I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

So, should we choose Naruto rolls or dried bamboo shoots?

Naruto felt he still preferred Menma.

After finishing all the ramen, Naruto was about 70% full. Looking around, he realized that he was the only other customer in the restaurant, along with a middle-aged ninja man who looked like a passerby and seemed depressed and unsuccessful.

After finishing their ramen, the others didn't seem to want to stay any longer.

After placing the payment under the ramen bowl, Naruto stood up and said to Teuji, who was busy at work, "I'll leave the money here. Uncle Teuji, your ramen tastes great. I'll come here often from now on."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Thank you for liking it. I remember your name is Naruto, right? Come again next time."

After Naruto left, the middle-aged ninja glanced in the direction Naruto had gone, then smiled and asked, "Manager Teji, is that Uzumaki Naruto, the demon fox from the village?"

Hand-typed sighed and said:

"What fox spirit? It's all just rumors. He's just an orphan who was vented on by the villagers by being called a fox spirit. They don't even know who his parents are."

"They could be heroes who protected the village, or they could be irresponsible bosses and parents."

Hand-typed seemed interested and looked over: "Do you know about that child's background? Can you tell me about it? I've always felt that his parents are not ordinary people."

The middle-aged ninja chuckled, "I was just saying it casually. Who knows the truth? But his parents probably don't know what he's going through now, otherwise they would definitely regret it."

Chapter 12 Konoha Needs Killer Bee

Naruto was unaware of the conversation inside Ichiraku Ramen, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared much about it.

In Konoha, not many people knew his true identity, but there were definitely not a few either. However, the only person who could get close to him was the Third Hokage.

Just as he was about to go home to rest, he was stopped by two people his age.

One person was holding potato chips, occasionally grabbing some and putting them in their mouth. The other person was looking at them and slowly extended their hand: "Hello, my name is Nara Shikamaru, and this is Akimichi Choji. We want to be your friends."

Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji?!

Naruto was very familiar with these two names; they were Shikacho from the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, important members of the Konoha 12.

But isn't this way of making friends a bit too casual? At least come up with a reason.

The Nine-Tailed Fox also muttered to itself, "Kids, these two brats must have a reason for coming to you."

Naruto glanced at Shikamaru and Choji a few times, then extended his hand: "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Welcome to be my friends. From now on, we are good friends."

In just a few words, the three seemed to have become good friends who had known each other for many years, and agreed to meet in the grove the next day.

During this time, Naruto took a few extra glances at Shikamaru, wondering what this ninja village's intellectual leader was really up to.

Is this not worthy of being the heir of the Nara clan, known for their cunning?

After they parted, Choji looked at Shikamaru with a puzzled expression: "Shikamaru, is this how you make friends? Isn't it a bit too self-assured? It's practically telling Naruto that we took the initiative to befriend him."

Shikamaru glanced at Choji, then watched Naruto's departing figure:

“I’ve thought of many ways to meet him, but the other methods are too deliberate. It’s better to just tell him directly that we just want to be friends with him. Anyway, we’ve already done what our father and the others asked us to do.”

Choji opened his mouth, unsure how to refute Shikamaru, so he could only grab a handful of potato chips and stuff them into his mouth.

What Shikamaru didn't tell Choji was that he didn't want to anger Naruto by deliberately hiding it. After so many days of observation, he really intended to become friends with Naruto.

According to his investigation, although Naruto was called the Demon Fox, he was just an orphan who lost both his parents.

There are at least a few dozen, if not hundreds, of such orphans in the village.

But Naruto is the only one who can withstand the villagers' malice and gain the upper hand in the fight against the adults as the demon fox. Such a person is definitely not simple in the future and is worth his active befriending.

……

The next day at noon, Naruto met Shikamaru and Choji in the grove.

It's hard to say whether Shikamaru and Choji were sent by the Third Hokage, but they must have been instructed by their fathers, who happened to be one of the Jonin who knew their identities.

To some extent, this also represents the village's current attitude towards itself.

When the friends gathered together, they naturally discussed where to go for fun. Naruto smiled and suggested that they play ninja house, a popular activity in the village.

Together they play the roles of the village's Hokage and engage in ninja battles.

Upon hearing Naruto's suggestion, Choji's expression turned somewhat grim. In his memory, playing together meant simply finding a place to travel, eat and drink, and working hard to gain fat.

But why spar? We're all kids who haven't even entered the Ninja Academy yet…

Thinking of this, Choji glanced at Shikamaru with a hint of resentment. Shikamaru, looking listless, also had a regretful expression. Fighting was just too troublesome for him.

However, he couldn't find a reason to refuse Naruto's suggestion.

After all, he and Choji clearly took the initiative to become friends with Naruto, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and become Naruto's opponents, starting a game of ninja house.

When it comes to ninjas, even in a game of make-believe, battles are hard to avoid.

At first, the battle wasn't very intense; it was just simple sparring. But as the group got into the zone, their moves became more and more skillful.

This is exactly what Naruto wanted to see; he wanted to see the gap between himself and his peers.

Inside the Hokage's office.

The Third Hokage was smiling as he looked at the scene inside the crystal ball. As he got older, he enjoyed watching energetic young people, as it helped him maintain a youthful mindset.

He wasn't surprised that Naruto had become friends with Shikamaru and Choji.

This was the result of his discussions with Nara and Akimichi clan leaders. Nara Shikaku and Akimichi Choza were Minato's former teammates, so they would definitely be happy to see Naruto become friends with their son.

