"Hey, hey, where should I go to recruit people?"
With his hands behind his head, Naruto strolled casually down the busy street, glancing around from time to time.
It was one of those rare occasions—he was wandering around alone, without the rest of Team 7.
Even though he had graduated early, it wasn't like an entire team had to stick together every single day.
After Guy's team said they were going off for more secret training, Kakashi also took the chance to dismiss Team 7 for the day.
Sasuke said he had to go home on time for lunch.
The expression on his face when he said that—there was no better way to describe it than "awkward," like a mischievous kid whose parents didn't quite trust him.
Sakura said she planned to visit Mikoto-san another day, but Sasuke immediately turned her down, saying she shouldn't bother his mother for no reason.
That one sentence directly blocked Naruto's follow-up request of, "Can I come over for lunch too?" before he could even say it.
Of course, Sasuke didn't know what Naruto was about to say. Before leaving, he glanced at Naruto, hesitated for a second, and then walked away without looking back.
Yeah, right! As if young master Sasuke would ever take the initiative to invite someone to his house—unless someone else brought it up first.
Leaving aside Sasuke, who probably got scolded by Mikoto once he got home, that was how Naruto ended up wandering around the village by himself.
Actually, it couldn't really be called wandering.
After finishing Chapter 2 of the story—the Land of Waves arc—this guy had been moved to tears.
But before he could even share his emotional thoughts, a new feature popped up that immediately grabbed his attention.
[Organization]
After completing Chapter 2 of the story, players unlocked the Organization feature.
You could create your own organization and invite other players to join. The current member limit was ten people.
Naruto didn't really know what having an organization would lead to, but he was very excited.
After all, playing a game with a bunch of friends—what could be more fun than that?
When he entered the Organization page, he saw that many groups had already been created. But he didn't have the slightest interest in joining any of them.
Come on, of course he was going to make his own!
[Uzumaki Naruto — Organization Created]
Naruto didn't feel even a bit embarrassed. He boldly named his organization after himself.
But looking at the empty page—with only his name listed—he scratched his head.
"I guess I should invite some people... but who would come?"
He didn't know who to ask, so he just wandered through the village, hoping to bump into someone suitable.
And then, as if by fate, he suddenly looked up and saw four familiar figures walking toward him.
"Kiba?" Naruto's face lit up as he waved excitedly. "Kiba! Over here!"
He had just been worrying about not finding anyone he knew, and now—perfect timing!
As the saying goes, when you're looking at someone, sometimes they're looking right back at you. That was exactly the case here.
"Oh, Naruto, huh?" Kiba and the others spotted him too. They didn't think much of it—just a casual encounter.
"What are you guys up to?" Naruto asked eagerly as soon as they got close.
"Naruto, do we really need to report that to you?" Kiba rolled his eyes, then introduced Kurenai to him.
"Hehe, sorry about that." Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"We just finished some coffee, and also..." Shino stared at Naruto and said, "Did you just call only Kiba's name?"
"What? What do you mean... uh, Shino?" Naruto blinked in confusion.
Even with the sunglasses on, he could somehow feel the faint aura of resentment radiating from Shino.
"As I thought..." Shino said quietly, "When you tried to remember my name—you hesitated."
"Alright, alright, enough already!" Kiba interrupted him before it got weirder. He turned to Naruto and asked, "So what are you doing out here anyway?"
Naruto was just about to talk about the Organization thing when something caught his eye. He shifted his foot to the side—and saw Hinata, fast asleep on Kurenai-sensei's back.
"Kurenai-sensei, what's up with Hinata?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Hinata drank the same black coffee you did, and fainted instantly," Kurenai sighed.
At her words, Naruto's mouth twitched. That awful, unforgettable feeling he'd managed to suppress came rushing back all at once.
He quickly shook his head to push it away, then looked at Hinata with genuine admiration.
"Hinata, huh? I thought she was just a quiet type... didn't expect her to be this impressive!"
Kiba and Shino exchanged a glance, both utterly speechless.
So that's what you think, huh? Incredible!!
"Naruto, you look like you've got something to say," Kurenai said quickly, both relieved Hinata couldn't hear and eager to change the subject.
"Oh, right, right!" Naruto snapped back to reality and hurriedly explained everything about unlocking the Organization feature.
But to his surprise, they already knew.
"Naruto, you're not planning to invite us, are you?" Kiba shook his head. "Sorry, but I'll probably join one with my clan members."
"Woof! Woof!" Akamaru barked in agreement.
"Same here. My clan's the same way," Shino added. "Hinata probably will too."
Naruto's disappointment was written all over his face, but he forced a smile anyway.
"Alright, alright, clan rules—I've heard about those."
"Naruto, what about your Team 7?" Kurenai asked curiously.
Haruno Sakura was a civilian, and besides Sasuke's revived mother, the Uchiha had no other members.
As for Kakashi—though he was Kurenai's peer—she knew there weren't many people who could have a casual chat with that man.
So it only made sense that the members of Team 7 would stick together in one organization.
"An organization needs ten people! Even if I count Sasuke and the others, that's only four—we're still six short!" Naruto said with a regretful shrug.
But just as he finished speaking, something clicked in his mind. His eyes lit up. Oh right! How could he forget about him!
"I gotta go! See ya!" Naruto waved to Kiba's group and dashed off.
"This guy... always in a rush. Wonder who he's off to bother now," Kiba muttered.
Beside him, Kurenai and Shino nodded in full agreement.
"Kiba, when your clan organizes its members into groups, make sure the higher-ranked ones are put together," Kurenai reminded him.
"Don't worry! My mom's got it covered!" Kiba gave her a thumbs-up with a grin.
"Then that's perfect! Hehe!"
...
At Cube Internet Café, Naruto stood holding a cup of coffee in one hand and his phone in the other, giving Kuroda a bright, hopeful grin.
Kuroda looked at him, speechless.
He knew the Organization feature was inevitable—but he never expected Naruto to come looking for him.
That's right! Naruto had come to recruit Kuroda into his organization!
And to do so, he'd even made a major sacrifice: drinking a cup of Kuroda's personally brewed coffee.
"Naruto, what made you think of asking me?" Kuroda asked with mild amusement, not rushing to turn him down.
"Because the café boss is super strong! With you on board, my organization will definitely become awesome!" Naruto said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Well... that was a surprisingly convincing reason.
"But you've never once called me by my actual name," Kuroda said flatly, dead-eyed.
"Relax, of course I know your name. I just think 'The overconfident café owner whose coffee tastes terrible' sounds way better, don't you?"
"Absolutely. Not. At. All!!"