After returning from the Naka River, Naruto sat on the sofa with a troubled expression, turning the matter over and over in his mind.
He had not only found Pinru's Wardrobe, but also defeated Sasuke. According to Teacher Hanfu's theory, even if Sakura didn't fall for him right away, she should at least have changed her attitude a little and started seeing him in a different light, right?
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what the problem was.
At dinner that evening, Kushina noticed that Naruto had something on his mind and asked him about it. But how could Naruto tell her the truth? Wasn't that just asking to get beaten up?
Better make himself scarce.
Back in his bedroom, Naruto leaned against the window and stared blankly at the sidewalk beneath the night sky.
His heart was full of worries, but he had no one to talk to.
Sigh~
Naruto hadn't even graduated from elementary school, yet he was already shouldering pain that no one his age should have to bear.
After an unknown amount of time, Naruto's eyes suddenly lit up. His dad had come home from work.
He hurried downstairs to the entryway to greet Namikaze Minato.
"I'm home."
As Namikaze Minato opened the door and saw Naruto, he couldn't help recalling how Itachi Uchiha had come to apologize that evening. He thought to himself, Naruto's unusual behavior has probably caught the attention of quite a few people. Maybe Itachi wasn't the first to discover Naruto's Jinchuriki identity.
Naruto was still safe enough at the Ninja Academy, but once he graduated...
It seemed he'd have to be careful when choosing Naruto's Jonin Instructor...
As Namikaze Minato considered this, he smiled and asked, "Naruto, are you going out?"
"No, no."
Naruto sidled