Naruto About to Live Alone

"Lord Hiashi!"

Within the Hyuga Clan compound, at the clan head's residence.

Watching Hizashi's respectful demeanor, Hiashi sighed inwardly. "Hizashi, there is no one else here. Just call me brother."

"..." After a moment of silence, Hizashi finally spoke. "Brother."

"Mm." Hiashi nodded, then shifted the topic. "Did you come here because of the new member who joined your squad?"

"That is correct, Brother. Lord Hokage asked me to... but the conflict between the village and the Uchiha... and then there is Danzo..."

After listening to Hizashi finish expressing his concerns, Hiashi spoke. "Hizashi, you must always remember what it is that allows our clan to maintain such a transcendent status in Konoha."

That transcendent status only belongs to you, the Main Branch... Hizashi's expression remained unchanged, still appearing as if he were listening intently.

"Remember, we Hyuga do not need to fight for power, nor do we need to involve ourselves in the struggles between the upper echelons."

"Whether it is the conflict between the village and the Uchiha, or the power struggle between Danzo and the Uchiha, none of it has anything to do with the Hyuga Clan."

"We only need to obey the orders of the current Hokage and complete the missions he entrusts to us."

"Because what others think of our Hyuga Clan is not important; what matters is what the Hokage thinks of our Hyuga Clan."

"Hizashi, do you understand?"

What matters is what the Hokage thinks of the Hyuga Clan... Hyuga Hizashi's pupils constricted slightly, then he lowered his head and said, "Yes, Brother, I understand."

One week later.

"Izumi-chan is gone; it really feels a bit strange..."

Sasuke strolled through the streets of Konoha while eating Three-Color Dango.

Although he was only two and a half years old, children in the shinobi world were generally precocious, and his parents already allowed him to go out alone.

After all, the Police Force was run by the Uchiha, so they were quite at ease...

Uchiha Izumi had already become a ninja, and since she hadn't joined a standard graduation squad, she naturally wouldn't be staying in the village to perform tasks like catching stray cats.

In fact, on her very first day, she had been taken out of Konoha by Hizashi to see blood and kill people.

And now, under the deliberate arrangement of Hiruzen Sarutobi, she had followed the Hizashi Squad to the border of the Land of Lightning, with the goal of witnessing the cruelty of war and experiencing the conviction and will of the Konoha ninja guarding the frontier.

Indeed.

Although the Third Shinobi World War had ended four years ago, Konoha still had small-scale combat skirmishes with the Mist Ninja and Cloud Ninja at the borders.

Some time ago, Body Flicker Shisui had even shone brightly in a battle against the Mist Ninja, earning his reputation as Body Flicker Shisui.

If I remember correctly, it will still be over half a year before the small-scale campaigns between Konoha and the Land of Lightning come to a complete end.

In other words, this mission of Izumi's will last at least several dozen days, and at most over a hundred.

Thinking of this, Sasuke, who had been strolling along, lost interest.

The first day Izumi is gone, I miss her...

Forget it, forget it. She won't die anyway, and being tempered on the battlefield is a good thing...

I might as well head to the hospital and see if any ninja passed away today.

With that thought, Sasuke returned home decisively, then activated his Levitation Technique and dashed toward the Konoha Hospital.

He certainly hadn't been idle all these years.

Possessing the Soul Space, he was naturally a frequent visitor to the Konoha Hospital.

In the last two years, he had imprisoned quite a few souls and seen many tough-minded ninja.

But once a blade was held to the throats of their lovers, close friends, or descendants, there wasn't one who wouldn't cave; they were all easily handled.

Of course, if they still didn't yield, he wouldn't actually kill them...

Therefore, trying to trigger intense emotional fluctuations or using gentle persuasion were both just wastes of time.

Threats were the correct way to use the Soul Space, and the most direct and fastest means to obtain abilities!

However, before Sasuke could reach the Konoha Hospital...

"Damn it! Hiruzen Sarutobi!"

"How could you treat Naruto like this? He is only two and a half years old!"

Huh? Another good show?

