Chapter 162:
Creak~
The sound of the door closing reached Little Black's ears. But instead of heading straight to her own bedroom, she found herself inexplicably drawn to the door of Naruto's room, secretly listening to the sounds inside.
Sakyo: "Naruto, you really threw everything in here."
Naruto: "Hehe, after all, I hit every single one myself. These plushies are pretty well-made."
Naruto: "Like them? They're all yours~"
Sakyo: "Hmph~ You didn't actually believe Haruno Sakura's nonsense and think no one can resist the temptation of a teddy bear, did you?"
Naruto: "So you don't like them?"
Sakyo: "Wuu~ I didn't say that~"
Outside the door, mist gradually rose in Little Black's eyes. It seemed Naruto and Sakyo hadn't noticed her state at all.
In Naruto and Sakyo's eyes, there was only each other. She, Little Black, was just an outsider.
Raising her hand, she wiped away the aggrieved tears. Enduring the indescribable discomfort, Little Black quietly returned to her own room.
The room had been specially arranged by Naruto. Inside were many very interesting little toys. Normally, given Little Black's personality, she would have pounced on them joyfully and studied them thoroughly.
But at this moment, Little Black sat listlessly on the bed, hugging her knees and staring blankly at the warm room.
Noticing a mirror in the corner, Little Black walked over and looked at herself in it.
She had the exact same body as Sakyo, nearly identical memories.
But… the way Naruto treated the two of them was completely different.
Little Black suddenly bit her lip hard. A crystal-clear tear slid down her cheek.
Thinking that Naruto and Sakyo were cuddling and sleeping together right next door, Little Black felt an indescribable pain.
She just wanted to cry—she couldn't explain exactly why.
Because all her knowledge came from Sakyo. In areas Sakyo had never touched, everything was unknown to her.
…
Late at night, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen was sitting in his office, working overtime.
Even at his age, he still worked so diligently—he truly was the model employee of the Will of Fire for decades.
Knock knock~
A knock came at the door. Sarutobi Hiruzen said: "Come in."
At this hour, no one would disturb him unless it was something particularly important.
A Konoha ninja wearing a forehead protector entered from outside and handed a prepared mission report to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen read it for a while, his mouth twitching slightly.
Uzumaki Narumon?
Wasn't that just Uzumaki Naruto!
Naruto had his shadow clone inform him that he was going out for a while.
As Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew Konoha could no longer take a hard line against Naruto, so he had no choice but to agree.
If you can't beat them, win them over with emotions.
After all, a jinchūriki's sense of belonging to the village was also very important.
But as a result, not long after Naruto left, he caused trouble for Sarutobi Hiruzen.
A member of the Uchiha clan beside Naruto had used Amaterasu to kill the descendant of a high-ranking official in the Land of Fire's daimyō mansion.
Afterward, Naruto rejected all suggestions from the local guardian ninja and even threatened them.
"Sigh…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen put down the report, rubbed his temples, looking like he had a massive headache.
The guardian ninja, seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen in such difficulty, spoke: "Hokage-sama, such a genius has appeared in Sunagakure, and he's running wild in the Land of Fire. Should we…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head: "No, that's one of our Konoha ninja."
Guardian ninja: "Uh…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "I'll handle this. Go back and tell Ransai not to trouble Uzumaki Nar… mon."
Guardian ninja: "Yes!"
After the person left, Sarutobi Hiruzen took out his pipe, lit it, took a deep drag, and pondered in his mind.
In Sarutobi Hiruzen's view, Uzumaki Naruto's attitude toward Konoha was still acceptable. Although his childhood experiences might affect his sense of belonging to the village, Sarutobi Hiruzen could see that Naruto was a relatively lazy person.
If Konoha treated Naruto better in attitude and decisions, didn't provoke him proactively, or touch his bottom line, Naruto probably wouldn't turn against Konoha.
Then…
"Someone!"
Swish~
A white-haired ANBU appeared. Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered: "Kakashi, take the news of Mizunaka's death to the daimyō's mansion. Also, have Mizunaka's previous generation personally apologize to that Uchiha clan member beside Naruto."
Kakashi: "Yes!"
The Uchiha clan member beside Naruto—no need to think—it was Sakyo.
Sakyo was also an extreme genius, and her relationship with Naruto was extremely close.
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't want to make an enemy of the last Uchiha over such a stupid matter.
According to the mission report, although Mizunaka was dead, his family elders must come forward to apologize.
On the surface, everyone in the world believed that since the daimyō's mansion funded and maintained the ninja village, they were the village's sugar daddy—the client father.
But… to put it bluntly, in the eyes of the ninja village, the daimyō's mansion was just paying protection fees…
Moreover, Konoha's founding was largely thanks to the Uchiha and Senju clans.
If word got out that a high-ranking descendant from the daimyō's mansion tried to humiliate the last underage member of the Uchiha founding clan, and Konoha did nothing… what would people think of Konoha?
What was the Uchiha clan?
A ninja clan that once made the entire ninja world tremble in fear—one of the two founding clans of Konoha.
Even though they had declined now, as a founding clan of the village, if their last member was humiliated by something like the daimyō's mansion, Konoha might as well disband on the spot.
Forget Mizunaka—even the daimyō himself probably couldn't compare to the last Uchiha clan member in the hearts of ninja.
The daimyō might hold high position and power, but when one died, another could be chosen—anyone could be daimyō.
But with an Uchiha clan member, after a few generations, they could cultivate a powerful ninja clan that swept half the world. What could the daimyō compare with? Their pitiful funding?
In such a situation, if Konoha had no response at all…
Wouldn't they be looked down upon?
Is Konoha kneeling now? Has the village's combat power fallen so far that even the daimyō's mansion can bully you? Then can I bully you too?
But Sarutobi Hiruzen overlooked one crucial detail:
That Uchiha clan member… wasn't Uchiha Sakyo.
It was a being born from Uchiha Sakyo's mental world… now named Little Black.
…
"Ah~"
In the morning, Naruto stretched comfortably. The slight movement woke Sakyo sleeping beside him.
With the experience from last time, Sakyo opened her eyes proactively to avoid being threatened by Naruto again.
As a result…
Naruto immediately leaned over without hesitation and planted a kiss on Sakyo's cheek.
Chuu~
Sakyo pretended to be lazy and wiped the drool off her face: "Haa… so early in the morning, don't be so excessive."
Naruto: "If you say that, it just makes me want to do more!"
Chuu~ chuu chuu~ chuu chuu chuu chuu~~~ chuu~
Full story is already complete and
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