Don't Mess with a Shut-In, He Has Time and Backing

Letting out all the pent-up frustration he had accumulated over the week left Naruto feeling much refreshed.

Anyway, he had not entered the ninja academy yet, and if he did not beat up Sasuke a few more times right now, he would really miss out later on.

That kid was almost able to whip up a C-rank Fireball Jutsu by now, while he himself did not even know a single proper ninjutsu, so who would be beating up whom in a little while was anyone's guess.

He had to find some backing to avoid getting counterkilled when the time came.

Naruto touched his chin and calculated his options; throughout Konoha, the only person willing to take him on as a disciple seemed to be that Blue Beast.

Back when Kakashi entered the ANBU, Might Guy had pestered the Third relentlessly trying to squeeze his way in too.

Yet with that reckless drive of his plus a booming voice, if he really managed to sneak into the ANBU, they might as well stop calling it the ANBU and just rename it the overt-bu.

Coming from the commoner ranks, he did not care at all about the messy business surrounding Naruto, and if Naruto was willing to practice taijutsu with him, that guy would probably be overjoyed.

Having no political background was actually a good thing, as the Third would not be on guard against him either.

Besides, being able to hook up with a heavyweight who made a name for himself relying on the Eight Gates Released Formation during the Third Shinobi World War was a deal that never lost.

As for how to meet?

Did he even need to deliberately look for him? That guy ran ten laps around Konoha bright and early every morning to warm up; among all the Jonin in the entire village, he was the easiest one to ambush.

Having figured out the path ahead, Naruto happily flopped onto his bed, refining chakra while chatting with Kurama.

Sincerity can open even metal and stone, right? He believed that saying.

The perseverance he used in his past life to sit in his room and write for twenty-four hours a day was something he could pull off in this life just as well.

The Nine-Tails in the sealing space was having a terribly rotten time.

Consciousness-space telepathy relied on spiritual energy, so shoving your head into your tails did not help at all—that voice drilled straight into your brain anyway.

From that day on, Naruto switched back to his shut-in mode.

Every single day consisted of extracting chakra and honing the feel of the Rasengan.

Aside from heading out every few days to pick up some daily necessities and beat up Sasuke, he did not even step out the door.

Also because Might Guy was presumably out of the village on a mission, Naruto got up early several days in a row without catching a glimpse of that green spandex-wearing figure running all over the streets.

Fortunately, he was not even four years old yet, so there was no rush.

Days drifted by like this for several months.

Until one day, a knock on the door hauled him out of his nest.

With a squeak, Naruto yanked the door open and stuck his palm straight out: "Where's the money?"

The person outside was startled into a minor spasm by this move.

Hinata's timid, tearful voice came across: "I... I forgot the money..."

"Eh?" Only then did Naruto use his eyes to see clearly that the person delivering his living expenses this time was not that old fogey the Third.

Ever since the last time Naruto extortion-scammed hundreds of thousands of ryo out of him, that old man never came to visit again, at most dropping by every now and then with two bottles of milk to hang around and farm some familiarity.

Therefore, whenever the man showed up, Naruto held out his hand for cash, specifically to disgust him.

Never did he expect the one standing at the door today to be Hinata.

"Why did you run over here?" Naruto asked, feeling baffled. "Your dad allowed you to see me?"

He swept a glance behind Hinata and found that Hyuga branch family guard, who usually looked down his nose at people, staring at him with a face full of gratitude.

"The head of the clan invites you to be a guest at the Hyuga house, and hopes you will honor them with your presence," the guard spoke respectfully.

Naruto's pupils contracted and his eyelids narrowed slightly: "Those envoys from Kumogakure left?"

The guard nodded repeatedly: "The peace treaty has been signed, and they have already withdrawn."

Naruto stared at Hinata again and asked: "You didn't get caught?"

Hinata lowered her head with a blushing face and replied in a small voice: "I got caught."

Naruto's energy spiked right up: "Judging by that, your dad showed restraint, and that guy from Cloud kept his life?"

Hinata nodded, then shook her head: "He died, but not by Father's hand."

Naruto was stunned: "Then who knocked him off? As long as someone dies right inside your Hyuga Clan Grounds, those bastards from Kumogakure are definitely going to splash dirty water on your dad, right?"

Those shameless Cloud people; turning things upside down and shifting the blame was an ancestral craft, so they would definitely insist that Hyuga Hiashi killed the envoy.

Even though this was the truth to begin with.

The problem was that only their leader had gone on the mission, meaning they had purely come to pick a fight from the start.

Relying on the Fourth Hokage being gone and no one being able to suppress the AB Duo, they wanted to get a pair of Byakugan for free and take them back to play with.

The Third just happened to use this opportunity to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, letting the Hyuga family figure things out themselves.

He also knew the Hyuga family had the rule of the Caged Bird Seal, and Hizashi, being the younger brother, would definitely end up as the scapegoat.

When it all came down to it, he only wanted to tame the Hyuga clan, not actually let the Byakugan fall into Cloud's hands.

Therefore, as long as the Kumogakure envoy's corpse was lying in the Hyuga Clan Grounds, those scoundrels would definitely pin the blame on Hyuga Hiashi.

It did not matter who killed him, the result was the same.

The guard behind Hinata finally could not hold it in anymore, took over the conversation, and said excitedly: "The day of the incident, the clan head happened to invite Captain Fugaku Uchiha of the Konoha Military Police Force over for a meal, and who would have thought that idiot would pick precisely that hour to kidnap the young miss."

"The Military Police Force is originally in charge of village security, so Captain Fugaku put that envoy down on the spot."

"Those grandsons from Kumogakure were still clamoring for us Hyugas to hand over our clan head, but Captain Fugaku dropped it straight: he was the one who slaughtered the man, and if they wanted to fight, he would keep them company to the end..."

Naruto's mouth twitched, and he did not utter a sound for a long time.