Bad Apples in the Crowd

No way, man! Launching a coup has always been an idea in his heart! But Third Hokage, how did you find out!

Answer me!

After calming down...

He suspected that he had inadvertently revealed his thoughts during his usual conversations with the clansmen.

Damn it! There's a traitor among the masses.

Consequently, Fugaku hurried back to the clan and immediately sought out his confidant Yashiro to discuss the matter.

Finally, he issued an order.

"Yashiro, investigate in secret. Be careful not to alert anyone else; you must find the mole."

"Yes, Clan Leader."

Ten minutes later, Yashiro returned, bringing Tekka along with him.

So the mole was Tekka; Yashiro's efficiency is truly high...

Fugaku glared viciously at Tekka and slammed the table in anger: "What else do you have to say for yourself? The clan has treated you well; why would you betray us?"

Tekka said aggrievedly: "Clan Leader, I've been wronged! I didn't betray the clan; everything I did was for the sake of the clan..."

For the sake of the clan...

You, damn it, you snitch to the Hokage for the sake of the clan? What kind of logic is that?

How could such a stupid person exist in this world?!!

If one really does...

Fugaku declared that he would definitely strangle him.

"Besides, it was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki who sought us out, not the other way around... Controlling the Nine-Tails would increase our chances of successfully overthrowing Konoha. We couldn't miss an opportunity delivered to our doorstep, so I thought I'd get familiar with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki first to see if there was a suitable chance to strike."

What is all this? Fugaku was a bit confused and cast his gaze toward Yashiro.

"What is going on?"

"It's like this..."

So that's how it is. Yashiro, you should have said so earlier; you almost made me look like a fool.

Fugaku glared at Yashiro with dissatisfaction, then coughed twice and said: "Let this matter end here. We've already alerted the enemy..."

One o'clock in the afternoon.

Ichiraku Ramen.

"May good people have a peaceful life, and may bad people rest in peace... Beautiful and kind sister Ayame, may the great Naruto bless you with a life of harmony, happiness, and health."

Ayame served a bowl of fragrant ramen, and Naruto, whose stomach was growling loudly, drooled.

It hasn't been easy; he can finally eat lunch.

Drawing a circle on his chest and then pressing his palms together, Naruto offered his sincere blessings to Ayame.

Only then did he start devouring the ramen; one look and you could tell he was starving.

Ayame smiled slightly. She didn't leave but sat opposite Naruto and asked curiously: "Who is the great Naruto? Why is it the same as your name?"

Naruto looked up and said: "Because I am the great Naruto, sister Ayame. I promise you a life of happiness and no worries."

As the destined savior and the second God of Shinobi, protecting an ordinary person... that's just a piece of cake.

Ayame blinked, not taking it seriously, and joked: "Then Naruto needs to grow up quickly; sister will be waiting for you."

The original price of ramen is 60 ryo per bowl, but Ayame gave Naruto a discount, slashing it down to 40 ryo.

In other words, with Naruto's 500 ryo living allowance, he would starve to death on the streets after eating ramen a dozen times.

Naruto could not accept this; he had to find a way to be self-reliant.

After finishing the ramen and saying goodbye to Ayame, Naruto returned home and changed into clothes he rarely wore.

A coat reaching his thighs, a black hood, and a scarf that wrapped around most of his face, leaving only his eyes visible.

Standing in front of the mirror to examine his outfit, Naruto nodded with satisfaction and said: "Hmm, they shouldn't be able to recognize me like this..."

It's just that wearing it like this is a bit hot; after all, it's only October, and the temperature isn't low.

To be cautious, Naruto grabbed a bucket and headed straight for the commercial district furthest from his home, a place he almost never visited.

He bought a fishing rod and a fox mask.

After hesitating for a moment, he also bought a cheap knife, which nearly emptied Naruto's living allowance.

Clutching his shriveled wallet, Naruto felt annoyed. Damn old man Third Hokage, I will definitely tell Kushina that you are abusing me; just wait until you go down there and get a beating!

In the forest by the river, Naruto set up his fishing rod and sat on the side, using the knife to whittle a fish spear and a javelin.

Harpooning fish, hunting with javelins, and preparing for multiple contingencies—after all, Naruto Uzumaki didn't know if he could actually catch any fish.

Two hours later.

Naruto had finished making a simple harpoon and javelin, but he hadn't caught a single fish, so he had to resort to spearing them.

Perhaps because he had been doing Eye Exercises since he was young, or perhaps because he often practiced by smashing people's heads, Naruto had a sharp eye; it took him less than half an hour to spear two more fish.

Dinner was secured.

Watching the sky grow dark as the sunset dyed half the horizon red, Naruto muttered, "Forget it, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let them off the hook. I'll settle the score with them tomorrow."

Revenge doesn't usually need to wait overnight, but if it does... then it needs to be repaid twofold.

The next morning, after finishing his breakfast, Naruto carried a small stool and sat down in front of the Nishimura Grocery Store.

The shopkeeper, Nishimura, had the worst attitude yesterday; the moment he saw Naruto arrive, he immediately tried to drive him away and closed the door, preferring to lose business rather than sell anything to Naruto.

Oh, is that so? Then stay closed forever.

Naruto was already prepared for a long-term battle.

He stuffed two cotton balls into his ears to block out the noise, then took a piece of wood in his left hand and a small knife in his right, getting to work and immersing himself entirely in carving.

When he finally snapped back to reality, the sun was high in the sky, and Naruto looked at the completely distorted Fu Hua in his hands.

He sighed inwardly; his technique needed more practice.

He had some experience with carving, but not much.

In his past life, it was purely out of interest, and in this life, he had just started; as for the wife he was carving... it was truly too embarrassing to show anyone.

No chest to speak of, no butt to speak of...

Wait, the Shenzhou Tablet didn't seem to have a chest or butt to begin with, so that was fine.

He took the cotton out of his ears and looked back to see the shopkeeper glaring at him with resentment, causing Naruto to smile lightly.

Yes, that's it, that's the look.

But this was just the beginning; there was plenty more suffering in store for him.

It was obvious that with the reputation Naruto currently had—the kind that would make even a dog spit at him...

The villagers would avoid him in disgust whenever they saw him, which in turn had a significant impact on the grocery store's business.

Wearing a fox mask to hide his identity, Naruto bought bread for lunch, then spent an hour... catching rabbits in the forest and fish in the river.

Unfortunately, his three-year-old short legs were too slow to catch any rabbits, so he only speared two fish for dinner.

At two in the afternoon, Naruto arrived at the grocery store to continue his post.

The furious shopkeeper cursed at Naruto.

"You jinx, get the hell away from here!"

Naruto kept his head down, carving his wife, occasionally throwing a pebble whenever he heard insults like "Demon Fox," but otherwise ignoring everything else.

He left in the evening.

The second day, the third day, the fourth day...

Except for eating, sleeping, going to the bathroom, and hunting for fish, all of Naruto's time was spent sitting guard outside the grocery store with a level of patience unlike any three-year-old, causing Nishimura's plans to fall through.

He had assumed that a child would be restless and unable to endure for more than a few days, never expecting to encounter a freak like Naruto.