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

"Big fox, is the third-generation old man spying on me?"

"No, and besides, kid, don't always try to order me around. I'm not your babysitter. Take care of your own affairs."

Hearing Kurama's words, Naruto felt relieved and said to Shikamaru, "Speaking of which, you and Choji probably didn't just become friends with me, did you? Your sudden appearance is too strange."

"It was my father's idea. I don't know if he received orders from anyone else."

After a pause, Shikamaru continued, "I hate these kinds of troublesome tasks and was originally thinking of just doing them half-heartedly, but after learning about your past, I've decided to become your true friend."

"It seems my charm as a fox spirit is quite great; there are even people willing to become my friends."

Naruto, with a pointed remark, looked at Shikamaru with a cold gaze: "I'm getting more and more curious about who my parents are, that they deserve the attention of so many important people."

Shikamaru's expression changed, but he quickly recovered: "I don't know either, but please trust the village. Those important figures in the village must have their reasons for doing this."

"So you just accept my identity as a fox spirit and don't care if the villagers bully me?"

Naruto's tone gradually returned to calm, but in Shikamaru's eyes, Naruto was even more terrifying than before, like a volcano about to erupt.

As he spoke, Naruto revealed a relaxed smile again:

"But none of that matters anymore. Those villagers don't dare to bully me anymore, otherwise they would suffer the curse of the fox demon. I've also made friends with you and Choji. I'll forget those unpleasant things sooner or later."

"That's what it says in The Will of Fire, isn't it?"

“You’re right…” Shikamaru gave Naruto a deep look, overturning his previous understanding of Naruto.

He previously thought that Naruto had harbored a lot of darkness in his heart due to the bullying of the villagers, but now it seems that in addition to darkness, Naruto's heart also contains a disdainful attitude.

Is Naruto really the same age as him? Or is he just too well protected by his father?

Just then, Shikamaru saw Naruto get up from the grass and asked curiously, "Naruto, where are you going? Aren't you going to play with us?"

Naruto said without turning his head, "Of course we're going fishing. I just saw a lot of fish in the river. Since you guys are willing to come out and play with me, I have to show you my skills."

Shikamaru remained silent, but followed along, along with Choji.

A few hours later, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji lit a bonfire by the river. Next to the bonfire were grilled fish skewered on branches, sizzling with hot oil.

Naruto ate the grilled fish heartily, looked at Shikamaru and Choji, and smiled from the bottom of his heart.

The Nine-Tails inside him said with disdain, "The Third Hokage hasn't been watching you for half a day. These two brats must be his spies. And you're still laughing so happily. Are you out of your mind?"

"But the happiness I feel right now is real... I feel like I can empathize with them."

At that moment, Naruto seemed to have thought of something and grinned mischievously: "Nine-Tailed Fox, are you envious watching us eat grilled fish? I'll bring you some food sometime."

Nine-Tailed Fox scoffed, "I don't crave such culinary pleasures. Besides, don't forget, I'm sealed inside you. How are you going to give me grilled fish?"

“That makes sense…” Naruto agreed wholeheartedly and turned to leave the sealed space.

But just before Kurama showed a forlorn expression, Naruto suddenly turned around, still holding several skewers of grilled fish in his hand, and walked up to the iron gate, handing them over and saying:

"This is for you. Since you can use chakra to influence my emotions, I can also use chakra to record the taste of grilled fish and turn it into food in the sealed space so that I can share the deliciousness with you."

"As I've said before, I have no interest in gluttony..."

Nine-Tailed Fox shook its head haughtily, looking very proud.

Naruto smiled, put down the grilled fish, and tactfully left the sealed space. Back in the real world, a crisp notification sound rang in his ears:

"Nine Lama's favorability towards you has reached approval, and you have gained 'Malice Perception lv1'."

Chapter 14 Admission Notice

After returning home, Naruto sat on the sofa chatting with Kurama (the Nine-Tails) to pass the time while boiling water.

"Big fox, how does the grilled fish taste? My cooking skills are pretty good, right? If you like it, I'll share this chakra with you every day from now on, which is full of delicious flavors."

Nine-Tails didn't speak, but the system notification sound earlier had already given away its thoughts.

After a long while, Nine-Tailed Fox snorted coldly and said, "So-so. I've eaten much better things before. You can't bribe me with these things."

You've been sealed away for decades... Naruto didn't expose the Nine-Tails, but instead pondered how to change the situation.

Having just obtained the weakened version of 'Malice Perception', he was able to clearly sense the chakra of the surrounding ninjas, thus gaining a preliminary means of countering surveillance.

The next step is to raise our strength to a level that the Anbu and the Third Hokage cannot easily monitor.

To quickly improve his strength, he had to learn ninjutsu, but he only had the 'Three Body Technique' and 'Gentle Fist', the latter of which was something that could not be revealed to the public.

To acquire new ninjutsu, one must either develop it oneself or wait until after enrolling in the Ninja Academy.

Just then, Naruto heard a knock on the door. Standing outside was the familiar old man, the Third Hokage, whose lifelong reputation had almost been ruined last time.

"Grandpa Hokage, I've already eaten."

The Third Hokage was about to greet Naruto when he heard his words and was immediately struck by a critical blow.

So, in Naruto's eyes, I was just an old man who freeloaded on meals?

As a Hokage, the fact that I need to come to your house for a meal is all to take care of you.

Despite his thoughts, the Third Hokage still said, "I've already eaten. I came here today to check on your learning progress and see if you can become an excellent ninja in the future."

