Chapter 17: Konoha!

"Let go of me, let go of me, you idiot, Iruka!"

Naruto clung to the door panel like a gecko, with his lower body being held by Iruka in his arms. The teacher was struggling to pull him off.

"Naruto! Stop fooling around. I didn't assign the groups, so making a scene won't change anything!"

Iruka tugged at him, but Naruto's strength was too much. The door panel would come off before Naruto did.

"Quit lying! Put me and Hinata in the same group!"

Today, Naruto learned that the graduating Genin would be divided into groups of three for a second examination by the Jonin. And somehow, he ended up being grouped with Sasuke and Sakura. It's not that he disliked them, but he still wanted to be in the same group as Hinata!

"That wasn't my decision, and didn't you say you really liked Sakura? You even said she was your favorite."

"Ah! Don't twist my words. I said I liked sakura mochi, you dummy."

Naruto reminisced about a few years ago when Sakura brought homemade sakura mochi to school and shared them with everyone. The words of praise he received after eating them were mistakenly taken as a confession, and he ended up being labeled a scumbag who liked both Hinata and Sakura.

"Don't call your teacher a dummy!"

"Then who's the dummy that assigned the groups?"

"That was the Third Hokage."

"Why?!"

"I got dragged into this by you. Anyway, I can't do anything about this. If you want, take the door home with you."

Iruka gave up. Even if he had strong ninja skills, Naruto was just a hotheaded brat. He let go of Naruto's body and walked out of the classroom.

"Damn it!"

Above the rock wall in Konoha, there were giant sculptures of the past Hokage. Known as the Hokage Rock, it was a symbolic structure of the village. Usually, people would only admire the greatness of the past Hokage from a distance. But today, something unimaginable happened. The Hokage Rock with the face of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was covered in paint, and two large characters of 'dummy' were painted on his forehead.

"Narutooo!"

Iruka went crazy, chasing after Naruto. He had underestimated Naruto's stubbornness, and now the anger had spread to the Hokage Rock.

"Hehehe, things that others won't dare to do, I, Naruto-sama, will do."

Naruto swiftly ran through the streets. Many villagers cursed at him for causing trouble. The Hokage was the village's symbol of faith, and seeing it defiled felt like poking at their weak spot.

"You'll face retribution, you damned troublemaker!"

"You little brat!"

As Naruto turned a corner, he was running too fast to slow down and ended up colliding with someone. He crashed into the person's embrace, feeling a soft sensation enveloping his cheek. A fragrance resembling flowers wafted into his nose, causing Naruto to lose focus.

"Mmm... smells nice."

"You perverted brat, are you really a degenerate even at a young age?"

The girl he bumped into seemed to be around fifteen or sixteen years old. She wore a beautiful kimono and tied her black hair into a ponytail that swayed behind her. She didn't seem angry even though Naruto had fallen onto her; she just pushed him away with her hand.

"I'm sorry for bumping into you. Miss, you smell pretty."

Naruto apologized lightly and, seeing Iruka catching up to him, quickly ran away.

"Miss, are you alright? I'll go catch that disrespectful kid!"

A twenty-two-year-old with a scar across his face, panting heavily, ran up to the girl, declaring his intent to tear Naruto apart.

"It was just a little brat hugging me. Nothing serious."

The girl shook her head and, with her attendants, disappeared into the streets of Konoha as if she had never appeared at all.

...

"Alright, quickly apologize to the Third Hokage."

Iruka threw the bound Naruto in front of the Third Hokage, proving that old habits die hard. Naruto couldn't escape from Iruka's grasp.

"No."

"Naruto, do you have any grievances against me?"

The Third Hokage, holding a smoking pipe, looked at Naruto with piercing eyes.

"Well, Grandpa Hokage, you knew I liked Hinata, yet you still assigned me to a different group and paired Hinata with two other guys. I'm really unhappy about it."

"Hmm, are the young ones becoming so mature these days?"

