Leisurely Daily Life

Naruto did not go to sleep immediately upon returning home. He left a Flying Thunder God mark on his headboard, then formed hand seals and activated the Flying Thunder God. With a whoosh, Naruto vanished from the room. The scene shifted, and Naruto arrived in a corridor where one of the doors was labeled:

Hokage Office Building

Because the main entrance of the Hokage Office Building was guarded by ninjas and there were patrols inside, none of the rooms were locked except for those containing classified files.

After a sweep of his perception confirmed the corridor was empty, he also detected chakra fluctuations deep beneath the Hokage Office Building. Opening the office door, Naruto walked to the desk and grinned at the crystal ball sitting on top of it; he would never have to worry about Hiruzen Sarutobi spying on him with that thing again.

Sitting in the chair, Naruto activated his primordial spirit perception. He wanted to confirm something. He channeled his perception to permeate the ground, and soon, Naruto located the source of the chakra he had just sensed.

He saw a group of masked ninjas training in an open space; the chakra fluctuations he had sensed earlier were caused by these ninjas performing ninjutsu.

At the front stood a man leaning on a cane, his right eye and entire right arm wrapped in white bandages. Behind this man was a massive throne, and at the top of the throne was a large character for "Root."

"Heh, what an unexpected surprise. So, the headquarters of Shimura Danzō's Root is right beneath the Hokage Office Building."

Afterward, Naruto picked up the crystal ball and used the Flying Thunder God to return home.

Back home, looking at the crystal ball, Naruto debated whether to destroy it or keep it. The crystal ball had been created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and its primary function was to spy on people or objects the user wished to see. To Naruto, it was like a chicken rib—tasteless to eat but a waste to discard—as his own primordial spirit perception had a much wider range than the crystal ball. He had no use for it.

After much thought, Naruto decided to keep it; he might find a use for it later. He found a bag, packed the crystal ball inside, slung it over his back, formed the Flying Thunder God seal with both hands, and vanished from the room. When he reappeared, Naruto had arrived at the valley where he had been training for the past two days.

He immediately condensed a Rasengan in one hand and, using the purple light emitted by the Rasengan, walked into the cave. After placing the crystal ball inside, Naruto walked to the entrance. After a moment's thought, he set up two barriers outside: a perception barrier and a concealment barrier. The concealment barrier served to hide the cave entrance from the naked eye, while the perception barrier was a precaution so that if anything intruded, Naruto would be able to sense it.

After setting the barriers, Naruto used the Flying Thunder God again to return home, then immediately flashed out once more. He quickly arrived at the Root entrance he had sensed earlier, left a Flying Thunder God mark on a nearby large tree, and immediately departed for the next entrance. Before long, Naruto had left Flying Thunder God marks near all four of Root's exits.

Returning home once more, he checked the time; it was already midnight. Naruto did not continue training. Training required a gradual approach, and too much was as bad as too little; an occasional relaxation was quite nice.

The next day, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the Hokage Office early in the morning. Intending to check on Naruto with the crystal ball, he discovered that it was missing. Looking at the empty desk, the old man fell into deep thought.

He hurriedly called for the ninjas stationed outside and summoned the guards who had been at the entrance the previous night. Upon learning that no one had entered the Hokage Office Building, his brow furrowed even deeper. He immediately left the building and headed toward his home.

Waking up Konohamaru, who was still sleeping, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked sternly, "Konohamaru, have you been to the Hokage Office?"

Konohamaru, having been woken up by Hiruzen Sarutobi, initially wanted to get angry, but seeing his grandfather's stern expression, he answered honestly, "Grandpa, I haven't been to the Hokage Office Building at all these past few days."

Seeing Konohamaru's earnest expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi believed him. At that moment, a flash of inspiration struck him: "Danzō!" He then led his men and quickly rushed toward the home of Shimura Danzō.

Danzō's house was not far from Hiruzen Sarutobi's. Before long, the group arrived at his door. A ninja accompanying Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward and knocked on the gate, and soon a servant emerged.

Seeing someone come out, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Tell Danzō to come out and see me!"

The servant recognized the Third Hokage, said "Please wait a moment," and ran inside in a panic. A short while later, Shimura Danzō appeared at the gate. "Hiruzen, what is the matter?"

"Hmph, look at the good deed you've done!" Seeing Shimura Danzō emerge, Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted coldly.

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi say this, Shimura Danzō assumed that the Third had discovered his dealings with Orochimaru. He replied stiffly, "Everything I do is for the sake of Konoha!"

Hearing Shimura Danzō say such things at a time like this, Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, "Don't you forget that I am the Hokage!"

"You will regret this." Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi lose his temper, Shimura Danzō said nothing more. He dropped this harsh threat, turned around, closed the gate, and ignored the Third at the door.

Seeing Shimura Danzō close the gate and go inside, the Third's eyes flashed with cold light, though he quickly suppressed it. As long as he knew the crystal ball was in Shimura Danzō's hands, he would get it back sooner or later. He then led the group of ninjas back to the Hokage Office Building.

As for the culprit behind all this, after finishing the breakfast Tianyi had brought back, he headed out to school.

