I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Pushing open the office door, Iruka saw the leisurely Third Hokage and handed him Naruto's essay: "Third Hokage, please take a look at Naruto's essay."

The Third Hokage glanced at the essay and said with a smile, "This essay is very well written. Naruto has grasped the true meaning of the Will of Fire. There is nothing wrong with it."

"You came to see me because Naruto got into trouble again? He's just a kid... so take on more responsibility."

Iruka shook his head and said seriously, "Naruto has excellent grades and never causes trouble, but he is too aloof and too steady. He's practically like... a veteran who participated in the Fourth Shinobi World War."

If this continues, Naruto will definitely develop serious psychological problems and cause enormous trouble.

Chapter 28 Uchiha Fluid Technique

The Third Hokage took a deep breath, closed his notebook, and said, "Iruka, Naruto already knows he is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and has accepted his identity as the Demon Fox."

Upon hearing this, Iruka froze on the spot, and everything seemed to make sense now.

Naruto knew and accepted his identity as a Jinchuriki, which is why he displayed a withdrawn and negative attitude, refusing to interact with other classmates except for a few.

If you put yourself in his shoes, if he knew he was a demon fox, his condition would only be worse than Naruto's.

After a moment of contemplation, Iruka said quite seriously, "Third Hokage, even so, I still do not change my opinion of Naruto. If he continues in his current state, it will only harm him and the village."

The Third Hokage took out a cigarette. He always liked to smoke when he encountered difficulties, as if it could numb him.

“I’m also having a headache over Naruto’s problem, but I don’t have much time to deal with it. There are too many things in the village that I need to handle, so… could you please take care of Naruto?”

"This is my duty as a teacher..."

Iruka said with some difficulty, "However, educating students still requires the participation of parents. It's not enough for me to do it alone... I still need your help, Third Generation Master."

Hearing this, the Third Hokage sighed softly: "I will assist Iruka-sensei in his work, but it seems that you have completely emerged from that shadow."

Iruka scratched his head: "Naruto is a Jinchuriki, but it was Kurama who killed my parents. When I first met him, I felt some hatred, but after spending some time with him, I could feel that he had not been assimilated by Kurama."

"I believe that as time goes by, the other people in the village will be able to understand Naruto just like I have."

"After all, it is the responsibility of an excellent teacher to bring every student who has gone astray back on track."

"I hope so." The Third Hokage didn't have high expectations for this. He didn't think the villagers could understand Naruto, nor did he think Naruto could understand the villagers.

But as long as Naruto listens to me and trusts me, that's enough.

However, it has been a while since I visited Naruto to strengthen our bond.

……

On the playground.

Sasuke escaped from the girls' encirclement, found Naruto hiding in a corner, and asked directly:

"Naruto, how did you manage to interrupt a ninjutsu?"

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and said dismissively, "Hand seals are a waste of time. As long as you attack the meridians before you convert chakra into ninjutsu, you can naturally interrupt the ninjutsu."

"Moreover, in battles between ninjas, ninjutsu is more of a probing technique; in the end, it is taijutsu that determines the winner."

After saying that, Naruto looked at Sasuke with a playful expression: "You don't know these basic facts, do you, our genius Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sasuke's expression was unpredictable, but he still said, "I know I'm not as good as you, but I still want to know if you already know other ninjutsu? That's why you know how to interrupt ninjutsu."

Naruto didn't say anything, but a whirlwind suddenly appeared on the ground, swirling up fallen leaves and flying towards Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at the rhythmically moving falling leaves, clenching his fists tightly.

He finally understood the gap between himself and Naruto, and Naruto's behavior reminded him of his older brother.

While Sasuke was lost in thought, Naruto came to his side, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

"After school today, I can teach you a method for rapid training, but in return, I'd like to learn your shuriken throwing technique. I always fail to get high scores in throwing class, which seriously affects my overall ranking."

Sasuke regained his composure and said with some pride:

"The Uchiha throwing technique is undoubtedly the strongest, but aren't you afraid I'll surpass you by teaching me a quick way to train?"

Naruto smiled and shook his head: "Of course I'm not afraid. My growth will only be faster than yours. I'm willing to teach you because you're a new classmate who took the initiative to ask me to play. I will never treat my friends unfairly."

Sasuke snorted coldly and then walked away from Naruto.

After Sasuke left, Choji, who had been ignored, frowned repeatedly, but ultimately said nothing and continued eating his potato chips.

Shikamaru, however, opened his eyes, looked at Naruto and the departing Sasuke, and seemed to be deep in thought.

As Naruto's friend, he had clearly sensed the changes in Naruto these past few days, but he wasn't sure whether these changes were good or bad.

But he will not bring up these things on his own initiative, nor will he tell anyone else.

Making the best choice in one's own best interests as an outsider is the survival strategy of the Nara clan.

……

After school, Naruto and Sasuke went to the grove.

This was their seventh time training in the grove. The training process involved Naruto attacking while Sasuke took hits. Through these friendly interactions, Naruto and Sasuke's combat experience increased rapidly.

Naruto kept his promise and taught Sasuke how to use Shadow Clones to achieve multi-threaded training in ninjutsu.

However, after Sasuke was panting heavily, he could only barely create three shadow clones. His training efficiency was far inferior to Naruto's, who had the Nine-Tails as an aid. Furthermore, after dispelling the shadow clones, Sasuke almost fainted due to overload.

Looking at Sasuke, who looked like a dead dog, Naruto couldn't help but laugh, and he laughed very happily.

Sasuke slowly got up from the ground and looked at Naruto, who was laughing heartily: "I say, do you undergo such high-intensity training every day?"

Naruto nodded: "It's like this every day, without fail."

