Smile and Live On

"Kid, you've graduated from me."

Yue Guanhai handed Naruto a sheet of paper that clearly recorded his income and debt situation.

"Oh, oh, I paid off my debt! That's great!"

Naruto happily raised the bill. After a year of hard work, he had finally paid off all his debts.

"Then we're even. You won't need to come to my shop anymore."

"I can't come anymore? Boss, I still want to keep doing this."

Naruto was a little disappointed. He had long grown used to this kind of life. More importantly, being able to earn ramen with his own hands felt great.

"If you want to keep doing it, you'll have to pass an assessment. Tonight, I'll be leaving the village to gather herbs. If you've got the courage, come to the village entrance."

"No problem! I'll definitely be there!"

"At night, Naruto arrived at the village entrance with a backpack on his back. It was his first time leaving the village, and he stared expectantly at the world beyond the gates. Yue Guanhai was already waiting there. The two gate guards had received their orders long ago and did not stop Naruto, allowing him to leave with Yue Guanhai."

"Boss, your outfit looks really cool. Just like a ninja's."

Naruto noticed that Yue Guanhai had changed clothes. He wore a black short-sleeved combat uniform, and the metal on it gleamed beneath the moonlight with an ominous yet strange radiance.

"Is that so? This is the last time I'll wear it."

"Huh? You don't like it?"

"More or less."

The two chatted idly as they gradually made their way deep into the forest. Konoha's outskirts were covered in dense woods that stretched all the way to the borders of the Land of Fire. By then, Naruto was completely lost and could only follow Yue Guanhai.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Suddenly, four black-clad figures wearing animal masks appeared ahead on the road. Each had a short blade strapped to their back. The moment they saw Naruto, they drew their weapons and took up attacking stances.

"Huh? Huh? Huh? Did we run into bandits? Grandpa Third is way too careless!"

Naruto cried out in surprise. He had only vaguely heard that there were bandit groups outside the village, but he had never expected them to be so close. He could not help worrying about the village's security.

"Kid, hide behind me."

Yue Guanhai pulled Naruto behind him, using his broad body to shield him.

"Yue Guanhai, this isn't what we agreed on."

The man who appeared to be the captain spoke in a cold, gloomy voice. The way he looked at Yue Guanhai made it seem as though he wanted to tear him apart.

"There's nothing different. I'm just a boss protecting his employee."

"You're betraying Root!"

The captain apparently had no intention of wasting words on Yue Guanhai. He drew his short blade and slashed at Yue Guanhai's head.

"Hahaha, you really know how to joke. I stopped being part of Root long ago."

Yue Guanhai laughed and gathered Chakra in his arm, effortlessly blocking the strike.

"Yue Guanhai has betrayed us. Execute Plan B."

The captain did not underestimate Yue Guanhai by challenging him alone. He called his three subordinates to attack together, and the forest was soon filled with the sounds of clashing blades.

"As expected of the Killing Demon. With strength like yours, why insist on protecting a monster? You should understand Lord Danzo's intentions."

"A monster? I don't see him that way. To me, he's just an idiot."

Yue Guanhai blocked a slash capable of cutting through a house. Relying solely on the strength of his body, he fought all four ANBU without falling behind, and even had time to chat.

"Once people have something to protect, they become weak."

The captain's words carried another meaning. Only then did Yue Guanhai realize that one of the ANBU was a Shadow Clone. The original body had already charged toward Naruto. Its short blade was only two meters away from Naruto's head. Yue Guanhai immediately abandoned his entanglement with the captain and leaped toward Naruto.

"You actually left your back exposed to the enemy. You're too naive!"

The captain immediately coated his short blade with Chakra to make it sharper and stabbed toward Yue Guanhai's back. The blade pierced through his skin and drove straight into his heart. At their level, they could strike a vital point even with their eyes closed.

"Urgh."

Yue Guanhai grunted. At the same time, three more short blades pierced his body. The ANBU who had feigned an attack on Naruto also turned and attacked him. Four short swords pierced his body, and blood splattered across the ground.

"The naive one is you. If you don't fight with the resolve to die, you'll only be killed instead."

Yue Guanhai let out an enraged roar. Chakra visibly spread over his entire body, and his muscles forcibly snapped all four short blades inside him. The tremendous boost gained by burning his life force raised his strength once more. With a single punch, he shattered an ANBU's mask and head together, sending the body flying into the distance.

"You're insane!"

Facing Yue Guanhai's flying kick, the captain found that he could not evade no matter how he moved. The kick struck his abdomen precisely, shattering his internal organs along with it. He slowly collapsed to the ground.

The remaining two ANBU were no match for Yue Guanhai either and were easily dealt with. After the battle, moonlight reflected off the blood on the ground. Combined with Yue Guanhai's glowing red eyes, it truly gave him the impression of a Killing Demon.

"Boss, Boss, are you okay? I'll take you back to the village..."

Naruto anxiously helped Yue Guanhai up, only to be forcefully pushed away. Dragging his exhausted body, Yue Guanhai leaned against a tree.

