That hateful Third Hokage… handsome old fox.
At this moment, Naruto was still very weak. Without tricks and schemes, there was no way he could take part in the future Hyuga Hizashi incident.
If that happened, all his planning over the years would become meaningless.
After all, Naruto had never received proper ninja training. Even with some advantages, he was still just a three-year-old child.
At best, he was like a child holding a machete.
As for Hinata's situation, some events had fixed timelines while others did not. But if things went well, Hyuga Hiashi would eventually have no choice but to accept Naruto.
Even Naruto—who had lived two lives—could not conquer the ninja world alone after the Sage of Six Paths had taken back his power.
His strength was nowhere near the level of Hashirama Senju, so he still needed to carefully calculate which forces to gather and which allies to gain.
On the way home, Naruto passed by a dango shop.
Inside, Uchiha Itachi was smiling gently while feeding dango to his little brother.
The happiness on Sasuke's face was obvious.
Naruto's eyes lit up when he saw them.
Whether he could reach the level of Uchiha Madara in the future might depend on these two brothers.
Naruto smiled and stepped forward.
"Hey, Itachi!"
Sasuke's face darkened immediately.
"What are you doing here, bastard?!"
Sasuke spoke angrily. He had finally gotten some time alone with his beloved older brother, and now Naruto had appeared to ruin it.
Naruto showed a few silver coins proudly.
"Of course I came to eat! I'm rich now! Boss, give me something to eat!"
The shop owner looked at Naruto calmly.
"This is a dessert shop."
"Oh…"
Naruto quietly put the money away and muttered,
"Itachi likes sweets."
Sasuke immediately exploded in anger.
"I challenge you to a duel!"
Naruto clapped his hands happily.
"Sure~!"
This was exactly what Naruto wanted.
He had defeated Sasuke many times before.
Every time they fought, Naruto easily won.
With the bloodline and talent inherited from Minato Namikaze, Naruto naturally had an advantage over the Uchiha clan before they awakened powerful abilities.
If the power of the Nine-Tails had not been sealed, Naruto's talent might have been the greatest in the ninja world.
Naruto kept provoking Sasuke for one reason: to push Sasuke to awaken his Sharingan faster.
According to the original timeline, Sasuke would only awaken the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan much later.
But Naruto had his own plans.
So he kept targeting Sasuke, hoping Sasuke would grow stronger as quickly as possible.
Because of this, Naruto often wandered near the Uchiha clan compound, waiting for a chance to challenge Sasuke.
This made the ANBU watching Naruto very nervous.
Everyone in Konoha's high ranks knew that the Nine-Tails attack had involved the power of the Sharingan.
So in their eyes, Naruto provoking the Uchiha clan looked almost like suicide.
Fortunately, Uchiha Fugaku had no intention of starting a rebellion at this time.
And the Uchiha clan had not yet reached the point of open conflict with the village.
Fugaku and Itachi both watched Naruto carefully.
After all, Sasuke's growth had become much faster since he began fighting Naruto.
But for Sasuke, this was painful.
Naruto had the mind of someone who had lived two lives.
Sasuke was still just a child.
So almost every time they met, Sasuke ended up getting beaten.
Eventually, Sasuke even tried to avoid Naruto on the streets.
But strangely, Naruto always appeared whenever Sasuke came out to buy food.
Of course, Sasuke didn't know that Naruto was patiently waiting for these chances.
This time, however, Sasuke could not tolerate it anymore.
Even if Naruto was provoking him, Sasuke would never allow Naruto to insult his older brother.
So he gathered his courage and challenged Naruto.
Naruto immediately grinned and dragged Sasuke toward a training ground.
"Come on~"
Sasuke: ???
Of course, Sasuke had no idea about Naruto's "two lifetimes of experience."
He took out a pair of small goggles from his pocket and pointed proudly at Naruto.
"Hmph! I'm not the same as last week! My brother taught me a new technique! If you don't want to get hurt, you should surrender now!"
But Naruto ignored him.
He simply stood there… picking his nose.
"Pfft~"
He even flicked it away.
Sasuke exploded with rage.
"You're asking to die!"
Furious, Sasuke charged forward.
Five minutes later…
Naruto walked out of the training ground calmly.
Sasuke, however, could barely see the light anymore.
Itachi stepped forward and gently carried his younger brother onto his back.
Lying on Itachi's back, Sasuke complained sadly,
"Brother… why didn't you stop him?"
Itachi didn't answer directly.
Instead, he looked at Naruto's departing back and said seriously,
"Sasuke… remember this feeling."
"In this life, having a rival like Naruto is valuable. He is someone worth chasing."
Itachi knew about Naruto.
Naruto's mother had once been his own mother's best friend.
So even though he was still a child, he would not interfere in the boys' fights.
And because he had already experienced the pain of losing a teammate, Itachi could clearly see that Naruto had been holding back the whole time.
But when Sasuke heard those words, his face fell.
After all…
It wasn't Itachi who had just been beaten.
And in a moment, Sasuke would have to face his father.