Although Kurenai Yuhi had only met Naruto a few times, Naruto Uzumaki's name had long since spread throughout Konoha's Ninja community.
At first, it was mostly because his connection to the Nine-Tails was extremely sensitive. It was information every Konoha Ninja had to know, and inevitably, everyone regarded him differently and remembered his name.
But afterward, under the Third Hokage's guidance, Naruto Uzumaki entered the Ninja Academy and displayed breathtaking talent.
Naruto had done far more than simply steal the spotlight at the Ninja Academy. Standing at its pinnacle with an undefeated record spanning six years represented more than his reputation among the younger students.
It also meant that quite a few Konoha Ninja who had graduated several classes ahead of him, including genin, chunin, and even jonin still active today, had once lost to him!
And without exception, whenever his name happened to come up during missions, they all said the kid was absurdly strong.
Even the most stubborn of them only claimed that things had changed since they became Ninja. Not One person denied that Naruto Uzumaki had been stronger than them back at the academy—
After all, the kid had beaten them up in front of other people. No matter how stubbornly they denied it, other witnesses would call them out.
Besides, they had all been beaten. Rather than belittle Naruto Uzumaki, they might as well put him on a pedestal. That way, losing to him wasn't embarrassing!
Precisely for that reason, Naruto Uzumaki began attracting attention from all quarters. By the time he graduated, the vast majority of jonin acknowledged his strength.
Yet even after his much-anticipated graduation, Naruto Uzumaki's first mission exceeded everyone's expectations.
Fresh out of the academy, he led his team to complete an S-rank mission flawlessly, with the team's jonin barely participating