"Kid, do you know what they wanted to do?"

"I don't know. I don't understand."

Naruto shook his head and desperately tried to stop Yue Guanhai's bleeding, but the bandages he had brought could not stop it at all.

"The original plan was for me to bring you here, then attack you with them until you could no longer endure it and used the Nine-Tails' power."

"Why? What would that accomplish?"

"They hoped that after being betrayed by someone close to you, you would lose all emotion and become Konoha's tool. But they did not expect that our relationship was not as close as they thought. If anything, I've been bullying you all this time."

"But am I worth you doing this?"

"It's not about whether you're worth it or not. I had to die here today, and so did they. That's just how this world is."

Yue Guanhai spoke with a sigh. Even if he had followed the plan, he would have been killed by Naruto in a rampage. And if he stubbornly protected Naruto like this, Root would dispose of him as well. So dying here was his best ending. That way, Danzo would not send anyone else to approach Naruto after he learned the truth.

"This damned ninja world is hell, a hopeless hell beyond saving. I've always survived in hell without any hope. Then one day, I saw a faint light. That light was you. The original plan was for me to suddenly appear when the people in the village had bullied you to your breaking point, drive them away, take care of you as you grew up, become the pillar in your heart, and finally betray you. But I was wrong. You actually made the people in the village slowly accept you through your own strength. Though you're still immature, you really did it."

"I kept wondering what power drove you to do those things. This world is filled with hatred. Children should be more clear about love and hate, yet you have no hatred for the village at all. You're simply like a flower blooming in hell, completely out of place. You're too naive."

"Even though I beat and scolded you every day, the next day you would work seriously as though nothing had happened. I've truly never met anyone like you. Even I started becoming abnormal."

"I had long prepared myself to die. When my wife died during the Third Shinobi World War, I no longer had any reason to live. But since I was going to die, I still wanted to place my life on one final wager. I saw another possibility in you—the possibility of changing this world. I wanted to help you protect that possibility. Still, I think that even if things had gone according to the original plan, you would not have lost your emotions and become a weapon. Because you're an idiot."

"How can you be so sure? I can't do it."

Naruto shook his head. He still did not understand what Yue Guanhai was talking about. He only knew that this man was about to die, that the boss who was a little rough but had cared for him was about to leave him.

"Kid, come to think of it, I've never called you by your name, have I? What was it again?"

Yue Guanhai raised his head to look at the sky, his voice gradually growing weaker.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Just call me Naruto..."

"Naruto, huh? That's a good name. Naruto, remember this. No matter what happens, smile and live on. Your smile is the most infectious thing."

After saying that, Yue Guanhai peacefully closed his eyes. There was no hatred, no resentment. He simply passed away.

"..."

Naruto did not cry. He merely followed the fluorescent powder Yue Guanhai had scattered and returned to the village, wanting to find Orochimaru to see if Yue Guanhai could still be saved. But when he arrived at Orochimaru's underground Laboratory, he found it completely empty. All the equipment had been smashed to pieces, leaving behind a terrible mess.

"Naruto, my research has been discovered, so I have no choice but to leave Konoha. It would be best if you kept our relationship secret as well. You've already learned everything you needed to learn. Now let me see how far you can grow on your own. I hope that when we meet again, it won't be because I had to use Impure World Reincarnation to see you. Hehehe."

The Jutsu on the wall sensed Naruto's Chakra, and a small black snake gradually emerged. After opening its mouth to give Naruto a little information, it turned into black smoke and vanished.

"Uncle Snake left too..."

Three days had passed since Yue Guanhai's death. No one knew where the grocery shop owner had gone, and Naruto had not left his house. He merely stared blankly out the window. When he was hungry, he ate instant noodles. When he was sleepy, he slept. He spent three meaningless days like that.

"Naruto-kun, Naruto-kun..."

Naruto suddenly felt someone shaking his shoulder. He came back to himself and saw a pair of pale eyes and a worried little face.

"Hinata, why are you here?"

"You haven't come by for so long. I was really worried about you. I'm here because, um, you didn't lock the door. I'm sorry!"

The shy little girl still felt guilty for entering a boy's room. Bent at the waist, she kept apologizing.

"Hinata, will you always stay with me?"

Naruto suddenly understood. He still had Hinata. He still had Sasuke. Though it seemed as if everyone around him had left, things were already completely different from a year ago.

"Huh? Um, well, I... if Dad agrees, then... I'll always stay with you, Naruto-kun..."

Hinata's face turned red. This was a proposal, right? Her index fingers unconsciously touched and separated as she answered shyly.

"Wah... Waaaaah! Hinata, Hinata!!!"

Naruto finally could not hold back any longer. He hugged Hinata and burst into tears, crying his heart out and releasing all the gloom that had built up over the past few days.

"Even though I don't know what happened, Naruto-kun, I'll stay with you. Don't be afraid."

After her initial shyness, Hinata also sensed Naruto's pain. She gently stroked his head to comfort him.

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PS: The first boxed lunch