My Friends Are Few

Mizuki eventually left, and Naruto continued to sit by the river, fishing. With the boost from the Max-level Fishing Skill buff, it wasn't long before Naruto successfully caught a large basket of wild black bass.

Including the two he had already roasted and eaten, Naruto didn't actually need that many black bass. There was no refrigerator at home, and they would spoil if he took them back.

Initially, Naruto just wanted to test how useful the Max-level Fishing Skill was, but the results far exceeded his expectations. From the moment he cast his line, he couldn't stop getting bites.

Even without bait on the hook, an empty hook seemed to be able to continuously catch fish as long as Naruto's hand was holding it.

What stopped him from continuing to fish wasn't time or stamina, but the fact that the fish basket, which was taller than his waist, was already full and couldn't hold any more. In fact, the fish could easily jump out if they struggled even a little.

Looking at the full basket of black bass, Naruto fell silent.

Taking them back was out of the question; the broken refrigerator meant he couldn't store them.

Sell them? That was impossible too. Konoha village didn't have any fish markets that would buy the fish he had. Not only would they not buy them, but they would also suspect Naruto had stolen them from somewhere.

Adhering to the principle of not inviting unnecessary trouble, Naruto gave up on selling them.

That left only one option: giving them away.

He had very few friends, so few he could count them on one hand. Therefore, there was almost no hesitation in deciding who to give them to.

The Hyuga Clan would definitely not accept his gifts, so they were out! Teacher Iruka was single, but he had treated Naruto well, so he'd give him a few more.

Choji's house was too far away, so Naruto decisively gave up on that. He could give some to Shikamaru, so he'd give him some as well.

Sakura Haruno and Ino were both ruled out. At this stage, Naruto wasn't very close to them, and suddenly giving them strange gifts would only cause trouble.

"Is this a new Ninjutsu Naruto developed?" the white-haired old man, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, was currently staring at the scene in the crystal ball, smiling happily.

This was the Third Hokage's favorite peeping jutsu. Everything that had happened by the river earlier had been seen by the Third Hokage.

"Hiruzen, you are too soft," a cold voice said. "If a Jinchuriki harbors hatred towards the village, it will be devastating for the village!"

"Danzō, Naruto has made his choice," the Third Hokage said sternly, stroking his white beard. "He was not swayed by Mizuki and refused him."

"Even if the crystal ball can't hear voices, I believe it's not difficult for you to find out what Naruto said."

"The Jinchuriki has suffered too much unfair treatment in the village, to the point where the conflict between the villagers and Naruto is difficult to resolve. If we cannot resolve it, the Nine-Tails might reappear."

"Heh!" Danzō said with some indignation, "Hand him over to me, and I guarantee he will become the village's safest weapon."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was displeased at this, and his expression immediately turned grim.

"Danzō, I am the Hokage!"

"I know everything you've done, Danzō. You'd best behave yourself. Naruto is an important comrade of the village, not a cold weapon. Root already harbors enough weapons. You don't need to worry about Naruto's affairs."

Facing the Third Hokage's warning, Danzō was clearly unconvinced but helpless.

The fact that Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in that position, not him, Shimura Danzō, had almost become his obsession.

The Fourth Hokage, the Sannin, Kakashi, and even the current Nine-Tails Jinchuriki – all of them had close relationships with the Third Hokage. The position of Hokage might even be passed around only among these people.

This old man, the Third Hokage, trying to change the entire Konoha village by himself was a pipe dream! This wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi's Konoha village alone!

"Hiruzen, you will regret this!" Danzō said, throwing down the sentence, and slammed the door shut as he left.

"Sigh."

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't say anything, only let out a soft sigh.

Outside the Nara family's house.

Three knocks on the door broke the silence. The one who came to open the door was the village's top strategist, the dog-headed advisor with a face full of scars, Shikaku Nara.

As the door opened, the bright light from inside surged outwards like threads, hitting Naruto's feet.

Seeing Naruto, who smelled strongly of fish, Shikaku looked somewhat surprised.

"Naruto? Why are you here? Isn't tomorrow the school's graduation exam?"

Shikaku was so surprised mainly because Naruto rarely visited. Even when he came to find Shikamaru, no matter how he invited Naruto in, Naruto refused to enter.

He would always stand far away in the shade of the trees outside the door, curiously and nervously observing the Nara family's house.

In the eyes of others, Naruto might be a mischievous child. But Shikaku knew about Naruto's inferiority complex and sensitivity, which was why he had never told Shikamaru not to play with Naruto.

Hearing this, Naruto flashed a brilliant smile and pushed the remaining basket of fish towards Shikaku, saying loudly.

"I caught too many fish these past few days, and I can't eat them all or store them, so I wanted to give some to Shikamaru."

There were about five or six fish left in the basket, which was after giving them to everyone else and only leaving the Nara family.

"This..." Shikaku scratched his head, looking at the fish in the basket with some difficulty. "Uncle has to ask Shikamaru's mom."

The sound of stir-frying came from inside the house. Shikamaru followed the sound and came out, peeking out from behind his father and looking at the fish basket. His eyes lit up.

"Naruto, you're amazing. How did you catch so many fish?"

"I don't know," Naruto scratched his head and said with a silly smile. "Maybe I have a talent for fishing."

Shikaku, standing nearby, was moved. He thought to himself that such a young child could have such skilled fishing techniques; how much hardship must he have endured to achieve this?

The black bass in the mountains were very clever and not easy to catch even with bait. Shikaku had tried fishing before, but after several empty catches, he quit.

"Naruto, wait a moment." Shikaku said, leaving him with those words, and turned back into the house.

After another half-day, a box of snacks and a box of food were stuffed into Naruto's hands. Shikaku looked at the somewhat bewildered Naruto and said with a smile.

"This is our token of gratitude. Please be sure to accept it."

Naruto glanced at Shikaku, then down at the two boxes of food in his hands, before turning to look at Shikamaru beside him.

"Take it," Shikamaru said, holding his head, his expression nonchalant. "If my mom finds out you didn't accept it, she'll probably feel so guilty she won't be able to sleep all night."

"Thanks," Naruto said with a smile, greeted them, and turned to leave.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru suddenly called out, stopping him. "Don't oversleep for the graduation exam tomorrow!"

"Got it!" Naruto waved, seemingly having heard him.

Shikamaru's worried expression didn't ease until Naruto's figure disappeared into the night.