Naruto's Return
Naruto was feeling rather reluctant about sharing those novels with Kurama. Uchiha Xiao Yan was out there, and the thought of what his fox might become in the future was daunting. However, the piercing gaze of a certain vixen seemed to demand his attention, as if saying:
You Uzumaki Naruto, this vixen has been with you for more than twelve years. Now that you have a new favorite, why are you forgetting about me?
Naruto decided he couldn't play favorites, so he threw a massive pile of novels from his system in front of Kurama, along with a stack of manga. Despite the books being a bit small for the gigantic fox, Naruto hoped Kurama would find a way to manage them.
I just hope that when the art style of the ninja world gets all messed up, the Six Paths Sage in the sky won't blame me.
Kurama's attitude improved significantly upon seeing the pile of books, though he repeatedly insisted he wasn't interested in them. Naruto wasn't convinced, but he took it at face value.
Naruto stayed in the village for another three days, including a visit to the Hyuga household to reconnect with his family. When it was time to leave, his little girlfriend accompanied him to the gate.
His sudden return to the village startled the ninja team who had just begun their mission. They feared that Naruto would leave a clone behind to complete the mission while he stayed behind in the village.
"Riding on a horse!" they exclaimed. "You just took the mission less than two days ago—why are you back already?!"
As a result, several Jōnin collectively reported that Genin Uzumaki Naruto had returned to the village without permission, violating regulations. Naruto was instructed to return to complete his mission.
Naruto, who had been spending quality time with his girlfriend, was visited by Anbu two days later. They warned him that if he didn't leave to finish the task, his pay would be docked.
"Horseshit!" Naruto shouted in frustration. "You're just making things difficult for me!"
He was standing at the gate of Konoha, cursing both the Hokage and the villagers. It seemed unfair that after so long, he was being harassed for spending a few days with Hinata.
The guard at the gate stared ahead with an emotionless expression, clearly ignoring Naruto. In desperation, Naruto gave the gate a rude gesture before using a space-time jutsu to vanish. Everyone watching was relieved.
Naruto wanted to stay a little longer, partly because he wasn't sure if Sasuke had calmed down or if Kakashi was still alive after the chaos he'd caused. Feeling a pang of guilt, he thought about how he had offended three people at once.
When he arrived back at the temporary residence of Team 7, he found only one wall of the three-story villa he'd built. Burn marks and scattered shuriken indicated that the place had seen intense fighting. The remaining members of Team 7 had set up tents nearby.
Naruto's heart raced as he observed the scene from a distance. He had a nagging feeling that Sasuke's anger hadn't subsided.
With a sigh, Naruto decided to send a clone ahead to scout the area. However, when he saw his clone, he was taken aback. The clone was dressed in a white mid-winter robe with a cloth on its head.
Naruto thought, I asked you to scout, not to dress like a fanatic!
Despite his doubts, he tried to reassure himself that the clone's appearance was just a quirky choice, not an omen of impending chaos.
But then the clone's eyes lit up as it cheerfully called out, "Main body, get some TNT and a backpack!"
"I'll defend myself with an AK and a whole rifle! We're going to get bigger and stronger and create greater glories!"
Naruto was stunned. Seriously? A backpack and TNT?
Realizing his clone was acting far outside the bounds of ordinary ninja tactics, Naruto felt a mix of annoyance and resignation. He had hoped the TNT might be less dangerous after adapting to the ninja world's rules.
Naruto reluctantly pulled out a black backpack, a piece of TNT, and a lighter from his gear. He didn't, however, give the clone any weapons.
The clone excitedly began preparing the TNT, but then it sneered at Naruto and said, "Seriously? Traditional TNT? We're in the ninja world! We should use ninja techniques!"
The clone took a detonating talisman from Naruto's bag and affixed it to the TNT with a grin.
Naruto was left dumbfounded. That actually makes sense...
The clone stuffed the TNT into the backpack, shouldered it, and confidently declared, "No matter the path, I'll go with Whirlpool Ziggs!" He then strutted away with the bag on his shoulder.
Naruto watched the clone's bizarre exit, feeling a headache coming on. Why do I have so many troublesome clones?
As the clone walked past, Sasuke, who was practicing nearby, noticed the strange figure. Kakashi and Sakura also took notice and grew alert.
When the figure got closer, they realized it was Naruto, though his appearance was baffling. Without hesitation, they drew their weapons.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" they shouted. "Prepare to die!"
Sakura and Kakashi attacked with kunai, while Sasuke, still furious, activated his Lightning Style Chakra Mode and appeared before Naruto with his ruler raised high.
"No way! You die!" Sasuke shouted angrily.
Over the past two days, Sasuke's anger had only intensified, especially after Naruto had laughed at his predicament with the female clothing. At night, Sasuke had vented his frustrations by beating up the bed Naruto had left behind.
Hearing Sasuke's call, Naruto raised his head and shouted back, "Idiot! Get away!"
He tossed the backpack in front of him and fled in the direction of his original body, leaving Sasuke and the others bewildered by his sudden departure.
Naruto was beginning to understand why the villagers had such a grudge against him. But even as he faced this new round of chaos, he couldn't help but hope that things would eventually settle down.