The Third Hokage took a deep drag from his pipe, a trace of helplessness appearing in his imposing gaze. He looked at Iruka and asked.

"Hehehe... You're right."

Scratching his head, Iruka knew that the Third Hokage was actually asking him, "How do you teach your students? Why don't you control their early love affairs?" But the Ninja Academy never said anything about not having early love. Except for Hinata, all the girls in the class liked Sasuke. How could he possibly control them?

"Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, they are both ninjas with the ability to track enemy movements. And as for Hyuga Hinata, her Byakugan... You know it as well as I do. Their team will focus on investigation and pursuit. Hinata is the eyes, Kiba is the nose, and Shino is the ears. If you can surpass both of them in this aspect, I wouldn't mind placing you there. But..."

The Third Hokage tapped his pipe but didn't continue speaking.

"Urgh."

Naruto had nothing to say and let out a pained sound.

"Big brother, there you are! I've been looking for you for a long time!"

Just as Naruto was about to compromise, Konohamaru suddenly rushed in, his eyes filled with admiration. He quickly ran to Naruto's side and helped him untie the ropes.

"You're the shorty from the other day, right?"

"I'm Konohamaru, Konohamaru! Naruto, big brother, teach me that jutsu that can beat Grandpa!"

"Konohamaru-sama, can you please stop running around... You little demon fox!"

Ebisu chased after Konohamaru and burst into the room, seeing Naruto on the ground.

"Young master, please don't associate yourself with this person."

"No, I want him to teach me ninjutsu."

"What! You want to learn from this brat instead of me, the elite shinobi training teacher Ebisu? This is absurd!"

"But you don't know that jutsu."

"That's impossible. I've dabbled in almost all ninjutsu except forbidden techniques, so I'm qualified to be the young master's teacher."

"Well, do you know the Sexy Jutsu?"

"Sexy...? Sexy Jutsu? It sounds so vulgar."

"Big brother Naruto, show this guy your power, the jutsu that can beat Grandpa."

"Alright, let me show you the Sexy Jutsu!"

Konohamaru cheerfully called Naruto 'big brother,' and without hesitation, Naruto used the Sexy Jutsu.

"Boom!"

A cloud of smoke flashed, and a voluptuous golden-haired girl appeared in the room. The Third Hokage, Iruka, and Ebisu all stared dumbfoundedly at her.

"This... This kind of vulgar jutsu is not worth mentioning to me, indeed."

Ebisu looked down upon her, glancing at Iruka, who had passed out with a nosebleed. A common teacher was just a common teacher. Apart from blushing a little, he had no reaction at all.

"Huh, even the Third Hokage didn't faint."

"Hmph, don't underestimate the Hokage, you little brat. A technique that has been used once can never be effective again."

The Third Hokage pulled down his hat brim, covering most of his sight, and spoke confidently.

"I see. In that case... Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The golden-haired beauty leaned against her chin and pondered for a moment. She formed hand seals, and in an instant, dozens of identical clones of herself appeared in the room, surrounding the Third Hokage and Ebisu.

"I shall name it... Harem Jutsu!"

"Poof!"

No one knew what happened that day, only that the Third Hokage and the two teachers were attacked by an unknown person and collapsed in a pool of blood. This incident was also included as one of the mysteries of Konoha.

"This old man lost too much blood. It's murder."

"That kid, I'll definitely beat him up."

...

"Big brother, you're amazing! You defeated Grandpa again."

"Konohamaru, why do you want to defeat the Third Hokage so badly?"

"Because I want everyone to acknowledge me. They only see me as the Third Hokage's grandson and not as Konohamaru. No one wants to recognize me..."

"No, Konohamaru, you're mistaken. It's not becoming the Hokage that earns people's recognition; it's the person who is recognized by everyone that becomes the Hokage."

"Is that how it works?"

