One Year

After the gathering ended, with what had just happened, Sasuke kept a closer eye on Naruto, and Naruto consciously stopped running his mouth.

The roast suckling pig was Sasuke's first attempt at making one. Parts of it had been overcooked, but there had been plenty of dishes prepared, so the minor flaws were hardly worth regretting. The rookies' first cross-grade gathering ended with both hosts and guests satisfied.

"Ino's Mind Body Switch Technique is different from genjutsu. To control someone else's body, she has to pour all her Mental Strength into her target. If her spiritual body is attacked during the technique, she could really die. Remember that."

"Sorry, Sasuke. I didn't know her technique worked like that."

"I know you didn't, which is why I didn't scold you. If you ever fight a Yamanaka Clan member who isn't an enemy, just be more careful."

"Hey, Sasuke. Do you want to come to my place next Thursday?"

"Why?"

"Didn't you say you were curious about what my home looked like? I even cleaned up especially for it."

"I only wanted to see what a mess your place was before you cleaned it. What's the point if it's all tidy?"

"How could I let you see something like that?! Remember to come over, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Naruto always acted on a whim, and Sasuke did not take it too seriously.

Hyuga Hiashi had originally intended to question Neji about why he had gone across grades to befriend Hinata's classmates, worried that he was deliberately isolating Hinata.

But what happened afterward forced him to reconsider whether Neji's invitation had been deliberately arranged by the higher-ups.

The Hyuga family guards had been intercepted by Anbu.

They had gone to the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

Everyone there had been peers from other high-ranking clans.

It had even included the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

For a moment, Hiashi could not tell what Hiruzen was thinking.

Was he warning the Hyuga, showing them the desolate ruin the former Uchiha grounds had become?

Or was he formally moving to bring the Hyuga under control, telling them they had better behave and actively integrate into the village?

As he listened to Neji roughly recount what had happened throughout the day, none of it seemed particularly important, nor had he heard that the Third Hokage had made an appearance. Hiashi relaxed slightly.

"You have yet to master Hyuga Taijutsu. Learning other Release techniques will only slow your training. Do you think the clan's inheritance isn't enough for you to learn?"

"With time to learn other ninjutsu, have you forgotten that your foremost duty is to protect Hinata at all times?"

"Go reflect on your actions. Tomorrow, you are confined to the clan grounds for the day."

It was not as if Neji dared to argue back...

He kept a straight face and answered expressionlessly, "Yes."

As usual, after finishing his morning training and returning home, Sasuke found his Shadow Clone in the living room, drinking tea and chatting with the Third Hokage.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama."

"Hahaha, you just finished training, didn't you? Your Shadow Clone already greeted me. It's good to be young and full of energy. I need to inspect other parts of the village now, so I'll be going."

"Goodbye, Hokage-sama."

After seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi off, Sasuke asked his Shadow Clone what the old man had come to say.

"See for yourself." With that, the Shadow Clone vanished with a pop.

(The Shadow Clone's memories)

"Do you know that Naruto hasn't been running around the village painting graffiti lately?"

"Not really. Is that a problem? Has he been spending more time training and no longer has the energy for pranks?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "He just hasn't been using paint. He switched to animal droppings."

Sasuke stared at him, utterly stunned. Just imagining the smell was enough to make his head spin.

Since Hiruzen had come straight to his door, he must have had evidence that Naruto had gotten this troublesome stuff from him. Sasuke did not doubt it for a moment. The Hokage had no reason to joke about something like this, and besides, Naruto almost always had an Anbu tail following him.

"You are both young, so it is easier for you to communicate. You are a little older than him and more sensible. I hope that when you spend time with him, you can teach him a little about what he can and cannot do."

"You worry too much, Village Chief."

Sasuke had thought the Village Chief had come to warn him about yesterday's "gathering a whole bunch of higher-ups' children at his house to form a clique."

Who would have thought it was about Naruto? No, this might still count as a warning.

Why the hell should I discipline Naruto...?

The more Sasuke thought about it, the more he felt that the old man was not asking him to manage Naruto at all. He was asking Sasuke to manage himself.

In the end, he had not even invited those people to his home. What a load of trouble, day in and day out.

But speaking of animal droppings, could it be—my farm manure I'd been saving for over half a year?!

