In the days that followed, Naruto was forced into a period of secretive living.
Uchiha Satsuki initially proposed that she just step in, confront those most fanatical guys directly, and give them a merciless scolding to make them back off. But after thinking about it, Naruto shook his head and refused.
"…Most of them mean well, even if their methods are a bit excessive." Naruto appeared somewhat helpless. His good nature was one of the things Uchiha Satsuki couldn't do anything about.
However, Uchiha Satsuki immediately changed her mind and even began to secretly hope that this "enthusiasm" would last a little longer.
The reason was simple: as long as Naruto lived in her house, those omnipresent fans would endlessly block the door to ask for autographs, photos, and leave behind a huge pile of gifts that Naruto had no use for.
Thus, at Uchiha Mikoto's enthusiastic invitation, Naruto "temporarily" moved out of his new home and into the Uchiha Clan Compound.
To be precise, he moved directly into a guest room at the Uchiha Clan Leader's residence.
A new routine was thus established: on days when he didn't need to carry out missions, he would be awakened in the early morning by the sound of knocking on his door, right on time, from Uchiha Satsuki.
Then, he would use the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring his mother and Zacian over from his home. Afterward, he would prepare meals for both families together with Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto.
Afterwards, Naruto and Uchiha Satsuki would either Cultivate in a quiet training ground within the Uchiha Clan Compound or use the Flying Thunder God to find a deep mountain forest far from the Village for more undisturbed practical combat training.
Uchiha Satsuki's mood, from the corners of her mouth that she could hardly keep from curling up at the beginning, finally managed to settle into a more normalized calmness after a month, restraining that "proximity" excitement.
But her initiative was perfect, and her emotional value was maxed out; she nodded in agreement to almost any suggestion Naruto made, acting unbelievably well-behaved. She would even "naturally" come to chat with Naruto every night.
But there was one thing that made Naruto feel a bit strange: when he entered Uchiha Satsuki's room, although she wouldn't refuse, she always acted unusually "vigilant".
She would stare intently at Naruto's every move… a bit like a child who had done something wrong and was afraid of being caught?
This was, of course, not Naruto's imagination.
Before Naruto moved in, Uchiha Satsuki had already conducted a cleanup. That special computer that looped real-time footage of Naruto twenty-four hours a day, that life-sized custom Naruto body pillow, those photos she had secretly taken and carefully preserved, and the clothing she had collected through various "legitimate reasons"…
Everything that could be called "dangerous" had been hidden away by her.
Even so, she was still on pins and needles. What if she missed something? What if a bit of "evidence" remained in some corner and was accidentally discovered by Naruto… The mere thought of such a scenario, which was enough to cause her social death, made her back stiffen with tension every time she faced Naruto stepping into her Domain.
The first month passed, and the enthusiasm from the outside world did not wane. One late night, Naruto really missed the taste of Ichiraku Ramen, so he took advantage of the moonlight and used the Flying Thunder God to sneak near the Ichiraku Ramen shop.
However, what he saw was a tightly closed shop door and lights that had long since been extinguished.
He found out the next day that after Naruto's identity was exposed, many of Ichiraku Ramen's regular customers excitedly talked about how this was the "shop most frequently visited by the son of the hero".
The honest Uncle Ichiraku just told the truth, admitting that Naruto had indeed been a regular customer since he was very young, and that he had practically watched him grow up.
As a result, the crowd of people who came for the reputation, just to catch a glimpse of the "seat where the hero once sat" and to taste the "ramen the hero loved most," exploded instantly, forming long lines.
The massive customer traffic and the attention that followed overwhelmed Uncle Ichiraku, and he eventually collapsed from exhaustion, having to close the shop for quite a while to recover.
In the second month, the situation changed a bit. The number of gifts sent to Naruto's new home was still huge, but the frequency seemed to have stabilized, at least enough so that Uzumaki Kushina didn't have to act like a porter every day, sending batches of unused gifts to the Village orphanage.
At the same time, some well-dressed, merchant-like people began to visit. They weren't asking for autographs, but instead brought formal business proposals, respectfully asking Naruto a request he had never thought of: would he be willing to authorize the use of his image?
"I refuse! Is this kind of thing something that can be bought with money? What I did, I didn't do to make people worship me!"
Naruto was instinctively resistant at first, feeling that this behavior was like chasing a celebrity, or was it Bandai behavior?
However, when he carefully looked at the amount marked on the draft contract and the subsequent profit-sharing percentage… and they also promised that every product would be reviewed by Naruto himself before launch.
Naruto originally wanted to righteously rebuke them, but they offered way too much.
Give up so many readily available resources for the sake of so-called "Face"? He was still supporting a fairly large organization under his command with absolutely significant expenses. If Kakuzu found out that he had refused such a huge amount of income that could greatly enrich the organization's treasury, as well as his own personal stash, just because he was "embarrassed".
He would probably be so heartbroken that he would go straight into a state of persistent low-pressure depression. He couldn't let his subordinates down, Naruto persuaded himself like this.
