Chapter 14: Bringing Home After Just Meeting

Chapter 14: Bringing Home After Just Meeting

"I'm not selling to you, don't you understand? Get lost!"

In the crowded toy store, the shopkeeper raised a broom towards Naruto Uzumaki in a gesture of driving him away, as if there was some odor on Naruto that disgusted him.

Among the customers with children around, there were lower-ranked ninjas or commoners who showed a look of annoyance, avoiding the situation with cold eyes.

A few high-ranking ninjas who knew Naruto's true identity frowned slightly, but ultimately said nothing, immediately taking their children and leaving.

Seeing that the truly wealthy customers had all left, the shopkeeper's face turned red with anger.

He glared at Naruto with a gaze that resembled looking at a patient with a contagious disease, shouting loudly at the motionless child in front of the shop door, "If you don't leave, I really will have to take action!"

But he didn't know that in Naruto's heart, the harm caused by the hatred in the shopkeeper's gaze was evidently greater than the raised broom.

Amidst dozens of mocking, hateful, or indifferent gazes, Naruto felt as if countless icy hands had seized his body joints, while his throat felt as though it was wrapped in burning coal, stifling all of his grievances.

After a while, Naruto adeptly adjusted his mood, forcing out a reluctant smile.

"I, I can pay you double the money. Triple is also fine."

He took out numerous coins from both sides of his pockets, holding them with both hands and offering them to the stern-looking shop owner.

This was money he usually couldn't spend.

Naruto stared with hopeful eyes at the deep green frog wallet on the shelf beside him, his tone carrying a touch of pleading, "Please sell me that wallet. I really like it."

The frog wallet had a wide, red mouth that seemed to burst into laughter on any occasion, and its bulging eyes resembled the goggles Naruto wore on his forehead.

Because of this similarity, Naruto was drawn to the wallet at first glance, planning to give it to himself as a New Year's gift.

Before coming here, he thought he hadn't been seen around for a long time and that maybe people had forgotten about him.

But reality was cruel.

"Do you want this wallet?"

The shopkeeper glanced or didn't glance at the coins in Naruto's hand, sneered, grabbed the frog wallet, swung his arm, and tossed it outside the door onto the bustling street.

"Go pick it up out there!"

It was just a small wallet; even if he charged three times the price, how much could it be worth?

But if this brat continued to stay here, he really wouldn't be able to sell anything.

Might as well lure him outside.

Naruto turned in panic, his gaze following the frog wallet as it fell into the snowy ground outside the door.

He watched as a foot stomped on the wide-mouthed frog, then kicked it even further away, and it seemed like he could hear a pitiful croak.

In that moment, Naruto felt that his situation in the village was very much like that tossed-around wallet, his tender heart sinking in a sea of coldness.

He hurriedly ran out of the toy store, tripped on the doorstep, and scattered the coins he held like flower petals, burying them in the thin snow on the street.

"Hahaha, so dumb!"

"Can a monster really tripped? This is hilarious."

"He's the one who keeps saying he'll become a Hokage, right?"

"Seriously, why didn't he just break his neck when falling?"

Insults pierced Naruto's back like knives, but he had no energy or time to deal with them.

[These are all my savings.]

Naruto let out a wail in his heart, stumbling and crawling out of the toy store. His small body lay on the street, picking up the coins one by one from under the feet of pedestrians, while also keeping an eye on the now dirty frog wallet that had been kicked across the street.

Soon, after collecting all the coins around him, only a 100 ryo remained in the center of the street. The passing pedestrians' figures were reflected on the portrait of the Fire Country's Daimyo on the notes & coins, their colors changing with the variety of their clothing.

[With 100 ryo, I can buy a box of cup noodles.]

Naruto got up from the ground, apologizing as he staggered through the gaps between pedestrians.

But when he was less than a meter away from the coin, it was picked up by two slender fingers.

It was a child around eight or nine years old. He held the coin in his hand, then looked at Naruto.

"Tha—"

Just as Naruto thought the other person was going to give him back the money, the child made a face at him, then disappeared into the dense crowd, out of Naruto's sight.

"Hey, that's—"

Naruto stood still in a daze, his pants below the knees covered in a thin layer of snow. His two small, dirty hands didn't know where to put themselves.

Feeling the various gazes from the people on the street, Naruto finally lowered his head, crossed the street amidst low complaints and curses, and picked up the "scarred" wallet at the takoyaki shop across from the toy store.

The frog was smiling, but Naruto wanted to cry, but he didn't want to cry here.

Otherwise, he would only face even more cruel mockery.

