"Grandpa... No, Lord Hokage." Yashui took the Konoha Headband from his pocket and tied it around his forehead. "As a Konoha Genin, I'm asking to join the mission to find Naruto."
The Third Hokage had been about to criticize Yashui. But seeing that Yashui had already begun to think of himself as a Konoha Ninja, he smiled and said, "Go."
Yashui raced out to search for Naruto.
Naruto should be somewhere teaching himself the Shadow Clone Technique. Yashui wasn't sure exactly where Naruto was. The manga hadn't shown Konoha's layout or Naruto's current location in much detail, so Yashui had no choice but to search bit by bit.
Thinking back to the scene in the original story, there were trees all around. It should have been a training ground. There was also a small cabin... It was probably there to store training supplies or give people a place to rest. If it were close to Konoha's central district, there wouldn't be any need for a cabin like that.
"It must be a training ground on the outskirts of Konoha!" Yashui immediately headed for the training grounds at the village's edge. He couldn't be sure he'd find the right place right away with so little information, but having a clue meant he could search much faster than the other ninjas.
Yashui didn't know Konoha's terrain all that well, but the village's infrastructure was quite good. Even if he didn't know the way, he could follow the signs along the road.
Like a real ninja, Yashui leaped from rooftops to trees as he traveled. By channeling a little chakra into his feet, he could jump a long way. It was tiring, but a good way to get somewhere quickly when time was short.
He searched several training grounds without finding Naruto. It wasn't until he reached the fourth that he spotted a little blood on the ground.
Following the blood trail, Yashui moved forward slowly. He was in Konoha, but Mizuki was still out there. He couldn't afford to fall for any traps Mizuki had laid along the way.
Just as Yashui was proceeding cautiously, a mass of mist suddenly appeared up ahead. It was unmistakably Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Yashui hurried over and saw Naruto and Iruka embracing as they cried.
"I'm too late," Yashui said regretfully. He watched Naruto and Iruka from a distance. There was no point in showing himself now, so he quietly turned back.
There was a good chance this strange incident had been orchestrated by the Third Hokage himself. But that was only Yashui's guess. If it was true, he'd be missing a huge opportunity if he didn't take the chance to look at the jutsu in the Scroll of Sealing.
He'd planned to use the opportunity to see what high-level jutsu the Scroll of Sealing contained besides the Shadow Clone Technique. But he'd arrived too late, so he had no choice but to head back.
His goal of "sneaking a look at the Scroll of Sealing, then checking whether Naruto was feeling better" had only been half accomplished.
After reporting what he'd seen to the Third Hokage, Yashui could finally return to his room and rest.
As soon as he got back, Yashui couldn't help but marvel. "Naruto was born to lead... He's got me, someone who's known him for less than a few days, worrying this much about him. I even picked a fight with Kiba for his sake..."
It seemed he'd have to keep his distance from Naruto from now on. Naruto's innate ability to draw people in was terrifying.
Perhaps all the adults who treated Naruto differently when he was young had kept him from making many friends, concealing the fact that he naturally drew people to him. Once Naruto became a hero, even if he never went out of his way to connect with others, plenty of people would still willingly stay by his side and fight for him.
Yashui took off his sunglasses and checked them. His eyes were still stable today.
Looking at the calendar, he saw that tomorrow was the day the Genin teams would be assigned. He wondered whether his appearance would change the team assignments from the original story.
With a knot of unease in his heart, Yashui drifted off to sleep.
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