Besides, at worst, after getting the profit share, he and the organization could do more practical things, or return some of the proceeds to people in need in a more secretive way. It could count as taking from "enthusiasm" and using it for "good deeds".
Just like that, amidst the "guest" life in the Uchiha Clan Compound and the "hero worship" fever that continued to ferment outside, several months passed quietly.
The morning sun shone into the spacious Japanese-style dining room of the Uchiha Clan Leader's residence. The air was filled with the warm aroma of food.
The dining table was filled with a sumptuous breakfast, which was still the result of Naruto and his two mothers working together.
Uchiha Satsuki's family of three, plus Naruto and his mother, five people sat around, enjoying family breakfast time.
"Naruto, this thing you prepared today… what was it called again?"
Uzumaki Kushina picked up a strip of food that was fried until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, golden in color, and asked curiously. During this time, Naruto changed up the variety almost every day, preparing all kinds of meals she had never seen before. Breakfast alone had featured steamed buns, flower rolls, siu mai, various noodle soups, and so on. Today's dish was another new variety.
"This is called 'Youtiao' (fried dough stick); it's great with soy milk or white porridge. Give it a try." Naruto replied with a smile and picked one up for himself too.
"Of course I know that," Uzumaki Kushina took a bite, her eyes lighting up slightly, and then she said with a bit of pride, "Not only in Ninja talent, but even in cooking… Naruto being able to have such good skills is all thanks to inheriting my strengths!"
Inside Naruto's inner world, Minato Namikaze just smiled and nodded, saying nothing—or rather, even if he did speak, no one would hear him.
"That's right,"
Uchiha Mikoto continued gently with a smile, her tone carrying relief and a hint of teasing, "It seems Uchiha Satsuki's future life will definitely be very happy. However, in this regard, I'm afraid it will be hard for Uchiha Satsuki to become a 'fully qualified' wife; she'll have to work harder in other areas."
At these words, both Naruto and Uchiha Satsuki lowered their heads, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Uchiha Fugaku ate his meal silently, maintaining his steadiness and silence. Although his daughter had ended up being the one chasing, he had to admit that the blond kid in front of him… really had no flaws to pick on.
Good-tempered, strong, attentive and considerate, good-looking in a sunny and handsome way, and his cooking was beyond reproach. The rarest thing was his devotion.
Uchiha Fugaku was very clear that with Naruto's current sky-high prestige and popularity in Konoha, how many young girls admired him endlessly; gifts and love letters almost never stopped. Yet, this kid never paid attention to those advances even once. He just asked his mother to refuse them.
Not to mention the terrifyingly illustrious background behind him—son of the Fourth Hokage, Personal Disciple of the Fifth Hokage, recognized as the next-generation leader of Konoha… If he were to be stubborn and say a few words because of "father-in-law's dignity," he feared that before Naruto could react, his wife and daughter would express their dissatisfaction with their eyes first.
"Excuse me, is anyone home?"
Just then, a knock came from outside the door, accompanied by a familiar voice that was hearty, but clearly carried a hint of fatigue.
"Oh my, it's the Fifth Hokage." Uchiha Mikoto opened the door with a perfectly polite smile on her Face, "What a rare guest. Please, come in, come in."
Standing outside the door was none other than Jiraiya, wearing the white robe of the god of war. Although he still had that informal, smiling expression, a layer of lingering fatigue shrouded his brows.
"Sorry to disturb you with a visit at this time." As Jiraiya said this, he stepped into the house naturally, his gaze sweeping toward the dining room, "That kid Naruto… he should be here, right?"
"Yes, you are indeed here for Naruto." Uchiha Mikoto turned to the side to lead the way, inviting him gently, "However, since you're here, won't you sit down and have breakfast with us? We were just about to start."
"…Then I'll take you up on that." Jiraiya didn't stand on ceremony and followed Uchiha Mikoto into the dining room. He spotted Naruto sitting at the dining table at a glance, sighed helplessly, and spoke directly.
"Naruto! Why are you still hiding here? It's been several months; things outside have calmed down quite a bit, haven't they? Is it necessary to hide so thoroughly?"
"Well, about that…"
Naruto's expression was somewhat subtle. What could he say? Could he say that he had actually tentatively mentioned "Shouldn't I move back?" several times, only to be kept there by various excuses like "It's not safe outside right now / It's inconvenient / Better stay a while longer"?
He changed the subject. "Jiraiya-sensei, is there something you need me for?"
Jiraiya pulled out an empty chair and sat down, taking the bowl and chopsticks handed to him by Uchiha Mikoto, "After we finish breakfast, you're coming with me."
"Coming with you? Where to?"
"To Mount Myōboku."
Jiraiya picked up a Youtiao, took a bite, and his eyes lit up. But when he spoke about business, his tone became serious, "Remember what I told you before I took you as a student? I still have one trump card technique I haven't taught you yet. Now, we can officially start learning that."
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