"That's right. The path to becoming the Hokage has no shortcuts. Only the strongest ninja who gains the recognition of everyone can be called the Hokage. I'm also striving towards that direction."

Naruto reminisced about his childhood. For him, gaining the recognition of others was much harder than it was for Konohamaru. But he still managed to earn the acceptance of the people in the shopping district. That was the result of his hard work.

"In that case, we're rivals, big brother."

"If we're rivals, then I won't teach you the Sexy Jutsu."

"No, please! Then, for now, I'll be your little brother."

"Well, in that case, start by transforming into the characters from this magazine. I need to go to Hinata's house. I'll leave first."

After Naruto finished speaking, he disappeared with a 'poof,' leaving behind some scattered smoke.

"Shadow clone? Amazing! I won't let big brother down."

Konohamaru tightly gripped the adult magazine in his hand.

...

"Are we enemies?"

Sitting in the yard, Naruto was chatting with Hinata when he felt the memories from his shadow clone. A slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Naruto-kun, I heard you made a mess of the Hokage Rock. Are you sure it's okay?"

Hinata's eyes were filled with concern. No one had dared to touch the Hokage Rock since the founding of Konoha, so Naruto's audacity was remarkable.

"It's fine, it's fine. I'll clean it up later."

"Ah, you're being irresponsible again."

Naruto wanted to have a good moment with Hinata, but he was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a young girl. Well, calling her a young girl might be a bit off; six-year-old Hanabi Hyuga seemed more like a little kid.

"Oh, hello, Hanabi."

"Things always go wrong when I see you."

Hanabi sat beside Hinata without hesitation and finished eating the apple Hinata had peeled for Naruto.

"Don't say that. I'm already a Genin, and we'll be family sooner or later."

Naruto pointed to the forehead protector on his head and said happily.

"Ugh, you still have thoughts of marrying into our family? You're so pathetic. No wonder you and big sister make a good match."

Hanabi looked at Naruto with disdain. She didn't have any good feelings for the boy who had been appearing in her house since she could remember.

"Hanabi, don't be too rude."

Hinata didn't mind herself, but she felt a bit angry that Hanabi looked down on Naruto. Gathering her courage, she scolded her.

"It's true. Naruto is a loser in school, and even I can beat him in real combat, despite my good grades."

Hanabi wasn't scared by Hinata's scolding. On the contrary, she became even more relentless. But she had the confidence to back it up. At the young age of six, she had exceptional talent and defeated Hinata in sparring, gaining recognition from the Hyuga clan. She began training under her father's guidance and made remarkable progress in her abilities.

"Don't be angry. Hanabi is just a kid."

Naruto was used to being looked down upon, so he didn't get angry. Instead, he tried to console Hinata.

"Do you want to fight?"

"In that case, what kind of person does Hanabi want to marry?"

"Is your mind only filled with thoughts of marrying into the family? Unlike big sister, I want to marry a hero."

"A hero?"

"Like someone who saves the village by stepping forward and defeating powerful enemies when Konoha is in great danger. That's the kind of hero I mean. Anyway, you have no chance."

Hanabi contemplated for a moment and described her ideal hero.

"I see. Speaking of heroes, it would be the Hokage, right? Let's not mention the Third Hokage, but all the previous Hokage had to accumulate a lot of experience. Except for the Fourth Hokage, who was called a prodigy, they all became Hokage when they were over thirty years old. Hanabi, you have a unique taste in men."

Naruto stroked his chin and pondered. Suddenly, he felt that Hanabi might dislike him because she preferred older men.

"Ugh, you're so annoying! Stupid loser!"

Hanabi was choked for a moment. Upon careful thought, she realized Naruto was right. Heroes and strength are connected, and there are no young and powerful heroes. Disillusioned, Hanabi glared at Naruto fiercely and ran away.

"Huh, did I do something wrong?"

"Naruto... Kids don't like to be proven wrong."

Hinata remarked, suggesting Naruto's unintentionally tact.