Chapter 16 Going to School

"Naruto, can you introduce your friend to grandpa?"

After putting the festive snacks he brought into the refrigerator, Sarutobi Hiruzen skillfully pulled out a chair and sat down as if he was at home, looking like an old man who had walked a long way and was tired and wanted to sit for a while.

It is easy to arouse sympathy.

He had planned to come to Naruto's house during the New Year.

Firstly, his son and eldest grandson were not around, and he was half a lonely old man, and he really needed the company of children.

Secondly, doing so would make Naruto, as a Jinchūriki, rely on and trust him more.

If the two children had not suddenly mentioned the Nine-Tails, he would have followed the original plan and waited until the fireworks were set off at night, when Naruto was extremely lonely and isolated, and then he would suddenly appear to give Naruto a big surprise.

In this way, Naruto's feelings for him were considered strong. In Naruto's heart, Sarutobi Hiruzen will always be the one who saved him from darkness and loneliness.

If there is an accident in the future when the tailed beast goes berserk, he can also use this strong "bond" cultivated since childhood to awaken the humanity in Naruto's heart and avoid the worst situation.

But he had planned everything, but he didn't expect that Uchiha Fugaku's youngest son would start to remember things when he was less than three months old. In order to prevent the two children from continuing this topic and irritating Naruto, he had to send his shadow clone to come in advance.

In addition to guiding the topic away from the Nine-Tails, he also wanted to see the character of this precocious child and whether he could become a ninja who recognized the will of fire like Uchiha Kagami or Shisui.

Of course, the most important thing is to determine whether Giyuu's approach to Naruto was due to someone else's intentional guidance.

He narrowed his eyes into the crescent shape that a kind grandfather should have, and looked at Giyuu with a smile, thinking that this would make the other party let down his guard.

But the elders that Giyuu was used to were the strict type like Mr. Urokodaki, and he had some difficulty in recognizing expressions. All the superficial work done by Sarutobi Hiruzen was like throwing a stone into the sea, without causing any waves.

The only impression Giyuu had of Sarutobi Hiruzen was that he felt that this old man looked very familiar.

[I feel like I've seen this beard before...]

"Grandpa, he's Uchiha Giyuu, and he gave me the mask."

After Naruto finished speaking, he turned to Giyuu happily, "This grandpa is a very nice person. Since I've lived here, he's the only one who's come to visit me."

In Naruto's eyes, the two people in front of him were the rare warmth in his short life.

"But grandpa always says he was a Hokage, he must be bragging. The Hokage is the strongest person in the village, how can he look so unimpressive, right, Giyuu."

Uzumaki Naruto smiled and waited for Giyuu to agree.

But the latter suddenly realized.

[No wonder he looks so familiar.]

"You are indeed the Third Hokage."

He said directly, "The third statue on the Hokage Rock looks a lot like you."

"Huh?!"

Now it was Naruto's turn to be surprised.

He ran to Sarutobi Hiruzen and stared at him closely, the pupils in his beautiful blue eyes shrank into a cute circle, full of suspicion.

"Really?!"

"But the Third Hokage on Shadow Rock is obviously fierce! He is completely different from you."

"Ahem, that was when I first became Hokage. Of course, I have changed now."

Sarutobi Hiruzen coughed with his fist, but his attention was on the expressionless Giyuu.

From Giyuu's tone, he analyzed that the other party seemed to have little respect for him as a Kage. It should be affected by the atmosphere of the Uchiha clan. This is not a big deal.

Two years ago, there was a Genin named Uchiha Enka who publicly said that he was old and weak at the barbecue Q, which to a certain extent reflected the attitude of the Uchiha towards him.

Then can we know from Uchiha Giyuu what Fugaku, the clan leader, thinks of him and the village?

He looked at Giyuu with a kind smile.

"Is your name Giyuu? I remember you should be the child of Fugaku and Mikoto, right?"

"Yes. "Giyu nodded.

It was the first time he saw the Hokage in person.

In his understanding, the Hokage was the strongest person in the village, equivalent to the existence of the Rock Pillar, Gyoumei Gyoumei in the Demon Slayer Corps.

But is this short old man in front of him really that powerful?

"It's you. Your late grandfather and I are old friends, and I watched your father grow up. If you don't mind, just call me grandpa like Naruto. "

The old man first explained the origin of the two families, and then asked casually, "Your parents should have mentioned me to you, an old man, right?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes outside the window.

Shisui told him that Uchiha Giyuu never lied, and it seemed that the third generation should be able to get a lot of words out of him today.

But no one could have expected that the answer given by Giyuu was surprisingly short.