Sasuke asked curiously, "Why? Is it because of your parents' expectations? My father was very strict with me, but he never made me train like this, leaving me with absolutely no time for myself."

Naruto smiled and said:

"I'm sorry, I am a fox spirit. I don't have parents yet. When I'm bored, I can only pass the time by cultivating. Anyway, when I go out, I see fearful eyes everywhere, which is annoying."

Sasuke paused for a moment, then said, "Although I have parents, I can understand how you feel. The Uchiha clan's experience is very similar to yours."

Sasuke understood Naruto's feelings very well, even though his classmates were quite enthusiastic towards him.

However, the Uchiha clan was often ostracized in the village. He could hear his clansmen complaining about the village almost every day, and he often saw villagers complaining about the Uchiha. The clan seemed to have been completely marginalized.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and said jokingly, "Then you can go find friends, just like our relationship. The village is so big, there's bound to be someone who can understand what the Uchiha have gone through."

"If no one understands, that's okay. You just need to do your best."

Chapter 29 He only wants to control my life

"Sasuke Uchiha's favorability towards you has reached the level of approval. You have obtained the 'Uchiha Fluid Technique,' a taijutsu that all Uchiha Jonin master. Those who achieve mastery in it will be awarded the title of 'Dance King.'"

On his way home, Naruto heard about the system's upgrade and smiled contentedly.

His month of hard work paid off. He successfully won Sasuke's favor and obtained the magnificent 'Uchiha Fluid Technique'. He had now acquired all the taijutsu of the two major clans of Konoha.

As Naruto directly extracted the 'Uchiha Fluid Technique,' various training memories flashed through his mind.

It even included Uchiha's skills in using hidden weapons, which made up for his shortcomings in throwing techniques, allowing him to advance to the Great Perfection of the Ninja Academy and become invincible within the Ninja Academy.

Unbeknownst to him, Naruto found himself back in front of the apartment building, where he saw the Third Hokage pacing outside the room.

Why is the Third Hokage here again? Naruto was puzzled.

At this moment, the Third Hokage also noticed Naruto behind him and said with a smile, "Naruto, you're finally back. If you hadn't come back, my old bones wouldn't have been able to take it."

"Is there something you need, Grandpa Hokage?" Naruto asked as he led the Third Hokage into the house.

"It's about the school..." The Third Hokage sat down on the sofa and said, "Iruka-sensei said you're too withdrawn at school, you haven't made any friends, and you don't really talk to other people."

Naruto said, quite puzzled:

"I have many friends: Hinata, Shikamaru, and Choji. They are all my friends. As for the others, why should I care about them?"

After a pause, Naruto continued, "Grandpa Hokage, I actually want to make friends, but as soon as I say I'm the Demon Fox, they all run away. I don't want to try to be nice to them."

The Third Hokage was speechless for a moment, then said earnestly, "Naruto, you will become a ninja in the future. Those employers will not treat you well. Sooner or later you will have to learn to accept reality and take the initiative to become friends with others."

Naruto remained silent, seemingly pondering right and wrong.

Upon seeing this, the Third Hokage unleashed his ultimate weapon: "If you are willing to spend more time with your classmates and become friends with them, I will increase your allowance and find you a few more ninjutsu scrolls."

After hesitating for a moment, Naruto nodded and said, "I'll listen to Grandpa Hokage and make more friends in the future."

The Third Hokage nodded in satisfaction: "A good child is one who listens to his parents. This is your allowance for next month. Don't be too frugal. Buy whatever you want. Don't mistreat yourself."

After the home visit, the Third Hokage was very satisfied with Naruto's condition and leisurely returned to the Hokage Building.

As Naruto sensed the Third Hokage gradually leaving, he carefully put away the doubled allowance, his expression growing increasingly grim.

The third-generation old man didn't care whether he made friends or whether the rumors about the fox spirit were rampant. He only cared about whether he was out of control. He only wanted to control his own life and never cared about his own feelings.

……

Meanwhile, Sasuke was having dinner with his family.

Sasuke, exhausted from his meal, was engrossed in eating, completely oblivious to the grim expressions on the faces of his other family members.

Just before he returned home, Itachi, the older brother, and Fugaku, the father, had a big argument because Itachi was unwilling to reveal information about the Anbu members or the movements of the Konoha leadership.

This greatly angered Fugaku Uchiha, the captain of the security forces, who felt that his son had betrayed him.

Itachi showed no intention of backing down. His father, Fugaku, cared about the interests of the police force, but he cared about the interests of the village. The village was just as important as the family.

His beloved family was plotting a rebellion against the higher-ups, something he absolutely could not tolerate.

If a clan were to actually launch a coup, not only would the clan be suppressed, but the village would also be severely weakened, making it vulnerable to attacks from other ninja villages.

The family only saw the grievances suffered by the guards, but never considered the village's situation.

Faced with his son's idea, Fugaku could only curse him as an ingrate in his heart, but he was powerless against the respectful Itachi. Without Itachi's intelligence, the Uchiha clan was unable to counter the higher-ups.

The father and son had a big argument over the family and the village, and neither of them looked too happy.

Caught in the middle, Mikoto Uchiha couldn't persuade anyone. Unable to choose between her son and husband, she could only remain silent and neutral, avoiding any argument.

To change the subject and ease the tense atmosphere, Mikoto forced a smile and asked, "How's Sasuke doing at the Ninja Academy? Have you made any new friends?"

Fugaku folded his hands over his chest and looked at Sasuke, asking, "Sasuke, you didn't disappoint your father, did you? You got first place in your class, right?"

Sasuke stopped picking at his food, his eyes darting around nervously, and said guiltily:

"No, I didn't get first place, but I did make a friend named Naruto Uzumaki. It was he who defeated me in the practical training session, making me second place."