I Just Ate A Bowl Of Noodles?

Homura and Koharu had lived a long time and done plenty of bad things themselves.

They caught on to Danzo's meaning quickly enough.

They had to admit, Danzo, you were truly dark at heart.

No wonder Hiruzen liked you as his black glove—you were born for this line of work.

And so, the matter was settled.

Just as the three of them finished their secret scheming, a knock came at the office door.

"Three of you, the Hokage requests your presence at a meeting."

"Understood. We'll be right there."

Soon, the four of them were seated around the table, convening the second meeting of the day.

The first topic was, naturally, the Uchiha problem.

Hiruzen still believed that if negotiation with the Uchiha was possible, they should pursue it.

Furthermore, the next phase of work should focus on cultivating the next generation.

They needed to increase enrollment quotas at the Ninja Academy and recruit more excellent teachers.

This would produce more outstanding ninjas imbued with the Will of Fire, who would protect their comrades.

Along with other useless nonsense.

Based on past experience, whenever Hiruzen brought up the Uchiha, Danzo would jump up and curse.

Shouting that they had to take down the Uchiha, that not a single breathing one could be left.

But today, for some reason, Danzo seemed much more subdued.

This left Hiruzen deeply puzzled—it wasn't like the man had suddenly changed his personality.

"Danzo, you seem off today."

Danzo certainly was off.

His mind was full of wicked schemes; he hadn't heard a word Hiruzen had just said.

"Perhaps I'm just overworked," Danzo made up an excuse. "Things aren't peaceful outside the village either—there are minor skirmishes from time to time."

"Hmm," Hiruzen nodded. "Then let's call it here. Meeting adjourned."

When people are up to no good, they often tap into great reserves of potential.

That saying was especially true for Danzo.

That very afternoon, his ninjas disguised themselves as civilians and spread rumors everywhere.

And the rumors grew more absurd with each telling, until finally, they claimed that the young Naruto had already learned to kill under Teacher Eiji's training.

That the Fishing Shop Owner who had once sold him fake goods had been slashed over four hundred times by Naruto and thrown into the river to feed the fish.

The Root Organization members were also first-rate braggarts; with their dead-serious expressions, some brainless villagers actually believed them.

They clamored to complain to the Hokage, demanding that Eiji and Naruto be locked up, preferably never to be released.

Eiji and Naruto knew nothing of these matters.

They were at their usual spot, practicing ninjutsu.

"Nice work! Throw them another hundred times!"

Eiji leaned against a tree, sipping tea contentedly.

Nearby, the Little Blondie was hurling a fistful of shuriken like they cost nothing.

Thud, thud, thud!

The shuriken hit the target with precision.

"Hehe," Naruto glanced smugly at Eiji. "Teacher Eiji, I've improved again, haven't I?"

Eiji nodded, stood up, and took a few steps back.

"Come have some water and rest. Later I'll teach you how to control chakra."

Naruto acknowledged with a grunt and flopped down onto the soft grass.

Eiji gathered the scattered ninja tools from the ground and began explaining the basic principles of chakra to Naruto.

"Starting now, you need to try to focus your chakra in one spot and keep it stable."

As he spoke, Eiji demonstrated the basic technique of "chakra tree climbing."

This was also a fundamental ninja skill, and learning it early was essential.

After a short break, Naruto stood before a large tree.

He closed his eyes, trying to sense what exactly this "chakra" thing was that Eiji had described.

Ten minutes passed.

"Well? Can you feel it?"

"Hah... hah... hah..."

Eiji walked over and took a look. What the hell—this kid could fall asleep standing up.

He put on his mask of agony. Forget it, let it be.

There were still over two years until the clan's annihilation. Plenty of time, plenty of time...

He scooped up Naruto, laid him in the prepared tent, and covered him with a blanket.

This gave him a strange illusion—like he was putting a kid to bed.

Naruto, be my son.

By the time Naruto woke again, it was already night.

His stomach let out a pained howl, and the air was thick with the scent of food.

"Teacher Eiji, what's for dinner?"

Naruto peeked curiously toward the campfire and spotted Kuro, who he hadn't seen in a while.

"Kuro, long time no see! Can I touch your feathers?"