"I mentioned it. "

Then there was no follow-up.

It's like someone just showed you a delicious meal, but took the food away before you even got close.

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."

[This kid was very talkative when he was explaining expired milk to Naruto just now.]

[Or is it that he is influenced by his family and doesn't trust me at all?]

Although he was a little frustrated, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't show it on his face. Instead, he asked shamelessly: "Giyu, do you hate grandpa a little? Can you tell grandpa why? Is it that grandpa did something wrong?"

He seemed to be trying to please the child, but this was actually another way of asking questions in an indirect way to test the attitude of the Fugaku family towards him.

Naruto suddenly became nervous.

He didn't want to see a conflict between the two people who were rarely kind to him in his life, especially when one of them was the Hokage.

"I don't hate you."

Giyuu's standard grammar appeared again, and Kakashi outside the window seemed to have returned to that day.

"I just want to know, aren't all orphans in the village raised in an orphanage until they are nine years old? Why does Naruto live here alone?"

It was hard for him to imagine that a child who could be taken care of by the Hokage himself would live such a life.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's smile froze.

This was a development he didn't expect. Giyuu actually asked him questions from Naruto's perspective. This was very unusual for Uchiha.

Naruto, who had never had such a question before, also cast a questioning look.

"Grandpa, if you were the Hokage, why didn't you just let me live in the orphanage?"

[In that case, at least I wouldn't be alone. ]

"Well..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's embarrassment was fleeting.

He could even handle the entanglement of the Hokage's advisor, so how could he be stumped by two children?

"You don't know this. The children in the orphanage are all war orphans from other countries. Their parents are not from the village, so the village can only guarantee them the minimum treatment. Naruto's parents are ninjas in the village, so of course they should be treated differently."

Sarutobi Hiruzen paused, "In addition, the orphans of the village ninjas will become ninjas in the future. In order to train their self-care ability, we decided to let them live alone since childhood. Not only Naruto, but also the orphans of the village ninjas have grown up like this."

Hearing the word "parents", Naruto's mood was a little low, and Sarutobi Hiruzen also felt a little guilty, but it did not affect his decision as Hokage.

"What about the milk?"

Yiyong asked. Although he did not mean to question, with his cold face, he seemed a little aggressive.

"Naruto said you often visit him. Didn't you notice that he has been drinking expired milk? And why are the people in the village unwilling to sell things to him?"

[That's all Danzo's fault. ]

Sarutobi Hiruzen really wanted to blurt it out.

But to be honest, Danzo's plan to isolate Naruto was tacitly approved by him.

"This is indeed my negligence."

Sarutobi Hiruzen showed a guilty expression, some true and some false, "I am usually very busy with work, and it is rare for me to come to see Naruto. I didn't notice these problems. This is all my negligence. Thanks to you, Giyuu, if only the children in the village were as careful as you."

He first praised Giyuu, and then looked at Naruto with an apologetic face: "I'm sorry, Naruto, this is all Grandpa's fault. I didn't expect you to have such a hard life..."

Sure enough, it was as expected by Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Naruto, who was used to pleasing him, was startled and kept saying, "It's okay! Anyway, I'm in good health, I just have diarrhea occasionally, it's no big deal, hahaha."

"Anyway, grandpa promised you that I will notify the village and let them sell things to you again."

Sarutobi Hiruzen made a promise.

"Really?"

Naruto's eyes widened, almost bursting into tears, rushed up and hugged Sarutobi Hiruzen's waist, "Thank you, Grandpa Hokage!"

He didn't know, and Giyu couldn't understand it, but Kakashi outside the house felt cold in his heart, feeling the cunningness of the third generation.

In just a few words, he first avoided the key question of "Why don't the villagers sell things to Naruto", then used a sincere apology to cause Naruto's guilt, and finally directly solved the problem, which made Naruto's favorability and dependence on him soar on the spot.

But from beginning to end, he didn't answer the question of why the villagers treated Naruto differently, and easily bypassed it...

If he, Kakashi, was the Hokage, he would have found an excuse to leave on the spot.

On the other hand, when Giyuu heard that Naruto could go shopping by himself in the future, he felt that the plan to make him healthy would be easier, and his stern expression unconsciously relaxed.

This scene fell into Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, and he was sure of one thing, that is-

This child really cares about Naruto.

He can stand on the position of a stranger who has just met him and argue with him, the Hokage.

Just based on this point, Giyuu is already very different from most narrow-minded Uchiha.

As long as he is guided correctly, he can also become a ninja like Jing and Shisui, and regard the village and others as more important than himself and the Uchiha clan.

This is the inheritance of the will of fire!

