The next morning, Naruto groggily opened his eyes, only to be met with the blinding sun already high in the sky. His heart instantly dropped.
"It's over… I overslept!"
He smacked his forehead in frustration. Last night, he'd been way too excited after meeting Bulbasaur. He'd stayed up late, talking to it, watching it sleep, and just basking in the joy of having such a strange and cool new companion.
Naruto jumped out of bed and rushed to freshen up. As he finished, he glanced over to Bulbasaur, who was still curled up on the bed, peacefully asleep.
"Bulbasaur, wake up!" Naruto called out, trying to sound stern. "We've got a mission today! If we're late, Kakashi-sensei's gonna punish us!"
Just the thought of Kakashi's "creative punishments" made Naruto involuntarily squeeze his butt. A cold shiver ran down his spine.
"Gah—"Bulbasaur grunted, turned over, and kept sleeping like nothing had happened.
Naruto's eye twitched. He knew he had only himself to blame for letting Bulbasaur stay up too late as well, but there was no time to argue. Without any hesitation, he scooped the Pokémon up in his arms and bolted out the door.
"Gah-ne-ga-ne—!"Bulbasaur woke up mid-run, flailing and grumbling, clearly not thrilled with the abrupt wake-up call. But Naruto didn't stop.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Konoha, the rest of Team 7 had already assembled at the training ground.
Sakura tapped her foot impatiently. "Ugh! Where the hell is Naruto? That idiot's late again!"
Kakashi, as always, calmly read his book, unmoved. Sasuke stood quietly with a scowl, arms crossed, his usual cool detachment on full display.
Just then, the sound of frantic footsteps echoed from the path ahead. All three turned to see Naruto sprinting toward them, holding something in his arms.
"Hah… hah… Sorry I'm late!" Naruto gasped, panting heavily.
BANG!"Stupid Naruto! Why are you always so late!?" Sakura stormed over and smacked him right on the head.
"Hehe… I, uh, kinda overslept," Naruto replied sheepishly, rubbing the new bump on his scalp.
Bulbasaur, now awake and alert, stared at the scene in confusion. Why was Naruto still smiling after getting hit?
Sakura finally noticed what Naruto was holding and instinctively stepped back in surprise. "W-What the heck is that? Why's it so… ugly and weird-looking?"
Bulbasaur's eyes narrowed in rage. Ugly? Did this pink-haired girl just call him ugly? Him? The incredibly handsome Bulbasaur?
He immediately started wriggling in Naruto's arms, trying to break free and teach her a lesson.
"W-Wait, Bulbasaur, calm down! Don't be mad! Sakura didn't mean it!" Naruto panicked, trying to restrain his furious partner.
Sakura, now even more alarmed, quickly jumped behind Kakashi for cover.
Kakashi finally looked up from his book. "Naruto… what exactly are you holding?"
Naruto beamed. "This is Bulbasaur! He's my partner!"
"Partner?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Even Sasuke's eyes drifted toward Naruto in curiosity.
"Yup! Don't judge him by looks! Bulbasaur's super strong!" Naruto said proudly.
At that moment, the vines on Bulbasaur's back extended and gave Naruto a not-so-gentle smack on the head.
"Ow! Hey! What was that for!?"
Bulbasaur glared. First he was called ugly, now Naruto was saying he didn't look strong?
As soon as the vines appeared, Sakura's eyes widened. "Wait a minute… was that Wood Release?"
Even Sasuke tensed up at the sight, and Kakashi's eyes sharpened.
Kakashi stepped forward. "Naruto, where did you get this Bulbasaur?"
Naruto rubbed the sore spot on his head. "Oh, him? I got Bulbasaur from Brother Renji Takahashi."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, glanced at Bulbasaur one more time, and then looked at the rest of the team. "Training is up to you today. I've got something to do."
In a blur, he vanished.
"Wha—!?" Naruto stood frozen. "We're not doing the mission anymore?! But I just ran all the way here!"
Sakura sighed. "Naruto, let's just train on our own."
She glanced once at Sasuke, who had already started warming up, then turned away.
"Bulbasaur, come on," Naruto said, regaining his resolve. "Let's get strong!"
"Gah!" Bulbasaur nodded with determination.
Renji's words from yesterday rang in Naruto's head: "If you train Bulbasaur well, he'll be stronger than the Hokage." That promise had rooted itself deeply in Naruto's heart.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the village...
Kakashi knocked on the Hokage's office door.
"Come in," said Sarutobi Hiruzen from inside.
The room smelled faintly of tobacco. The Third Hokage smiled gently as Kakashi entered. "You're here about Naruto's summoning beast? The one that uses Wood Release?"
Kakashi was surprised. "Hokage… you already know?"
Hiruzen nodded and tapped ash from his cigarette. "Of course. Anything involving Naruto must be watched closely."
"Then I'll take my leave."
Kakashi turned to go, but was stopped by the Hokage's voice.
"One more thing, Kakashi. If the opportunity arises… learn more about this Renji Takahashi. Try to understand what he thinks of Konoha. But be subtle."
Kakashi hesitated, then gave a short nod. "Understood."
As he left, Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, lit a fresh cigarette, and exhaled slowly.
"Troublesome…"
His eyes landed on a report lying on the desk. It was a file labeled Renji Takahashi.
Everything about it was squeaky clean. Too clean.
And that's what bothered him the most.