Ninja Academy

Naruto walked into the classroom and, ignoring everyone else, walked straight to his seat and sat down. Hinata had not yet arrived, and a bored Naruto could only rest his head on his hands and stare out the window.

"Naruto-kun, why are you here so early today?"

Naruto, who was daydreaming, heard someone call his name. He turned around to see Hinata standing gracefully by his desk, holding a parcel. He grinned and said, "Hehe, because I wanted to see Hinata earlier, so I came a bit ahead of time."

"Mm, I wanted to see Naruto-kun earlier too." After saying this, Hinata sat down and placed the parcel inside her desk. The two then began to chat happily about things like where the food was delicious or which accessories looked nice...

"Alright, class, quiet down. We are starting the lesson now." It wasn't until Iruka's voice reached them that the two turned their heads toward the podium.

"Students, this morning we will study theory, and this afternoon we will practice kunai throwing and sparring. Be prepared during the lunch break," Iruka said. He then began to lecture on theory, such as how many countries were currently known, how many ninja villages existed, and so on.

Naruto had no interest in these things; he already knew most of them, so he didn't listen, instead resting his head on the desk and daydreaming. (Why not talk to Hinata? Hinata is a good student, after all; he couldn't lead her astray.)

Time spent daydreaming always passed quickly. (In fact, Naruto had entered the Sealing Space.)

In the Sealing Space, three people and one fox were sitting cross-legged on the ground playing landlord.

"Dad, I'm going out again in a few days. This time, the main goal is to find the pervy sage and Orochimaru. Where do you think I should start looking?" Naruto asked Minato Namikaze while playing.

"As for Jiraiya-sensei, he should be in Yugakure. As for Orochimaru, I don't know," Minato Namikaze replied.

"Orochimaru is likely in the Land of Fields."

"Then I'll go to the Land of Hot Water first, then the Land of Iron, the Land of Whirlpools, and finally the Land of Fields."

"That's right, it's time to go to the Land of Iron. I hope I can find that thing."

Naruto, wanting to say more, felt someone nudging him from the outside world. He immediately regained consciousness, opened his eyes, and found it was Hinata.

"Naruto-kun, it's lunch break. Haven't you slept enough?" Seeing Naruto climb up with sleepy eyes, Hinata asked with a smile.

Hearing Hinata tease him, Naruto scratched his head and said, "Aha, I accidentally overslept. Let's go, Hinata, let's go get something to eat together."

Just as he was about to stand up, Naruto saw Hinata take the parcel she had been carrying that morning out of her desk and say, "Naruto-kun, this is a bento I made. Please have a taste."

"Oh? Did you make this yourself, Hinata? Does that mean you came so late this morning because of this bento?" Hearing Hinata say she made it herself, Naruto suddenly remembered that Hinata had arrived later than usual today. Was it because she was making the bento?

"It's nothing. It's just my first time making a bento, so I wasn't very skilled and was a little late," Hinata answered shyly when she heard Naruto ask.

Under Hinata's expectant gaze, Naruto opened the lid. The food inside was very rich, with char siu, pork chops, fried eggs, and greens, filling the food box to the brim.

"Wow, Hinata, thank you!" Before Hinata could even respond, he grabbed his chopsticks and began to devour the food frantically. The entire large box was polished off by Naruto Uzumaki in mere minutes.

"That was delicious, thanks Hinata! You should hurry up and eat too," Naruto praised her after finishing.

Seeing how quickly Naruto had eaten, Hinata handed over the other lunchbox she was holding. "Naruto-kun, you aren't full yet, are you? There's still more here."

"Hehe, I'm already stuffed." Naruto patted his slightly distended belly and said to Hinata, "You should hurry up and eat, Hinata."

Seeing Naruto say this, Hinata didn't insist any further and sat down beside him.

Stuffed to the brim, Naruto propped his head up with one hand and watched Hinata eating gracefully. Soon, Hinata finished as well. After tidying up the utensils, Naruto naturally took Hinata's hand. "I ate too much, come walk around with me."

And so, the two wandered around the school, neither speaking, just walking in silence.

Happy times always pass quickly. The lunch break ended, and the bell for class rang. Instead of returning to the classroom, the two headed toward the training ground; Iruka had mentioned in the morning that the afternoon would be a practical lesson.

Arriving at the training ground, they stood in their respective spots and waited quietly for Iruka to arrive. Once Iruka showed up, he didn't waste any words and quickly began the shuriken throwing practice.

After explaining the points to pay attention to when throwing kunai to his students, he had them begin practicing in groups.

As for Naruto, he threw the kunai just as he had during sparring—tossing it offhandedly and perfunctorily before turning to leave.

Although he saw Naruto being so dismissive, Iruka seemed to think of something and didn't say anything more.

The kunai throwing ended, and the sparring began. Just like before, it was mostly clan heirs sparring against commoners.

When it was Naruto's turn, unsurprisingly, he chose to forfeit once again. Under the gritted-teeth glares of Iruka and Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto returned to the queue with a grin.

After school, Naruto didn't ask Hinata out; he walked her home and then returned to his own house to begin his training.

Just like that, going to school every day, chatting with Hinata, and walking Hinata home, a week of peaceful days passed by.