His only request was that Naruto's true identity not be revealed to Shikamaru and Choji.

It seems that Shikamaru and Choji have perfectly accomplished their goal, becoming friends with Naruto so quickly and even playing ninja games together.

What surprised the Third Hokage even more was the ninja talent that Naruto displayed while playing house.

He had been teaching Naruto ninja books for less than two months, and in that short time, Naruto not only successfully refined his chakra, but also demonstrated impressive taijutsu skills.

To put it bluntly, Naruto only needed to master the knowledge of the Ninja Academy and the Three Body Techniques to graduate and become a Genin.

And at this age, to have such a gifted child.

In his memory, besides Kakashi, there was only Itachi of the Uchiha clan. The former was the youngest Jonin, and the latter also showed the potential to stand on his own.

Furthermore, Naruto is a Jinchūriki, Minato's son, and Jiraiya's grand-disciple. With such a connection, Naruto can be considered one of our own, and we can train him with peace of mind.

However, the bond between Naruto and himself is still somewhat lacking and not absolute enough.

Just as the Third Hokage was envisioning the future, the office door was pushed open from the outside, and an elderly bandaged man, his body wrapped in bandages with only one eye showing, appeared before him, leaning on a cane.

Upon seeing the swirling smoke in the office, the bandaged man couldn't help but frown and say:

"Sarutobi, you've slacked off again. Your smoking habit will only increase the chances of mission failure..."

"Danzo, I haven't been on the front lines for a long time. The smell of tobacco helps me think better. We should always leave opportunities for young people to shine."

Danzo remained silent, glanced at the image on the crystal ball, and said, "Is this Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? It seems he's grown quite well under your care, but I still believe that only Jinchuriki from the Root can achieve the best growth."

The Third Hokage gave Danzo a deep look: "And then become a killing machine in your hands?"

Danzo said dismissively, "Jinchūriki are killing machines. Training them into competent swords can reduce casualties on the battlefield. If we had a Jinchūriki, we wouldn't have suffered so many casualties on the Kumogakure battlefield, and we wouldn't have been forced to negotiate."

"That's because the village lost too many elite troops on the night of the Nine-Tailed Fox..."

Danzo's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "That's why I asked you to hand over the Jinchuriki to me. I only need three years to train him into a Jonin to avenge what the Cloud Ninja did to us."

The Third Hokage said meaningfully, "Danzo, what Konoha needs is not Rōshi and Han from Iwagakure, but Killer Bee. You can't train Killer Bee in your way."

Danzo stared at the Third Hokage for a long time before speaking in a low, somber tone:

"Very good. It seems you still have clear judgment and the decisiveness of a leader. If you hesitate one day, then you are not suitable to be Hokage, and I will take the Jinchuriki away from you."

The Third Hokage gave Danzo a deep look: "That day will never come, Danzo."

Chapter 13: Nine-Tails' Affection for You Increases

The childish fight ended quickly, and Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji rested against a large tree.

Their future achievements may surpass most ninjas, but right now they are just kids, and any genin could easily defeat them.

While eating, Choji said, "Naruto, you're really strong. You're almost as good as the senior students at the Ninja Academy. Shikamaru and I are not as good as you."

Shikamaru, standing nearby, looked at Naruto with surprise. Even with Choji's combined efforts, they hadn't been able to defeat Naruto.

Naruto smiled, realizing he understood his own strength. He had surpassed most of his peers, but he was still no match for true ninjas.

However, this is without using the Nine-Tails' power.

Once he surrenders his body to the Nine-Tails, in its berserk state, even Jonin will be no match for him. He will need to send out a Kage-level expert or several elite Jonin.

To thank Shikamaru and Choji for their sparring, Naruto took out some rice balls and fried chicken from his backpack.

Upon seeing the fried chicken, Choji's eyes lit up. He took the chicken and immediately started eating it with his hands, making crunching sounds.

Shikamaru reluctantly accepted the rice ball, as if he had already lost all worldly desires.

After finishing a chicken leg, Choji took another one from Naruto, looking as happy as a child: "Naruto, the food you brought is so delicious. If I could eat this every day, I would be willing to spar with you every day."

Naruto gave a fatherly smile and left the rest of the fried chicken to Choji.

She brought the rice ball to Shikamaru's side and sat with him on the grass, gazing blankly at the distant forest, the small bridge, and the flowing water.

"Another peaceful day..."

Shikamaru remarked, then noticed Naruto beside him: "Why are you here? Did Choji eat all your food? He always has this bad habit."

"No, I just came to keep you company. After all, you and Choji are the third and fourth friends I've met."

Naruto plucked a blade of grass, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and said.

Shikamaru gave a perfunctory smile, picked up a blade of grass, and said, "I thought Choji and I would be the first and second, but I'm still a step too late. Your first friend should be that little girl from the Hyuga family, right?"

Naruto feigned surprise: "Shikamaru, how did you know about Hinata and me?"

Shikamaru lay back on the grass and said nonchalantly, "Because when Hinata was being bullied that day, Choji and I were on the other side of the street. Choji was originally going to become friends with you then, but I refused."

"why?"

"I was afraid of disturbing your heroic rescue of the damsel in distress..."

"In that case, I should thank you... thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a hero and save the damsel in distress."

Seeing Shikamaru lying on the grass, Naruto imitated him, lying down and gazing at the sky and drifting clouds, while asking the Nine-Tails within him: