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

The Third Hokage gave Danzo a deep look, sighed, and said, "The risk is still too great. I believe Itachi can persuade Fugaku Uchiha that there is no need for the village and the Uchiha to go to war."

Danzo's suggestion was certainly good; quickly assembling troops to eliminate the Uchiha would nip the coup in the bud.

But as Hokage, he had to consider more things, such as the opinions of the other clans in the village, whether the other four major clans would take the opportunity to attack, and more importantly, the security forces were a tough nut to crack.

Danzo's Root organization and his own Anbu were not as strong as the Uchiha's security forces.

Once its own power is damaged, the other families will inevitably exert influence over the Hokage Building and harbor ambitions to go further.

Seemingly guessing the Third Hokage's thoughts, Danzo said quietly, "I will try to persuade Itachi Uchiha to stand on our side. He will make the right choice between the clan and the village."

"We'll see when the time comes... I want to be alone."

The Third Hokage suddenly felt powerless; the situation had slipped out of his control.

After being told to leave, Danzo got up and left the Hokage Building. Before leaving, he glanced at the Hokage's office, his eyes showing disappointment, and thought to himself:

"Hiruzen, you've gotten old. If you were young, you would never have hesitated like this. You're unable to make a judgment, yet you still stubbornly cling to the position of Hokage, not letting me get even a little bit."

"However, having the power of both the Senju and Uchiha, I am destined to be the ultimate winner."

……

Inside the ninja school.

Naruto, who ranked first in the practical assessment and crushed the older students, undoubtedly became the focus of attention among the students, sparking much discussion.

Some were happy, some were envious, and some expressed jealousy, cursing the damned fox demon in their hearts. Why should the dangerous fox demon be allowed to participate in the practical assessment? This was clearly unfair to the other trainees.

However, no matter how excited everyone is, Naruto's ranking as number one in his grade will not change.

Iruka, who was grading papers in his office, also felt proud. The other teachers looked on with envy and jokingly asked Iruka to treat them to a meal.

Although Iruka was happy about this, he couldn't help but worry.

Naruto's changes over the past six months have been too drastic, making Naruto feel uneasy. How could a boy who was discriminated against by the villagers suddenly become sunny and cheerful?

But this change is a good thing; he can't very well persuade Naruto to go back to his gloomy state.

The teacher next to him, Shui Mu, leaned over and said with a smile:

"Iruka, why aren't you happy? You managed to teach Naruto, such a troublesome student, so well and help him achieve first place. This proves that your teaching skills have improved."

"Perhaps the principal is already planning to promote you and make you a senior teacher."

Iruka sighed softly and said, "But this is not my achievement. I did nothing. It's because Naruto is too outstanding. He applied for early graduation half a year ago, but it was rejected by the Hokage Building."

Shui Mu shook his head and said, "You, you're just too honest and don't know how to be flexible. By the way, the holiday is coming soon, and I've received a very lucrative assignment. Are you interested in coming along?"

"What mission?"

"It won't take many days to escort the goods to the Land of Fields."

Chapter 61 Naruto-kun's Expectations

A few days after the final exams, the students of the Ninja Academy gradually returned to their classrooms.

Before the official evaluation was released, they all started discussing each other's rankings and holiday plans.

Naruto had no interest in participating in their discussion. He picked up a magazine at random. The cover looked rather vulgar, and the author was the famous Jiraiya.

While they were engrossed in reading, Shikamaru and Choji turned around, stared at the cover for a while, and said, "Naruto, what are your plans for the holiday? Are you going on a trip or staying in the village to continue training?"

Naruto put down the magazine, shook his head and laughed, "I'd like to go out, but my wallet and Grandpa Hokage won't allow it. I can only learn about the outside world through magazines. I'll wait until I officially become a ninja before thinking about it."

After a pause, Naruto continued, "By the way, how many points do you guys expect to get on your final exams? Make a prediction."

When the grades were mentioned, Choji's expression darkened considerably. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "I got a lot of questions wrong, but I should be able to get 80 points. As for Shikamaru, you know him. He's definitely just barely passing. He seems to be trying to keep a low profile, but he's not at all."

Hearing this, Shikamaru rolled his eyes; he couldn't be bothered to refute Choji.

For exams, a passing score of 60 is enough; any more than that is a waste. You might as well use the rest of the time to sleep.

However, Shikamaru focused his attention on the magazine. If he remembered correctly, Naruto had been reading it for weeks, which was unlike Naruto.

In his memory, Naruto wouldn't read these kinds of miscellaneous books; they were all books related to ninjas.

Although Naruto appears indifferent on the surface, his inner pursuit of strength is so great that he wants to fight even if they combine their efforts.

Not only during class, but also while studying advanced courses on his own, he also engaged in ninja training non-stop after school, never slacking off.

In recent weeks, Naruto has suddenly become lazy, which makes him feel a little uncomfortable.

Naruto noticed Shikamaru's expression and said to Choji, "Stop making fun of Shikamaru. By the way, to celebrate the holiday, I'm planning a picnic. I wonder if anyone is interested?"

Upon hearing this, Choji smiled; he wouldn't refuse any activity involving food.

Then, he patted Shikamaru, who was trying to run away, and smiled with narrowed eyes, "Shikamaru, you won't refuse Naruto, right?"

Shikamaru shrugged, feeling quite helpless; his plan to hide away and have some peace and quiet had failed.

At this moment, Sasuke, who was looking somewhat depressed, nodded and said, "If Naruto insists on inviting me, I might agree. After all, Naruto is my eternal rival."

With Sasuke joining in, more and more people agreed to the idea of ​​a picnic.

This included female classmates like Hinata, Sakura, and Ino, who began discussing where would be a suitable place for a picnic and what ingredients and activities to prepare.

