Preventive Shot (Part 2)

"Teacher, did you come specifically to pick me up?"

Sasuke asked. His fair little face was still rather round, somewhat different from the handsome Sasuke he would become later.

"Hah, look how pleased you are. I came to pick both of you up today."

Hearing that Natsuki had come specifically for them, Naruto was overjoyed as well.

Although Natsuki treated him very well, Natsuki did not have much time to visit him.

Naruto was this happy just because someone picked him up from school. How starved for affection must this child have been before?

Damn the Third Hokage. Natsuki became even more resolute. Such an innocent child absolutely could not be led astray.

"Let's go." As Natsuki walked ahead, he said to the two little ones, "Did you hear any rumors today?"

Naruto scratched his head. "A lot of classmates said Lord Jiraiya was Captured."

Natsuki had captured Jiraiya at noon. He had not expected the news to spread even through the Ninja Academy.

"Who is Jiraiya?" Naruto asked curiously. They had only just entered the Ninja Academy and had not learned about him yet.

Sasuke could not help saying, "Jiraiya is the Third Hokage's disciple, one of the legendary Three Legendary Sannin. A hero of Konoha."

"A hero?"

Naruto looked utterly confused.

"If he's a hero, why was he Captured?"

Natsuki said, "Because he peeped into the women's bathhouse, so he was Captured."

A look of disgust appeared on Sasuke's face.

"Why would he peep into the women's bathhouse?"

Naruto, who had received no guidance since childhood, was like a blank sheet of paper.

Natsuki ruffled Naruto's hair. No one had ever taught Naruto how to dress or groom himself before, and Natsuki had not had the time to fuss over it.

Now, Naruto seemed to be gradually realizing the importance of appearance.

His hair was neatly combed and soft. If he grew out the hair at the sides a little more, he would look just like his father, Minato Namikaze.

"You're still too young. It doesn't matter if you don't understand why yet, but you need to know that peeping on women is wrong."

"Oh..." Naruto seemed to understand, but not entirely.

Natsuki said, "Let me give you an example. Do you have any female classmates you're close to?"

Naruto Nodded repeatedly and counted on his fingers.

"Hmm, Hinata, Sakura, and Ino are all our friends."

"Then if someone secretly watched them while they were bathing, how would you feel?"

Naruto frowned and thought for a moment, then slapped his right fist into his palm.

"I'd be really unhappy! I might even want to hit them!"

Natsuki nodded in satisfaction.

"That's why you must never do something like that. People who do such things have poor character."

"No matter how powerful they are, even if they're one of the Three Legendary Sannin, doing something like that just makes them a sleazy pervert."

Naruto patted his chest.

"Senior Natsuki, don't worry! I'll never do something like that!"

Natsuki turned to Sasuke. "What about you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke haughtily turned his head away.

"I'd never do something so boring. I'm from the Uchiha Clan."

Natsuki rolled his eyes. I'd rather hope you showed a little interest.

Unlike in my previous life, if someone hadn't practically forced one on you, you would probably have stayed single for life.

"Naruto, I heard your grades aren't very good."

Natsuki asked.

Naruto looked a little embarrassed.

"Senior Natsuki, the things at school are kind of difficult. I learn them very slowly."

Natsuki did not blame him. Naruto had once been nothing more than a wild child, so expecting him to immediately become a top student was unrealistic.

"It's all right, Naruto. If you're not good at academic subjects, take your time and learn them slowly. But you need to work hard in your other subjects too. You can't be a Dead Last in the future."

Naruto nodded forcefully.

"Senior Natsuki, don't worry. I'll definitely work hard."

Seeing Natsuki care so much about Naruto, Sasuke suddenly felt a surge of jealousy.

He shook his head and suppressed the feeling again.

Seeing Naruto's blissful expression, Sasuke smiled as well.

For the rest of the time, Natsuki asked about Naruto's living situation and listened to what Sasuke had been learning at school.

The three of them chatted and laughed together, leaving the nearby Anbu monitors anxious beyond words.

Whenever Natsuki came to see Naruto, they were always on edge, afraid that Natsuki might instill some strange ideas in him.

After all, even Jiraiya had suffered a setback at Natsuki's hands that morning. They were merely lowly Anbu, trembling in fear.

Ignoring the thoughts of the surrounding Anbu, Natsuki simply acted like an elder.

He asked after Naruto's life, then took Naruto home without making any other moves.

This also let the accompanying Anbu members breathe a sigh of relief.

After the Anbu members withdrew, Natsuki headed toward the clan compound with Sasuke and pulled out an envelope.

"This is a letter from Itachi for you."

"Ah!" Sasuke was overjoyed. It was actually a letter from his Older Brother.

Although he knew he would see his Older Brother again in the future, Itachi's departure still made Sasuke deeply uncomfortable.

Sasuke quickly opened the envelope. He did not hide it from Natsuki, opening it right in front of him.

There were not many words in it, yet Sasuke read it back and forth several times before carefully putting the letter back into the envelope.

Natsuki chuckled. Sasuke really was adorable at this age.

"What did Itachi say?"

An irrepressible smile appeared on Sasuke's face.

"Older Brother said I should listen to you, study hard at school, and not disgrace the Uchiha Clan."

Itachi was really treating him like a child. When he had been Sasuke's age, he had probably already gone to war.

Sasuke put away the letter and followed Natsuki back into the clan compound.

However, Fugaku had gone out on business. It seemed there was something useful among the compensation from the Cloud Village.

Before leaving, Natsuki asked Sasuke a question.

"Sasuke, what do you think of Naruto?"

Sasuke was somewhat baffled.

"What do you mean, what do I think?"

Natsuki rubbed his chin. "What kind of person do you think he is?"

Sasuke muttered that Naruto was an idiot, but in front of Natsuki, he answered honestly.

"Naruto is a pretty good person. He's also very enthusiastic toward others, but he's simple-minded. Even when people secretly insult him behind his back, he never holds it against them."

Natsuki nodded. What Sasuke said was all true.

Put nicely, Naruto was broad-minded and cheerful. Put bluntly, he was a little dense.

But having grown up in that kind of environment without becoming psychologically twisted was already no easy feat.

Seeing that Sasuke did not have any prejudice against Naruto, Natsuki asked again, "What do you think of his strength?"

Sasuke was a little stunned.

"Strength? What strength does Naruto have? He can't even pass his academic classes. He definitely can't beat me in a fight either."

By the end, Sasuke sounded quite proud. His little face practically screamed, Praise me, praise me.

Natsuki smiled. "Don't get complacent, Sasuke. You're stronger than Naruto now because you had your parents by your side when you were young to teach you. Naruto had no one to teach him, so he's weaker than you right now."

Sasuke raised his chin. "Even if Naruto had someone to teach him, he still couldn't compare to me. I'm from the Uchiha Clan!"

Natsuki nodded. "Then how about we make a bet?"

Sasuke asked, "What are we betting on, Teacher?"

"If Naruto ever beats you during your time at the Ninja Academy, then you lose."

"If you remain stronger than Naruto throughout the rest of your time at school, then you win."

Sasuke was brimming with confidence. "Teacher, don't worry. You're definitely going to lose."

Natsuki chuckled. "Fine. If you win, I'll give you a treasure."

"If you lose..."

Before Natsuki could finish, Sasuke said confidently, "Don't worry, Teacher. I definitely won't lose."

Natsuki shook his head. "Confidence is a good thing, but you must never be arrogant. If you lose, I'll have you do something for me."

Sasuke nodded. "Teacher, what is it?"

"Hmm, I haven't decided yet."