The two of them exchanged a series of friendly words. No one knew what they talked about, but judging by their expressions, they must have had a pleasant afternoon!
After eating and drinking his fill, Nanfeng returned to his room and lay down on the bed, thinking about what to do next.
"Open Personal Panel!" Nanfeng said, lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling.
The translucent Personal Attribute Panel unfolded before Nanfeng. Compared to six years ago, his stats had made a substantial leap.
Host: Akiya Nanfeng. Age: 12. Stamina: 210. Strength: 210. Defense: 210. Resistance: 170. Reaction: 170. Speed: 170. Spirit: 170. Charm: 270. Chakra: 700. Skills: Healing Technique, Poisoning Technique, Holy Armor Technique, Kotoamatsukami (not awakened), Sharingan, Shadow Clone Jutsu, Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.
These stats were all earned through the countless hours Nanfeng had sacrificed over the years, treating ninja at Konoha Ninja Hospital!
At first, treating animals had brought him some rewards, but now he could barely get anything out of it. He might have to treat ten injured animals in one go just to earn a pitiful few attribute points!
Nanfeng shook his head, feeling rather frustrated. The so-called Novice Protection Period had ended. From now on, if he wanted to earn Attribute Points, he could only leech them by treating powerful ninja!
Thinking about the story to come, and judging by the Hokage's attitude over the past few years, Nanfeng figured that he, Sasuke, and Naruto would be assigned to the same team if nothing unexpected happened.
Of course, teams weren't formed according to some supposed balance of genders, but according to their abilities.
As a Medical Ninja, Nanfeng was useful anywhere. His talent was in no way inferior to Uchiha Sasuke's, and the three of them got along well. Putting them together would also make it easy for the Hokage to keep an eye on their day-to-day behavior!
"But fortunately, I warned them ahead of time. Compared to when we first started training together six years ago, the surveillance has been reduced a lot. Maybe the little things they've done in their daily lives have gradually put the Hokage at ease. But..."
What Nanfeng left unsaid was that Naruto and Sasuke had learned quite a bit about Konoha's Dark Matters, and had already begun to doubt Konoha.
More specifically, they had begun to doubt the Elder Council, Danzo, and the current Hokage. As for everyone else... they were all very nice people!
Like the kindest Teacher Iruka, who was still pleading with the Hokage at the Hokage Office.
"Hokage-sama, Naruto has been tested on the Clone Technique year after year. Isn't that a little unfair to him? His abilities in other areas are already good enough for him to graduate!" Iruka said, unable to bear it any longer.
When he left the Ninja Academy today, he had seen the dejected Uzumaki Naruto beneath the swing, and his heart had ached terribly!
He felt sorry for the lonely child. At school, he had friends like Nanfeng to keep him company, but in life, he was just a child with no parents who had to endure the disdain of everyone around him.
"Do you really think Naruto has that kind of ability?" The Hokage took a deep drag on his cigarette, then turned to look at Iruka, who wore an earnest expression.
"I... I don't know, sir. Please enlighten me, Hokage-sama..." Sweat beaded on Iruka's forehead as he hastily addressed Hiruzen Sarutobi with respect.
"I've heard about his training at school. I also took a special interest in some of Naruto's Practical Training sessions. He has a good foundation, but haven't you noticed that Chakra Control is a serious weakness of his?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked Iruka in the eyes. The light in his gaze seemed as if it could see right through him.
"This..." Iruka was sweating even more now. The more Hiruzen Sarutobi explained, the more convinced he became that it was true!
After all, even the few ninjutsu Naruto used during Practical Training left him completely drained. Normally, the chakra required for C-Rank Ninjutsu was well within the limits of Ninja Academy students.
Had anyone else ever ended up completely drained after using just one jutsu, the way Naruto did?
"So there's a deeper reason behind everything I do. The Clone Technique may be simple, but it's the best way to test a student's Chakra Control. If he can't even manage the Clone Technique, and actually becomes a ninja... what do you think his chances of surviving on the battlefield would be?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice turned unbearably serious as he spoke.
"I understand, Hokage-sama..." Iruka hurriedly replied.
"Go on. Have Naruto come see me later. This has hit him hard, and he needs some words of encouragement." Hiruzen Sarutobi waved Iruka away from the Hokage Office.
Once Iruka had left, Hiruzen Sarutobi used the Scrying Jutsu again to watch Naruto's movements.
It was already night. According to the information he had, Naruto had begun to act, and Mizuki—the other big fish waiting to take the bait—was also secretly watching Naruto's plan unfold!
"Strange. Why are the guards so lax here today? I've passed this way plenty of times before, and the security today is completely different!" Naruto looked pleased on the surface, but inwardly he began to think seriously.
He wasn't stupid. If even Mizuki, a proper Chunin, wanted him to steal something, it had to be very valuable. And with security so weak, the Hokage must have already learned about Mizuki's plan in secret!
"Old Man Third really is just like Nanfeng said. He's not as unreliable as he seems. But does this count as pulling strings to help me graduate?" Naruto wondered. His hands kept moving, and soon he had slipped the Scroll of Seals out of the Hidden Compartment and into his pocket.
Next, he had to go to the place he and Mizuki had agreed on. The deal was that he had to learn one of the jutsu in the scroll to graduate. But how could he possibly do something so simple and leave it at that?
"Remember to make a partial copy of the contents inside. Copy as much as you can. It'll give us some useful guidance for our training later." Nanfeng's words echoed in Naruto's mind through the Secret Technique.
Naruto didn't dare linger. He hurried to the agreed-upon spot. The first thing he did after opening the Scroll of Seals was frantically use chakra to copy its contents into his mind. He only stopped once it began to feel too difficult.
Before you continue