Last year, he had painstakingly managed to fill and bury three manure pits. They showed signs of having been dug through, but fortunately, nothing had been lost. This year's new pit, however, was a disaster. It had only recently been filled, yet a full half of it was already gone.

As for the culprit, the Third Hokage had come right to his doorstep over it. There was no question that Naruto was the one responsible.

Sasuke observed three seconds of silence for the victims who had been attacked.

Half a pit! That was a whole month's worth! Who knew how much feed it would take to make up that half-pit?

After finding Naruto that afternoon, Sasuke gave him an educational lecture on the importance of "fertilizer."

He told him not to dig up the manure from Sasuke's home anymore.

Naruto's response was:

1. He thought Sasuke did not want it anymore. Last year's stuff had lost its smell, so it was useless.

2. He was clearly following Sasuke's advice to save money.

3. Sasuke was too stingy to even let him use poop.

4. It was disgusting that Sasuke used poop to grow vegetables. Naruto never wanted to eat vegetables Sasuke grew again.

Sasuke, meanwhile, proposed:

He would sponsor Naruto's paint purchases...

No, as a reward for Naruto not coming to steal fertilizer, he would give him 500 Ryo every month.

The next day,

Hokage Rock received Naruto's long-absent, old-fashioned greetings.

The people who had complained to the Hokage about Naruto were also treated to the old-fashioned surprise they preferred.

When the Third Hokage came by again to "check in," Sasuke said that he was only Naruto's peer, not his guardian. He truly lacked the ability to do more; Naruto's immaturity could only be gradually changed through patient guidance.

He then suggested thoroughly investigating the shop owner secretly selling paint to Naruto, cutting off the problem at its source. Or they could deliberately sell Naruto easily washable paint to reduce the losses involved in cleaning up afterward.

As long as the tools of the crime did not come from the Uchiha, that was fine.

On the day he had agreed on with Naruto, after school, Sasuke waited until Naruto had finished fooling around with his classmates before heading home with him.

He was very curious whether the legendary refrigerator full of expired milk was real—or whether it still existed.

At the very least, after Naruto had drunk the "freshly milked milk" from the Uchiha backyard, he should be able to tell whether milk had gone bad.

"Sasuke, wait a moment! I'm making dinner today!"

Naruto hurried to light the stove. Clearly, he wanted to show off in front of Sasuke today.

The single-room apartment was less than thirty square meters, and the kitchen counter only had a portable gas stove.

Naruto's so-called cooking for himself was actually not Cup Noodles. That was completely beyond Sasuke's expectations.

He really had cleaned up. If Sasuke ignored the crumpled dirty clothes under the bed, the disorderly scrolls, and the Books, the place looked fairly neat on the surface.

He opened the refrigerator. Eggs, milk, vegetables, and snacks Sasuke had made in excess to feed the rookies. Everything actually looked fairly normal.

Naruto had bought the eggs cheaply from Sasuke. Most of the vegetables had been grown by Naruto himself. The milk was stored in a large Glass Tank and likewise came from the Uchiha.

A dairy cow seemed able to produce milk for over half a year. Sasuke could not possibly drink it all by himself, and if Naruto could not finish it either, the leftovers would be made into smoked cheese and ghee for storage.

There was no classic sight of expired boxed milk, which was somewhat disappointing. But on second thought, Sasuke could not help feeling a bit proud.

...All right, the cabinets were stuffed full of Cup Noodles. That was classic enough.

Naruto moved quickly, and his living conditions could not support making anything too complicated.

It was not boiled instant noodles, but boiled ramen, topped with a fried egg, fish cake, ham, and greens. It was not luxurious, but it looked quite decent.

"Last time, on my birthday, I heard you mention eating noodles and stuff. I figured you didn't lack anything else, so I wanted to cook you a meal myself."

"Happy birthday, Sasuke!"

"You brat, where did you find out my birthday?"

There was no need to mention his birthday from his previous life now that he had become Sasuke. In this life, he did not even have family, so he had paid it even less attention. He had not even remembered it himself the first time his birthday came around.

"Didn't you say last time that the school teachers had birthday records? I pestered Iruka until he gave it to me. At first, he lied and said there wasn't any, but I went through the papers on his desk. It was right there."

"If you rummaged through a teacher's things and got caught, you'd definitely get scolded again."

"I sneaked in after school."

"Thanks, Naruto."