Ultimately, after considering the opinions of the majority, it was decided to arrange the location next to a river near the city.

……

Soon, it was time to leave school, and after a brief preparation...

Naruto and his classmates arrived at the riverbank and started their impromptu picnic. They quickly set up a campfire and bought some food as needed.

After all that, the young man and woman seemed to have grown closer and began to share their innermost thoughts.

Naruto, who initiated the picnic, naturally became the focus of attention.

"Naruto, congratulations on becoming the top student in your grade in academics as well. I never knew you were this good."

"Yes, yes, thanks to you, we weren't bullied by the upperclassmen. We shouldn't have talked badly about you behind your back before; we were wrong."

They had all heard the rumors that Naruto was a demon fox and had discussed it behind his back, but as they spent more time together, they gradually became able to accept Naruto and ignored the rumors about him being a demon fox.

At this moment, Sasuke, slightly drunk, came over and mumbled, "Naruto, I really envy you. You are strong enough to make the right choices, but I am powerless to do so."

Naruto helped Sasuke up as he was about to collapse and used pressure point techniques to stop Sasuke from saying things he shouldn't have.

He then walked to the big tree, rested his chin on one hand, and looked at his classmates in the distance, somewhat lost in thought.

Inside the sealed space, Kurama, having ingested a considerable amount of alcohol-infused chakra, swayed and said, "Naruto, are you a little reluctant to leave Konoha's prosperity and the friends you've made there?"

Naruto shook his head slightly, then smiled and said, "That's true to some extent. Perhaps that's the power of the Will of Fire—it can change a person's mind silently. The Third Hokage is still very shrewd."

Nine-Tails frowned: "So, you're not planning to leave? Actually, I..."

Kurama was interrupted by Naruto halfway through his sentence: "I will stick to my choice, not only because Konoha has given me painful memories, but also because the small Hidden Leaf Village cannot accommodate me, Uzumaki Naruto."

Upon hearing this, Kurama sobered up considerably and looked at Naruto with more appreciation in his eyes.

As expected of Kurama's jinchūriki, he is indeed stronger than other ninjas. I just wonder if Naruto will be the one that the Six Paths Sage predicted could live in harmony with the tailed beasts.

Amidst laughter and cheerful conversation, Naruto and his classmates spent a happy afternoon.

After sobering up, most of the classmates left in a hurry, leaving only Naruto, Hinata and a few others to clean up the messy grass and pack up all the trash.

"Naruto, let's continue repairing..."

Sasuke was about to call Naruto to train, but Shikamaru and Choji stopped him with their eyes and left with the bagged trash, leaving only Naruto and Hinata on the grass.

It took the two of them quite a while to completely clean up the lawn.

As it grew darker, Hinata leaned closer and said timidly, "Um... Naruto, could you take me home? Uncle Tokuma didn't seem to come to pick me up today."

Naruto saw through Hinata's intentions but didn't say anything. He didn't refuse Hinata's request and nodded with a smile.

On their way home together, Hinata unconsciously grabbed Naruto's hand, just like on that snowy night many years ago, only this time she took the initiative to reach out her hand.

Naruto, who was being held, was somewhat absent-minded and unconsciously began to feel the delicacy of Hinata's small hand.

Hinata has been diligently practicing Gentle Fist, yet her palms haven't developed calluses, which is quite unbelievable.

Soon, the two arrived in front of the Hyuga mansion. Hyuga Tokuma, who had been hiding in the shadows, appeared at the right time and began to take over from Naruto in escorting the young lady Hinata.

After letting go, Hinata, who had been bold, became shy and hesitant again, saying:

"Naruto, I heard that you once accepted Sasuke's request to visit his home. Would you have the chance to come to my house next semester? My father and sister would like to meet you."

Naruto paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Let's talk about it another time. By the way, how's your Gentle Fist training going? Can you beat your cousin now?"

Hinata shook her head: "Not yet, but I will continue to work hard and will not let Naruto-kun down."

Chapter 62 He said, "It's all for my own good."

After Naruto's figure disappeared, Hyuga Tokuma glanced at his young lady and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

As someone who had been through it all, he knew that Hinata had fallen for the fox spirit, but the boy's identity was very sensitive. He was the village's jinchūriki, destined to be a candidate for various factions in the village to compete for.

Hinata will be the head of the Hyuga clan in the future, making it difficult for her to be with a Jinchuriki.

However, since the head of the family already knew about this matter, he must have tacitly approved of it. As a mere special ninja, it would be best for him not to interfere in the affairs of the main family and to simply fulfill his mission as a branch family member.

But looking at the elated Hinata, Tokuma couldn't help but think about these future things.

A delicate little girl always evokes feelings of pity.

At this moment, Hinata raised her head and said to Tokuma, "Uncle Tokuma, hurry back. Today's training hasn't started yet. I want to master the Gentle Fist Thirty-Two Palms as soon as possible so that I can defeat Neji-nii."

Tokuma didn't say much, he just silently carried out the orders.

……

on the way back.

Naruto swaggered through the bustling city, and as he sensed the familiar malice, a smile gradually crept onto his lips.

He noticed that the gazes of passersby had become much kinder, and he vented his dissatisfaction on the fox demon. This was the Konoha Village he knew; otherwise, he would have thought he had wandered into the wrong village.

However, these villagers have become much smarter; they no longer dare to slander him to his face, but only to maliciously attack him behind his back.

If it weren't for the fact that his perception range had expanded considerably with his increased strength, he really wouldn't have heard the discussions behind his back, such as whether the fox spirit without parents or whether he cheated by getting first place.

But soon, with the appearance of the security guards, the villagers immediately became well-behaved.