8 My first friend

"Ino, Sakura, I believe it's too early to talk about weddings at our age. I know that right now you may think that you love me, but we are only 7 years old and lack experience.

Also, Ino, you are going to be the next heir of your clan, and it is expected for you to produce a Yamanaka descendant. If you truly want to marry me in the future, we need to define specific terms with your father.

I will accept your love and marry both of you if your feelings are the same after you reach the rank of Chunin. I believe that as a Chunin, you will have both the necessary experience and maturity to make such a decision. Moreover, I want you to be stronger because I really like strong women, and I wasn't satisfied with your spar today. You have to take your training seriously."

Both girls were shocked by Sasuke's maturity. His speech reminded Ino of her father, and she couldn't help but smile at the comparison. On the other hand, Sakura was even more attracted to him.

'Sasuke used to be so mysterious and cool. But now that he has revealed himself, I can't help but admire his maturity and confidence. It seems his handsomeness now carries an element of elegance.'

"Sakura, Ino, I have a question that is a little irrelevant. It is about Naruto."

Sakura immediately replied, "What do you want to ask about the loser? Did he create a problem for you, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke and Ino looked at her strangely, and Sasuke said, "Sakura, please don't be so harsh with the kid. Please try to be polite with him. What I wanted to ask is why nobody talks to him? I talked with him today, and he seemed like a good kid."

"My father told me to be careful around him, and since everybody avoided him, I couldn't bring myself to talk to him," Ino said reluctantly.

"My mother told me that this kid is dangerous and that I must stop talking with him," Sakura said.

"But why? He seems like a good kid, and I saw his spar. He doesn't seem to be dangerous," Sasuke asked with curiosity.

However, neither of the girls knew the answer because their parents didn't tell them further details.

After a small talk, Sasuke and the girls went back into the classroom for their final lesson. However, Sasuke had noticed that Naruto didn't return to the class.

---

After the academy, Sasuke started going towards his home to continue his training. He had returned the leaf to his forehead and kept the exercise almost the whole day. Halfway towards his home, Sasuke had a feeling that he was being followed. However, the attempt was too amateurish to be an Anbu. Sasuke immediately turned his Sharingan on and scanned the surroundings. Behind a tree to his left, he saw the familiar yellow and red chakra.

"Naruto, please come out. I know you are behind this tree."

Naruto came out embarrassed. He had his right hand behind his head, scratching it. However, his eyes were red.

'Was he crying? Did he manage to hear the conversation with Ino and Sakura? Is his hearing so good, or did he manage to sneak peek at us?' Sasuke thought alarmed.

"Naruto, why do you follow me?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto scratched his head again and reluctantly said, "I have heard that you like training, and I wanted to ask you if you want to train together."

Sasuke checked Naruto's expressions and saw that the kid was sincere.

"Naruto, you can train with me, but I warn you. I train seriously and I train too much. If you come with me, I will help you, but you aren't allowed to complain. No matter how bored you feel, you aren't allowed to give up until the end."

"I will never give up, Leafhe… Sasuke. I will be the future Hokage," Naruto said loudly.

"Naruto, it seems that you and I share the same dream. Let's see if you can stand my training," Sasuke said with a smirk on his face.

"WHAT???? YOU ALSO WANT TO BE HOKAGE? WHY?" Naruto said too loudly and nervously.

"I will tell you if you tell me first," Sasuke said.

"Hmm, ok. I want to be strong and respectable. I want people to accept me," Naruto said with honesty and looked at the floor a little embarrassed.

"But why do you want people to accept you? Why do you care about their opinion?" Sasuke asked with some suspicions.

"It's easy for you to say that when everybody likes you and treats you good. Only the old man, Teuchi-san and Ayame-chan care about me. Everyone else hates me. Don't pretend that you don't know. I heard what Sakura-chan and Ino told you. People hate me. They don't sell me food and clothes, and they don't even allow me to enter the stores. They even ganged up on me several times and sent me to the hospital," Naruto said with anger and tears in his eyes.

'So, he has heard everything. That means that his hearing is better than normal. Together with his strange chakra and the treatment that he has received, he definitely has a huge secret. He is emotionally vulnerable, extremely mistreated, and he has huge chakra and great durability. Such a tool at my disposal ready to be used. Such a present in front of my doorstep. The only thing that is missing is his ribbon!' Sasuke thought excited, but his expression didn't change.

"I am sorry, Naruto. I didn't know," Sasuke said with a sad expression.

"It's okay. I got angry with you for no reason," Naruto said, scratching his head.

"Naruto, who are the old man, Teuchi-san and Ayame-chan that you talked about?" asked Sasuke.

"The old man is the Hokage. I thought that it was obvious. Teuchi-san is the owner of Ichiraku Ramen, the only restaurant that sells me food. Ayame-chan is his daughter and she is really kind" Naruto said proudly.

Sasuke stopped walking and had an Eureka moment.

'Orphan with blond hair and blue eyes with a connection with the Hokage. Don't tell me that he is the son of Minato Namikaze? Minato defeated the 9-tail fox. But people call the boy a monster. Don't tell me… He didn't beat the fox; he sealed it inside his son. That's why the boy has 2 different chakras. I was wrong. He isn't just a present. He is a goldmine!'

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"You are friends with the Hokage? Has he trained you?" Sasuke asked excited.

Naruto made his tick again and said, "Old man said that it would be unfair if he trained me because as the Hokage, he must treat all the ninja the same. However, he visits me every week and gives me advice about my life."

Sasuke said, "Either way, you are really lucky that you can get free advice from the Hokage. He is really experienced and strong."

Naruto and Sasuke continued with their small talk until they reached the Uchiha compound.

"Naruto, before the training, I have to give you something. Come with me," Sasuke said.

Naruto was surprised but still followed Sasuke. Sasuke led Naruto into his room and opened his wardrobe.

"Naruto, you mentioned that people don't sell you clothes. Your orange set is unacceptable. You will get all the clothes here."

Naruto was flabbergasted and said, "I can't accept them. They are your clothes. What will you wear if I get them?"

Sasuke looked him in the eyes and said, "Naruto, I am sure that you already know what happened to my clan. All the clothes of the dead were left to me. I have decided that in the future, I will wear their clothes to remind myself of what I have lost, to remind myself that I have to restore my clan and its honor. We are friends now, and you are not allowed to refuse."

Naruto was taken aback and was truly touched. There was a huge smile on his face. 'I have a friend. A friend who is kind enough to give clothes,' he thought and said, "Thank you, Sasuke."

"It's nothing, Naruto, don't mention it. Now it's time to begin our training,"

---

After they reached the Uchiha training ground, Sasuke explained, "The exercise that we will learn today is called tree climbing. It is a chakra control exercise. It is the evolution of the leaf balancing exercise."

"That's why you keep this leaf on your head! I was wondering about that all day."

Sasuke looked at him strangely, "You don't know about the leaf balancing exercise? It was explained in our first lessons in chakra theory."

Naruto made his tick again.

"It seems that you don't even know what I am talking about," Sasuke said with suspicion.

Naruto didn't reply but looked at him nervously.

"Let's start at the beginning. Do you know what chakra is?" Sasuke asked.

"No…" Naruto said in an embarrassed tone.

'He is a goldmine, but a goldmine covered with rocks,' Sasuke thought and said, "Naruto, we have a long way ahead of us."