[However, I heard that this child does not want to become a ninja... But Fugaku should not allow such a thing, and the speed shown by this child before is also proof. 】

The third generation was very active, chatting with Naruto for a few words, and gradually led the topic to another topic: "By the way, Naruto, grandpa will bring you some books tomorrow. You will go to the Ninja School in March next year. You must prepare well in advance to keep up with the progress of others."

As he said, he smiled cunningly, "If Naruto studies hard and his admission grades are ideal, I will tell the teacher of the Ninja School to put you and Yiyong in the same class, what do you think? Then you may become deskmates."

"Do you keep your word?"

"Of course." The old man nodded as if his conspiracy had succeeded.

Before, he was not sure that he could persuade Naruto, who was always bullied by his peers, to go to school, but now he has it. Next, it is enough to make sure that Giyuu will go to school.

With this child's personality that easily stands on the side of others, if he becomes friends with many children in the village, he will definitely not be completely devoted to the Uchiha clan.

And his attitude towards the village will definitely affect Uchiha Itachi, who is highly regarded by the top leaders.

[By then, if there is any movement in the Uchiha clan and Fugaku's attitude, we can investigate it in time and prepare in advance. ]

Sure enough, when Naruto thought of knowing someone in the same class at the ninja school, he exhaled two long and thick breaths from his nose, "I, Uzumaki Naruto, will definitely work hard!"

After making the declaration, he turned around and grabbed Giyuu's hand, "I will definitely be in the same class with you, Giyuu!

"By then, are you willing to be my deskmate? "

The pressure came to Giyuu.

He stared at Naruto's warm little hands, a little at a loss.

Itachi had also advised him to go to the Ninja School during this period, but Giyuu knew very well that although the resolution of the Breath of Flame had been completed, the most convenient place to increase the resolution of the Breath of the Moon was still the Uchiha clan.

Going to school would waste a lot of time, so he might as well get along with those open-minded clan members.

In addition, Itachi graduated from the Ninja School at the age of seven, and the source of his power, Uchiha Giyuu, was not ninjutsu, so learning there would not make him stronger.

The most important thing is--

"I don't want to be a ninja."

He hardened his heart and pulled his hand out of Uzumaki Naruto's hand, and the latter's shining eyes gradually dimmed visibly.

"Why?"

He asked unwillingly, "Don't everyone in the village want to be a ninja?"

Giyuu took the initiative to avoid his sight.

Instead, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled as expected, "I understand, Giyuu doesn't want to hurt others, right? "

Giyuu unexpectedly looked up at the Third Hokage, which confirmed the rumors he had heard before.

[It's rare to see such a soft-hearted Uchiha...]

[But the softer they are, the easier it is to convince them, because they always care too much about other people's feelings...]

"It doesn't matter. Letting the children in the village go to ninja school is just to prevent them from being too lonely, and to learn some knowledge and understand the world. "

The Third Hokage said slowly: "It doesn't mean that you have to become a ninja if you go to ninja school. If you have any concerns, just don't take the exam.

"And as far as I know, you have a twin brother named Sasuke. Doesn't he want to go to ninja school?

"If you don't go to school, he and Naruto will be very lonely. "

Hearing Sasuke's name, Giyu hesitated for a moment, but immediately reaffirmed his will.

If he hadn't had the goal of reviving the pillar, he might have nodded directly out of softness. But now, he has a more important task, and he really can't "waste time" in the ninja school.

Just when he was about to reject the third generation's invitation to go to school again, a familiar voice suddenly sounded.

[Spend 1 hour with Uzumaki Naruto in close proximity, the resolution of Sun Breathing +0.005%.]

"?"

Giyu was stunned, his eyes wandering around Uzumaki Naruto's face.

In a few months, this is the first time he has brushed out the resolution of Sun Breathing, and the amount is so large!

This means that Naruto has extremely high-quality Yang attribute chakra (Nine-tail:...)!

[The entry of Sun Breathing is a condition for reviving Ganlu Temple. Although the resolution of Moon Breathing will slow down if you go to school, it can still grow steadily... But if you miss Naruto, it will be troublesome to find a reason to spend a long time with him in the future.]

"Hokage-sama. "

Giyu suddenly used honorifics, "How long do students have to stay in the ninja school every day?"

"10 hours, longer in summer."

Sarutobi Hiruzen was a little surprised, why would Giyu ask such a question that the Nara family likes to ask the most.

So he added, "There are 20 days of vacation every year."

Giyu heard this number, calculated it in his head, and finally nodded in the expectant eyes of Uzumaki Naruto.

"Then I am willing to go to the ninja school. "