Sasuke immediately focused his attention on Cell No. 1, where he saw Kushina clenching her fists, her expression one of gnashing teeth.

Even Minato Namikaze wore a look of fury.

Through his connection with the Spore Clone monitoring Naruto, Sasuke immediately understood the whole story.

Naruto was going to live alone...

Sasuke recalled Hinata's memories from the movie, where she had run away from the Hyuga Clan on the day Hizashi died, met Naruto wandering alone in Konoha late at night, and even escorted him back to the Hyuga compound.

Being able to wander around alone at night meant that Naruto had been living by himself for a long time.

He just hadn't expected this day to come so soon.

It was only the end of March, which meant Naruto was still a dozen days shy of turning two and a half...

The scene shifted.

"Grandpa Hokage, can I really live all by myself?"

Unlike Minato and Kushina, Naruto felt only excitement upon hearing this news.

In his understanding, living alone meant he had grown up and could finally go out to play.

He would no longer be trapped inside the house, no longer forced to gaze through the window, envious of the outside world and the children playing out there.

And finally, he wouldn't have to face those annoying, elusive people in animal masks. How could he not be excited?

Clenching his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi wore a kind expression as he ruffled Naruto's hair and confirmed, "Of course, Naruto has grown up and can live on his own now!"

"That's great!" Having received confirmation, Naruto's face lit up with excitement. He looked out the window with anticipation and asked, "Then, Grandpa Hokage, can I go out and play?"

As expected, children prefer playing after all. I hope he can make some friends... Thinking this, Hiruzen nodded with a smile. "Of course you can."

Having already arranged for Anbu to provide 24-hour protection (surveillance) in secret, he naturally wasn't worried about Naruto running into any trouble.

"This is amazing!" Getting the go-ahead again, Naruto jumped for joy on the spot. He ran to the window, looked at the bustling street, and finally fixed his gaze on a swing not far away, where several children were playing.

"Grandpa Hokage, can I go out right now?"

He was already impatient to head out, to play on the swing, and to make some friends.

"Of course." Hiruzen nodded, then added, "But Naruto, you must promise Grandpa that you won't bully other children, you won't get into fights, and you won't..."

"Also, you can't play for too long each day. You must come home on time and eat your meals on time. Do you understand?"

Naruto readily agreed to every one of Hiruzen's requests. "I understand, Grandpa Hokage."

"Good." Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction and pulled out a stack of Land of Fire currency. "Naruto, you've learned everything your teacher taught you, right?"

Some time ago, he had specifically arranged for someone to teach Naruto basic math, how to distinguish currency, how to buy things, and how to allocate his money reasonably.

Minato and Kushina had originally thought Hiruzen had hired a private tutor for Naruto, which had improved their opinion of the Third Hokage quite a bit.

Although the curriculum seemed a bit strange, they had assumed Hiruzen was starting to allow Naruto to go out and perhaps even have an allowance, so they hadn't thought much of it.

They never expected it was all in preparation for Naruto to live alone.

"Mm!" Naruto nodded vigorously. "I've learned it all, and the teacher even praised me for learning so quickly."

Hiruzen knew Naruto had learned it, but as for the teacher's praise... never mind, he didn't dwell on it. He handed over the money he had prepared. "Here, Naruto, take this. From now on, no one will be bringing you meals, so remember to spend it sparingly. This is your food budget for the month; if you spend it all, you'll go hungry."

There's even a living allowance? Naruto's eyes lit up, and he excitedly took the money. "Thank you, Grandpa Hokage! I definitely won't spend it recklessly!"

While expressing his gratitude and making his promise, he counted the money in his hands, then looked up in surprise. "There's 3,000 ryo? Grandpa Hokage, is this really for me?"

"Of course." Hiruzen ruffled Naruto's hair and cautioned, "But Naruto, you must remember, this is your living budget for the entire month."

"You know how to calculate how much you can spend each day, right?"

Naruto counted on his fingers for a long while before looking up, his excitement tinged with pleasant surprise. "Grandpa Hokage, I figured it out! That's 100 ryo a day!"