Here Comes the Little Flying Stick!!

"Feels good."

Naruto soaked in the hot spring, feeling his skin gradually relax. He closed his eyes and let out a groan amid the rising steam.

A torrential rain was falling outside. Because of his reckless behavior yesterday, ANBU had resumed monitoring the Jinchuriki. Naruto simply slipped into the hot spring baths.

He had only knocked over a mask stall. Was that really necessary?

Besides, hadn't he paid for it?

Did money scattered through the air not count as money? Didn't that owner end up catching it all with his face anyway?

On the rooftop across from the hot spring bathhouse.

The ANBU ninja's face was covered in black lines. Even though he had carefully tried to hide, the downpour outside had nearly soaked through his underwear.

His heart was as cold as his soaked briefs. As an ANBU ninja, enduring a little hardship was only natural. It was nothing.

But the person he was monitoring was leisurely soaking in the hot spring and blowing bubbles. He even picked up a cup of water to rinse his mouth, then started eating right there in the spring.

Just as the ANBU ninja felt that life was bleak, that he was living worse than a brat, and that a ninja's convictions were swaying in the torrential rain—

With a bang, another ANBU ninja appeared through the curtain of rain.

"Shift change, Yamato."

The ANBU codenamed Yamato turned around, and the numb look in his eyes gave his companion a fright.

"Yamato! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Yamato shook his head. He exhaled a breath of stale air into the rain and muttered softly, "Maybe I should soak in a hot spring too, but the captain has never given us leave."

"It must feel so comfortable and warm to soak in a boiling-hot pool. Damn it, why did I become an ANBU ninja? I knew this was a job with endless overtime and no days off."

"But if I don't stay a ninja, I'll have to go into the sea... Being a host at an entertainment district doesn't seem all that bad. Maybe I'll try resigning to the captain after work."

The ANBU ninja who had come to take over watched his partner's dejected back and couldn't help swallowing.

"Yamato... His soul has already been corrupted by the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"

The awkwardness of middle age was unavoidable, even for ANBU ninja. After all, Konohagakure did not support idlers. Once a ninja passed the golden age of thirty, they had to consider going into the sea—no, changing careers.

Generally speaking, ninjas from major clans began taking over clan affairs once they reached twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

They changed from ninjas who fought and killed into Konohagakure civil servants skilled in social etiquette, steadily and loyally passing down the Will of Fire.

There were many such examples, such as Neji's late father, Hizashi Hyuga, and the older generation's Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

As the saying went, dragons gave birth to dragons and phoenixes gave birth to phoenixes. A strategist's son became a strategist, and a Hokage's disciple became a Hokage. What was the true essence of the Will of Fire? Hard work surpassing talent?

Of course not.

"The Will of Fire is the real sacred text." Naruto sighed from the pool. "No wonder they say the Third Hokage was Konohagakure's greatest Hokage. It really wasn't wrong."

"Whatever Capital, Seven Gods, or Child of Prophecy—before the bloodline theory of the Will of Fire, they're all little brothers."

Splash.

Naruto rose from the hot spring and slowly walked toward the shore, a smile suddenly appearing on his face.

The Will of Fire.

Midsummer. Rain poured down in sheets.

The gray sky was like a massive upside-down bowl, tightly covering the skies above Konohagakure.

It was already afternoon. Naruto still wasn't wearing his Ninja Headband. Dressed in a loose black robe, he splashed through puddles toward his apartment.

Children without umbrellas could only run hard. Naruto deeply agreed with that saying.

Just now, he had watched a child without an umbrella sprint past him, his pant legs rolled high up, each step splashing water half a meter away.

"Obito! Didn't bring an umbrella again today?" An old man stood in the doorway of a shop at the street corner and called out to the running boy.

"Grandpa Kong, don't worry about me!" The boy's voice brimmed with passion. "I'm going to become the man who becomes Hokage someday!"

Naruto's eyelid twitched at that.

Just as he was wondering whether the boy wanted to become Granny Tsunade's man or the Third Hokage's man, a bang rang out.

The boy stepped into a puddle, slipped, and crashed heavily into it. Yellow mud splattered across his face and body.

Give the umbrella in your hand to Obito and let him feel the warmth of humanity. Reward: Four Symbols Seal mastery at max level.

Walk away indifferently. Before leaving, spit at Obito and let him feel humanity's malice. Reward: Shukaku of the Sand's favorability.

Naruto froze on the spot.

What kind of dark, twisted, inhuman choices are these?

For a teenage boy, how much psychological damage would getting spat on after falling down cause? Sob, sob, sob!

With a sigh, Naruto put on a compassionate expression and walked up to the boy beneath his large black umbrella.

Here comes the little flying stick. No, here comes the Leshan Giant Buddha.

The boy in the puddle sucked in a sharp breath and struggled to get up. Bright red blood seeped from his pant leg.

Even so, he still wore a sunny smile on his face.

Just as he was about to make a self-deprecating joke to ease the awkwardness, he suddenly realized that a large black umbrella was sheltering him. A blond boy in a loose black robe was looking at him.

Young Obito looked surprised, seemingly puzzled as to why the blond boy was standing beside him.

Could this be the fateful encounter of friendship between boys from those youthful storybooks?

Just as young Obito was about to show some goodwill, the large black umbrella was suddenly handed to him, and the blond boy spoke calmly.

"Here."

Obito instinctively wanted to refuse, but then he reconsidered. He could use this umbrella as an opportunity to begin a new friendship—why not?

"Thank you."

Obito gripped the umbrella handle and was about to open with a self-introduction. In his mind, he had already imagined himself and a good friend chasing their dreams together.

"My name is Obito. You really—"

Before he could finish, Naruto suddenly snatched the umbrella handle back from his hand and walked away without even looking back. He just left.

"Hmm???"

With a crack, the image of chasing dreams beneath the sunset shattered.

Young Obito's face instantly flushed red. Watching Naruto's rapidly departing back, he blurted out—

"Psycho!!!"

Ding! Four Symbols Seal acquired successfully. Automatically cultivated to max level.

Naruto had already gone far away. Less than three seconds after the umbrella handle left his hand, it still retained Naruto's body warmth. Having an umbrella on a rainy day really was nice.

His reason for choosing the Four Symbols Seal was simple: physically control the Nine-Tails.

Having a ticking time bomb hidden in his stomach did not feel good. He would first see if they could talk. If they could not, he would flip the whole damn table.

If he directly used the Four Symbols Seal to shrink the Nine-Tails' cage, then he would give him a lesson in restraint and bondage.