Just a Clubbing to Death Elite Jonin

Qiushui had not forgotten why he had come here.

"Naruto, your room is too messy. Your teacher is going to teach you how to tidy up," Qiushui said, rolling up his sleeves and beginning to help Naruto clean the place.

As he stuffed trash into a bag, he added casually, "Look, if a room is too messy, little bugs will sneak in. They hide during the day, but at night, when you're asleep, they crawl out, steal the snacks you've hidden, and eat them all up, bite by bite."

Naruto's eyes widened as he listened, and he slapped his forehead in sudden realization: "No wonder I sometimes find my things missing for no reason!"

Seeing how serious he looked, Qiushui couldn't help but smile. He remembered that when he watched the anime in his past life, the first time Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba visited Naruto's home, the scene was an absolute disaster, with bugs swarming out from every corner in a dense, crawling mass.

Fortunately, Naruto's home hadn't reached that point yet, or Qiushui felt he wouldn't have had any appetite for the next few days after cleaning it.

Feeling that cleaning with just the two of them was too inefficient, he directly manifested three shadow clones to help with the chores.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood to the side, watching this scene with a gentle gaze. He had originally intended to lend a hand, but upon second thought, he decided it was better to let Naruto do the work himself, allowing him to enjoy more of this rare, precious time.

Taking advantage of a break in the cleaning, Qiushui performed a quality assessment on Sarutobi Hiruzen.

[Name: Sarutobi Hiruzen]
[Chakra: 126,000]
[Quality: S+]
[Evaluation: Proficient in Wind, Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Water style ninjutsu. Due to advanced age, his strength has declined significantly—he can only beat a few elite jonin to death with one staff strike, and with a few more strikes, he can barely manage to kill a Kage-level ninja.]

Looking at the numbers on the panel, Qiushui couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly.

One hundred and twenty-six thousand chakra.

One must know that a ninja's strength declines rapidly with age.

Especially after crossing the threshold of fifty, physical fitness, reaction speed, and chakra volume all recede like a retreating tide.

This is a recognized law of the ninja world, and no one can escape it.

Yet Sarutobi Hiruzen, now sixty-five years old, still possessed such an astonishing amount of chakra and was still evaluated by the system as having the strength to kill a Kage-level ninja.

"He truly lives up to his reputation as the strongest Hokage in the early lore..." Qiushui couldn't help but sigh.

The room was not large, and with the help of the three shadow clones, the entire place was brand new after two hours.

The floor was clean enough to reflect a person's silhouette, gleaming under the lights. Items on the table were arranged neatly, and the washed clothes were hung on the balcony. The mixed, stuffy odor in the air had dissipated, leaving only a faint scent of detergent.

Qiushui stood in the center of the room, looking around, a sense of satisfaction flowing through his heart.

He said to Naruto, who was inspecting what felt like a brand-new home: "It's getting late, so I'll head out now. Remember to arrive at the training ground promptly at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

Naruto snapped out of his daze and said with some reluctance: "Okay."

He felt that these short two or three hours had been more fulfilling than the past few years combined.

Qiushui said sternly: "I've helped you clean it up this time, but from now on, you must tidy it up yourself every week to ensure the room stays this clean. I will come to check at irregular intervals. If I find it has returned to its original state, I will reduce the number of times I come over."

Naruto immediately replied: "Don't worry, Teacher! Next time you come, I guarantee it will be exactly the same—no, even cleaner than it is now."

He made up his mind that starting tomorrow, the first thing he would do upon returning home would be to clean. Since Teacher Qiushui said he would check at irregular intervals, it meant the teacher would continue to visit him. If the teacher really felt his room was too messy and stopped coming, he wouldn't even have a place to cry.

[Daily Task: Change the sanitary conditions of the SSS-grade high-quality talent, Uzumaki Naruto's living environment (Completed)]
[Reward Received: Innate Wind-style Chakra]

Qiushui felt a sense of lightness wash over his spirit, and the flow of his chakra seemed smoother and more agile.

A ninja's chakra nature is divided into innate and acquired through training; the gap between the two is like a chasm.

Those who possess innate chakra natures find that when learning corresponding ninjutsu, that chakra is already a part of their body. The guidance of chakra during hand seals is incredibly smooth, flowing out naturally with just a single thought.

Those who acquire the nature through training, however, must spend several times the effort and time to sense, harmonize, and forcibly change their chakra's flow habits.

For the same ninjutsu, those with innate natures can cast it with greater power, wider range, and less consumption.

As Sarutobi Hiruzen and Qiushui walked out of the building, the old man suddenly stopped and said slowly: "Qiushui, can you tell me why you are so good to Naruto?"

Qiushui repeated, word for word, the same explanation he had given Naruto earlier when the boy asked why he was being so kind.

After listening, Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for a moment, then nodded gently.

He did not doubt Qiushui's motives, feeling only that this was the return on the investment Minato had made.

First, Qiushui's reason was simple and sincere: a life-saving debt that could never be fully repaid, so he decided to pour that sentiment into the child who resembled his benefactor.

Second, Qiushui's family background was clean; his ancestors were all Konoha ninjas who had mostly sacrificed themselves to protect the village.

Finally, Qiushui's Will of Fire was impeccably pure. Such a person could never be a spy from another village, let alone harbor malicious intentions toward Naruto.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took out his pipe, packed it with tobacco, and said: "Actually, you guessed correctly. Naruto is indeed the child of Minato and Kushina."

Qiushui hadn't expected him to lay his cards on the table so bluntly. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond, so he could only react as a normal person would, showing an expression of surprise on his face.

After taking a deep puff of his pipe and exhaling, Sarutobi Hiruzen said solemnly: "Qiushui, I leave Naruto in your care from now on. If you need anything, feel free to come to the Hokage Office to find me."

Qiushui met his gaze and replied earnestly: "Don't worry, Third Hokage. Even if you hadn't asked, I would have done so. It's not just about repaying a debt; I truly feel a connection with the little guy."

He did not press Sarutobi Hiruzen on why he hadn't made Naruto's identity as the hero's son public.

If he were still in his past life, Qiushui might have firmly believed in the conspiracy theories surrounding the Third Hokage, thinking it was all for power and better control over Naruto. But having truly arrived in this world and experiencing these things firsthand, he realized that the truth was far from as simple as he had once imagined.