Konoha Needs Killer B

Konoha Needs Killer B

Naruto had no idea about the conversation inside Ichiraku Ramen, and even if he had known, he would not have cared much.

Not many people in Konoha knew his true identity, but there were certainly not few either. Yet the only one who could actually approach him was the Third Hokage.

Just as he was about to head home and rest, two children his age blocked his path.

One of them held a bag of chips, occasionally grabbing a handful and stuffing them into his mouth. The other looked at Naruto and slowly held out a hand. "Hello, I'm Shikamaru Nara. This is Choji Akimichi. We want to be friends with you."

Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi?!

Naruto knew those two names all too well. They were the Shika and Cho of Ino-Shika-Cho, important members of the Konoha 11.

But wasn't this way of making friends a little too casual? At least come up with an excuse.

The Nine-Tails also grumbled inside him, "Kid, those two brats definitely have an agenda."

Naruto sized Shikamaru and Choji up for a few moments, then reached out his own hand. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Welcome to becoming my friends. From now on, we're good friends."

After just a few words, the three of them seemed to have become old friends who had known one another for years. They even agreed to meet in the grove tomorrow.

Still, Naruto deliberately glanced at Shikamaru a few more times, unable to figure out what the village's brainiest kid was plotting.

Was this what one should expect from the heir of the Nara Clan, famed for their schemes?

After they parted, Choji looked at Shikamaru in confusion. "Shikamaru, is this really how you make friends? Wasn't that too straightforward? We practically told Naruto that we came up to him on purpose to befriend him."

Shikamaru glanced at Choji, then looked at Naruto's departing back.

"I thought of many ways to meet him, but all the others felt too deliberate. It was better to tell him directly that we wanted to be his friends. Besides, we've already completed what our fathers asked of us."

Choji opened his mouth, unable to think of a way to refute Shikamaru. In the end, he could only grab a handful of chips and shove them into his mouth.

What Shikamaru had not told Choji was that he did not want to anger Naruto by deliberately hiding their intentions. After observing him for so many days, he truly intended to become Naruto's friend.

According to his investigation, Naruto might have been called the Demon Fox, but he was merely an orphan whose parents had both died.

There were at least dozens, if not hundreds, of orphans like that in the village.

But Naruto was the only one who could withstand the villagers' malice and gain the upper hand in confrontations with adults despite being labeled the Demon Fox. Someone like that was bound to be extraordinary in the future, making him worth befriending proactively.

At noon the next day, Naruto met Shikamaru and Choji in the grove.

It was hard to say whether Shikamaru and Choji had been sent by the Third Hokage, but they had certainly acted with the approval of their fathers. Their fathers happened to be among the Jonin who knew Naruto's identity.

To some extent, they also represented the village's current attitude toward him.

When friends gathered together, they naturally had to discuss where to play. Smiling, Naruto suggested they play the popular village game, Ninja Pretend Play.

They would play as the Hokage of the village and engage in ninja battles.

Choji's expression turned a little ugly at Naruto's suggestion. In his mind, playing together meant finding some random place to sightsee, then eating and drinking while working hard to put on fat.

But why did they have to spar? They were all children who had not even entered the Ninja Academy yet...

Thinking of that, Choji shot Shikamaru a slightly resentful look. Shikamaru, who looked listless as ever, wore an equally regretful expression. Fighting was simply too troublesome for him.

Still, he could not find any reason to reject Naruto's suggestion.

After all, he and Choji had clearly been the ones to approach Naruto first and ask to be friends. They could only grit their teeth and become Naruto's opponents, beginning their game of Ninja Pretend Play.

When ninjas were involved, even pretend play could hardly avoid fighting.

At first, the fight was not especially intense, merely some simple roughhousing. But as they got into it, their moves gradually began to look more convincing.

That was exactly what Naruto wanted to see. He wanted to see the gap between himself and children his own age.

Inside the Hokage's Office.

The Third Hokage watched the scene in the crystal ball with a smile. As one grew older, one liked watching energetic young people; it helped keep one young at heart.

He was not surprised that Naruto had become friends with Shikamaru and Choji.

This had been the result of discussions between him and the heads of the Nara and Akimichi clans. Shikaku Nara and Choza Akimichi had once been Minato's teammates, so they would certainly be happy to see Naruto become friends with their sons.

His only requirement had been that Naruto's true identity could not be revealed to Shikamaru and Choji.

Now, it seemed that Shikamaru and Choji had perfectly fulfilled his wishes. They had become Naruto's friends so quickly and were even playing ninja games together.

What delighted the Third Hokage even more was the ninja talent Naruto displayed during their pretend play.

It had been less than two months since he had given Naruto ninja books. In such a short time, Naruto had not only successfully extracted Chakra, but his taijutsu also looked quite decent.

Without exaggeration, Naruto could graduate as a Genin with only the Ninja Academy's knowledge and the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques.

A child with such talent at this age...

In his memory, aside from Kakashi, there had only been Itachi Uchiha. The former had become the youngest Jonin, while the latter had also shown the potential to stand on his own.

Furthermore, Naruto was a Jinchuriki, Minato's son, and Jiraiya's grand-disciple. With that connection, Naruto could be considered one of his own, someone he could safely cultivate.

Still, the bond between Naruto and himself was not strong enough yet. It was not absolute.

Just as the Third Hokage was imagining the future, the office door was pushed open from outside. An elderly man wrapped in bandages, with only one eye exposed, entered before the Third Hokage while leaning on a cane.

Seeing the smoke hanging in the office, the bandaged man could not help but frown.

"Hiruzen, you're slacking off again. The bad habit of smoking will only increase the chances of mission failure..."

"Danzo, I'm no longer carrying out missions on the front lines. The smell of tobacco helps me think better. We should always leave opportunities for the young to prove themselves."

Danzo fell silent. He glanced at the image in the crystal ball and said, "Is that Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? It seems he has grown well under your care. But I still believe that only Root can provide the Jinchuriki with the best possible growth."

The Third Hokage stared deeply at Danzo. "And turn him into a killing machine in your hands?"

Danzo said dismissively, "A Jinchuriki is a killing machine by nature. Training one into a qualified blade can reduce many casualties on the battlefield. If we had had a Jinchuriki, we would not have suffered such heavy losses on the Cloud battlefield this time, nor would we have been forced into peace talks."

"That was because the village lost too many elites during Nine-Tails Night..."

A sharp gleam flashed through Danzo's eyes. "Which is precisely why you should hand the Jinchuriki over to me. I need only three years to train him into a Jonin and retaliate against the Cloud ninja for what they have done to us."

The Third Hokage said meaningfully, "Danzo, Konoha does not need Roshi and Han of Iwagakure. What we need is Killer B. Your methods cannot cultivate a Killer B."

Danzo stared at the Third Hokage for a long time before speaking in an eerie tone.

"Very good. It seems you still possess clear judgment and the decisiveness of a leader. If the day comes when you hesitate, then you will no longer be fit to serve as Hokage. I will take the Jinchuriki from your side."

The Third Hokage looked deeply at Danzo. "That day will never come, Danzo!"