Apology and Guidance

Apology and Guidance

By the time Naruto woke up again, it was already getting dark. Looking at the familiar bed, he was a little confused. Why was he here?

"Awake?"

A familiar voice came from nearby. Naruto's eyes widened as he turned and saw that it was indeed Ayato.

Only then did Naruto finally remember what had happened. Ayato seemed to have knocked him unconscious, but he remembered that he had successfully protected their friendship.

Seeing Naruto's expression, Ayato roughly guessed that he was recalling what had happened earlier. Thinking of their friendship, he felt somewhat helpless. Naruto treated him as a friend, but Ayato always felt more like the boy's father.

Besides, it was difficult for a soul that had lived for decades to truly regard a child as that kind of friend. Still, since Naruto was fine with it, he would let things remain this way.

"Ayato, you haven't left yet?" Naruto got out of bed without the slightest discomfort.

Seeing that, Ayato could not help clicking his tongue. Naruto had been beaten up like that and had basically recovered already. Though Ayato had held back and avoided injuring anything vital, if that pain had been inflicted on him, it would probably have taken several days to fully recover.

Seriously, comparing people was enough to make one furious. But that was also why Ayato had hit him so hard.

"Not yet. After all, I was the one who knocked you out. I wouldn't feel at ease without seeing you wake up."

"Oh, I see." Naruto nodded, looking enlightened.

"Do you know why I did that?" After thinking for a moment, Ayato asked. Naruto probably would not mind, but Ayato still felt that he needed to explain.

"Um, you said that if I couldn't become a ninja, I wouldn't be qualified to be your friend. But I felt like you didn't really mean it." Naruto scratched his head as he spoke.

"Of course I didn't mean it. But since you sensed that, why did you still push yourself so hard?" Ayato rolled his eyes at Naruto, then suddenly realized something and stared at him.

Naruto stammered, unable to explain why. In the end, he only said, "I don't know either. I just felt that I had to try hard. Even if there was only the slightest chance, I couldn't give up!!"

He was afraid that those words might have been true, wasn't he? Ayato looked deeply at Naruto and sighed. The boy was far more sensitive about such things than he had imagined.

Putting himself in Naruto's place, Ayato could roughly guess how Naruto must have felt when he heard those words...

"I'm sorry. This time, I was wrong. I shouldn't have said something like that, even if I didn't mean it." Ayato spoke seriously. He had been in the wrong this time. Naruto was far too innocent right now, yet Ayato, an old man at heart, had used such words to force him.

Ayato did not want to make excuses for himself, because he suddenly realized that the phrase "I'm doing this for your own good" was utterly inappropriate when facing someone as pure as Naruto.

How was that any different from the parents in his previous life who constantly claimed they were doing things for their children's own good? Oh, right. He was not actually related to Naruto.

In any case, when one was wrong, one apologized.

"Huh? Ayato didn't do anything wrong, so why are you apologizing?" Naruto scratched his head, unable to understand.

"...If you don't understand, then don't try to." Ayato said after a moment of silence.

"Oh."

Ayato then began explaining why he had done it, and why he had beaten Naruto up so badly.

"So Ayato did it for my sake." Naruto scratched his head, feeling something he could not quite describe. It was the warm feeling of being cared for, though the way Ayato showed that concern was rather strange.

"Something like that. But even if your recovery is strong, don't force yourself in the future. When you feel that you've reached your limit, take a break. Don't pass out like you did today," Ayato said.

"Is my recovery really that strong? Isn't everyone like this?" Naruto thought for a moment, then asked another question that made Ayato want to hit him.

"Since you're recovered, come outside with me. I'll teach you some training movements." Suppressing the urge to hit him, Ayato stood and walked toward the door.

Before long, Ayato looked at Naruto's movements with satisfaction in his eyes.

Sure enough, compared to teaching Naruto theoretical knowledge, teaching him physical movements was much easier. Naruto's physical talent was far greater than his talent for learning through understanding.

As for whether making Naruto stronger would change too much of the plot...

Ayato felt that such things were not important at all, because he did not remember much of the plot anyway.

Besides, from the moment someone named Kamitachi Ayato appeared in this world, the plot had already changed. There was basically no point in stubbornly clinging to a plot he barely remembered.

What Ayato considered most important about those memories was that they allowed him to determine many people's personalities. Take Iruka, for example. Why had he sought out Iruka rather than Mizuki Sensei, who also seemed gentle? Wasn't it because he knew Iruka's character? As Iruka's student, Ayato basically did not need to worry that the man would harm him, so he could act without reservations.

The same was true of Guy. Ayato knew that Guy liked hardworking people. Even without Rock Lee, if Ayato had gone to Guy to ask for taijutsu guidance, Guy probably would not have refused. And with Rock Lee there as well, Guy was someone Ayato did not need to worry would scheme against him at all.

In fact, they were the only ones Ayato trusted completely: becoming Iruka's student, and the passionate Might Guy. Ayato had no plans to seek out anyone else.

Take Kakashi Hatake, for instance. Though Ayato knew Kakashi was a good person, with his personality, if some unfamiliar child went looking for him, he might not even bother responding. Even if he did, he would not fully trust the child. Seeking out Kakashi would be more trouble than it was worth, nowhere near as practical as Iruka and Might Guy.

This understanding of people was valuable wealth. As for the plot, it would naturally be better if he could remember it, but it did not matter if he could not. As long as he was strong enough when the time came, there would be nothing to worry about.

"All right, that's enough for today, Naruto. Remember to keep training every day from now on." Ayato clapped his hands to get Naruto's attention.

"Yeah, I'll work hard!" Naruto said, then looked at Ayato expectantly. "Will you come over again in the future, Ayato?"

"What for? Do you want me to beat you up again?" Ayato teased.

"I wouldn't mind." Naruto grinned.

"All right. When I have time, I'll come over to check on your training." After thinking about it, Ayato agreed.

"Great!" Naruto cheered.

Ayato looked at Naruto but did not invite him to join the training at the Training Ground with Rock Lee. It was actually a public Training Ground. There were not many people there, but there were still some. It was just that he and Rock Lee were the only ones who stayed until the end every time.

So it really would not have been suitable for Naruto to go there.

At that moment, Naruto looked at the sky and rubbed his stomach. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he looked at Ayato. "Ayato, I'll treat you to something delicious!"

"...What delicious food?" Thinking of those instant noodles, Ayato immediately had a bad feeling.

"My treasured Special Edition Pork Bone Instant Noodles!"

"I knew it..."

Ayato slapped his forehead. After being busy for so long, Naruto was treating him to instant noodles in the end.

Still, Ayato stayed. Though they were only instant noodles, they were probably Naruto's most precious collection. More importantly, Ayato had already told his mother that he might not be home for dinner, so he had nothing to worry about. Seeing Naruto so happy, he naturally did not want to spoil the mood.

And then, it had to be said that after going so long without them, Ayato found that instant noodles actually tasted pretty good!