Unlike the heavy atmosphere in the Hokage Office, the Uchiha Compound was much quieter.
The snow had stopped.
Naruto did not enter the Uchiha Compound directly; instead, he took a detour and headed towards a small grove on the other side.
Ever since his control over magic power grew stronger, his perception of the surrounding environment had also become much sharper.
Just a moment ago, while on the outskirts of the Uchiha Compound, he had vaguely sensed movement in this grove.
It wouldn’t hurt to take a look.
Naruto stepped on the accumulated snow as he walked into the grove.
The trees were not too dense, allowing sunlight to filter in.
He hadn’t walked far when he heard a child’s voice from not far away.
“Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!
Are you hidden yet?”
Naruto stopped and looked up.
He casually climbed a large tree, stood on a sturdy branch, and looked down at the ground from his vantage point.
A boy with black hair and black eyes stood in the middle of a clearing, wearing a black short-sleeved top with the red and white fan crest of the Uchiha Clan printed on the back.
Facing a large tree, having just finished counting, he kept his eyes closed and asked, “I’m going to start looking now.”
They were playing hide-and-seek.
As Naruto watched the boy, he couldn’t help but feel a bit strange.
Even though he didn’t know him, there was an indescribable feeling in his heart.
It was as if there was some connection between the two of them.
Like brothers.
Naruto shook his head, pushing the thought aside for now, and then looked around, but he didn’t see anyone else hiding.
The boy must have been playing with someone, but there was no one else around.
The next second.
“Who are you?
Why are you here?”
The voice came from behind him, cold but with a hint of childishness.
Naruto tilted his head slightly and saw the face of another boy.
He was a bit older than the one from before, also wearing Uchiha clothing, with two distinct tear marks on his cheeks.
Naruto felt a surge of joy.
Another person from the Uchiha Clan.
He turned around and offered a friendly expression: “I’m just here to play.
What’s your name?”
The other boy sized Naruto up, then looked at his attire and build, and his guarded expression relaxed slightly.
“Uchiha Itachi,” he said calmly.
“This is near the Uchiha Compound.
I was a bit nervous seeing a stranger.
Apologies.”
Naruto smiled and said directly, “My name is Uzumaki Naruto.
Can we be friends?”
“Uzumaki Naruto?”
Upon hearing this name, Uchiha Itachi’s brows furrowed slightly.
He had graduated from the Ninja Academy about a year ago and had recently joined the Konoha Anbu through his father’s arrangements.
This name was not unfamiliar to him.
The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
The current conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha stemmed from the Nine-Tails Incident from back then.
Itachi’s first reaction was to make Naruto leave.
It was too dangerous for him to be here.
He couldn’t let Naruto get involved with the Uchiha Clan, and even more so, he couldn’t let him come into contact with Sasuke.
Thinking of this, Itachi’s expression turned cold, and his tone became distant: “Sorry, you should go back.”
“You won’t make any friends here.”
“Why?” Naruto asked.
He could feel that the other party’s hostility only appeared after hearing his name; it wasn’t there from the beginning.
This meant that the direction he came here was not wrong.
Just as Itachi was about to say something else, he suddenly noticed two things.
The first was that Sasuke had already found the Shadow Clone he had used to distract him, and he should appear.
The second was that several strong Chakra fluctuations were heading this way.
Itachi’s eyes narrowed slightly; he didn’t say anything more and turned to leave.
The next second, he appeared beside Sasuke.
“Brother!” Sasuke ran out from his hiding spot, pouting, and said, “Where did you go?
You actually used a clone; that’s just cheating!”
Itachi didn’t answer, only gently patted Sasuke’s head.
Almost simultaneously, the Third Hokage appeared at the edge of the grove with two masked Anbu.
“Naruto,” the Third Hokage began, his tone as kind as ever, “Why did you come to this place?”
Naruto jumped down from the tree, stood in front of the Third Hokage, and lowered his head.
He was a bit puzzled; why did the Hokage get alerted just because he came here to play?
