Kyuubi's Favorability Towards You Increases
The sparring session ended quickly. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji leaned against the massive tree, catching their breath.
One day, they might become great shinobi, surpassing most of their peers. But right now, they were just brats—easily defeated by a capable genin.
Still munching on his bag of chips, Choji said, "Naruto, you're really strong. You could probably keep up with the senior students at the Academy. Shikamaru and I don't stand a chance against you."
Shikamaru, still processing their loss, looked at Naruto with a hint of surprise. Even though he and Choji had teamed up, they couldn't bring Naruto down.
Naruto simply smiled. He understood his own strength—stronger than most of his classmates, yet still not enough to compete with real shinobi.
And that was without using the power of the Nine-Tails.
If he let Kurama take over, it wouldn't be a simple match anymore. A jōnin wouldn't be enough to stop him; only a high-level elite shinobi could.
As a token of appreciation for sparring with him, Naruto pulled out some rice balls and fried chicken from his backpack.
Choji's eyes instantly lit up at the sight of the food. Taking a drumstick, he eagerly chomped down, the crisp skin crackling between his teeth.
Shikamaru, meanwhile, took a rice ball with a reluctant sigh, as if the act of eating was just another burden in his already troublesome life.
After finishing one drumstick, Choji immediately reached for another, grinning like a kid at a festival. "Naruto, this is amazing! If I could eat this every day, I'd spar with you all the time!"
Naruto chuckled and handed the rest of the fried chicken to him, his expression resembling that of a doting older brother.
Sitting beside Shikamaru, Naruto nibbled on his own rice ball, gazing at the distant bridge and flowing river in a daze.
"Another quiet day…"
Shikamaru exhaled slowly, then turned to Naruto. "Hey, why are you here? Did Choji eat all your food again? He always does that."
Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I just felt like keeping you company. You and Choji are the third and fourth friends I've made."
Plucking a blade of grass, he chewed on it absentmindedly.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I figured we'd be the first and second. Who beat us to it? Don't tell me it's that girl from the Hyūga clan—Hinata?"
Naruto blinked. "Shikamaru, how'd you know about me and Hinata?"
Shikamaru lay back against the grass, arms folded behind his head. "Because when those bullies cornered Hinata that day, Choji and I were watching from across the street. Choji actually wanted to step in, but I stopped him."
"Why?"
"I didn't want to get in the way of a hero rescuing his princess."
Naruto laughed. "Well, in that case, I guess I should be thanking you—for giving me my hero moment."
As he lay there, Naruto let his mind drift and called out to the presence within him:
"Hey, Kurama, is the Old Man watching me right now?"
"No, brat," the Nine-Tails rumbled. "And stop acting like I'm your personal scout. I'm not your babysitter."
Hearing that, Naruto let out a breath of relief. Then, turning to Shikamaru, he asked, "By the way, you and Choji showing up like this… feels too convenient. You sure you're just hanging out?"
Shikamaru didn't answer right away. After a moment, he muttered, "My dad thought it'd be a good idea for us to get to know you. I don't know if he got orders from someone higher up, though."
He sighed before adding, "I thought it'd be a drag, just another annoying task. But after getting to know you, I figured—why not be real friends?"
Naruto smirked. "Guess my demon fox charm is irresistible, huh? Even you can't resist befriending me."
For a second, his expression darkened, his voice lowering to a near whisper. "But seriously… I wonder why so many important people care about me. Who were my parents?"
Shikamaru stiffened at the question but quickly masked his reaction. "I don't know. But you should trust the village. If the higher-ups are keeping things secret, they must have their reasons."
"So you just accept that I'm the 'demon fox' and ignore how the villagers treated me?"
Naruto's voice was calm, but to Shikamaru, it felt more dangerous than if he had yelled.
Then, just as suddenly, Naruto grinned again. "Well, whatever. These days, the villagers don't mess with me anymore. If they do, they'll get to see just how 'cursed' I really am. And besides… I have friends like you and Choji now. Maybe, eventually, the bad memories won't matter anymore."
"That's the whole idea behind the Will of Fire, isn't it?"
Shikamaru studied Naruto carefully, reassessing the boy he thought he understood. He used to believe Naruto was simply hiding his pain behind a loud personality. But now, he saw something more—Naruto wasn't just carrying darkness… he had learned to disregard it entirely.
Was Naruto really their age? Or had he been forced to mature far beyond them?
Before Shikamaru could say anything, Naruto suddenly got up.
"Where are you going?" Shikamaru asked. "Not tired of us already?"
Naruto stretched, grinning. "Nah. I just spotted some fish in the river. Thought I'd show off my fishing skills. You coming?"
Shikamaru sighed but followed, with Choji happily tagging along.
---
A few hours later, the three sat around a fire by the river, roasting freshly caught fish on skewers. The golden-brown meat sizzled as the juices dripped into the flames.
Naruto took a bite and looked at his two friends, smiling for real this time.
Inside his mind, Kurama scoffed. "The Third Hokage hasn't been monitoring you in a while. But those two brats? They're probably his spies. And yet you're here grinning like a fool. You're too soft."
Naruto chewed his food thoughtfully. "Maybe. But this moment feels real… and that's enough for now."
Suddenly, a mischievous idea struck him. Smirking, he teased, "Hey, Kurama, bet you're jealous watching us eat. If you want, I can bring you some fish next time."
Kurama snorted. "As if I'd care about human food. And besides, how exactly would you even feed me?"
"Good point." Naruto laughed.
He was about to leave the mental space when he paused, then turned back to the cage. Holding out his hand, he manifested a few skewers of grilled fish using chakra.
Kurama's eyes flickered with surprise.
"This is for you," Naruto said. "Since you can mess with my emotions through chakra, I figured I could record the taste of food and recreate it here. Now, you can have some too."
Kurama scoffed. "Tch. I don't care about such things."
Even so, he didn't look away from the food.
Naruto grinned and left the sealed space.
A crisp notification echoed in his mind:
"Kurama's favorability towards you has increased. You have gained 'Malicious Intent Detection – Level 1.'"
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