Assassination

After the little trio finished their lively Training, the sun sank toward the horizon, and it was time for everyone to head home to their families.

Sasuke was the first to leave. After repeatedly trying and failing to reproduce Naruto's technique, he could only toss out what he considered a tough parting shot. "I'm not used to this Training Ground! I'll go home and work it out properly. I won't lose to you next time!" he shouted at Naruto before dashing off.

Naruto reasonably suspected that he had gone to ask his older brother for advice. After all, as Naruto had said, he had learned this trick by copying Sasuke's brother, so going straight to the teacher certainly made more sense.

Naruto had also noticed that the kunai Sasuke had thrown during their practice was the very one he had returned to Uchiha Itachi—the handle still bore the mark from his first attempt at the Flying Thunder God.

But that was nothing to worry about. He had returned it, after all, and whoever Itachi wanted to give it to was his own business, so Naruto did not dwell on it.

"Then, Naruto-kun, I'll be going too..." Hinata's little face was bright red, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz. "I... I was going to treat you... to Ramen..."

It was not because she was shy. She had nearly exhausted herself trying to keep up with Naruto's Training that afternoon, and now she had almost nothing left in her.

Forget joining Naruto for Ramen—she could only manage the walk home because she had just rested for a while and recovered some strength.

"Oh, it's fine, it's fine. I'll go myself. You should head home early and get some rest."

Naruto was drenched in sweat too. Looking at Hinata's timid expression, he actually felt a little admiration for her.

He knew very well how hard it was to keep up with the training he had devised "in his dreams." When he first started, he had passed out from exhaustion several times. Although Hinata had not understood his instructions, she had truly watched what he did and copied every move.

Once Hinata left, Naruto stopped waving and let his smile fade, looking a little downcast.

Making friends certainly made him happy, but that feeling when he parted with them and was the only one with nowhere to go...

It really hurt.

"Hah... hah... hah..." Meanwhile, Hinata stood around the corner with her hands over her cheeks. As though it had only just sunk in, her already flushed skin almost seemed to boil.

Even she could not tell whether it was from exhaustion or the embarrassment of only realizing how sweaty she smelled after saying goodbye to Naruto-kun...

"Go home. Have the clan's nurse tend to you tonight." Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded beside Hinata's ear. "You really don't know your limits. Forcing yourself to keep up with training that doesn't suit your physique will leave hidden injuries."

Hinata stared blankly at the person standing before her, hands tucked into robe sleeves. As far as she could remember, this person had never spoken to her like this before.

Perhaps the changes Naruto-kun had brought her went beyond her personality...

"Hey, I left the money on the table!"

Inside the little Ichiraku Ramen shop, Naruto set down his now-empty bowl, scattered the few coins in his pocket onto the table, and turned to leave with an easy air.

He had always done this, at least before Hinata had joined him for that bowl of Ramen.

Although Teuchi was very kind, whenever Naruto came to eat alone, he always finished quickly and left.

He did not want to hurt Teuchi's business. Plenty of customers might turn around and leave if they saw Naruto eating inside. Although Teuchi never mentioned it out of consideration for him, how could Naruto, who had watched other people's gazes since childhood, fail to notice?

Naruto might not have paid much attention before, but as his Training progressed, he found it increasingly easy to distinguish other people's conversations and movements. And for some reason, he could faintly sense their malice toward him. He could tell who was avoiding the place because of him...

It was a peculiar ability, as though one day Naruto had simply gained it out of nowhere. He could sense it without any training. This was also why he had so readily accepted spending time with Hinata and Sasuke: he could sense no malice from them.

Malice was a difficult sensation to describe. If he had to compare it to something, to Naruto it felt like the sting of a shuriken slicing his skin. Most people's malice toward him felt like a single shuriken.

But now, as Naruto strolled after his meal with both hands behind his head, a sudden chill ran down his spine. He felt an immense wave of malice, as though a sky full of hidden weapons had pierced his body!

"Killing Intent?" At the same moment, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto jolted awake. "Is it him?"

"What's wrong?" Minato Namikaze hurriedly asked from nearby.

"..." But Minato Namikaze received no answer. Since awakening—even back when he and Kushina had faced the Nine-Tails together—he had never seen the Nine-Tails like this—

The Nine-Tails ignored him completely, utterly focused. At that moment, nothing was worth diverting its attention.

Had Naruto run into danger? Minato quickly reached that conclusion. Almost simultaneously, the instant Minato Namikaze realized something might have happened to Naruto, he discovered to his horror that the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style he had left behind in life, the seal binding the Nine-Tails' immense power, which should have been something only Naruto himself could undo...

Had loosened.

The kunai whistling through the air missed. The target, who should have had absolutely no chance to dodge, had vanished without a trace.

"..." Kakashi appeared on the spot, forcefully pulled the kunai out of the ground, then withdrew the Chakra attached to it, which he had kept ready to control it at any moment.

"Who are you?" Naruto's voice rang out, distinctly displeased. But Naruto, who had originally been in front of Kakashi, now spoke from behind him. And...

I didn't see him leave a Flying Thunder God Seal anywhere along the way. Does that mean he dodged this ambush using nothing but his reflexes and the Body Flicker Technique? Kakashi did not turn around, toying with the kunai in his hand. His face, concealed behind an Anbu mask, made no attempt to hide his surprise. So Guy wasn't just saying all that to cover for him?

But those were only Kakashi's thoughts. He remained motionless.

Behind him, Naruto grew impatient at receiving no answer, but he also felt a lingering fear.

That intense Killing Intent was the strongest malice Naruto had ever felt. For an instant, it had almost seemed to freeze him in place, leaving him unable to move.

But for some reason, in that very instant, an intensely scorching power seemed to surge up inside him. It had immediately restored his control over his body, allowing him to dodge the ambush.

Yet he was still only a child who had never witnessed a real fight to the death. Although he could sense Killing Intent, he did not understand what it was, to the point that...

He had actually dared to show himself again.