Plans for the Future

Lying in the hospital bed and eating fruit Hinata fed him by hand, Naruto greatly enjoyed this moment of leisure.

In his previous life, he had been a single guy and had never experienced being cared for by a girl.

This was the first time in both his past and present lives.

Using Malice Perception, Naruto waited until the Third Hokage and Kakashi had left the hospital before asking Hinata what had happened over the past few days.

As Hinata answered hesitantly, Naruto gradually frowned.

Although he had intervened to some extent, the Cloud Village Delegation incident had still happened.

It was just that this time, the Cloud leader had not abducted Hinata, but her younger sister Hanabi, who was not yet a year old. What followed was exactly the same as he remembered.

To save his daughter, Hyuga Hiashi killed the Cloud leader and was called to account by the Delegation.

In the end, under pressure from the village and its higher-ups, the Hyuga Clan had been forced to hand over Hiashi's younger brother Hizashi as a scapegoat, making him a sacrifice to bear witness to the peace treaty between the two nations.

Naruto was not a member of the Hyuga Clan and did not wish to judge whether the Caged Bird system was good or bad.

But the Third Hokage's actions disappointed him immensely. From the Nine-Tails, he had learned that the ninja who had tangled with the Anbu that day were none other than members of the Cloud Village Delegation.

This showed that Cloud also intended to make a move against him.

Yet even after the Hyuga Main Family and the Jinchuriki had been threatened one after another, the Third Hokage had still chosen to compromise with the Cloud Village Delegation. Was he not afraid of being called timid and cowardly by the village's ninja?

Or did everyone hope to exchange this humiliation for false peace?

Putting himself in their shoes, Naruto felt that Konoha Village had been slapped hard across the face and had lost the dignity of the number one ninja village.

Pulling back his wandering thoughts, Naruto looked at the fidgeting Hinata. "Hinata, your sister was just kidnapped. Did you forget what I told you before and sneak out again?"

Hinata shook her head, her tone resolute. "It's not like that... Father gave me permission. As long as I finish my lessons, I can use my time freely, as long as I... go back before dark."

Watching Hinata speak without stumbling over her words, though she was still somewhat shy, Naruto smiled from the bottom of his heart.

It seemed Hinata still did not know what had happened after Hizashi was handed over. The Hyuga Clan had protected the Main Family well, but if Hinata's father had allowed her to go out, he had probably guessed Naruto's true identity.

Was this Hyuga Hiashi's retaliation against the Third Hokage after being forced to hand over his younger brother?

The pleasant time passed quickly. Naruto and Hinata talked about many, many things, but they still had to part in the end.

After watching Hinata leave under the protection of the Main Family guards, only one human and one fox remained in the hospital room.

Naruto picked up several ninjutsu scrolls the Third Hokage had left behind. They recorded the training methods for several C-rank Wind Release ninjutsu.

They covered various ways to utilize wind-nature Chakra and were the most comprehensive Wind Release ninjutsu he had encountered so far.

It had to be said that when it came to training ninja, the Third Hokage had never been stingy with him. But these Wind Release ninjutsu all seemed inferior to the Rasengan.

Compared to flashy techniques meant to show off, he preferred simple, brutal crushing force.

Setting down the Wind Release scrolls, Naruto desperately wanted to improve his strength, but the hospital was naturally not a suitable place to train.

That afternoon, the Third Hokage appeared in the hospital room again.

After confirming that Naruto had fully recovered, the Third Hokage handled his discharge procedures and gave him a key.

The room Naruto had lived in before was no longer fit for human habitation and was undergoing urgent repairs.

After moving into his new home, Naruto looked around and felt awkward no matter where he looked. Not only was the room not tidy enough, even the refrigerator was not stuffed full of food, giving him a strong sense of crisis.

He had to fill the refrigerator. With that thought in mind, Naruto headed out onto the street.

Familiar streets, familiar pedestrians.

Just as Naruto was about to ignore the looks from the passersby as usual, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

The looks in the pedestrians' eyes were very wrong. If the villagers' gazes had previously contained nothing but simple hatred, now only fear remained, as though he were some man-eating monster.

Ignore them.

Walking into a familiar shop, Naruto greeted the unscrupulous merchant.

Just as he was about to bargain as usual, the merchant took the initiative to carry over a pile of goods and place them before Naruto. In a somewhat restrained, ingratiating tone, he said:

"Demon Fox... no, Lord Naruto, all of these are for you. You don't have to pay anything."

Naruto frowned, unable to understand why a merchant so devoted to making money would kindly give him things for free.

Who would have thought that upon seeing Naruto frown, the merchant would drop to his knees and slap himself several times? "Lord Naruto, I deserve to die for what happened before. I shouldn't have sold you fake goods. Please forgive my disrespect!"

Naruto fell into thought. During the time he had been unconscious, unfavorable rumors about him had begun spreading through the village again.

Was it because the villagers had seen him go berserk?

Naruto decided to get to the bottom of it and deliberately lowered his voice. "Boss, have there been rumors about me in the village these past few days?"

"I don't dare say. Those people have gone too far."

"Are you sure you won't tell me?"

Only under Naruto's threat did the merchant begin talking about the rumors that had circulated through the village over the past few days.

After hearing the merchant's words, Naruto frowned. He placed the money for the goods on the counter, then left the shop with an ugly expression and a bag in hand, leaving behind only the trembling merchant.

Although Tenpu was dead, he had still caused Naruto no small amount of trouble.

To confuse the Third Hokage, many villagers had personally witnessed him going berserk, further confirming his identity as the Demon Fox and validating the rumors.

However, after seeing the road he had destroyed,

they no longer dared show disgust in front of him. Their attitudes had become respectful, and they feared that if he suddenly went berserk, he would kill them all.

A few days ago, when the villagers merely suspected that he was the Demon Fox, they had humiliated and discriminated against him in every way. Even children had dared to attack him.

But after learning that he truly was the Demon Fox, their attitudes had become respectful, afraid of angering him.

Was this the true treatment of a Jinchuriki?

At that thought, Naruto gave a hollow laugh, not knowing whether he was laughing at himself or at the villagers.

The Nine-Tails heard Naruto's self-mockery, and its voice sounded within the Sealing Space. "Naruto, this is how Jinchuriki are treated, and it is also how tailed beasts are treated. Do you feel the urge to destroy everything?"

"Unfortunately, the seal on you has been reinforced, so you can't make a mess of things. What a pity."

"No, I still don't feel the urge to destroy everything. I only feel a little sorry for the villagers. But suddenly, I feel the urge not to stay in Konoha Village any longer. I want to leave this place."

Naruto gently shook his head. He had not lost his mind, nor was he a lunatic who wanted to destroy everything.

"Leave this place?"

Upon hearing that, the Nine-Tails laughed dismissively. "With your strength, how would you leave Konoha? What group would allow you to leave the village? A Jinchuriki is the most valuable kind of combat power."

"Unless you can undo the seal and fully accept this old man's power, but you do not have that ability."

Naruto looked at the Nine-Tails and said seriously, "That's why I need to work harder. Only by growing as much as possible will I be able to better accept your power, rather than going berserk because of a small amount of tailed beast Chakra."

"And there's one key question: why should this old man lend you his power?"

The Nine-Tails rolled its eyes and could not help saying, "Even if you escape, this old man will still be your prisoner."

Naruto smiled. "Even as a prisoner, don't you want to see the wonderful world outside? I long for the outside world too—to see different scenery."

"Besides, I might be able to leave this place without relying on your power."