Naruto Uzumaki!

Konoha.

At a street-corner alley.

"What are you looking at?"

A slightly chubby child noticed Chiba approaching.

He did not know Chiba and assumed he was just an ordinary passerby, so his tone was extremely arrogant.

Chiba said nothing.

He merely gave the chubby child a cold glance.

In an instant.

A bone-chilling killing intent erupted.

Though only a tiny bit leaked out, it was terrifying enough.

The surrounding air seemed to drop by more than ten degrees in an instant.

Several children went pale, their legs trembling violently.

"Waaah!"

Some of the children were so frightened that they burst into tears and scrambled away.

The chubby child wet his pants in fright and fled into the distance, crying for his life.

In the blink of an eye.

Only Chiba and the little boy on the ground remained in the alley.

Uzumaki Naruto.

Chiba looked at the utterly bedraggled Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

It was now Year 54 of Konoha.

Uzumaki Naruto was only six years old.

Without his parents' love or friends by his side, he faced the malice of the entire village every day.

How had a child like him endured it all?

Chiba slowly crouched down and looked at Naruto.

Naruto warily shrank back, holding his hands before his chest.

But as he looked into Chiba's eyes, he gradually relaxed.

"Does it hurt?"

Chiba raised a hand and pointed at the wound on Naruto's forehead.

"It doesn't hurt!"

"I'm going to become Hokage! What's a little injury like this?"

Naruto curled his lip and wiped the mud from his face with his sleeve.

He shouted loudly, seemingly trying to hide his vulnerability this way.

Chiba looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Hokage..."

"That position isn't all that interesting."

Chiba stood and dusted off his clothes.

"Kid."

"Do you want to come home with me?"

Naruto froze.

He raised his head and stared blankly at Chiba.

In all his years.

Other than the old man who occasionally came to see him, no one had ever said those words to him.

"Go home?"

"Where to?"

Naruto asked softly.

"The Senju Clan."

"There are plenty of empty rooms there, and more meat than you can eat."

"Most importantly, no one will dare bully you again."

Chiba slipped his hands into his pockets.

At those words.

Naruto's eyes instantly turned red.

But he held back, refusing to let his tears fall.

"You... you really want to take me with you?"

"Aren't you afraid of me?"

"They all say I'm a monster who brings misfortune."

Naruto lowered his head, his small hands clutching the hem of his clothes tightly.

"A monster?"

"In this village, there's nothing that can make me afraid."

"Enough nonsense. Are you coming or not?"

Chiba sneered.

Naruto shouted loudly, seemingly trying to hide his vulnerability this way.

"I'm coming!"

He agreed almost without hesitation.

Chiba was somewhat surprised.

"You agreed that readily?"

"Aren't you afraid I'm a bad person who'll sell you off?"

Naruto grabbed Chiba's clothes and stood up.

"I'm not afraid."

"I can tell you're a good person."

"You don't have that awful smell."

Naruto grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth as he smiled foolishly.

Chiba understood.

The Nine-Tails' ability to sense good and evil.

To a certain extent, a Jinchuriki could borrow that ability as well.

So Naruto could clearly sense that Chiba bore him no ill intent, perhaps even a faint sense of closeness.

After all, the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan were distant relatives.

Chiba's Perfect Sage Body had inherited the purest Senju Bloodline.

That bloodline's pull made Naruto instinctively want to get close to him.

"Let's go."

Chiba turned and headed out.

Naruto trotted after him.

He clutched Chiba's robe tightly, afraid that Chiba would vanish the moment he let go.

In the shadows outside the alley.

Two masked Anbu ninjas were hidden in the dark.

Their mission was to monitor the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

When they saw Chiba taking Naruto away, both of them instantly tensed.

"What do we do?"

"Should we stop him?"

One Anbu asked in an extremely low voice.

"Stop him?"

"Are you crazy?"

"That's Senju Qianye!"

"He killed Lord Danzo on the spot, and even the Third didn't dare let out a peep."

"Are you looking to die by stopping him?"

The other Anbu stared at Chiba's back, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Then.

The two exchanged glances.

They both saw the fear in each other's eyes.

In the end, they chose to remain where they were, utterly motionless.

"Hurry and report to the Third!"

Only after Chiba's presence had completely disappeared.

Did one Anbu finally let out a breath of relief.

His figure flashed as he raced straight toward the Hokage Building.

Senju Compound.

Thanks to Wood Style's creative power.

This place had regained its vitality.

Even the air was filled with a faint woody fragrance.

"Wow!"

"It's huge!"

"Is this going to be my home from now on?"

Naruto stood before the compound gates.

His mouth hung wide open, his eyes filled with awe.

Once he came back to his senses.

He immediately ran around the courtyard like an unleashed wild puppy.

"Pick any room you like."

"I'll take you for a bath later. You're filthy."

Chiba looked at the mud on Naruto with distaste.

"Alright!"

Naruto cheered and ran toward the largest building.

Chiba shook his head helplessly.

He walked into the kitchen and began preparing dinner.

For a Late Super Kage Level powerhouse.

Cooking was something Shadow Clones could easily handle.

Several Shadow Clones got busy in the kitchen.

Before long.

The rich scent of meat filled the entire house.

Naruto's cheerful singing drifted from the bathroom.

Though he was horribly off-key, it was clear that he was happy.

Half an hour later.

Naruto emerged wearing an oversized blue kimono.

His hair was still wet, and his face was flushed, but all the grime had been washed away.

"It smells so good!"

When he saw the food on the table.

Naruto was practically drooling.

"Sit down and eat."

Chiba sat to one side and spoke calmly.

"Then I won't hold back!"

Naruto pressed his hands together and shouted, "Thanks for the meal!"

Then he began wolfing down the food.

The way he ate was practically that of a beast that had starved for three days and nights.

Chiba watched him, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes.

In the original story, this child had endured far too much injustice.

But now that he controlled Konoha, some things had to change.

"Eat slowly. No one's going to take it from you."

Chiba handed him a cup of water.

Naruto choked so hard that his eyes rolled back, and he hurriedly took the water and gulped it down.

"Ha—It's so delicious!"

"Big brother, why are you so nice to me?"

Naruto wiped his mouth and looked at Chiba, his eyes sparkling.

"Because your surname is Uzumaki, and mine is Senju."

Chiba replied calmly.

"Our ancestors were brothers."

"So we can be considered family."

"..."