Naruto stared at the envelope in the Third Hokage’s hand.
He had watched the anime, so he knew the truth.
As for how much of an inheritance the Fourth Hokage and his wife had left him, that was beside the point.
The son of a hero surviving on welfare just to scrape by was already absurd enough.
The envelope looked fairly thick.
But in reality, there were probably only a couple more coins inside at most.
Even the payment for a D-rank mission assigned to a Genin would be more than this.
It was no exaggeration to say that this was practically money given to a beggar to send him away.
In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Naruto’s mind.
He wanted to slap the envelope onto the ground.
Or better yet, slap it straight across Hiruzen Sarutobi’s face.
He wanted to question him.
Demand an explanation.
Curse this scheming old bastard!
But…
“Thank you.
I’ll spend it carefully.”
Naruto accepted the envelope and took out three copper coins and several small metal coins.
Oh.
It seemed there was one more copper coin than before.
That meant he could probably buy a few more cups of instant ramen this month.
Should he openly oppose the Third Hokage right now?
There was no need.
And it wasn’t realistic either…
What would venting his anger accomplish?
He’d probably just get beaten up.
And if things got serious, he might even end up subjected to genjutsu.
Naruto wasn’t even sure whether the previous version of himself had been placed under Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami.
He’d better behave himself…
Being useless and living like a salted fish wasn’t so bad.
Besides, this old man would be killed by Orochimaru in a few years anyway.
He just had to endure it for a while.
It would pass.
“Ding!
Successful act of slacking.”
“Obtained 10 Lazing Points.”
Another system notification appeared.
Naruto didn’t rush to use the points.
He could go home and figure out how to allocate them properly.
He slipped the coins into the inner pocket of his clothes, then tossed the envelope into the fire.
The flames briefly rose higher.
Hiruzen Sarutobi silently watched.
He could tell.
Naruto must have suffered some kind of emotional blow.
After all, Naruto had always been happy whenever he received his living expenses.
But today…
“Naruto, are you worried about starting school?”
The Third Hokage smiled gently.
A child’s worries weren’t difficult to guess.
Perhaps he was simply anxious about facing a new environment.
That was normal.
Hiruzen had already arranged his teacher for this year.
Iruka.
He was tolerant by nature, yet stubborn at heart and possessed a strong sense of principle.
He was very suitable for teaching.
And besides…
Iruka’s parents had both died at the hands of the Nine-Tails.
Having someone like that teach Naruto would neither interfere with instilling the Will of Fire nor allow Naruto to learn too much.
“A little…”
“But it’s nothing.
It’s not a big deal.”
Naruto’s words were, in a sense, completely sincere.
He understood one thing.
No matter how many truths he knew, no matter how far he could see with his god’s-eye perspective, the Third Hokage sitting beside him had far greater experience and a deeper understanding of human nature than he did.
In other transmigration novels, protagonists relied on having watched the anime to manipulate Danzo and the Third Hokage like monkeys.
That simply wasn’t realistic.
Besides, he had already decided to slack off.
To lie flat.
To become a salted fish.
There was no need to use his pathetic acting skills to challenge Konoha’s veteran actors.
As he had said before—
Even if he wanted to resist, now was not the time.
“I’m relieved to hear you think that way, Naruto.”
The Third Hokage chuckled softly and comforted him.
“The Ninja Academy is a wonderful place.
You’ll learn a great deal there and make plenty of friends.”
“Once you become a powerful ninja capable of protecting the people of the village…”
“You’ll be one step closer to your dream.”
His dream?
Did he mean becoming Hokage?
Naruto almost sneered aloud.
Never mind anything else.
As long as you’re alive, who else can become Hokage?
Anyone who becomes Hokage before you die will probably end up causing suffering even for their descendants.
But then again…
If Konoha no longer existed, what would being Hokage even matter?
That would be pretty funny.
Naruto secretly glanced at the system interface.
He deliberately browsed the expensive items.
Mangekyo Sharingan.
Rinnegan with tomoe.
The Sage Arts of the Three Great Sage Regions.
Various Kekkei Genkai…
There it was.
Tailed Beasts from parallel worlds.
And the key to unlocking the Eight Trigrams Seal.
A little expensive, but if he saved for a few years, it probably wouldn’t be a problem.
By the time Pain came knocking, he could simply lie flat.
Then secretly buy another Tailed Beast and seamlessly replace the old one…
Of course, there were plenty of cheaper methods too.
Izanagi was one.
Reincarnation of One’s Own Life was another.
As long as he could stay alive, he had absolutely no intention of becoming some kind of savior.
To put it bluntly—
If everyone ended up sleeping together inside the Infinite Tsukuyomi, so what?
“Ding!
Successful act of slacking.”
“Obtained 10 Lazing Points.”
“Ding!
You are about to reach the daily Lazing Point limit for the Trainee Genin Template.
It is recommended that you increase your attributes to break through the template, or pass an assessment to advance your title and obtain more Lazing Points.”
The system notification appeared.
Naruto glanced at the system interface.
Before he knew it, his Lazing Points had already reached 40.
That could be considered a small fortune.
Keeping them around wouldn’t earn him any interest, nor would they reproduce.
Naruto immediately decided to go home and think carefully about how to spend them.
Talking with a scheming old fox like the Third Hokage was genuinely exhausting.
“I’m full.
I’ll head home first, old man.”
After saying that, Naruto stood up and walked home with his fishing rod over his shoulder.
The Third Hokage watched Naruto’s small, thin figure disappear into the distance.
Then he glanced at the fish Naruto had only eaten halfway before throwing away.
He fell into deep thought.
So many years had already passed.
Making a child bear so much…
Forget it.
Forget it.
Since he was the Fourth Hokage’s son, he was destined to bear more than others.
If Minato knew about all this, he would probably understand him too…