Naruto said "Oh," and then said, "Grandpa Hokage, I've learned the Substitution Jutsu and the Transformation Jutsu, but I can't seem to get the Shadow Clone Jutsu right. It seems like I'm being interfered with."

"Did it get interfered with?"

The Third Hokage frowned slightly, then thought of the Nine-Tails on Naruto's body, wondering if the seal had loosened.

However, even standing in front of Naruto, he couldn't sense the Nine-Tails' chakra aura, so the seal should be intact. As for Naruto not learning the Shadow Clone Technique, it's probably because he lacks talent in that area, just like Minato.

After filling in the blanks in his mind, the Third Hokage smiled and said, "Naruto is already a little genius. He can practice the Shadow Clone Technique slowly later. There's plenty of time."

"So, between me and Grandpa Hokage when we were kids, who was stronger?"

The Third Hokage recalled his childhood and, against his conscience, said, "Of course I was stronger when I was young, but you might surpass me in the future, so you have to work hard."

Naruto nodded: "I understand. I will become an excellent ninja in the future."

Is that all there is to it?

The Third Hokage patiently guided him, asking, "After becoming an excellent ninja, do you have any other wishes? For example, becoming Hokage or gaining recognition from everyone."

Naruto shook his head: "I don't have such lofty ideals. Becoming an excellent ninja and protecting the people I care about is enough. I don't need to become Hokage, nor do I need to gain everyone's approval."

The Third Hokage was somewhat troubled. In his view, Naruto had grasped some of the Will of Fire, but not much.

However, if the Third Hokage really knew Naruto's thoughts, he would probably outwardly support him but inwardly harbor rebellious intentions.

The Third Hokage asked, "Naruto, who are the people in the village that you care about?"

Without hesitation, Naruto said, "Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji, and the Hokage. Apart from that, I don't care about anyone else. They're all cold, indifferent strangers."

The Third Hokage smiled and said, "It seems you've made three friends during this time. I believe you'll make even more friends in the future, and then you'll understand the importance of recognition."

Naruto didn't want to discuss this and deliberately changed the subject:

"Grandpa Hokage, besides the Three Body Techniques, I want to learn more ninjutsu so that I can become an excellent ninja. Can you give me more ninjutsu?"

"Of course, but we need to test your chakra attributes first."

As he spoke, the Third Hokage took out a chakra test strip. Naruto took the test strip, poured in his chakra, and the test strip immediately tore in the middle.

"Grandpa Hokage, what is my chakra nature?"

The Third Hokage stroked his beard and said, "It seems your chakra nature is wind. That's a rare nature. You're quite lucky."

"A rare attribute, is it strong?" Naruto was already used to the child's tone of voice.

The Third Hokage nodded slightly and smiled awkwardly, "Wind Release is a very good attribute, but I don't have many Wind Release ninjutsu suitable for you to learn. I'll have to go back and look for some."

This time, the Third Hokage didn't lie to Naruto.

The village doesn't have many Wind Release techniques in its collection, and the most advanced ones are all in the hands of his old friend Danzo, so they're really hard to get.

Hearing this, Naruto was somewhat disappointed and said to the Third Hokage, "Grandpa Hokage, I only have Wind Release chakra. Can I learn other ninjutsu?"

"Of course you can, but that's not something you can consider right now. If you want to learn this knowledge, you need to go to the Ninja Academy and become a student."

As he spoke, the Third Hokage took out his Ninja Academy admission notice, which was the real reason he had come here.

Although Naruto is a genius, even geniuses need to receive systematic learning, and the Ninja Academy is the best place for that. Only in the Ninja Academy can true bonds be cultivated, and can one understand the Will of Fire and love.

After the Third Hokage left, the gold-embossed admission notice and the advanced Shadow Clone Technique were placed on the table.

Looking at his admission notice, Naruto suddenly realized that he had been directly admitted to the Ninja Academy without needing to take the entrance exam.

"Nine-Tails, I have to go to school."

Naruto told Kurama the news, but Kurama wasn't interested. It just said as if it hadn't woken up properly, "Yeah, you're going to school. Congratulations on becoming a primary school student soon."

Picking up his admission notice, Naruto glanced at the principal's signature and stamp, as well as the specific start date, and began to imagine his future life at the ninja academy.

After putting down the notice, Naruto looked at the Shadow Clone Technique, determined to master this ninjutsu before the start of the school year.

Now, there are only a few months left before the start of the Ninja Academy.

For most people, there would definitely not be enough time, but for him, it was enough.

Chapter 15 Hinata's Gift

A few days later, in the training ground in the grove.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

With a soft shout from Naruto, two shadow clones immediately appeared beside him, rushing towards Shikamaru and Choji and wrestling with them.

When the difference in strength is not significant, the advantage of numbers becomes extremely important.

Shikamaru and Choji couldn't hold out for long and both gave up, choosing to admit defeat.

Seeing Shikamaru and Choji admit defeat, Naruto voluntarily dispelled the Shadow Clone Technique and smilingly took out the bento box he had prepared beforehand.

With the help of Shikamaru and Choji, and without Kurama's interference, he mastered the Shadow Clone Technique in just a few days, proving his talent in ninjutsu.

If Naruto in the original story had been like me earlier, he would never have become the worst student in his class.

After their sparring session ended, Shikamaru and Choji looked at Naruto as if he were a monster, and even began to doubt whether the rumors about the demon fox were true.

Otherwise, given their similar ages, they would only be learning the family's secret techniques and the Three Bodies Technique at a very young age.

However, Naruto had already mastered the Three Body Technique to a high degree, and even mastered the advanced version, Shadow Clone Technique, which is a B-rank ninjutsu and extremely difficult to learn.