Kuro's pupils shrank. The brat's here—time to bolt!

It shot into the sky like an arrow, terrified that if it lingered, Naruto would pet it bald.

"So stingy. What's the harm in letting me touch you?"

Naruto muttered as he took the meat Eiji handed him.

"Teacher Eiji, what are you teaching me next?"

"First, master tree-climbing. As for jutsu, I'll pick something suitable for you later."

"Oh, okay."

Eiji stroked his chin. Logically speaking, Naruto should learn his father Minato's signature technique—the Rasengan.

But he didn't know it himself. How was he supposed to teach it?

He'd find a chance to learn it from Kakashi or Jiraiya sometime.

Soon after, the two finished their meal.

They cleaned up the trash on the ground, shouldered their packs, and headed toward the city center.

Naruto deliberately avoided the crowded areas. "This way—fewer people here."

Eiji looked up at the Hokage Rock and thought, Maybe I should find a chance to Impure World Reincarnation the Fourth Hokage.

Let him take out the Third and his cronies directly, so Naruto wouldn't have to spend years in a depressive slump.

The next morning, Naruto got up early.

He ate breakfast seriously, grabbed the ninja tool pouch Eiji had given him, and headed out the door.

"If Teacher Eiji is busy today, I'll just practice on my own."

The moment Naruto closed the door, the smile on his face froze solid.

His doorstep was piled with garbage, and the walls were covered in graffiti reading "murderer."

Naruto stared in disbelief. He couldn't trust his own eyes.

Before, people had just kept their distance—no one had ever done anything this cruel.

As for murderer...

He wouldn't even dare kill a fish. How could he kill a person?

"Why... why..."

Naruto clearly heard his own sobbing.

His first instinct was to go find Teacher Eiji and ask what had happened.

But after running just a few steps, he turned back.

"Teacher Eiji has work to do. I can handle this myself."

"To become the best ninja, you have to endure what others can't."

Little Naruto silently put on his old clothes, picked up bag after bag of trash, and walked toward the garbage bin.

A long while later, Naruto finished cleaning up the trash, then climbed a ladder and began scrubbing the paint off the walls bit by bit.

While Naruto was being framed, the Security Division was dragged into the mud too.

Some rumor had surfaced out of nowhere—that the Security Division was in cahoots with Naruto, complicit in murder.

The recent disappearances of several villagers were supposedly their doing.

And that White Hair named Uchiha Eiji was the worst of them all, guilty of heinous crimes.

Threatening innocent villagers with force, demanding bribes.

And even harassing their pretty girls...

"Fuck your mother."

Eiji grabbed Xiao Er and was about to head out, itching to kill them all.

He could tolerate anything else, but this body was still Xiao Chu'nan's!

Besides, your daughter looks like a Tiger Tank—I can't even drive that!

"Eiji, calm down. We'll get to the bottom of this soon."

Inaho and Tekka tried to soothe Eiji, but their own hearts were pounding.

Looking at the source of the rumors, it was all villagers gossiping in the streets and alleys every day.

The Security Division had clear rules: no striking villagers.

Even if they dragged them back, the worst they'd get was a scolding and a slap on the wrist.

Worse yet, they'd claim the Security Division was abusing power and framing good people.

"Eiji, bear with it. You'll get used to this kind of thing. Back then, I only ate one bowl of noodles, but some little bastard insisted I ate two?"

Eiji raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you cut open your stomach to show them?"

"Hey, kid, you want me dead, don't you?"

"Don't take it to heart. They'll forget about it in a few days."

"Ask Tekka—who in the Security Division hasn't had a label slapped on them?"

"Let it go. We'll hit the bar tonight."

Eiji nodded. He'd seen these tired tricks plenty of times.

It was just exploiting people's love for gossip—if they couldn't beat you head-on, they'd try to disgust you.

But!

If you dare disgust me, I dare to deal with you.

Eiji pulled out the Security Division's documents from the drawer and skimmed through them quickly.

"Oh, Lord Tobirama granted us the Security Division legislative power."

Eiji gritted his teeth. "We must draft a set of regulations for this matter. We can't let Lord Tobirama's good intentions go to waste."

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