Nawaki

With his astonishing appetite, Kirito won over Choza. He also used the remaining large meat buns to successfully make contact with the other two members of Ino-Shika-Cho.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio invited Kirito to play Ninja Game with them.

Kirito had no objections. At his age, being playful was only natural. This was the perfect chance to strengthen his friendship with his future classmates and work his way into Konoha's core children's circle.

Birds of a feather flock together. Adults had their circles, and children naturally had theirs as well.

In Konoha, there were four children's circles: the Ninja Clan circle, the civilian circle, the Uchiha circle, and finally, the orphan circle.

Among them, the Ninja Clan circle was undoubtedly the most central one.

The children in this circle would, in the future, mostly become Konoha's upper brass, holding important positions across its various departments. They might even marry among themselves, forming an enormous web of connections.

The people in this circle controlled a vast amount of Konoha's resources and instinctively kept those not born into Ninja Clans out.

For outsiders wanting to break into the Ninja Clan circle, the best approach was undoubtedly to start with the children. Only by becoming friends, classmates, or life-and-death comrades with Ninja Clan children could one possibly be accepted.

Kirito followed the Ino-Shika-Cho trio to an open area where the Ninja Clans lived in concentration. A group of children was already playing Ninja Game there. Judging by their clan crests, members of every Ninja Clan except the Uchiha were present, along with a small number of civilian children.

Leading the group of children was a boy who looked wild and untamed. Two streaks of red paint marked his face, and a small black puppy lay sprawled atop his head.

Kirito did not need to look at his clan crest to know that the boy was from the Inuzuka Clan.

"I didn't expect to see him here."

Kirito did not pay attention to the Inuzuka boy for long. His gaze was soon drawn to a brown-haired boy.

He was a very lively boy, always wearing a bright smile that made him look a little foolish.

In the Ninja Game, the boy was playing the catcher. Perhaps because he was too single-minded, he always charged straight ahead when trying to catch people, knowing only how to punch and rush without adapting flexibly, which meant he had not caught anyone for a long time.

However, his stamina was astonishing. After a while, the other children had grown tired from running, yet he was still full of energy.

Nawaki. That was the boy's name.

Before long, Nawaki and the others finally finished their Ninja Game. Relying on his incredible stamina, Nawaki successfully caught the other children one by one.

"Hehe, see? I caught all of you."

Nawaki said proudly.

One child refused to accept it and retorted, "What's so great about that? You only won because your stamina is better. Catching everyone in the shortest time—that would count as skill."

As soon as those words came out, the other children chimed in, all believing that Nawaki's victory was unfair.

Seeing that none of his friends would admit defeat, Nawaki could not keep a straight face. He shouted, "Quit whining! A loss is a loss, so stop trying to weasel out of it. Anyway, I'm not being the catcher next time."

At that moment, Kirito and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio walked over. Their arrival immediately diverted Nawaki and the others' attention.

The leading Inuzuka child, Inuzuka Mao, immediately asked the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, "Shikaku, Inoichi, Choza, who's this guy?"

Shikaku Nara, the leader of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, stepped forward and introduced Kirito Tonsaka to the other children. "He's Kirito Tonsaka, a friend of the three of us. Can he play with us?"

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio held a high status among this group of children. After Shikaku spoke, Inuzuka Mao and the others did not refuse.

Inuzuka Mao nodded at Shikaku, then turned to Kirito and said, "Hey, I'm Inuzuka Mao. What do you like? What are you good at? What's your dream?"

Kirito understood that this was the children's ritual for accepting someone into the group. He answered straightforwardly, "Hello, everyone. I'm Kirito Tonsaka. I like eating meat. My strengths are that I'm fairly strong and can eat a lot. My dream is to become an outstanding ninja."

Becoming an outstanding ninja was undoubtedly the ultimate dream of many children present.

The moment Kirito voiced that dream, it resonated with many of the children, and the way they looked at him softened considerably.

"An outstanding ninja, huh? That's a pretty good dream. My dream is to become Hokage someday. Remember my name—I'm Nawaki. Once I become Hokage, you can be my subordinate."

Nawaki walked up to Kirito, clasped his hands behind his head, and spoke to him with a grin.

After saying that, he extended a hand to Kirito, welcoming him.

Kirito reached out and shook Nawaki's hand with a smile. "Yeah. Once you really become Hokage, I'll definitely be your subordinate."

At the same time, he thought, I hope you won't step on an Exploding Tag someday.

Nawaki was extremely satisfied with Kirito's answer. He felt that Kirito believed he could become Hokage, so he immediately patted Kirito on the shoulder and said with a foolish grin, "Then it's settled."

Becoming Hokage was also the dream of many children. There could be many outstanding ninjas, but there was only one Hokage. Nawaki's dream naturally displeased some people.

For instance, Inuzuka Mao, the king of the children. Even though Nawaki was the First Hokage's grandson, he said without any courtesy, "Don't listen to his nonsense. Nawaki's an idiot—he can't become Hokage. The one who'll become Hokage is me! Don't you agree, Kuromaru?"

"Awroo!"

The little puppy atop Inuzuka Mao's head immediately echoed him.

Becoming Hokage had always been Nawaki's dream. Hearing Inuzuka Mao say that he wanted to compete with him for the position, Nawaki immediately fired back, "No! The one who becomes Hokage will definitely be me."

Inuzuka Mao pressed his forehead against Nawaki's and stubbornly declared, "Me."

"Me!"

Nawaki shoved back with all his strength and shouted.

For a while, the two began arguing over who would become Hokage in the future.

Rather than stop them, the other children around them began egging them on.

"What a pain."

Watching the conversation head in a bad direction, Shikaku sighed. A bad feeling arose in his heart, and he began to think about slipping away.

But just as he was about to sneak away, he heard Inuzuka Mao say, "Shikaku, Nawaki and I are competing for Hokage. Who do you support?"

"I support neither of you."

Shikaku grumbled inwardly when he heard that.

"Just fight it out. Whoever's stronger becomes Hokage."

Just as Shikaku was put in an awkward position, Kirito suddenly threw out that remark.

The moment those words were spoken, the scene fell silent. Nawaki and Inuzuka Mao's eyes lit up, and they looked at each other with fighting spirit blazing.

Just as the two were about to have an intense battle between men, a cold, haughty voice rang out. "Two pieces of trash."

Nawaki and Inuzuka Mao were both enraged by those words and immediately looked toward the source of the voice.

Kirito turned as well. A delicate, adorable black-haired little girl entered his sight. She stood on the branch of a large tree not far away, looking down at him and all the other children present with the contemptuous gaze one might use on insects.

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