And the person called Uchiha Itachi had also changed his expression significantly upon hearing his name.
“Hokage-gramps, the kids in the Village won’t play with me.” Naruto’s voice was calm, but it sounded a bit lonely.
“So I walked here by myself.
I saw some people playing hide-and-seek earlier and wanted to make friends with them.”
The Third Hokage was slightly stunned after hearing this.
This answer was impeccable.
He had thought that Naruto wouldn’t be so lonely after entering the Ninja Academy.
Naruto was three years younger than his classmates when he enrolled, but he studied diligently and his grades in all subjects had always been very good.
He hadn’t expected that he would still need friends.
At this moment, Itachi walked over with Sasuke.
“Hokage-sama.” Itachi lowered his head slightly, his tone respectful.
Sasuke hid behind Itachi, looking curiously at the old man in front of him.
Is this the Third Hokage?
The most powerful Ninja in Konoha Village.
But brother will definitely be stronger than him in the future.
The young Sasuke thought to himself.
The Third Hokage saw the two and expressed surprise: “It’s Itachi.
Is this Sasuke?
I didn’t expect him to have grown so big.”
“Yes.” Itachi nodded. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
The Third Hokage’s gaze swept back and forth between Naruto and the two Uchiha brothers.
The relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha was becoming increasingly tense.
If he let Naruto wander around nearby, and if he happened to be controlled by someone from the Uchiha Clan, the situation would be completely irreversible.
Furthermore, Danzo would also take the opportunity to cause trouble.
But letting Naruto continue to be this lonely wasn’t a solution either.
If his emotions went wrong and caused the Nine-Tailed to go berserk…
Just as the Third Hokage was hesitating, Naruto had already walked up and greeted Sasuke directly.
“Hello, my name is Uzumaki Naruto.
Can we get to know each other?”
The strange feeling from before was becoming stronger.
Even though it was their first meeting, there was a sense of closeness like brothers.
Naruto couldn’t help but take the initiative.
Sasuke actually had a similar feeling.
But with his brother by his side and so many strangers around, he just hid behind and didn’t move.
Now that he saw the other person walking over, he slightly tightened his grip on Itachi’s clothes and whispered, “Uchiha…
Sasuke.”
Seeing this, the Third Hokage revealed a small smile, thought for a moment, and said, “Since that’s the case…”
“Naruto, you can make friends with whoever you want and play with whoever you want.”
“But there is one thing: you cannot come near this area.
You can arrange to play together in the center of the Village.”
He paused, then added, “This is the Uchiha Compound.
Most of the Uchiha clansmen are members of the Konoha Military Police Force.
I’m worried that they might accidentally hurt you while they are capturing criminals.”
This excuse wasn’t great, but it wasn’t too bad either.
Discerning people knew that the Third Hokage wanted to appease the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki while simultaneously easing the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan.
But to the two of them, Sasuke and Naruto, who didn’t understand the specific situation, this request, while a bit strange, wasn’t unacceptable.
“Okay!” Naruto agreed readily.
Sasuke also nodded silently.
Itachi looked at the two, still believing that Sasuke, and indeed all Uchiha clansmen, should not be associated with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
He could only bow slightly to the Third Hokage and said respectfully, “Third Hokage-sama, it’s getting late.
I’ll take Sasuke home for dinner now.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.
Naruto watched Itachi and Sasuke’s retreating figures and raised his voice slightly: “I’ll be waiting for you in the center of the Village these next few days.”
Sasuke turned his head to look at him, nodded slightly, and then turned back to follow Itachi.
The two figures gradually disappeared at the end of the grove.
Naruto stood in place, watching that direction.
The Third Hokage looked at Naruto’s profile and said softly, “Naruto, it’s getting late.
Hurry home.”
Naruto had managed to make a friend from the Uchiha Clan today, and combined with his new discovery about traveling to the Magic World, he was in a very good mood.
So, he nodded directly and turned to walk towards home.
Seeing this, the Third Hokage also waved his hand and left with the Anbu.