding a cup of hot water.
Cleaning the room was more tiring than teaching.
"Um... teacher, why did you suddenly come to my house?"
Sitting beside him with a cup of instant noodles in his hands, Naruto looked at Hagoromo and asked hesitantly.
"Didn't I tell you? I was originally planning to take you training today."
Hagoromo set down his cup before answering.
Crack!
Naruto's entire appearance changed in an instant. His whole body turned gray, and tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.
"Teacher, I... forgot."
After returning home last night, Naruto had still remembered Hagoromo's invitation to train together today and had told himself to go to bed early.
But he had been so excited that he hadn't fallen asleep until nearly dawn.
Before he could fully wake up, Hagoromo's knocking had roused him.
He had completely forgotten about it.
Hagoromo wasn't surprised by the answer. Instead, he smiled and stroked Naruto's blond hair.
"It's all right. I've changed my mind now anyway."
"Teacher! I definitely won't forget next time!"
Naruto jumped in alarm when he heard that, thinking Hagoromo no longer wanted to take him because he'd forgotten.
"All right. I helped you clean the room as soon as I got here. Haven't you noticed what time it is?"
Hagoromo gave Naruto a light tap on the forehead in exasperation.
Holding his forehead, Naruto looked toward the window nearby. The sun was already high in the sky; it looked to be nearly noon.
He had been so happy while cleaning that he really hadn't noticed the time.
"I'll cook first. We can go after we've eaten."
With that, Hagoromo stood up and walked slowly toward the kitchen.
Naruto's eyes lit up. He hurried after Hagoromo into the kitchen, tossing the cup of noodles in his hand straight into the trash on the way.
Hagoromo, who was about to sort the vegetables, stared in surprise. He pointed at the cup and said, "Naruto, weren't you still eating that?"
Naruto quickly waved his hands. "Teacher, I want to eat your cooking. If I eat the noodles, I won't have room for what you make."
Hagoromo's mouth twitched, and he looked at the cup noodles in the trash with some regret.
After all, he had asked Naruto about them while he was preparing them.
That cup was a special collaboration edition, worth two hundred and fifty ryo!
And Hagoromo's monthly salary was only five thousand eight hundred ryo!
Even that was only what he earned this year after taking on a class as its homeroom teacher.