The Crown Prince's Working Adventure

"Don't run, you little monster!" On Konoha's streets, a large group of people chased after a little brat, shouting nonstop. By making full use of the obstacles in the streets and his small size, the brat remained untouchable.

"Catch him!"

"What did he steal from you?"

"My Frying Pan!"

"My father's important fountain pen!"

"My grandma's foot-binding cloth!"

"A pornographic magazine..."

"Pah!" The pursuers kicked away the guy who had lost his magazine, then continued the chase.

"Hehehe, they can't catch me at all." Naruto grinned from behind a trash can. Those idiot adults had not even noticed that the person they were chasing had vanished and were still running around everywhere.

"Let's see how to fix these." Naruto hid in his tiny room, placed everything he had snatched from his arms onto the table, and slowly began repairing them with his small hands.

In the middle of the night, after everyone on the streets had fallen asleep, a small shadow appeared on the shopping street, holding a rag and cleaning graffiti off several storefronts. Naturally, those were Naruto's proud creations too. He simply painted them during the day, then came back at night to erase them himself.

"Why are you doing these things?" Hiruzen suddenly appeared behind Naruto and asked in a heavy tone.

"I was the one who painted them, so it's only right that I clean them off too." Naruto did not turn around and kept scrubbing the door panel with all his strength, wiping away some stains while he was at it.

"I'm asking why you did these things in the first place. If it was for revenge, wouldn't that make all this pointless?"

"I want everyone to acknowledge me, but I don't know how." Naruto puffed out his cheeks. He only wanted to do something eye-catching so the villagers would stop dwelling on the word monster. As for what to do afterward, he had not thought that far ahead.

"This might only make them hate you even more." Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe and continued.

"Whatever. They already hate me that much anyway."

"Grandpa Third, do you know how to fix an alarm clock?" Naruto took out the things he had stolen during the day from his pockets. He had already repaired the things he could fix, and the rest would have to be returned as they were.

"Hmph, of course I do. Don't underestimate the Hokage." Hiruzen took another puff, emptied the tobacco from his pipe into his pocket, then sat right down on the dirty ground without complaint and tinkered with the items alongside Naruto.

"This magazine..." Hiruzen looked at the blood-pumping magazine and did not know what to say for a moment.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Hiruzen silently tucked the magazine into his robes. Naruto was still too young for this sort of thing.

The next day, when the villagers got up and opened their shops, they stared at one another in surprise. Everything that had gone missing yesterday had been wrapped up and placed outside their doors, and the places Naruto had vandalized were clean again.

"My Frying Pan was cleaned until it looked brand new."

"Dad's fountain pen was fixed!"

"The alarm clock works again too!"

"My magazine didn't come back!"

"Idiot adults, Naruto Uzumaki is here again! Protect your important things properly so I don't steal them!" Just as everyone was wondering why, Naruto popped out again. He stood on a table, shouted at the top of his lungs, and resumed his work of robbing people.

And so, the same thing repeated itself every day on the shopping street. The villagers' names for Naruto gradually changed from monster, trash, and disgusting to brat.

Patter, patter, patter. Rain poured down in sheets. Even in this weather, Naruto was still running, while the people behind him chased him beneath umbrellas. It was as though chasing Naruto had become part of daily life, an indispensable routine.

"Ow!" Naruto suddenly slipped and fell to the ground. The same daily routine was still too exhausting for his small body. He had to repair things at night and could not sleep properly, leaving him without even the strength to run away now.

"...Have you seen that brat?" The villagers, led by a tall man, walked up to Naruto. Just when Naruto thought he was about to get beaten up, the man suddenly asked this.

"No."

A voice filled with concern.

"No."

A voice filled with shame.

"No."

Everyone who had been chasing Naruto turned a blind eye to him lying on the ground.

"That brat got away again today. Let's go back." The man placed his umbrella beside Naruto and silently turned to leave.

"Yeah, what rotten luck." The remaining villagers followed his example. Before long, Naruto was surrounded by umbrellas, and no more rain could fall on him.

"Heh... hehehe." Naruto rolled over and looked at the colorful umbrellas above him, his nose suddenly stinging. After resting for a while, he gathered all the umbrellas and slowly walked home.

"So sleepy." After washing the mud off his body and wiping every umbrella clean before placing them on the table, Naruto collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.

