Naruto hurriedly closed his eyes. He couldn't actually make his mother angry.
Sign-In Task: The lettering must be over one meter tall.
"Fine, I'll raise the difficulty for now. Melon-Skin System, you're something else."
The heavy snowfall had just stopped, and Konoha was blanketed in white.
At dawn.
Naruto sneaked out of the house with Minato Namikaze.
Neither of them wanted Kushina Uzumaki to find out.
There were only a few people on the street, and the air was still a little cold and dry.
Minato picked Naruto up. "Naruto, let me show you how amazing your dad is."
Naruto blinked.
Flying Thunder God Technique.
The two of them teleported to the highest point of Kage Rock.
From here, they could look down over all of Konoha.
"So this is Kage Rock?" Naruto looked down.
Minato explained, "Behind Konoha is a huge stone cliff. To commemorate the contributions of the Hokage throughout the generations, people carved their faces into it. Your dad's face is carved here too."
At that moment, they were standing on top of the Third Hokage's head.
The view was limited, and Naruto couldn't see the whole thing.
"Dad, you're amazing."
Naruto figured it was best to praise him.
There was paint at home, so Naruto had stuffed a big box of it into his system space.
Whoosh!
A man wearing an animal mask appeared behind Minato and informed him of some confidential news.
Minato's face turned cold. "The truth is clear. How could they make such a foolish decision?"
He set Naruto down.
"Naruto, Dad has something urgent to take care of. There's a path down over there. Play for a while, then go home. Don't make your mother worry."
Naruto had wanted Minato to leave so he could have some time to himself. He hadn't expected it to go so smoothly.
"I understand, Dad. Don't worry."
Minato teleported away.
Naruto stood tall and gazed out over all of Konoha. "How vast the land beneath the boundless sky! Who rules the rise and fall of this world?"
After finishing his grand declaration, Naruto got to work on his sign-in task.
He tied himself up with a rope, dangling in midair, and swung the paintbrush in his hand.
"I, Naruto, am a melonhead."
"You never said what words I had to write, or what I had to say, did you? I'll just shout it out in my hometown dialect. Who in all of Konoha could understand me?"
Once he had finished writing the huge characters, Naruto made a point of leaving Minato's face untouched. He had to take care of his own father.
Naruto turned toward all of Konoha and shouted in his loudest voice in the dialect of his hometown.
Those two words, "melonhead," had a certain charm.
Sign-in task complete.
Congratulations, host. You have received the reward: Eight Inner Gates (Harmless Version).
Naruto's body changed. The gates that suppressed and controlled the chakra within him lit up one by one, allowing him to clearly understand how the Eight Inner Gates worked.
"Removing the shackles on the body's strength multiplies one's power."
Naruto exclaimed in amazement, then climbed back up the rope. "Isn't that basically the same as the Kaio-ken?"
"System, you really know how to pick your host. I've watched plenty of anime: Dragon Ball, One Piece, One-Punch Man, and so on."
"But you chose someone from Naruto, an anime I've only heard of and never watched."
"I could've been a prophet and clung to someone powerful. Wouldn't that have made these sign-in tasks easier?"
This host would become the powerful one himself.
Naruto walked down Kage Rock through the passage. He looked back up, wiped his hands, and admired his calligraphy.
"I could sell calligraphy in the future and earn some pocket money."
Notice: The host's physical fitness is insufficient to use the Eight Inner Gates.
Naruto had been about to try it out.
"How do you train chakra?"
He could ask Minato.
"Almost forgot. The Hokage must be an incredibly powerful person. Living so close to the water means you get the moon first—and I'm the son of an official, too."
Naruto ran along the street, his feet crunching through the snow.
While up on Kage Rock, Naruto had memorized Konoha's streets. It was easy to find his way home.
"Huh!"
Naruto stopped at an intersection and turned around. A little girl was crouching in the snow with her head bowed.
"Hey!"
Naruto swept aside the snow as he walked over.
Hinata, wearing a black padded jacket, heard Naruto's voice and looked up in surprise.
"What are you doing here all by yourself?"
Naruto slowly approached Hinata.
Tears rolled down Hinata's cheeks.
"Don't just sit there crying! It's cold in the snow."
"I... I..." Hinata didn't know how to answer.
Naruto pulled Hinata to her feet. "Are you having trouble? Don't be afraid. I can help."
Helping others was a virtue. He was a good kid of the new era.
"Which way is your house? I'll take you home." Naruto took Hinata's little hand. "Poor thing. You're so young, and you can't see."
Naruto saw that Hinata had white eyes and assumed she had been blind from birth.
"It's okay! I know someone who can help you."
Naruto suddenly picked Hinata up on his back and ran home to find Kushina. His mother knew Konoha better than he did, after all.
Hinata felt flustered. Leaning against Naruto's back, she didn't dare move.
Knock, knock, knock!
"I'm outside."
Naruto openly confessed to Kushina that he had gone out early that morning with Minato.
Naruto pleaded pitifully, "Mom, let us inside! It's fine if I get cold, but it wouldn't be good if my friend got sick from the cold."
Hinata stood stiffly beside Naruto. The warmth of his hand, which had held hers just moments before, still lingered in her palm.
Kushina crouched down in surprise and looked at Hinata with gentle eyes. "Are you a child of the Hyuga Clan?"
"Mm!" Hinata answered softly.
Naruto laughed. "It really helps to ask an adult for help."
Then he slipped into the house like a loach, greeted by the smell of breakfast.
"Mom, I'm digging in!" Naruto's voice rang out as he ate.
Kushina took Hinata's hand. "Let's have breakfast at my place first. You don't need to worry about your safety. This is the Fourth Hokage's home, and Naruto and I are his family."
Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, was someone they could trust.
Hinata's little face flushed slightly, though it was hard to tell whether she was shy or if the cold wind had reddened it.
"Thank you!"
Hinata was a polite child.
Breakfast was hot milk and little red bean buns.
The red bean buns were soft and sweet.
By the time Kushina led Hinata over, Naruto had already eaten all the red bean buns on the plate.
"Ah! I forgot the fine tradition of Kong Rong giving up the bigger pear." Naruto sheepishly closed his eyes and drank his hot milk.
Kushina rapped her knuckles on the table. "You said she was your friend, but you ate everything yourself. What kind of way is that to treat a friend?"
A little milk stain clung to the tip of Naruto's nose. "Mom's breakfast was so delicious that I just couldn't stop eating."
This host should always be sincere.
Yes, yes, Teacher System.
Hinata sat down quietly, glancing at Naruto from time to time.
Kushina went to make more red bean buns, since she already had the ingredients.
Naruto wiped the milk from his nose and met Hinata's gaze. "You can see?"
"Mm!"
"You have a really beautiful pair of eyes," Naruto praised her. "Why were you all alone in the snow on the street?"
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