A Fox Passes Through Three Generations, The Man Is Gone, But It Remains

"Tell me, Naruto, did something trigger you today?"

Outside under a large tree, the three of them sat chatting.

Facing Shikamaru's dead-eyed stare, Naruto blinked, not quite understanding.

"You didn't skip class today, and we had an agreement to go fishing yesterday. I fell asleep, yet you didn't wake me up, and you even sat through the whole morning of lectures."

Shikamaru looked suspicious.

Naruto felt ashamed; he had spent the entire morning observing the others in the classroom. As for yesterday's plans, how could he possibly remember such a trivial matter?

"Yeah, yeah, we'll go tomorrow."

Naruto could only scratch his head and offer a silly grin.

Shikamaru didn't press the issue, though Naruto's abnormal behavior today struck him as rather strange.

The three stopped talking and began their lunch, eating the meals the two of them had brought. Although Naruto didn't strictly need to eat, he enjoyed it. Hinata, sitting to the side, watched Naruto eat and desperately wanted to share her own bento with him, but her introverted nature left her without the courage to do so.

With his now-heightened perception, Naruto naturally noticed the internal struggle of little Hinata hiding not far away. He was genuinely worried about her current personality; it looked a lot like a manifestation of depression. Fortunately, he had seen what Hinata would become when she grew up, and ultimately, it was her family and that father of hers who were the root cause.

But seeing Hinata's conflicted little expression, Naruto still felt happy inside—it was enough that the sentiment had been received. As for having Hinata and Naruto meet in public, it was truly a bit difficult for the shy Hinata of today.

The curriculum at the Ninja Academy consisted of theoretical lessons in the morning and practical training in the afternoon. The basics of being a ninja—the ninja run, shuriken, kunai, and some simple traps—were all part of the practical courses. As for sparring, it wasn't a mandatory daily item.

Today's training was with kunai.

Groups of children held wooden kunai, aiming at targets in the distance.

As the "dead-last" trio, Naruto and his friends weren't taking it seriously at all, each of them looking listless.

"Hey, Shikamaru, why don't we skip class now? This is so boring."

Seeing that the teacher wasn't paying any attention to them, Naruto couldn't help but whisper to Shikamaru beside him.

Hearing Naruto's words, Shikamaru's eyes lit up instantly, and he regained a bit of spirit.

The three of them looked around guiltily, snuck over to the wall, and with a leap, left the academy. It wasn't their first time skipping class, so they headed to their usual gathering spot with practiced coordination.

Behind the mountain, there was a river surrounded by a forest; it was very quiet, and almost no one ever came here.

Shikamaru found a large tree, rested his head on his hands, and started to sleep again. Choji took out a bag of chips and began to eat, while Naruto pulled out a hidden fishing rod and started to fish.

The weather was clear and cloudless, and the three of them were leisurely living the lives they enjoyed, chatting casually whenever they had nothing else to do.

Perhaps his luck was particularly good today, as he soon caught several large fish.

Choji hurried over to help roast them.

As a little glutton, Choji's grilling skills went without saying.

"Impressive, Choji."

Naruto couldn't help but praise him; even without many seasonings, he had managed to make it taste so good.

When it came to food, Choji wouldn't be modest, immediately puffing out his chest.

After eating and playing to their hearts' content, the three parted ways. Walking through the streets of Konoha, feeling the gazes cast upon him by the people around, Naruto merely frowned, quickly leaving the area to return home.

With Danzo and the Third Hokage threatening from within, the Akatsuki organization from without, and the Nine-Tails causing trouble inside his body, this life would be one thing if he didn't know about it, but knowing the truth made him feel as if the pressure was entirely on his own shoulders.

He returned home to begin his cultivation. Upon entering his house, Naruto, who had intended to train, frowned.

"Someone has been here."

A child wouldn't have a concept of cleanliness; Naruto's room used to be filled with dirty clothes and finished cup noodles. The Naruto who had just transmigrated hadn't had time to tidy up yet, but with his current memory, even though he had only glanced at it in the morning, he had already noted the state of his home.

Things in the room had been moved, and there were traces of chakra on the floor.

Could it be the Third?

Frowning, the first person Naruto thought of was the Third Hokage. There was no helping it; that old man liked to monitor Naruto whenever he had nothing better to do.

It was indeed true. After finishing his work for the day, the Third had taken out his crystal ball, preparing to observe Naruto's situation. It was a habit of his—to see what the personality of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was like, so that if anything happened, he could step in and leave a good impression on Naruto.

The Third's crystal ball could observe anyone within the borders of Konoha as long as their chakra had been recorded. However, because Naruto had practiced the Six Thief Immortals today, he currently had no chakra signature, and the Third naturally couldn't observe him. This situation, of course, left the Third greatly alarmed.

He immediately summoned Kakashi to inquire while simultaneously dispatching the Anbu to investigate.

Naruto was naturally unaware of all this, but looking at the state of his room, the only people he could think of were the Third and Danzo.

Exhaling, Naruto felt helpless. He had just arrived and hadn't done anything yet, yet it was already enough to make one's heart race. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—thinking of this identity made Naruto feel very frustrated. If it weren't for the Nine-Tails, based on his status as the son of the Fourth Hokage, even if he couldn't become Hokage, he wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state. But precisely because of the Nine-Tails, Danzo wanted to control the beast; as long as he held the Nine-Tails, his dream of becoming Hokage would be much closer to reality.

But the Third naturally didn't want Danzo to control the Nine-Tails. Caught in the middle, Naruto was truly miserable. Although the current situation was all caused by Danzo, it was undeniable that this was also what the Third wanted to see. Only when Naruto lived a bitter life could there be an opportunity for him, the "Grandpa Third," to make an appearance.

He lowered his head and began to tidy up the room, but a flicker of gloom flashed in his eyes that no one saw.

The room wasn't large, and it was soon cleaned up; mainly because there wasn't much in the room to tidy up anyway.

However, thinking about it, the Nine-Tails seemed to have it worse than him. The Nine-Tails had become a family heirloom of his house: the first Jinchuriki, Mito Uzumaki; the second Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki; and the third Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki.

Thinking of this, Naruto couldn't help but feel happy. Sure enough, as long as there was someone more miserable than himself, he could find happiness.

Lying on the bed, Naruto closed his eyes and began to cultivate.

Hokage Building.

In the Hokage's office, the light was dim, and combined with the smoke drifting in the air, the room looked somewhat eerie.

The Third Hokage sat in his chair, his aged brows knitted tightly together.

"Knock, knock."

At that moment, a sound of knocking echoed through the room.

"Come in."

The Third spoke, and Iruka walked inside.

"Lord Third."

Iruka bowed in greeting; usually, one did not need to kneel unless receiving an official mission. Ordinary villagers could even address the Third directly as Lord Third upon meeting him. When it came down to it, the Third was merely a village chief, and there was no need for such excessive etiquette.

"Mm, Iruka, I called you here because I wanted to ask how Naruto performed today."

The Third looked at him and asked with a chuckle.

As if you don't already know how Naruto is doing.

Although he thought this in his heart, he dared not say it aloud.