"You're hurt too, aren't you?"

The frog continued to smile, Naruto zipped up the wallet, and it finally closed its mouth.

"I should go back and eat first."

He muttered to himself, patting the shoe prints on the wallet, but as he turned his head, he bumped into a body radiating intense heat.

[Oops.]

Startled, Naruto lifted his head in a rush, his gaze locking onto eyes as profound as the ocean. Surprisingly, though, he sensed no trace of ill intent.

The intense heat surged from the other person's body, washing away the coldness that had come from the depths of Naruto's heart.

Naruto felt that he had seen the slightly taller boy somewhere before, but he couldn't recall where.

It was only when Giyu spoke first that he recognized.

"Oh, it is you."

[It's been so long, I thought he wasn't in the village anymore.]

Giyu spoke, opening his idle hand to reveal a 100-Ryo resting inside.

"This is yours, right?"

"Uh, this..."

"I saw it and got it back for you."

Giyu was succinct in his words.

He hardly said anything, only displaying the Uchiha emblem on his back to the child who had taken Naruto's coin. The child obediently handed over the coin.

"Thank you."

As Naruto reached out to take the coin, a sudden recollection struck him!

He remembered where he had heard this voice before!

He couldn't possibly forget because that incident remained one of the heartwarming memories that cheered him up when he felt lonely.

"It's you!"

The last trace of coldness in Naruto's body dissipated, replaced by an inexplicable excitement that spread through his limbs like alcohol.

Ignoring the disgusted glances from passersby, he grabbed onto Giyu's hand before he could retract it, "You're the one who gave me the mask last time, right? In the forest over there in the village. Do you remember me? You should remember me, right?"

Warmth filled his sky-blue eyes, and never before had he desired so much to be remembered by someone.

"Yeah."

Giyu nodded, glancing somewhat awkwardly at the hand he held, afraid that the high temperature around him might burn the child.

"I-I'm sorry, I got too excited."

Naruto pulled his hand back, feeling embarrassed only now realizing how dirty his hands were.

Looking at Giyu, who was nearly spotless with not a single wrinkle on his clothes, Naruto suddenly felt a pang of self-consciousness.

"Um, I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

He lowered his head, a bit bashful. After all, besides the old man he would spar with, the ninja sister (an anbu), the old man who would visit him often, and the girl with beautiful white-eyes, he had hardly communicated with anyone who didn't hold hostility towards him.

"You left suddenly last time, and I never got to ask your name. Could you tell me what your name is?"

"Giyu Uchiha."

Giyu stated his name, this time with a hint of emphasis.

Because not long ago, he had truly accepted his own identity with peace of mind.

"Haha, I remember the 'Uchiha' part that the girl mentioned..."

Naruto initially rejoiced at his own good memory, then looked at the paper bag in Giyu's hand, and after some hesitation, asked, "Are you alone?"

"My mo... Mom went to buy fireworks."

Giyu's gaze turned towards the not-so-distant Uchiha Mikoto who was waiting in line.

However, this time, Uchiha Mikoto simply waved at Giyu, her gaze briefly resting on Naruto before immediately shifting away, as if searching for something around her. Finally, her gaze settled deeply in one direction.

Not far away, behind a roof chimney and wearing a mask, Kakashi's forehead was drenched in two beads of sweat. He muttered softly, "One can only say, truly worthy of the Uchiha clan, huh?"

"What are you mumbling about?"

An old yet spirited voice sounded in his ear, "Is it because you have to work on New Year's that you're complaining about me?"

"Third Hokage?"

Kakashi turned around and knelt on one knee. "Why are you here?"

[Is this a shadow clone of The Third Hokage?]

Kakashi noticed that the person in front of him wasn't carrying a cigarette.

"Because Naruto seems to have made a new friend."

Ever since hearing that Naruto had left, The Third Hokage had been using the Telescope Technique to monitor his every move. "So I came to take a look."

"I'm sorry, I was careless. I will separate them immediately and make sure they don't meet again."

Kakashi thought that The Third Hokage was being influenced by Danzo and was being overly cautious even with such a young child.

But The Third Hokage smiled.

"That's not what I mean."

He put his hands behind his back, first glanced at Uchiha Mikoto, then shifted his attention to Naruto and Giyu, who were talking in a corner of the street. His benevolent eyes were filled with smiles.

"Naruto is starting school in March, isn't it good for him to have some friends in advance? That way, he won't be too lonely."

Kakashi remained silent.

[It's as if he's implying that you have nothing to do with his current situation.]

