Chapter no.2

The man was swimming alone, wearing nothing but his underwear, when all of a sudden, a small monkey materialised in front of him while the rushing waterfall kept their conversation at a whisper.

When the monkey's mother hollered "AUU!" at the crowd, it came running over to greet her.

He was clinging to a tree for dear life, tears streaming down his face as he realised that no one could save him.

When Naruto climbed atop his buffalo, he used his lasso to make an unsuccessful attempt to capture the unfortunate creature. The largest monkey then grabbed his legs and secured them, having realised what his companion was trying to do.

When Naruto threw the buffalo, the younger monkey caught it and held on to it steadfastly while its relatives held the larger monkey in place. Naruto was elevated as he held the young monkey in his arms while the mother held him in her embrace and bestowed the same upon Naruto. This continued until Naruto was elevated to the same level as the mother.

A few of the monkeys appeared to be enjoying themselves by banging their heads as though it were only the beginning of the winter season.

After coming to the conclusion that returning to the village would not be an easy task, he made the decision to hibernate in the cave for the duration of the winter.

Two parchments were placed in front of him, one of which contained provisions for the home. These included toilet paper, towels, soap that had been consumed by the mandrills, and ten thousand candles with an aromatic scent. The fact that the parchment was older than seven years suggests that it was originally intended to be completed by a Tsume but was never done so.

The other parchment appeared to be the work of a master and contained what appeared to be historical texts, ninja techniques, a multitude of paper daughters, several squares of various papers, ink, and brushes. It appeared to be a master's work. In order to entertain themselves, the children smeared ink all over their faces.

Naruto started reading because he didn't have much else to do.

…

Hiruzen made his way through the village at the beginning of February, when the amount of snowfall was beginning to decrease and the weather was beginning to improve.

He went to the orphanage in the village to talk to Naruto, a young boy who did not want to become a ninja and who had expressed a desire to go in a different direction in life. Hiruzen, however, revealed to him that his destined path was to train to become a ninja and serve as the protector of the village. The Third Hokage was unable to come to terms with the fact that Minato's offspring would become the new host for the monster that resided within Minato's mother.

Then he came to the conclusion that the child had vanished.

Instantaneously, the ninja were made aware of the situation, and both the Inuzaka and Aburame clans started following his scent. However, a significant amount of time had passed, and the snow made it difficult for them to continue their efforts.

It took us two weeks to piece together his movements.

Hiruzen and the other members of his party travelled over several hills to reach the small cave that was located approximately three kilometres away from the village. Inside, Naruto was seen reading while sitting on a bed made of leaves, covered by a blanket, and surrounded by an abundance of fruit and seeds.

Hiruzen yelled out "Naruto" at that moment. The youngster stared startledly upward.

"Jiji," he called out to him as he made his way closer to the cave.

The Hokage was shocked by the revelation. How long had he been here? How was he able to make it through the harsh winter in the mountains?

As Hiruzen drew nearer, he remarked to those around him, "It's time to return to the village."

A noise rang out.

"Au!" When the elderly man looked up, he was greeted by the chortling of a white monkey.

As more monkeys emerged from the forest canopy to relax or snack on nuts, the trees started to sway.

Naruto said, "I don't want to go back there," and he meant it. "I like it better here. It is superior to the room I stayed in at the orphanage."

As the Hokage got closer, he yelled out, "You have no choice but to go back to the village."

And at that moment, a massive rock came hurtling towards them.

The Kage was able to avoid it and then noticed a troublesome blue giant monkey entering the mountain through a gap in the rock.

"Jiji, I beg you to please let me remain in this location. I don't cause any problems for the residents of the village here."

While Naruto was pleading with the Hokage to allow him to remain in the cave, the monkeys started to become restless. The tension in the air grew to the point where it seemed as though the very air itself was electric with the potential for a future fight.

As the primates advanced closer, Hiruzen watched with increasing unease as the primates' eyes glowed with an intelligence that seemed to come from another world. He had a sneaking suspicion that something wasn't quite right, and that there was more to these beings than first appeared.

And then the event took place. The Hokage was the target of a large rock that came hurtling in their direction and aimed directly at his head. But he was quick, and at the very last second, he was able to evade the projectile and avoid getting hit.

As he looked upward, he noticed a huge blue monkey climbing out of a crack in the mountain. Hiruzen felt an overwhelming sense of unease wash over him as soon as he saw the fierce, wild intelligence that was reflected in the creature's eyes.

But it had no effect on Naruto at all. He looked up at the monkey, and their eyes met for a brief instant in that moment. And in that very instant, something passed between them; it was something ageless, something primal, and something profoundly enigmatic.

The Hokage was left speechless as he observed the sight of the monkeys congregating around Naruto. It appeared as though they had accepted him as one of their own. And he was confident that he had arrived at the correct conclusion when he allowed the boy to remain in the cave.

Because Naruto possessed a unique quality that distinguished him from the other ninja and made him stand out from the pack. His connection to the natural world and the forces that shaped the world around him was unlike anything that Hiruzen had ever witnessed in a person before.

And he was well aware that it was his responsibility to foster that connection in order to assist Naruto in maturing into the kind of individual who would be able to use his abilities to defend the village and the people who lived there.

Hiruzen became aware, just as he was turning to leave, that he had just witnessed something truly extraordinary. And he was aware that Naruto's journey had merely just begun, that there was much more in store for him than anyone could have possibly imagined at the time, and that this was only the beginning.