Something That Bothered Him a Little

Something That Bothered Him a Little

"I challenge you!"

Uzumaki Naruto jumped out and shouted.

Trouble had arrived.

Lin Ke felt a headache coming on. What was this? Wouldn't it have been fine if Naruto had just kept following him? Lin Ke had already accepted being followed, so why had Naruto suddenly jumped out to challenge him on his way home?

How about we go back to following me?

People always liked settling for the next best thing.

"I won't accept your challenge," he said steadily. As an adult mentally, he understood very well that the other party wanted recognition from others, so he could treat this unreasonable brat calmly and rationally.

This wasn't a transmigrator looking down on a native. It was an adult looking at a child.

Lin Ke said nothing and walked straight past him. From what he knew of the Child of Destiny, Naruto was unlikely to sneak-attack someone who had no will to fight.

So he only needed to ignore the guy and leave.

Uzumaki Naruto planted his hands on his hips and shouted, "What, are you scared, brat?"

Brat?!!

Lin Ke stopped, took a deep breath, and kept walking. It didn't matter. It was only a form of address, only a form of address. Don't let it bother you.

I'm an adult. That's right, I'm an adult. I can't argue with a brat.

Uzumaki Naruto darted in front of him. "Hey, I'm talking to you, brat. You're being very rude!"

"First." Lin Ke stopped and took a deep breath. "I'm not some brat."

"Second, I won't fight you."

Good, Lin Ke. You really do have the bearing of a mature adult. You'll definitely become a Chunin soon—

Since he suspected the Third Hokage or other Anbu might be watching, he even straightened his back, making his expression as calm and detached as possible.

An impromptu performance, now beginning! "Here~" Uzumaki Naruto raised his palm, holding it level with his face at the height of Lin Ke's head.

Naruto was one meter forty-five, while Lin Ke was barely over one meter twenty. Even with both of them wearing shoes, the gap had not narrowed much.

A twenty-centimeter height difference...

Snap! Lin Ke felt something break inside his head. His body moved on its own, executing a perfectly standard low sweeping kick.

"Thud!"

Uzumaki Naruto hit the ground.

Lin Ke held his hand level at his knee, extending it to the top of Naruto's head, and said loftily, "Listen carefully. Brat is what you call yourself."

It really was a troublesome matter...

He sighed inwardly. From what he knew, this guy would definitely refuse to let it go. From now on, unless Lin Ke moved and stopped going to Ichiraku Ramen, he would be...

Sigh.

Damn it, I'm still growing, that's all!

Lin Ke muttered soundlessly under his breath. Being a little over one meter twenty at nine years old was perfectly normal, okay? He would hit his growth spurt soon. One day, he would definitely become a giant one meter eighty tall—no, two meters tall.

If not, I'll find a ninjutsu that can make me taller!

He thought fiercely. Then I'll pilot a Gundam too. Let's see if you dare compare heights with me then, you lousy Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki... With that thought, he quickly left the area.

"Damn it, that guy was actually so strong..." Uzumaki Naruto stood up, rubbing the arm he had landed on, his face filled with fighting spirit. What he had never feared was indifference, but the piercing pain of being hated.

As expected, Lin Ke had truly gotten himself into trouble.

Trouble in every sense of the word.

Hokage Office.

A Genin with Chunin-level talent.

"Yan Shui, you think very highly of this child."

The Third Hokage closed Nara Yan Shui's report on Fifth Squad. Normally, Genin squads did not go through this process.

But Fifth Squad was different. Lin Ke had displayed more and more unusual abilities, and the village was placing greater importance on him. His chakra reserves were somewhat low, and his speed in using secret techniques was somewhat slow, but based on his performance at the Training Grounds that day, he could completely alter the battle situation between Chunin and Genin on a battlefield.

He was indeed nothing special against Jonin, but how many Konoha-standard Jonin could a local war even have? If this had been wartime, Lin Ke would probably already have been promoted to Chunin and sent to the front lines as a candidate Special Jonin or candidate Jonin.

But this was peacetime, so—

"Yan Shui, it looks like I'll have to trouble you for a while longer," the Third Hokage said with a gentle smile.

He was the Third Hokage who had inherited the Will of Fire. Just as the First Hokage had hoped, children were the hope of the future. Since an old bag of bones like him could still hold on for some time, there was no need to rush the new generation into witnessing the cruelty of the ninja world too early.

Nara Yan Shui rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "Well, they do make things easy for me." In truth, Yuan Wei and Xia were both still lacking just a little in talent and ability.

Fortunately, Lin Ke was especially worry-free. Not only did he perform excellently himself, he also managed his two teammates very well.

When they had been learning tree climbing and water walking, he had not been stingy with his own insights and tricks, teaching them all to his companions. Aside from being somewhat too mature and aloof for his age...

In Yan Shui's eyes, this child was the most agreeable of all the brats he had ever met.

Kids these days were becoming more and more troublesome, especially Shikamaru from Brother Shikaku's family. That kid...

His thoughts drifted slightly, and he could not help comparing the two brats he had encountered.

"Whoosh~" An Anbu appeared beside the Third Hokage, quietly reported a few words, then disappeared into the shadows.

The Third Hokage's smile grew more pronounced. He took out a crystal ball from a drawer and casually used the Telescope Technique. Uzumaki Naruto's image appeared in the crystal ball.

Konoha's Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki was currently hiding in the grass, secretly peeking at the three members of Fifth Squad in the distance.

The sneaky way he looked was really... a little funny.

The Third Hokage did not avoid Nara Yan Shui when using the Telescope Technique, so Yan Shui glanced over as well. When he saw the image, he roughly understood why the Hokage had watched it in front of him.

Soon after, both of their attention was drawn to the three members of Fifth Squad. With their eyesight, they could easily infer what the three were doing from their practice movements and fragmented words.

"What a remarkably mature child..." the Third Hokage sighed.

Even children forced to grow up during wartime did not possess such composure.

After so much observation, he was increasingly inclined to promote Lin Ke to Chunin after some time. Then he could take the next step in nurturing the child.

As he aged and his body weakened, more and more things had become beyond his ability. While he could still give off some remaining warmth, allocating some resources to a child he valued and cultivating him was also an investment in the village's future.

The two watched quietly for a while, until they saw Uzumaki Naruto jump out and provoke Lin Ke. Then—

Listen carefully. Brat is what you call yourself.

Having witnessed Lin Ke's childish behavior firsthand, the Third Hokage looked up at Nara Yan Shui with a smile. Both of them wore expressions of somewhat strange relief.

Overly mature children always made people's hearts ache...