Obsession That Would Not Fade! The Growth of the Big Boss, Naruto Uzumaki

"All right, all right, I'll be careful! Hinata has reminded me many times too."

Naruto Uzumaki smiled and shook his head helplessly. Then, his expression turning serious, he repeated the question he had just raised.

"Mr. Shikaku, I noticed that Genin in Konohagakure have the highest mortality rate, especially those twelve- and thirteen-year-old Genin who have just graduated from the Ninja Academy. Within three years, the combined mortality and severe disability rate was nearly over thirty percent for every class, even during peacetime. During wartime, aside from a few exceptions, every Genin who survived the battlefield with all their limbs intact was... unbelievably lucky!"

By the end, recalling the horrifying casualty rates recorded in the archives, Naruto's small face could not help but show a heavy sorrow.

If he and his companions had been born in those turbulent times...

After the war ended, how many of the companions and friends he knew would still be left?

"Yes, I know! Genin have always had a high mortality rate and severe disability rate, even in the past few years of peace. But that is what it means to be a ninja. It has always been this way!"

Shikaku Nara answered helplessly. He had an ominous feeling that Naruto Uzumaki—their newly appointed Lord Hokage, who had behaved himself for so many days—might be about to pull off some outrageous stunt that would leave everyone's jaws on the floor...

Sure enough, Naruto's next words were exactly as he expected, raising a rather sharp and sensitive question.

"But I also noticed that Genin from ninja clans have a survival rate at least three times higher than Civilian Ninja Genin. Ninja clan Chunin also have a survival rate at least twice as high as civilian Chunin! There are far more civilian Genin than ninja clan Genin, but once they reach the Chunin level, the difference in numbers becomes much smaller. By the Jonin level, the total number of ninja clan Jonin actually exceeds that of civilian Jonin..."

"Naruto, do you know where Civilian Ninja come from?"

Shikaku Nara interrupted him with a question. Without waiting for Naruto to answer, he explained seriously.

"Before Konohagakure was founded, aside from the very few ninja whose skills were passed down through master-disciple lineages, the power known as Chakra was almost exclusively possessed by the various ninja clans, taught and inherited only within their own families.

"Other than the rare lucky few favored by powerful individuals, ninja clan bloodlines were the only proof one could obtain the power of Chakra!

"If commoners wanted to gain the power of Chakra, they could only rely on their own talents and find ways to marry into a ninja clan or directly change their surname and join one.

"Only after passing a series of tests and earning a ninja clan's recognition and trust could they be taught Chakra extraction techniques and Ninjutsu of various ranks.

"Lord Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, was the first in the Shinobi World to establish the Ninja Academy system, accepting children of civilian birth with ninja talent and training them to become ninja.

"Only then did the class known as Civilian Ninja truly emerge in the Shinobi World!

"Before that, all those born as commoners who were fortunate enough to become ninja were, for the most part, retainers of the various ninja clans—private property belonging to those clans."

"I understand, Mr. Shikaku."

Naruto sighed and completed the words Shikaku Nara had left unsaid.

"...But even Lord Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, had to compromise with the ninja clans after overcoming all objections to establish the Ninja Academy system.

"The Academy only generally taught students the most basic knowledge, such as Chakra extraction techniques and the Three Jutsu. Combat training mainly focused on taijutsu and Ninja Tool Throwing Techniques.

"As for those civilian Genin, unless they were exceptionally lucky enough to take a Chunin or Jonin as their teacher and be taught advanced Ninjutsu, most of them had only two options: join a ninja clan, or display enough talent to become a direct subordinate of the Hokage.

"Otherwise, they might never come into contact with even a single C-rank Ninjutsu in their entire lives. Is that right, Mr. Shikaku?"

"In truth, whether joining a ninja clan or becoming a direct subordinate of the Hokage, both required considerable talent.

"Most civilian Genin could work hard their entire lives and never have the chance to learn a single C-rank Ninjutsu."

Shikaku Nara spoke calmly, yet with an especially poignant undertone, stating a cruel reality that could bring one to tears.

"Naruto, this is the real world!

"That is why your father, Minato Namikaze, truly loved you. As a Civilian Ninja himself, he had a smooth path as a ninja due to his talent and luck.

"But he also understood very well the hardships and pain Civilian Ninja had to face! Based on what I knew of your father, aside from his considerations for Konohagakure, "I believe this was also an important reason why he sealed the Nine-Tails inside you. With the Nine-Tails, your starting point as a ninja already far surpassed the endpoint that most Civilian Ninja and ninja clan ninja would struggle their entire lives to reach.

"As a father, he calmly and rationally chose the best possible path in life for you, even if it would bring you great pain!

"However, if it had been your mother, I doubt she would have wanted you to become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Compared to success after growing up and the power to control one's own fate, "she might have preferred for her child to have a happy, joyful childhood.

"Perhaps that is the difference between fathers and mothers!"

"I don't blame him! Really. I know how much he and Mom loved me. I've always been grateful to have such wonderful parents who loved me so deeply."

Naruto's earnest, solemn expression softened. The corners of his mouth rose into a bright smile. The experiences in the Dream World, the memories his father and mother had left him—he would never, ever forget them for as long as he lived. Raising a hand to cover his chest, he felt the rhythm of his beating heart, the pulse of life itself.

Naruto solemnly repeated to Shikaku what he had once said to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"I used to want to become Hokage because I was an orphan. I was afraid of loneliness, yearned for companions, and wanted to gain other people's recognition so that I would no longer be alone.

"But now I want to become Hokage because I want there to be no more orphans in this world, so that every child can spend a complete and happy childhood with their parents.

"I know I'm not talented enough, and for now, I can't think of any good way to make this dream of mine a reality."

So, I planned to take it one step at a time, little by little. If I could save one more family, then I would save one more family; if there could be one less orphan, then there would be one less orphan; if I could help one child, then I would help one more child...

I was an idiot, after all! I could only use idiot methods..."

By the end, thinking about how he still had no good ideas or methods for achieving his dream, Naruto was utterly distressed. His seven-year-old face scrunched up like a bitter melon, and he worriedly scratched at his hair.

Fortunately, he possessed a stubborn resilience and persistence that refused to give up. Perhaps "idiot methods" would suit him unexpectedly well.

Naruto remembered a story called "The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountains" that he had happened to find in the library of the "Dream World." He had later looked for it in Konohagakure's library, but failed to find it.

He had especially liked that little story. During that period when he forced himself to read and think every day, he would read it once in the morning and once in the evening to encourage himself:

I, Naruto Uzumaki, have no such option as "giving up" in my life!

When obsession could not be dispelled, the difference between becoming a Buddha and becoming a demon lay in a single thought...

This was the growth of Naruto Uzumaki, the first major BOSS to appear—the "Crimson Cunning Fox"!

PS: This book will begin receiving Qidian's first round of new-book recommendations at midnight tomorrow, the 26th. During the recommendation period, I'll definitely do my best to post extra chapters.

At the same time, I hope to receive everyone's support in every form. Keep reading, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, comments—the more, the better. How far this book can go depends on all of you!!!