Akamaru

"Strange shop, strange… Ninja?"

Looking at the peculiar appearance of the Ghost, the old face of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, also showed a look of curiosity.

Sarutobi, who had experienced the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars, was well-informed. But a Pokémon like Gastly was something he had never seen before.

"Fuji?"

Sarutobi picked up his pipe, took a sharp puff, and then searched through various archives.

Soon, Sarutobi found Fuji's file, which recorded Fuji's information. It was fairly ordinary and did not differ much from that of an average Konoha villager. The only notable point was that Fuji's attitude towards Naruto was notably more favorable compared to other villagers.

This was not especially surprising, as there were both naive and perceptive people in Konoha.

"It seems that the appearance of this Pokémon House should be a recent development."

Sarutobi closed his eyes, picked up his pipe, and knocked heavily on the desktop. Moments later, a member of the ANBU with a fox mask appeared in Sarutobi's office.

"Firefox, investigate discreetly. Do not attract the attention of the other party."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Firefox's figure flashed, and he quickly disappeared from the Hokage's office.

After waiting for Firefox to leave, Sarutobi opened his eyes again.

"Naruto's matter cannot be allowed to go wrong. I hope the plan will proceed as intended."

Sarutobi walked to the glass counter, inside which were two very large scrolls.

That's right—the Book of Seals!

The other was a pirated version of the Book of Seals!

Sarutobi took out the pirated Book of Seals from the glass counter. Comparing it with the genuine Book of Seals, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

The pirated Book of Seals was quite similar to the real one, except that it contained only one ninjutsu: the Art of Shadow Clones.

This was the ninjutsu Sarutobi had deliberately arranged for Naruto, believing it was the most suitable technique for him.

In fact, Naruto's theft of the Book of Seals had been part of Sarutobi's plan all along. Mizuki's intent to steal the Book of Seals was no recent development. The scheme to deceive Naruto into stealing the Book of Seals had been carefully orchestrated.

The ANBU had long been aware of this plan, and Sarutobi had chosen not to immediately apprehend Mizuki. Instead, he kept the matter quiet and planned accordingly.

Mizuki intended to trick Naruto into stealing the Book of Seals and then steal it himself. Sarutobi aimed to use this incident to gauge Naruto's attitude toward Konoha.

Naruto's response would influence how Sarutobi treated him afterward. As for imprisoning Mizuki and having Naruto learn the Art of Shadow Clones, it was secondary.

Sarutobi was satisfied with Naruto's performance in the original story, so he did not punish him for stealing the Book of Seals.

"Hopefully, everything goes well…"

---

Ninja School.

"Naruto, is this little fox a Pokémon you bought?"

With black hair and the red inverted triangle pattern unique to the Inuzuka clan on his cheeks, Kiba Inuzuka looked at the Vulpix on Naruto's shoulder with curiosity.

A little fox with six tails...

It was indeed the first time he had seen such a thing.

"That's right, this is the Pokémon I bought from Hokage-sama. It's called Vulpix, and it's amazing!"

Upon hearing Inuzuka's question, Naruto beamed with pride.

"Hmm, ahhhh…"

Vulpix also shook its tail gracefully.

"It's cute, but not as cute as my Akamaru."

"Right, Akamaru!"

"Woof…"

On Inuzuka's head, a white puppy also barked in agreement.

That was Akamaru, Inuzuka's ninja dog.

"Blah blah, how can your Akamaru compare to the cuteness of my Vulpix!"

Naruto retorted, "Vulpix is definitely cuter!"

"What are you talking about? Akamaru is much cuter."

"You're wrong. Vulpix is cuter!"

"I think you're blind."

"I think you're blind."

"Woof!"

Seeing Naruto and Inuzuka arguing, Vulpix looked at Akamaru with a hint of irritation.

Naruto and Inuzuka were at a standoff, each unwilling to concede.

"I see that your Vulpix isn't very useful. It's not as cute as Akamaru, nor as powerful!"

"Huh? I think your Akamaru is weak. My Vulpix could beat your Akamaru with just one tail!"

"Huh? Just one tail? My Akamaru could defeat your Vulpix even with one leg!"

"My Vulpix beat Akamaru in one hand!"

"I~! @#￥%"

"In that case, let's settle this!"

Inuzuka pulled back, then extended his hand and shouted, "Akamaru, attack! Show Vulpix what you've got!"