Past Events

"Konoha, we're back!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly at the main gate of Konohagakure, gazing at the incredibly familiar village.

Unlike the excitement of leaving the village before, returning to Konoha this time brought a sense of long-lost comfort to everyone. This was the feeling home provided.

Perhaps due to this sentiment, Kakashi didn't scold Naruto for his loud shouts. He merely looked at his somewhat hyperactive student with a slight headache.

However, they had performed well on this mission, even showing significant progress, which was something he, as their teacher, was happy about.

"You have three days off. I'll use this time to report on this mission. We'll meet at the training grounds in three days to plan our next tasks," Kakashi said, stretching lazily and then speaking with some discomfort.

This was the first mission of such difficulty for the group, and the mission report naturally fell to him as the Captain.

But it was only this once. Given Kakashi's lazy nature, he would definitely pawn off future mission reports to Nanfeng and the others. As if!

Who was he? Konoha's most famous Copy Ninja and King of Lateness. He didn't even have time to read Icha Icha Paradise, and now he was expected to handle your mission reports? Once was enough; a second time would be a dream.

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Kakashi!" Nanfeng said politely. Kakashi nodded with satisfaction. Now that's a good kid, polite.

Then there was Sasuke. Although Sasuke also respectfully expressed his thanks, what was with that evasive look? It was as if the teacher had something dirty on him.

"Sasuke-kun!" Two girlish voices called out from behind Kakashi. Kakashi finally realized that Sasuke's trouble had arrived. As long as it didn't involve him, that was fine.

"Well then, dismissed," Kakashi said, then used Body Flicker Technique to disappear from the spot, leaving Sasuke to deal with the two girls, looking quite troubled.

"Yo, Sakura and Ino, haven't seen you in over half a month. How's your training been lately?" Naruto asked with a smile when he saw the two approaching.

Thanks to Nanfeng's intervention, Naruto didn't have many romantic feelings for Sakura. It was only at the beginning that Sakura found his actions a bit hard to accept, but now their relationship was just that of ordinary friends.

"Naruto, did your mission go smoothly? We've been carrying out missions within the village, so we haven't had much chance to go out. As for training... it's so-so," Sakura Haruno said with some helplessness.

Her current two teammates were practically mutes, and due to their strength, they could only undertake simple missions within the village. However, it seemed they would soon have enough missions to undertake C-rank missions, and she wondered if there would be a chance to leave the village.

"I won't bother you guys. Big Brother Nanfeng, want to go grab some ramen?" Naruto scratched his head, ignoring Sasuke's murderous glare, and turned to Nanfeng.

It wasn't that Naruto hadn't noticed Sasuke's plea for help, but Naruto was quite vengeful.

Although he had unleashed the Nine-Tails' power and was kicked by Sasuke to regain control, that kick really hurt. How could he not get some revenge?

Thinking this, Naruto glanced at Sasuke cheekily. However, in the eyes of Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka, this was a perfect wingman move, and their affection for Naruto increased greatly at that moment.

What a great friend! It seemed they absolutely had to build a good relationship with Naruto. Whether they could make further progress with Sasuke completely depended on Naruto playing the role of a wingman!

As for Nanfeng, his mind had been entirely focused on Hinata. However, Hinata's team was out on a mission. Although it was near Konoha, it would still take a few days. It seemed that the plan to ask Hinata out for a meal after she returned would have to be postponed for now.

"Alright, we still have some mission reports to sort out. If you're looking for Sasuke, you can find him tonight. Sorry about this!" Nanfeng said apologetically to the two girls.

Although Sakura and Ino were a bit displeased, they were ninjas, and missions came first. They knew the importance of mission reports, so they didn't say much. Moreover, Nanfeng was very polite, so even if they were upset, they couldn't lash out.

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief and shot Naruto a fierce look, as if saying he would get back at Naruto if he got the chance!

"Let's go. Didn't you want to know some things? Let's take this opportunity to go to my place, grab something to eat, and then we'll talk about these matters in detail," Nanfeng said in a deep voice.

Hearing Nanfeng's words, Sasuke and Naruto stopped their staring contest and followed Nanfeng out of the village gate without a word. Once they returned home, Nanfeng breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't speak. The old man Third Hokage is watching us. We have to pretend we're playing cards," Nanfeng said quickly using a Secret Technique, taking out a deck of playing cards. Behind them, a hot pot was simmering, a prop they had prepared to distract attention.

Seeing the three of them playing cards while waiting for the hot pot, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt somewhat relieved. After retracting his Scrying Jutsu, Nanfeng finally relaxed.

"So, Big Brother Nanfeng, why do they call me the Demon Fox... and what exactly happened to me in the Land of Waves?" Naruto's voice was a little low. A child, bearing such a name since childhood, living amidst everyone's indifference, he just wanted to know the reason.

"Nine-Tails." Nanfeng only said these two words, and Sasuke's expression turned very grim.

As the second son of the Uchiha clan, he naturally knew what the Nine-Tails was. He just hadn't expected that this guy was sealed within Naruto's body... which meant?

"Naruto is a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?" Sasuke's transmitted thoughts even showed a hint of trembling. He had suspected it before, but he had never seriously considered that Naruto might be a Jinchuriki.

"That's right. During the Nine-Tails' rampage twelve years ago, Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage, personally sealed half of the Nine-Tails' Chakra within Naruto's body to ensure Konoha's safety. The Fourth Hokage and his wife, Naruto's mother Kushina Uzumaki, died on the spot..."

"After all, Naruto's mother was the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. This can be considered the last gift your parents left you. It's just unexpected that a hero who was supposed to save Konoha would go through such things during his growth." Nanfeng continued with the story.