Early the next morning.
Naruto climbed out of bed, finished washing up, picked up the staff leaning against the bedside, and prepared to go out.
Ever since Heiter passed away, he had never let the staff leave his side.
He took it everywhere he went.
Kurama yawned in the Mental Space, its voice lazy: “Where do you plan to go today?”
Naruto pushed open the door, and the morning light spilled in.
He squinted, walked along the streets of Konoha, and thought for a moment before speaking: “To find Sasuke.”
Kurama snorted: “I knew it would be like this.”
Naruto did not refute it.
The intelligence on the Masked Man who possessed the Mangekyo was the most important thing.
Therefore, Sasuke was of paramount importance.
Moreover, having spent another two years in the Magic World, his mental age was already fifteen.
Looking back at the words of the Third Hokage, they felt completely different now.
Especially that line: “You can only meet to play in the center of the Village.”
At the time, he didn’t think there was any problem.
Now that he thought about it, something was wrong.
Why couldn’t he go to the Uchiha Compound?
Combining the intelligence about the Masked Man and the Mangekyo, Naruto quickly realized the truth.
Perhaps the Konoha High Council and the Uchiha Clan were suspicious and distrustful of each other because of the Nine-Tails Incident.
As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, a weapon of war, he naturally could not and should not come into contact with the Uchiha.
In this way, everything made sense.
Therefore, for Naruto, he not only had to investigate the Uchiha Clan, but he also had to go deep into the clan itself.
Just as he was thinking, footsteps approached from ahead.
Two figures stood in the middle of the street, one fat and one thin.
Naruto looked up and felt they looked a bit familiar, but he didn’t have a deep impression of them.
“Hello, I’m Nara Shikamaru, of the Nara Clan.
I want to be friends with you.” The thin one spoke first and extended his hand.
The fat one followed up: “I’m Akimichi Choji, of the Akimichi Clan.”
As he spoke, he handed Naruto a bag of potato chips: “Do you want some?”
Naruto paused for a moment, then took it: “Thanks.”
He opened the bag and ate a few pieces.
The taste wasn’t bad.
The Magic World was indeed very different from the Ninja World in terms of food.
Overall, the Ninja World, with its ramen and various snacks, had a higher level of cuisine than the Magic World.
Come to think of it, Shikamaru and Choji were the first people in this Village to actively seek him out to be friends.
“So where should we go to play?” Shikamaru held his hands behind his head, still maintaining that lazy look.
Naruto thought for a moment and suggested: “How about we play Ninja games?”
He had yet to see any so-called secret Ninjutsu and was a bit curious.
He wanted to use the opportunity of the game to see them.
Choji bit into a potato chip and wrinkled his face: “If we’re just playing, why don’t we find a place to eat and drink instead?”
Naruto was slightly taken aback.
It seemed Choji didn’t like such games.
“Then let’s go to the back mountain to watch the clouds,” Shikamaru said.
Naruto thought that was fine too; perhaps he could find out something from the two of them.
The three of them walked along the path toward the back mountain.
On the way, Choji asked curiously: “By the way, Naruto, I rarely seem to see you.
Do you usually play at home?”
“Pretty much,” Naruto said.
“I usually go to school, and I rarely come out to play during breaks.”
Shikamaru walked leisurely and suddenly said: “You look about the same age as us, I didn’t think you’d be enrolled so early.
But it seems like there’s school today, right?”
Naruto frowned slightly and murmured: “That does seem to be the case…”
He had been away from this world for two years, and after returning, he had been considering many things.
He really hadn’t thought about the most basic thing: school.
However, Naruto didn’t care.
Anyway, he had already finished learning what he needed to learn.
There was nothing left to learn at the Ninja Academy.
“Well… never mind.” Shikamaru changed the subject and looked at the staff in Naruto’s hand: “Is that wooden stick in your hand a toy?”
Naruto gripped the staff tightly and said seriously: “It is a very important item.”
“I see…”
Choji and Shikamaru nodded thoughtfully.
The three of them spent the whole morning on the back mountain like that.
Chatting off and on.
For Naruto, who had experienced so much and had a mental age of nearly fifteen, Choji and Shikamaru, these two five-year-old children, were quite easy to get along with.
After all, his state of mind was different now.
Near noon, Naruto finally asked the question he had been harboring for a long time: “Your Nara and Akimichi clans should count as major families in Konoha, right?”
Choji said straightforwardly: “We’re not exactly a major clan, but our Ino–Shika–Chō trio is almost always united, and we often practice secret techniques.”
Naruto nodded and asked again: “Then do you know about the Uzumaki Clan?”
“The Uzumaki Clan?
I don’t know.
I’ve never heard of them.” Choji shook his head blankly and ate another potato chip.
Shikamaru thought for a moment and said: “When I was playing in the outskirts of Konoha before, I saw a somewhat dilapidated building.”
“I went back and asked my father, and he said it was the Mask Shrine, built by the Uzumaki Clan for the sake of friendship with Konoha.
It seems to contain many strange masks left behind by the Uzumaki Clan.”
Naruto pressed: “What about the Uzumaki Clan?
Do you know where their clan compound is in Konoha?”
“They aren’t a family from Konoha; they are far away in the Land of Whirlpools,” Shikamaru said.
“It seems the clan members have been scattered across the Ninja World due to war…”
Naruto asked several more questions about the Uzumaki Clan.
Shikamaru indicated he didn’t know.
He didn’t pay much attention to these things.
What he knew now was only because he had seen the Mask Shrine and asked out of curiosity.
Naruto lowered his head, his voice becoming softer: “I see…
I understand.”
Shikamaru looked at his expression, not knowing what to say.
He also knew that Naruto seemed to be an orphan in Konoha Village and was discriminated against by others.
It wasn’t strange that he wanted to learn about the Uzumaki Clan.
The three of them chatted for a few more sentences.
It was noon, and Shikamaru and Choji prepared to go home.
Upon learning that there were hardly any survivors of his clan and that they were all scattered across the Ninja World, Naruto felt a bit down.
He planned to pick some wild vegetables in the wilderness and catch a few fish to eat something simple.
Anyway, when he was adventuring with Frieren and Fern, they often solved their food problems like this.
After eating, Naruto stood on Hokage Rock, overlooking the prosperous Village.
His mind was filled with a thousand thoughts.
There was no place for him here, and most people hated him.
It was also difficult to find clues about his enemies or other members of the Uzumaki Clan.
He wanted to see the wider world, yet he was constantly monitored by Ninja sent by the Third Hokage.
Just as he was thinking, he suddenly saw a familiar figure below.
It was wandering around, as if looking for someone.
Naruto finally recognized it as the Uchiha Sasuke he had made an appointment with.
He had promised Sasuke that he would play with him.
Perhaps he could find a way to get to the Uchiha Compound through Sasuke.