["Because you have a tailed beast inside him, So he needs to understand patience more than ordinary people," aren't those your own words?]

"I came here to let you know that you don't need to worry about what's going on between Naruto and that kid for now."

Recently, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been particularly concerned about Uchiha Itachi becoming a Chunin. However, that child had great strength and an unusual personality, making it unlikely to rely on the bonds between teammates to keep him in check.

But his two brothers were still inexperienced.

If these two kids could make friends outside the Uchiha clan in the village, it would surely impact Itachi's attitude towards the village. It might also ease the situation.

"But what about Danzo-sama..."

"He's not in the village." Sarutobi Hiruzen said lightly.

"Understood." Kakashi was relieved.

That way, no one would use this matter to cause trouble.

"You've worked hard, Kakashi."

Sarutobi Hiruzen concluded, "If you want to give something to Naruto, do it in these few days."

With that, he turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared directly.

Indeed, it was a shadow clone.

The real Sarutobi Hiruzen was still by the crystal ball, puffing on a pipe, quietly observing everything within.

At this moment, most of Giyu's attention was focused on Naruto's hair.

He noticed that due to malnutrition, Naruto's hair, which should have been vibrant, had now turned extremely dull, and his overall condition was somewhat indescribable.

"Do you usually not get enough to eat?"

Giyu was direct in his thoughts, making Naruto feel a bit bewildered.

"Um, I guess."

Naruto's basic needs for food were met.

He usually picked up the expired instant noodles and milk that the stores didn't want.

"Oh." Giyu paused, "So you don't eat very nutritiously. Your family doesn't cook?"

Hearing the word "family," Naruto's expression suddenly dimmed, and his three whisker marks drooped down like they were damp.

"It's just me in my family."

[If he knew I was an orphan, what would he say?]

He felt somewhat nervous, worried that Giyu's attitude towards him might change because of this.

"..."

After a while, Giyu spoke again, "Has it always been that way?"

He had been an orphan too, but at least he had his sister, and later, Sabito and his master.

But this child, who looked a bit younger than him, was living alone in this village?

"Yeah." Naruto's head drooped even lower.

Giyu didn't ask questions like "How did your parents die?" Instead, he lifted his head to look at the sky.

It was still quite some time until nightfall.

"Can I go to your place?"

After uttering these words, Giyu saw Naruto suddenly lift his head.

"Huh?!"

He was initially surprised, but his expression quickly shifted to joy, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

Giyu intended to first become friends with this child and see if he could improve the other's life.

Besides his soft-hearted nature, there was another simple reason...

He also wanted to ask for the child's hair as a material for Kyojuro Rengoku's resurrection in the spirit realm after addressing Naruto's malnutrition issue.

Firstly, he naturally assumed that the better Naruto's health, the better the condition of the resurrected Kyojuro Rengoku would be (though it didn't actually affect it).

Secondly, if he was asking the child for hair, he should offer something in return; otherwise, he would feel guilty.

"Is it okay?"

Giyu asked again.

Sarutobi Hiruzen behind the crystal ball squinted his eyes. He felt that the development of this imagined friendship might be a bit too rapid, as if someone were pushing it from behind.

However, Giyu was ultimately just a non-threatening child, so he planned to observe a bit longer.

Naruto nodded vigorously, "It's okay! Of course it's okay!"

Then he asked with some concern, "But does your mom agree?"

The children who used to play with him before only started avoiding him after their parents' scoldings and warnings.

"I will tell her."

In Naruto's hopeful gaze, Giyu walked over to his mother, who was in the queue, and told her about his plan.

"Hey, made a new friend?"

Uchiha Mikoto looked somewhat surprised and glanced at where Kakashi was. It seemed like she was asking why he didn't stop them.

Kakashi gave her a hand signal that only high-ranking ninja could understand.

[The Third Hokage's decision.]

She frowned slightly and turned back, considering taking Giyu home with her directly.

However, upon seeing the bright eyes of Naruto from afar, her thoughts drifted to her old friend, Uzumaki Kushina.

[Since there's nothing I can do for her...]

[And that child seems as lonely as the previous Giyu.]

"Well, Giyu can't disturb him for too long, okay?"

Uchiha Mikoto patted her son's hair and smiled.

"Otherwise, I'll cook for myself."

Not far away, as Naruto recognized the meaning behind that expression, he happily jumped in place.

"I understand." Giyu nodded.

"Hmm?" Uchiha Mikoto raised an eyebrow.

"I understand," a faint blush appeared on Giyu's face, "Mom."