Naruto Uzumaki Is a Rogue Ninja

Naruto, exhausted, lay on Mikoto Uchiha's warm back, unaware of anything. A chill ran down her spine, and she shivered instinctively.

"What's wrong?"

Mikoto Uchiha, sensing Naruto tremble, looked at her with concern.

"It's nothing, I'm just sleepy. I'll sleep for a bit."

Naruto shook her head, wrapped her arms around Mikoto Uchiha's neck, and nuzzled her shoulder.

Karin watched Naruto, who had fallen asleep on Mikoto Uchiha's back, with a hint of curiosity in her eyes. After learning that Naruto was from the Uzumaki clan, Karin's attitude towards Naruto underwent a 180-degree change. Meeting someone from the Uzumaki clan after the destruction of Uzushiogakure was no less than meeting a relative for Karin, and her trust in Naruto soared.

If Naruto knew that Karin's attitude had changed so drastically simply because of her bloodline, she might have wondered if Karin had lost her mind. Hadn't she ever heard the saying?

When countryman meets countryman, they stab each other in the back!

Chapter 41: News of Mikoto Uchiha (1/2)

With Obito's instigation, in less than a week, news of Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, destroying Kusagakure spread like wildfire throughout the ninja world. Even the Daimyo of various countries heard about it. For a time, all the ninja villages became wary of their own Jinchuriki sealed with Tailed Beasts, which indirectly led to these Jinchuriki suffering even more unequal treatment within their villages.

Naruto, fast asleep, was unaware that while she slept, someone intended to use this incident to make her completely dislike, even hate, Tailed Beasts.

"As expected, rumors are just rumors. How could such a child be the one who destroyed Kusagakure? Still, your life is worth so much!"

Blocking Naruto's path was a group of rogue ninjas. The leader of the rogue ninjas sized up Naruto, who had just woken up groggily. In his eyes, Naruto was just an ordinary blonde girl, perhaps a somewhat cute one.

"Ah~!"

Naruto yawned and looked at the ninjas surrounding them as if they were already dead.

"As payment for waking me up, I'll let you die quickly..."

Before Naruto could finish speaking, she vanished from Mikoto Uchiha's embrace and instantly appeared before the leader of the rogue ninjas, her fair finger lightly tapping his chest.

"Wind Release: Finger Gun."

A pellet of compressed Wind Release chakra pierced his chest, shredding his internal organs. The rogue ninja leader, who had been so confident of collecting Naruto's bounty, died at Naruto's hands without any ability to resist.

Blood trickled from his seven orifices as he fell to the ground. Seeing their leader fall, the surrounding rogue ninjas rushed towards Naruto.

The slaughter was brief, especially for those who dared to disturb her rest. Naruto showed no hesitation, killing them all without mercy.

Naruto looked at the bounty list she found on the rogue ninja leader and saw her name clearly listed, with a bounty of fifty million.

"No wonder these guys wanted to kill me. They thought I was a pushover."

The list showed a picture of Naruto, appearing small and frail, along with most of her information in Konoha. It was clearly meant to portray her as an easy target, with a bounty that seemed too good to be true. Smart ninjas wouldn't fall for it, but there were always a few fools who thought it was a windfall, only to be crushed by the "pie" instead of getting it.

Kakashi, who had been investigating who had obtained Haruki Hyuga's eyes during this period, accidentally came across the latest bounty list on the black market and saw Naruto's name.

Upon seeing Naruto's information, Kakashi crumpled the bounty list into a ball, and the lightning chakra formed into an electric current in his hand, burning the list to ashes.

Kakashi vaguely sensed a vast conspiracy unfolding around Naruto, yet he could do nothing but watch as his teacher's child sank deeper into the vortex of hatred.

Crow Mountain, a village built by the Uchiha clan, had already taken shape as a ninja village. The Ninja Academy was the first to be completed. The teachers were rogue ninjas who had sought refuge and elderly members of the Uchiha clan who possessed extensive knowledge, like Uchiha Raku, who served as a temporary teacher.

Since the Ninja Academy had just been built, there weren't many students. More teachers would be added once the student body grew.

Even so, the students in the school kept the two teachers quite busy. Uchiha Raku, over thirty years old, ran his hand through his graying hair, looking at the children sitting obediently in their seats and staring at him with a headache.

Fugaku really gave me a troublesome task...

Uchiha Raku sighed inwardly, but outwardly, he wore a benevolent smile.

"Today is the first lesson of school. Today, your teacher will tell you what chakra is!"

Kiryū, standing by the entrance, listened to Uchiha Raku's lecture while playing with his forehead protector, which had a scratch on it. He was originally a ninja from Iwagakure. After failing a mission and being blamed by his teammates, he killed his accusers in anger and became a rogue ninja, fleeing the village.

Taking a deep breath, Kiryū walked onto the training ground outside the school and placed his hands on the ground, using Earth Release chakra to repair the unfinished parts of the field.

"I don't understand why you would let a rogue ninja like me become a teacher at the school. Is it really okay?" Kiryū turned to look at Fugaku Uchiha, who was walking towards him.

"Because I can see through your nature."

Kiryū saw Fugaku Uchiha's eyes transform from the Three Tomoe Sharingan into another shape, giving him the feeling that everything about him was being seen through.

"Kiryū, I'm entrusting those children to you. They are the future of this village." Fugaku Uchiha's eyes returned to black, and he walked to Kiryū's side, patting his shoulder. His words conveyed trust in him.

Shisui Uchiha had returned, bringing with him a batch of ninja tools the village desperately needed. Although they had spent more than half the usual price to acquire these tools as soon as possible.

"Itachi, come to the clan head's room later. I have something to tell you both."

"What is it?" Itachi Uchiha, who was helping Sasuke train, asked without looking back.

"About your mother."

Upon hearing this, the two brothers immediately stopped training. Sasuke Uchiha, in particular, excitedly ran up to Shisui Uchiha and tugged at his clothes.

"About Mom... do you have news about my mother?!"

In Fugaku Uchiha's office, cluttered with building blueprints and documents that needed to be processed, the three of them—father and sons—stared at Shisui Uchiha.

"I met your mother."

"How can that be?! Mikoto... she... isn't..." Fugaku Uchiha found it hard to believe the news Shisui Uchiha brought.

Shisui Uchiha slowly recounted the events.

"I invited Naruto, but she refused, saying she didn't want to cause trouble for the Uchiha."

"Naruto, that guy!"

Sasuke Uchiha clenched his small fists, annoyed that Naruto had refused Shisui's invitation.

"You guys get out. I want to be alone for a bit."

After Shisui Uchiha and his child left, Fugaku Uchiha opened a drawer. He looked at the photo of his wife inside, his trembling fingers gently tracing the cheek of Mikoto Uchiha, who smiled gently in the picture.

"It's great... it's great... Mikoto, you're alive..."

Feeling his body growing weaker, Fugaku Uchiha gazed fondly at his wife's photo. He knew he probably wouldn't live much longer.

"Mikoto... I hope I can see you one more time before I die."

Leaving Kusagakure, Naruto wanted to find the location of Ryūchi Cave to learn Sage Mode. She wanted to increase her strength in a short period, and relying on herself alone was clearly not enough. Naruto set her sights on Ryūchi Cave, which was as famous as Mount Myōboku and Shikkotsu Forest. She wanted to learn Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode.

"Mikoto, do you know how to get to Ryūchi Cave?"