Shall I try you out?

After seeing Naruto and his companion walk out of the Hokage's office, the Third turned and picked up a document on the desk!

The document had been sent three days earlier by people from the Land of Grass!

He opened it and saw that it recorded the results of Naruto's mission to the Land of Grass!

The report was originally compiled by a Grass‑country ninja who surveyed the battlefield and sent it to his leader, but after some thought the leader decided to forward it, together with the mission completion certificate, to Konoha!

In the past three days the Third had read this battle report several times, and he read it once more now!

It began with a series of empty greetings, then got to the point, describing the scene after Naruto's fight in painstaking detail!

The site was a ruin of broken walls and scattered limbs!

Even the Grass ninja went to the little cave where Naruto had stayed last and found a dozen ninja corpses sliced into pieces!

All of this was photographed by the Grass ninja and included in the report!

The Third took the photos and stared at them; after a long while he set them down and let out a sigh!

"Alas, this kid… I never expected him to have such a killing instinct. According to the Grass ninja's count, a total of 156 enemies were completely wiped out by him, many of them meeting a terribly gruesome end!"

"I really don't know how this kid developed such a huge bloodlust, nor whether sending him out on endless missions is right or wrong!"

"I hope he can keep his original heart and never lose himself in power and slaughter!"

"Konoha has already produced an Orochimaru; we must make sure we never produce a second one!"

The Third took a puff from his pipe, sighed again!

Meanwhile, after Naruto left the Hokage's office with Xiangling, he headed straight for home!

As soon as he entered the backyard, he heard his younger sister Hinata panting as she trained there!

Naruto peeked quietly and saw Hinata sparring with Yakumo; both of their little faces showed a rare seriousness!

On the steps beside them, little Hanabi sat with both hands cradling her face, watching the two trainees intently!

"Ta‑da‑ta, I'm back!"

Naruto suddenly burst onto the scene in front of them!

"Big brother!" *2

Seeing Naruto appear, Hinata and Hanabi lit up with joy and ran toward him!

"Hmm, long time no see—my sisters have become even prettier!"

Naruto scooped each of them up in one arm, cradling them in his embrace!

Hinata and Hanabi pressed their faces against his cheek affectionately!

"Alright, look what I brought back for you!" he said as he reached into his system space and pulled out a heap of food, all the tasty things he had collected on his way back from the Land of Grass. Anything he found delicious he would pack and store in his system space!

The system space has the great advantage that items stored inside never spoil!

This also means that Naruto often uses the system space as a snack pantry for his sisters!

Hinata, being older now, isn't as greedy for snacks as before, but Hanabi is still a child at heart; seeing the pile of treats she dropped down from Naruto's arms and pounced on the heap!

"Naruto‑kun, you're back!"

Yakumo stood stylishly to the side, watching Naruto play with his two sisters, and when the three stopped, he greeted them.

"Well, I was supposed to be back earlier, but something held me up! How's your health been these past few days?"

Yakumo: "Thanks to you, Naruto‑kun, my body has healed. I'm completely fine now. Lately I've been training regularly with Hinata, and I feel no discomfort at all!"

Naruto: "Good to hear. Congratulations—you can finally fulfill your dream of becoming a ninja!"

Naruto and Yakumo exchanged a smile!

"Naruto‑kun, who's this?"

Yakumo turned to Xiangling, who had followed Naruto inside.

Since entering the Hyūga clan's residence, Xiangling had stayed close behind Naruto, until she entered the little courtyard where Hinata and the others trained, watching Naruto play with Hinata and Hanabi.

Xiangling felt a pang of disappointment in her heart!

"So this is his sister? She's so cute!"

"He has two such adorable sisters—will I be left out in the future?"

With that thought, Xiangling's mind became suddenly insecure!

Naruto pulled Xiangling to his front, and, noticing her slightly uneasy expression, introduced her to everyone: "Alright, let me introduce her. This is Xiangling, someone I met outside; I consider her a sister, so I brought her home!"

"Hinata, she's a year younger than you, so she'll be your little sister from now on! As for Hanabi, remember to call her 'big sister' from now on, okay?"

Naruto gently placed both hands on Xiangling's shoulders as he introduced her to the group!

On the way, Naruto learned Xiangling's exact age—she was only eight, just two months younger than Hinata!

However, long‑term malnutrition and being used as a walking blood bag had left her thin and pale, looking like a five‑year‑old child!

Then she patted Xiangling's head again and said, "The taller one is called Yatsukumo‑senpai; she's a good friend of my brother. The short‑haired girl is Hinata, and the little one is Hanabi. Both of them are my younger sisters!"

"From now on, you all have to get along, okay?"

Nairaku said to the group!

"Mm‑mm!" Hinata obediently nodded, then stepped forward and extended both hands toward Xiangling.

Xiangling, a little frightened, watched Hinata approach, but seeing no malice, she tried to place her tiny hand onto Hinata's.

Hinata clasped Xiangling's hand and gave her a gentle smile.

Feeling Hinata's kindness, Xiangling finally broke into a sweet smile!

(^▽^)

Meanwhile, Hanabi rummaged through the snacks and waved at Xiangling!

"Alright, the three of you go play first. Go find your own snacks!"

Nairaku introduced the three of them and then left them be.

He stood up and said to Yatsukumo, "Looks like you've recovered well. How about I give it a try?"

"Then please teach me, Nairaku‑kun!"

Yatsukumo first bowed to Nairaku, then immediately threw a punch.

"Tsk… that's a bit unsportsmanlike!"

Nairaku clearly hadn't expected Yatsukumo to strike so unexpectedly, but thanks to his quick reflexes, he dodged the surprise attack.

When Nairaku complained, Yatsukumo said nothing, just stuck out his tongue mischievously.

(ૢ˃ꌂ˂ૢ)

Then the two of them started swaying back and forth, trading blows.

Of course, Nairaku wasn't really exerting himself; most of the time he just stood still, letting Yatsukumo move on his own, only waving his hand to block Yatsukumo's attacks.

After a while, Yatsukumo, panting heavily, stopped and said, "Nairaku‑kun, I can't keep up. You're just too strong; I'm no match for you!"

Nairaku gave a faint smile and replied, "You've only just started recovering; getting this far is already impressive. Keep it up—I'm sure you'll become even better!"

If you enjoyed this story, be sure to add it to your shelf so you don't lose it next time.