"Huh, this is... Nine-Tails!" Naruto had returned to that strange space. When he saw the Nine-Tails, delight appeared on his face, and he immediately pounced forward.

"Brat, who gave you permission to pounce on me?" The Nine-Tails stretched out a claw, pinned Naruto to the ground, and roared.

"Because I've always wanted to see you again. But I couldn't come in here, and you're the only one willing to talk to me."

"Even if you don't hate me, I hate you very much. Don't come near me!"

"Why? I haven't done anything to make you unhappy, have I?"

"Because you're human. Humans are what I hate most, the most disgusting animals in the world!"

"That's not right. There's no reason for you to hate me. It's not like I wanted to be human. If I could, I'd want to be a fish or a bird too. I'd definitely be happier than I am now. Let's be reasonable."

"Hmph." The Nine-Tails slowly removed its claw. Seeing this, Minato hurriedly picked Naruto up, stared at him for three seconds, then burst into tears.

"Waaah! Naruto, Naruto! You've suffered so much. Dad is really useless, I couldn't protect you!"

"Hey, don't cry. I'm fine." Naruto did not know what to say. It had been a little hard, but he patted Minato's head to comfort him.

"Pfft..." The Nine-Tails' lips curled upward. Then it noticed Naruto looking at it and quickly forced the smile back down.

"Brat, aren't you tired of living like this?" The Nine-Tails refused Naruto's request to climb onto its head, but gave him one of its tails to play with instead. It felt that its own life was tiring too. Since when had the mighty Nine-Tails become a babysitter?

"I'm exhausted. I have to run so much every day." Naruto leaned against the Nine-Tails' fluffy tail, closed his eyes, and spoke weakly. Minato started crying again when he saw this.

"Tch." That was not what it had meant, but the Nine-Tails knew this brat could not possibly understand the deeper meaning behind its words. It had watched Naruto's every action clearly from inside his body. Having lived for so long, the Nine-Tails swore it had never seen such an innocent human.

The world of ninja was filled with hatred and resentment. No one repaid grievances with kindness. If you stabbed me today, I would chop you down tomorrow. Naruto was like a lotus blooming unstained from the mud, so pure and white... Pure and white?

"Hehehe, brat, I just thought of a great idea." Since he was pure white, it would dye him black. Seeing how Naruto understood nothing, the Nine-Tails felt it could become the first tailed beast to raise its Jinchuriki into its own tool. But Naruto had already fallen asleep by then.

"I won't let you hurt Naruto!" Minato, seemingly realizing something, hurriedly stood in front of Naruto. The Nine-Tails' smile was far too frightening.

"He's my important tool. How could I possibly hurt him? Hahaha!"

"Today, I'll work hard to make everyone notice me too!"

"Hold it, brat. Before that, we need to settle a score." A burly man lifted Naruto down from the table. Even standing atop the table, Naruto had to look up at him. His muscle-packed body brimmed with strength, and merely looking at him made one feel stifled by the heat.

"Settle a score?"

"That's right. Do you remember smashing my goods a month ago?"

"That did happen."

"Good. Here's the bill. Pay up." The burly man pulled out a sheet of paper. Naruto could not read yet, but he could understand numbers. The string of zeroes at the end dazzled his eyes.

"You're joking, mister. That much?" Naruto was a poor child. The allowance the Third Hokage gave him was only enough to buy a few skewers of dango. It could not be helped. Naruto was so young and had such a special identity that the Third Hokage did not want people targeting him over money.

"Of course. Watermelon is something only nobles can enjoy. A brat like you couldn't afford it in your whole life. It was originally meant to be delivered to the Uchiha Clan. Now look at this—I've gained a reputation for being unreliable."

"You're not going to sell me to Sand Country, are you?" Naruto swallowed. He had heard adults talk about Sand Country countless times: yellow sand everywhere and scarcely any water. It was the perfect thing for adults to use to scare children.

"How could I do that? But you still have to compensate me for the goods. Until you pay it all back, you'll work hard for me."

"Work? I don't mind." Naruto nodded. He had broken the other man's important goods, so compensation was only fair.

"Very good. Starting today, I'm your shop manager. My name is Yue Guanhai, and I won't let you go until I've squeezed every last bit of value out of you."