"Still, the ice cream was pretty good," Kidomaru said. "Do we really have to wait for him here?"
"Lord Orochimaru's mission is for us to disguise ourselves as orphans and infiltrate Konohagakure, then carry out the Konoha Crush Plan during the Chunin Exams."
"But it seems there's still some time before the Chunin Exams begin, right? Konohagakure looks like it offended someone formidable these past two days."
"I'm not waiting anymore. I can't keep pretending," Sakon and Ukon said. "I'm going to look around."
"Don't! We'll really starve to death without that guy!" Kidomaru shouted after Sakon and Ukon. "Wait for me!"
The two left, leaving only Jirobo and Tayuya in their child forms.
"Hey, Tayuya." Jirobo watched the two companions leave. "You're not seriously going to wait for him, are you?"
"Shut up!" Tayuya said with a dark expression as she walked off alone in one direction.
Meanwhile, Naruto returned to the Ninja Academy for class, using the Transformation Jutsu to answer roll call for Sasuke and Sakura while he was at it.
At the front of the classroom, the female instructor Suzu was preaching the Will of Fire. Even her pleasant voice could not make up for the decayed ideas of the Will of Fire, and Naruto grew drowsy listening to it.
In his haze, he simply dropped his head onto the desk and fell asleep. By the time he woke again, the classroom was empty, and the red glow of sunset shone through the windows.
Naruto inwardly cursed. He had promised to have barbecue with those four. He had really been idle lately, so having a few people to eat and drink with was nice.
Training was out of the question. He no longer needed to do D-rank Missions either. Other than waiting for the Chunin Exams, Naruto had already decided how to waste the rest of his time.
But this was awkward now. He had overslept.
"Damn, damn, this is so embarrassing. I overslept." Naruto hurriedly wiped away his drool and rushed out the door. "I don't know why I've been so sleepy lately."
Complaining as he went, Naruto ran out of the Ninja Academy. By the time he reached the place they had agreed to meet that morning, there was no one left in the dim, dusty light of sunset.
That made sense. Who would wait from noon until evening? They must have thought he was messing with them, or that he simply did not care about the promise.
Naruto let out a quiet sigh. His hard-won meal companions were gone, but now that things had come to this, he could only eat first.
Right then, his stomach growled loudly. At the same time, another growl came from behind a nearby pile of cardboard boxes.
Hearing the sound, Naruto froze.
A timid girl emerged from behind the cardboard boxes.
Barbecue restaurant.
The slices of meat sizzled as they touched the hot, oil-coated grill, releasing an irresistible aroma. Naruto grilled the meat while placing it into both his bowl and the girl's.
"Eat, eat." Naruto could no longer hold himself back and started eating.
After taking two bites, the girl suddenly looked up at Naruto and asked in confusion.
"Isn't barbecue expensive?"
"It's not," Naruto said vaguely. "Don't worry, I can totally afford it."
The girl nodded and slowly enjoyed the barbecue. After she finished, Naruto asked whether she needed to buy something to take back for the other three.
"No, I think they've probably already found something to eat." The girl smiled with her hands behind her back.
"Okay. Oh, right—if you come again tomorrow morning, wait for me here." Naruto scratched his head. "I'll arrive earlier. Today was an accident."
"Okay!" The girl nodded seriously.
After they parted, Naruto headed home at his usual leisurely pace. Tayuya turned into an alley and quickly vanished into the darkness.
"Tayuya? You really waited there all afternoon?" Kidomaru said disdainfully. "Did you end up finding him?"
"Yeah. I ate barbecue. None for you," Tayuya said casually.
"Do you really think you're an orphan now? Don't forget Lord Orochimaru's mission!" Kidomaru warned. "One meal of barbecue bought you over!"
"Yeah," Tayuya said. "One meal of barbecue bought me over. I got to eat it, and you didn't."
"You!"
"Lord Orochimaru's mission hasn't begun yet. I know what I'm doing," Tayuya said. "You don't need to say so much. Mind yourselves."
"Tayuya, since you put it that way..." Kidomaru looked as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.
The next day, Naruto woke up and did not update God of Shinobi as usual, because ANBU had come to find him.
"Lord Hokage wishes to see you."
"Oh."
On the way, Naruto remembered yesterday's promise and could not help feeling irritated. Hopefully this meeting would not take too much of his time, or he would break his word again.
After entering the Hokage Building, Naruto met Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. The old Hokage sat behind the Hokage's desk, smoking a pipe as his gaze traveled over Naruto.
"Naruto, quite a few things have happened in the village lately," Hiruzen Sarutobi said. "What do you think?"
"I don't feel like anything is different," Naruto said indifferently. "The village has Lord Hokage, so it's still safe overall."
"I saw your name on the list for these Chunin Exams," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, glancing at Naruto.
"Given the village's current circumstances, and the fact that you are very important to the village, Naruto, I hope you will withdraw from this exam."
"Okay." Naruto did not hesitate in the slightest. "Can I leave now?"
"Don't you want to know why?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Naruto. "I thought you would have trouble accepting this. The Chunin Exams are a very good platform for ninja to display themselves."
"There's nothing to ask." Naruto answered properly. "The village must have its reasons for arranging things this way. I don't really care."
"The essence of a ninja is obedience, right? I don't care anymore."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned solemn, but for a moment, he could not find anything to say. He looked at Naruto, and Naruto looked back at him.
"Lord Hokage, can I leave?"
"You may."
Having received a positive answer, Naruto turned and left without a second thought. Before closing the door, he heard the Third Hokage sigh.
Perhaps the Third Hokage did not want Naruto to become nothing more than a weapon for the village, but the Naruto before him did not possess such an optimistic mindset.
He had seen the village's attitude toward him clearly. He did not want to risk his life for Konohagakure.
With the system at his side, he did not need others to teach him ninjutsu, nor did he need outside help to subdue the Nine-Tails. As long as he wanted to, the system could bypass the Nine-Tails entirely and directly extract its power.
As long as he wanted to, he would not need to rely on anyone. He could live however he pleased.
The Nine-Tails was merely a fox living inside his body. Why should he avoid its edge?
It was only the Nine-Tails. He already had the system, so why should he avoid it?
One day, he would smash the Nine-Tails apart with a single punch.
Note: Dear readers, the next chapter has a little-trumpet plotline. If you do not like it, you can skim through it quickly. (Skipping it will affect a tiny bit of the plot.) It is groundwork for later chapters.
You can also skip it directly.
Reference: Chapter 36, One-Tail
Before you continue