Naruto: "No!"

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Watching the sizable fish flop about energetically on the ground, Menma could not help twitching the corner of his mouth.

Little Naruto said smugly in his heart, "What do you think, Menma-nii? Aren't I amazing?"

"...Yeah, very amazing." After a moment of silence, Menma reluctantly humored him.

"This fish was stupid enough to get itself killed." Kurama watched from the side with a teasing look on his face.

Was this what one should expect from the Child of Destiny?

He could sit down anywhere, tie a fishing line and hook to the tip of a branch, and still get fish biting. He was no less impressive than Jiang Taigong.

Seeing Little Naruto about to cast the rod again, Menma helplessly slapped a hand to his forehead.

Honestly, Naruto had survived until now entirely because he was lucky, on top of the Uzumaki Clan's absurd physical constitution.

After all, even with the village subsidy, the villagers had been unwilling to sell him food.

No, if he was lucky, he might be able to buy some nearly expired milk and instant noodles at an outrageous price.

Once his meager money ran out, he could only come here to fish, pick mushrooms, and gather wild vegetables to fill his stomach.

As for those mushrooms and wild vegetables, he would toss them all into a pot without caring whether they were poisonous. Whether he survived depended entirely on whether heaven was in a good mood.

Menma interrupted, "Naruto, go find a plastic bottle first."

Hearing that, Little Naruto paused mid-motion, his azure eyes full of confusion.

Still, he obediently ran to the riverbank and picked up a plastic bottle.

"Cut it a little below the mouth, turn it upside down and insert it into the bottle, secure it with a thin string, put bait inside, then..."

This simple trap was mainly used to catch small fish and could be useful while foraging. But for the Child of Destiny, those fish would probably be fighting to cram themselves into it.

Sure enough, within minutes, the fairly large bottle was already packed with fish.

"Menma-nii, you know so much!"

Hearing Little Naruto's worshipful tone, Menma's eye twitched.

"These are only the most basic things taught at the Ninja Academy. With Kurama's and my help, you might even be able to move mountains, fill seas, catch stars, and pluck the moon someday."

Move mountains, fill seas, catch stars, and pluck the moon...

It sounded like something from a myth.

Little Naruto nodded as though he understood, though he was half yearning and half bewildered as a thought surfaced. "If I can do all that, will other people recognize me?"

"Of course. In this world, possessing strength is the foundation for earning others' recognition."

Menma's words were full of temptation and guidance, but Little Naruto felt an inexplicable discomfort in his heart.

"But, Menma-nii..."

This was the first time he had contradicted Menma. He had not even thought it through; he merely instinctively felt that this idea of strength being everything was wrong.

But before Little Naruto could finish—

"Naruto, I do recognize your strength and courage, but I cannot recognize your naïveté!"

As though he knew what Naruto wanted to say, Menma cut him off. "Do you know that if I had no strength, you would not be able to see me at all right now? What recognition would there even be to speak of?"

Wouldn't be able to see him...

Little Naruto froze at those words.

When he came back to himself, determination appeared on his young face.

Bang!

"Menma-nii!"

Little Naruto thumped his fist against his chest and solemnly declared as though taking an oath, "I'll make you fully recognize Naruto Uzumaki!"

Menma's tone turned meaningful. "I look forward to that day."

Though he said that, he understood that Naruto still had a long way to go before he could fully comprehend the importance of strength and how to use it correctly.

Little Naruto was a thoughtful child, but the Asura Chakra inside him would gradually alter his thinking.

"Love and Bonds"—that was the will Asura had left behind even after death.

But speaking of ideals while casting reality aside was like floating duckweed without roots, drifting without knowing where it belonged.

Even Naruto's greatest specialty, Talk no Jutsu, would be nothing more than empty words if he lacked strength.

Gaara, Sasuke, Nagato, Obito—did he think he could move them merely by talking about ideals with nothing to back them up?

Which one of them had not acknowledged Naruto's will only after being defeated by him?

What moved them was not Naruto's vague, intangible ideals, but Naruto's ever-growing strength.

They believed Naruto had the power to change this world!

But the result...

Time passed in the blink of an eye. The sky gradually darkened, and the moon hung high overhead.

The campfire crackled and spat sparks, illuminating Little Naruto's delighted face.

Though he had been busy all afternoon, seeing the fish, shrimp, and crabs piled beside him, along with the fragrant grilled fish in his hands, made him feel it had all been worth it.

"Let's eat!"

Little Naruto pressed his hands together. Yet after saying it, he did not take a bite for a long while.

Inside the Sealing Space, Menma sighed helplessly and perfunctorily said, "Let's eat!"

Smack!

Kurama, who had been pretending to sleep, was struck by a Golden Chain. He reluctantly sat up and pressed his hands together.

"...Let's eat."

Hearing that, Little Naruto grinned foolishly before opening wide and taking a huge bite of fish.

"Phew, phew, phew! So hot, so hot!"

He blew out hot air through his mouth, but he could not bear to spit out the fish. If anything, he ate with even more relish.

But just as he took his third bite—

An old, wrinkled face suddenly leaned in before Little Naruto.

"Wah!"

Little Naruto was so startled that he nearly fell to the ground.

"Y-you, who are you?"

"Don't be afraid."

The old man revealed a kindly smile and comforted him gently. "I'm just an ordinary old grandpa passing by."

Inside the Sealing Space, Menma narrowed his eyes, a cold gleam flashing through them.

"Couldn't hold back any longer, could you? Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi."

Still, this old man really had become more shameless with age.

He actually had the nerve to call himself an ordinary old grandpa and come over to trick food out of a child.

In some ways, the Third Hokage was even worse than Danzo.

Danzo at least had the ambition to unify the Shinobi World. He was only cursed with ambitions higher than the sky and a fate thinner than paper; in the end, before his death, he had managed to seal nothing more than a bridge.

But the Third Hokage, once a powerful and confident Hero of the Shinobi, had been completely corrupted by time and power into a hypocritical, affected politician. He only wanted to guard his own little patch of land and keep his backside firmly planted in his chair.

"You..."

Naruto was just about to say something when he heard a familiar sound again.

Grrr...

Looking at the old man scratching his head and laughing awkwardly, Little Naruto remembered how embarrassed he had been before Menma-nii just now and could not help laughing.

And the old man...

No, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Seeing this, he also laughed awkwardly, though inwardly he was immensely pleased.

Sure enough, children were easy to fool. It was that simple to close the distance.

"Child, this..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had just reached toward the grilled fish beside him.

The smile vanished from Little Naruto's face at once. He hugged the grilled fish to his chest and shook his head like a rattle drum.

"No!"