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Out of Naruto's sight, a pair of enormous eyes was also fixed intently on Snow Charm, their gaze filled with complicated emotions.

"Hehe! The Nine-Tails also seems to be a gigantic fox, and from the anime, he always called himself 'this great lord,' so it should be safe to say the Nine-Tails is male. I wonder if he can resist Snow Charm's allure." As Yuyou walked, he mulled it over. It was a little idea he had included with Snow Charm as a gift for Naruto.

If the Nine-Tails fell for Snow Charm, that would be fun. Maybe Yuyou could even pull the Nine-Tails over to his side later!

The odds of that happening were not high, but so what?

Sigh! Just playing around.

The Ninja Academy was one of Konoha's most important places. Its students were Konoha's future pillars.

Thus, what had just happened was reported to Konoha's Hokage Building immediately.

"A Ninja Beast with jōnin-level strength has never appeared in the village before, and now it is following Sasuke Uchiha."

An Anbu ninja reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"A Ninja Beast with jōnin-level strength has suddenly appeared beside Sasuke Uchiha."

A Root ninja said while kneeling on one knee beside Shimura Danzō.

This happened simultaneously, and Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō both wore equally grave expressions.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, in particular, was deeply troubled. Just last night, Anbu had reported that Yuyou Uchiha had suddenly displayed extremely formidable power—so much that the four Anbu ninjas present had not even dared to move against him. Yet today, a jōnin-level Ninja Beast had appeared at Sasuke Uchiha's side. The appearance of both incidents together clearly signaled something unusual.

"What exactly is going on?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood by the window, looking toward the distant Ninja Academy as he frowned in thought.

"Yuyou Uchiha."

Yuyou's image surfaced in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind, along with the matter of Yuyou coming back from the dead.

"Was my choice back then truly right or wrong?"

For a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi even regretted his decision back then. But as Hokage, that thought vanished in an instant, because he would stand by his choices.

A person in power could never regret their decisions. Even if a choice had been wrong, what they should do was mend the flaws as much as possible, not lament the past.

"Send out the notice: halt the investigation into Yuyou Uchiha. As long as he does not violate Konoha's rules and regulations, no action is to be taken against him. Also, no one with ulterior motives is to approach the Uchiha brothers."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

After receiving his orders, the Anbu ninja withdrew. This Hokage order would be issued in written form to every department in Konoha, including Root.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want to force this matter to a dead end. He truly did not want to see another tragedy like that of the Uchiha clan, and Konoha could not withstand blow after blow.

Not long afterward, at Root's base.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, Konoha will sooner or later be destroyed by your hands." Danzō slammed the document bearing the Hokage's seal onto the floor.

But there was nothing he could do. Although Root could make independent decisions in many matters, it still had to obey the Hokage's orders—especially orders issued in written form like this one. Unless he wanted to openly defy the Hokage's authority, he could not move against the Uchiha brothers.

Several other influential clans in Konoha also learned of the matter.

The Inuzuka Clan, in particular, could only swallow their grievances in silence.

First, both their young clan heir and young dog king had been humiliated. Though they were furious, they had no good way to reclaim their dignity.

For one, the Inuzuka Clan could not possibly send a jōnin to fight Sasuke. That would be bullying the weak with the strong, and it would be impossible to justify. Besides, an Uchiha was still an Uchiha. If they formed a grudge now, who knew what might happen in the future? After all, there were far too many geniuses in the Uchiha clan.

Second, if they held a Ninja Beast battle like Kiba Inuzuka had, no one in the Inuzuka Clan believed their Ninja Dogs could reliably defeat Red Cat. If they lost again, they would truly be disgraced.

After all, the strength of Inuzuka Clan ninjas did not rely solely on Ninja Dogs, but on secret techniques that combined human and dog. If the human and dog were separated, the strength they could display would be greatly reduced.

With the Hokage's order added on top of that, the Inuzuka Clan could only endure this indignity. Besides, the events at the Ninja Academy would gradually fade away before long.

But Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru did not see it that way. Akamaru especially had remained curled up in his nest since returning home. No matter who called for him, he would not come out.

Kiba Inuzuka silently stayed at Akamaru's side, his head lowered without saying a word.

Kiba Inuzuka felt that he had utterly lost face. Before, although he had been inferior to Sasuke, with Akamaru's cooperation, he could still have a fierce and satisfying battle with Sasuke. Even if he lost, he could at least lose with some dignity.

But today, he had taken the initiative to challenge Sasuke, only to fail without even getting near him. Such a crushing defeat was difficult for a ten-year-old boy to accept, especially one with such strong pride.

Thus, Kiba Inuzuka did not attend class for the next half month. He only quietly returned to the classroom once the matter was nearly forgotten. For a long time afterward, the boy and dog were like invisible people, reducing their presence in the class to the bare minimum.

In truth, Kiba Inuzuka had overthought it. Hardly anyone discussed his defeat at all. Most of the talk was about Sasuke and Red Cat. The two of them had long since been forgotten.

And after gaining Red Cat, Sasuke officially became the strongest person in the Ninja Academy. No one dared challenge Sasuke again. After all, a Ninja Beast was part of a ninja's strength, and challenging Sasuke meant facing Red Cat as well. That alone killed any desire to challenge him. No one was willing to go looking for a beating.

However, the most popular one in the Ninja Academy was neither Sasuke nor Red Cat, but Naruto—and the Snow Charm in his arms.

Since he began raising Snow Charm, Naruto seemed like a different person. He became exceptionally clean and paid great attention to his clothing and appearance.

Although Naruto did not own any expensive clothes, he now revealed his "handsome" side, astonishing everyone.

His golden hair was neatly groomed and held in place by a blue headband. His features were well-defined, his skin fair and smooth, and he wore a loose white training outfit along with a white imperial cloak trimmed in gold.

As long as Naruto did not open his mouth and reveal that signature foolish grin, most people saw him as a "handsome guy."

On top of that, the incomparably beautiful Snow Charm added at least another sixty percent to Naruto's appeal.

Naruto became famous throughout the Ninja Academy.

Whether younger girls or older female students, all wanted to befriend Naruto. Of course, most of them were not there for Naruto, but for Snow Charm.