Naruto, Hinata, and Karin searched the entire mansion left by the Uzumaki clan in Konoha Village.
They didn't find any useful intelligence. It was like an old, abandoned mansion.
"I've decided. From now on, this place belongs to me, Naruto," Naruto said with a beaming smile.
Naruto thought to himself: There's an iron box placed by the Third Hokage in this mansion. It means the Third Hokage could enter through the barrier, which proves he owned this place.
Now that the Third Hokage has passed away, and Tanzo is in my hands, no one will probably notice if I use this mansion as my secret stronghold.
Naruto made up his mind. He asked Karin to stay and guard the place, then left with Hinata.
They hadn't gone far when a group of ninjas from Kusagakure Village surrounded Naruto.
"Kusagakure Village?" Naruto said bluntly. "Konoha has just gone through a war. The whole village is mourning the dead. The Chunin Exams are over. Why aren't you guys leaving?"
"Hand over Karin!"
"I think you guys want to become fertilizer for Konoha Village."
"The Third Hokage has promised us," a Kusagakure ninja said astonishingly. "With the Third Hokage's promise, we won't pursue the previous matter, but you must hand over Karin."
Before the Final Round of the Chunin Exams, Naruto had killed a Chunin from Kusagakure Village to save Karin.
Naruto got angry. He dashed forward with extremely fast movement, intending to teach these ignorant guys a lesson.
When Naruto rushed over, the Kusagakure ninjas were obviously startled. Suddenly, several dark figures blocked in front of Naruto.
Naruto stopped his attacking movement. When he took a closer look, he was surprised to find that they were Anbu ninjas from Konoha Village.
The Anbu ninjas from Konoha Village said, "Naruto, this is indeed an order from the Third Hokage."
"Oh?" Naruto asked indifferently. "Wasn't the Third Hokage already sacrificed? When did he give this order?"
The Anbu ninja explained: "Before the Final Round of the Chunin Exams, you killed a Chunin from Kusagakure Village, which is on good terms with Konoha. The Third Hokage tried his best to protect you."
The people from Kusagakure Village put forward a request, asking Konoha to hand over Karin and punish Naruto. They even demanded that Naruto pay with his life.
The Third Hokage had a big headache at that time. But no matter how bad things Naruto did, he couldn't agree to Kusagakure's request to punish Naruto.
The Third Hokage immediately opposed punishing Naruto, but he could compensate for Kusagakure's losses. Karin must be returned to Kusagakure Village.
Relying on his own prestige, the Third Hokage suppressed this matter. Since Kusagakure Village was relatively weak in strength, they couldn't say much and could only agree to the Third Hokage's solution.
After listening to the process described by the Anbu ninja, Naruto said boredly, "Really? Well, I'm really deeply grateful, extremely grateful."
The Anbu ninja said firmly, "But you must hand over Karin. She's from Kusagakure Village, not Konoha."
Naruto put on a bored expression and replied perfunctorily, "Karin doesn't like Konoha now. She left long ago. Maybe she's already back in Kusagakure Village." Naruto lied.
"You dare to disobey the orders of the Third Hokage!" The ninjas from Kusagakure Village actually brought up the name of the Third Hokage.
"..." Naruto glared at the ninjas from Kusagakure Village, scanned the area, and said, "This is Konoha. You outsiders are trying to overpower me with the Hokage's name?"
"Hehe..." Naruto even found it a bit laughable.
"Naruto, think about Konoha. Karin isn't from Konoha. Don't let a small matter ruin the big picture." An Anbu ninja persuaded, "Since Orochimaru invaded Konoha, we've been enhancing the village's defenses. We never noticed Karin leaving."
"Then go look for her yourself. Don't bother me," Naruto said in a deep voice. "I'm telling you, the era of the Third Hokage has ended. The era of the Fifth Hokage is approaching."
Naruto grabbed Hinata's little hand, scowled at the crowd, and said, "I'm leaving Konoha Village for a while. I'm going to bring back the Fifth Hokage for Konoha."
After saying that, Naruto stared at the ninjas from Kusagakure Village as if they were dead.
Naruto thought to himself: I'm deliberately telling you right in front of you that I'll be leaving Konoha. If you have the guts, come out of the village and come after me!
The ninjas from Kusagakure Village were extremely dissatisfied. They thought Naruto was being pushy. They had already given in again and again, showing enough respect to Konoha, but Naruto still refused to hand over Karin.
The ninjas from Kusagakure Village thought: You dare to leave Konoha? I'll make your life a living hell... You idiot. Why did the Third Hokage go to such lengths to protect you...
Naruto pulled Hinata's hand and left. The two walked arm in arm on the streets of Konoha.
Hinata asked worriedly, "Naruto-kun, is it really okay for us to disobey the orders of the Third Hokage?"
"Is there any need to obey the orders of a deceased Hokage?" Naruto stroked Hinata's head.
Then he comforted her and said, "Don't be afraid. I'll invite back a very powerful old woman. That guy is very protective and won't allow outsiders to infringe on Konoha's dignity."
"Naruto—Long time no see—" Jiraiya suddenly appeared out of thin air.
"Finally decided to show your face, Lustful Sage."
"Hey, there's an outsider here," Jiraiya gave Hinata a look, indicating that she was there, and then said, "Don't call me that randomly."
"What do you want from me?"
"Of course, I'm here to take you on traveling training," Jiraiya said proudly.
"Hehe." Naruto thought to himself: So we're going to find Tsunade.
"No problem. I'll go with you," Naruto pulled Hinata and said, "She's coming with us too."
"Um..." Jiraiya looked very reluctant. He pursed his lips and stared at Naruto and Hinata's joined hands for a long time.
Jiraiya directly shoved Naruto aside and whispered, "Naruto, you little rascal. When did you manage to deceive this little girl?"
"What are you talking about?" Naruto was stunned for a moment and said, "I courted her openly and aboveboard."
"Oh—" Jiraiya couldn't believe it. Looking at Naruto's dull - witted expression, he couldn't believe that he had managed to land a girlfriend at such a young age.
"No way! You can't take a woman on a training trip!"
Jiraiya's voice came, "Why not?"
"Have you ever heard of the Three Taboos for Ninjas? There are three desires that can turn a ninja into a good-for-nothing: women, money, and alcohol."
"..." Naruto looked at Jiraiya like he was an idiot and thought to himself: Are you kidding me? You're such a liar...
"Alcohol can numb a ninja, money can corrupt a ninja, and women can make a ninja lose themselves. These are three very terrible desires." Jiraiya said seriously, "Next, we're going on a traveling training. Another purpose of this traveling training is to find a woman named Tsunade."
"Tsunade used to be a very powerful ninja, but she's addicted to gambling and has become a slave to money."
"..." Naruto continued to look at Jiraiya like he was an idiot and thought to himself: You're no different! How dare you point fingers at others...
"So we absolutely can't take a woman with us on the training." Jiraiya said firmly.
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