The Time for Change Has Come

A month passed quickly, and today was the day the Third Hokage would depart from the village.

According to Shikamaru's intel, the Third Hokage was going to apply for construction funds from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire for a new phase of the village's development.

Early in the morning, the entrance to the village was already crowded with people seeing off the Third Hokage, everyone wearing smiles.

"Naruto, are you here specifically to see off the Third Hokage too?"

Choji stood by a wall, stuffing snacks into his mouth as he spoke.

"Yeah, I'm here specifically to see off Lord Hokage."

Gazing into the distance as the Third Hokage, accompanied by a group of Anbu, exited the Konohagakure gates, Naruto nodded calmly.

"Are we still going to the training grounds today?"

Shikamaru's voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

"No," Naruto turned around, his gaze like a calm, deep pool as he smiled at Shikamaru. "I have to go home."

"Oh, okay." Shikamaru's breath hitched when he saw Naruto's unusually calm eyes. He swallowed the words that were about to come out, then nodded with a sense of awe.

After glancing once more at the cheering crowds at the distant village gate, Naruto walked away in the opposite direction.

What happened?

The last time he saw Naruto with that look in his eyes was when the Hokage showed him a photograph.

Shikamaru's curiosity was piqued again.

He had spent a few months with Naruto, but Naruto had always felt very mysterious to him. From the day they met, he and his father had decided.

Besides reporting on Naruto's normal interactions with them, they would occasionally add some analysis of his personality.

Naruto's figure was no longer visible, but Shikamaru felt a faint, lingering unease in his heart.

"Naruto, what about that guy who's been trailing us?"

Kurama, sealed away, couldn't help but speak up. Hayate Gekko was still lingering behind Naruto.

"His target is Uzumaki Naruto. It's his duty, and his mission. I'll give him another Uzumaki Naruto later."

Naruto replied to Kurama while walking at an unhurried pace, his expression completely unfazed by Hayate Gekko's surveillance. His gaze remained calm and steady, fixed ahead, while his subtly spreading perception captured every detail of his surroundings.

It wasn't snowing at this time of year, and many adults were walking on the streets in groups with their children and acquaintances, making it particularly lively.

After scanning his surroundings, he headed towards a street that was usually quieter.

"Haha, you can't catch me!"

"That's impossible! How could you jump up there!"

"Heh heh! Of course! I'm going to be the strongest ninja! Just like the Third Hokage!"

By this time, Naruto had arrived on a more secluded street. It was rather quiet here. As he approached a deserted shop, he heard the voices of two small children from above.

"I can climb up too. Then I'll become the strongest ninja."

"Idiot, don't come up together."

It was two children who hadn't undergone any training, playing a boring ninja game.

Just then, the shop owner came out, his face flushed with anger, and shouted, "You brats, don't be on my roof! Be careful!"

Huh?

Naruto instinctively looked up. Two children, about four years old, were huddled together fearfully on a pillar less than half a meter in diameter on the roof, trembling.

The shop owner's shout, instead of helping, startled the two children.

One child's foot slipped, and he immediately started to fall off the pillar. The other child quickly reached out to grab him but missed, falling down with him.

The two brats screamed in terror as they dangled in the air, their hands flailing around as they fell.

Falling from this height would surely cripple them, if not kill them.

Naruto flashed forward, and the next moment his hands had each grabbed a child by the collar. To the shop owner's still horrified gaze, the two children were gently placed on the ground by him.

"Waaah~~"

After landing safely, the two children's eyes turned red, and whether it was snot or tears, it instantly streamed down their faces.

"That's great! Naruto, they should be okay!"

Minato Namikaze, inside the sealed space, looked invigorated.

He hadn't even had time to speak before Naruto had already taken the initiative to save them.

Hearing Minato Namikaze's voice, Naruto's gaze darkened.

This was because he had just noticed that Hayate Gekko, who was following not far behind him, had no intention of revealing himself to save them.

The children's crying soon attracted their parents. Seeing their parents arrive, the two naughty children each threw themselves into their parents' arms and then pointed at Naruto, crying even louder than before.

The parents quickly soothed their children.

At this point, a crowd of other villagers and children who had come to watch the excitement also gathered, blocking the street.

"How do you raise your children? Do you know what just happened!" The shop owner rushed to the parents of the children and first yelled, then turned and pointed at Naruto, "If it weren't for him... him. Uh. The Demon Fox!"

The shop owner, pointing at Naruto, couldn't speak. His eyes were wide open, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

He had heard children playing on the roof earlier and rushed out, ignoring Naruto in front of him. Later, after Naruto saved the children, he had his back to the shop owner.

Now, he recognized who Naruto was.

Not only did he recognize him, but the parents of the two children also recognized him, and so did the other onlookers.

"Damn it! It must have been the Demon Fox that scared the children."

"Exactly, look, aren't those two children still pointing at him!"

"As expected, it's this jinx. Look how scary his eyes are."

The villagers who had gathered were in an uproar, and curses followed.

Seeing this, the shop owner hesitated, wanting to say something, but ultimately he didn't.

"Father, are you alright now?"

After asking into the Sealed Space, Naruto moved his body and walked towards the crowd opposite him.

Minato Namikaze's expression was somber. He had closed his eyes the moment the shop owner pointed at Naruto and called him the Demon Fox.

"Demon Fox! What are you doing! Stop!"

"Stop it, you scared me."

The crowd blocking the street immediately became vigilant and questioned Naruto. Some small children were even crying.

"Make way," Naruto's voice, devoid of emotion, clearly reached the crowd.

The street immediately cleared, creating a wide passage.

Naruto stepped forward, with Hayate Gekko following closely behind.

"Naruto, you saved those two children, they shouldn't have wronged you."

Minato Namikaze felt a pang of sadness. He hesitated and continued, "Naruto, why didn't you explain just now? They didn't mean it. Back then, everyone in the village was hurt to some extent."

"Are you trying to say that wounded hearts have no hope?" Naruto's figure appeared in the Sealed Space.

Minato Namikaze was taken aback. "No, I didn't mean that. I meant that if the misunderstanding just now had been cleared up, the villagers could have seen your kind side."

"That's impossible," Naruto's gaze suddenly became sharp and piercing. "Because if they see it, they'll expect me to always be kind."

"Besides being my instinctive reaction to save people today, I actually wanted to see Hayate Gekko abandon his mission and reveal himself."

Minato Namikaze sighed in his heart, "I understand."

"Father, these things mean nothing to me. The current timing is very important to me," Naruto walked up to Minato Namikaze and extended his fist. "I need you to show me your experience cultivating the Flying Thunder God again."

Sorry for the late return.