Having trained to exhaustion in the morning, a nap in the afternoon was enough to make him lively again. Naruto had a preliminary understanding of his recovery ability. Does this mean I should train to the point of near-death?
However, there was no training plan for the afternoon, because Kushina had gone to work and told Naruto not to overtrain, as he was too young and prone to injury from excessive training.
Kushina was different from Mikoto Uchiha. Mikoto could stay at home as a full-time housewife when there were no wars. But Kushina was a Jinchuriki and had to maintain a certain level of combat power, so in addition to going to work every day, she occasionally had to go out on missions.
After all, Naruto was already three years old and didn't need too much care. Even Kakashi had long stopped being responsible for protecting Naruto and often took on various high-difficulty missions, already earning the reputation of the Konoha Technician.
Kushina said he couldn't train, and Naruto felt he should listen to his mother to prevent her from getting hurt. So, should I read? He didn't know enough words yet, not even enough to read through a copy of Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja. With nothing to do at home, Naruto decided to go out for a stroll.
Walking through the streets and looking at the shops, Naruto felt that Konoha was similar to a small county town. The people on the street were quite enthusiastic towards Naruto, after all, he was the son of a hero.
In fact, some people originally called Naruto "Young Master Naruto," but Minato and Kushina had earnestly corrected them.
Naruto didn't care, as he didn't plan to rely on his identity as the village chief's silly son to run rampant.
Naruto wandered aimlessly, and unknowingly walked to the Ninja School.
But of course, there was nothing strange about the school itself. The main thing was that he saw a familiar face at the entrance. Naruto greeted him with a smile: "Third Hokage Grandpa!"
I wonder, although the Third Hokage's eldest son is busy with missions and his second son ran away from home, his wife is still alive and well. Why isn't he at home with her? Could it be that after retiring, he can't use his crystal ball to peep into the women's bathhouse anymore, and he's feeling lonely, so he's come to the school to be a gatekeeper?
The Third Hokage, who had already stepped into the school, retracted his leg and replied with a smile, "Oh, it's Naruto. Are you out playing by yourself?"
"Yeah. What's Third Hokage Grandpa doing here?" Although he knew that there were definitely Anbu following him, after all, he was a semi-Jinchuriki, but they couldn't show themselves, so he was out playing by himself, no problem.
"Haha, Grandpa is going to give a lecture to the children in a while."
"A lecture?"
"Yes, Naruto, do you know about the Will of Fire?"
Without waiting for Naruto to answer, the Third Hokage stroked Naruto's head and continued, "Where the leaves dance, the fire burns. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village and let new leaves sprout."
Naruto thought, I know this part well. But he didn't say anything.
"Haha, this is too early for you, do you want to go in and take a look?"
"Okay." Naruto nodded, he had never been inside the Ninja School before.
Naruto followed into the school with great interest, and the Third Hokage explained to Naruto as they walked:
"The Ninja School was established by the Second Hokage, and it has cultivated many talents for Konoha since its completion... blah blah blah..."
"The Second Hokage's name was Tobirama Senju, he was my teacher, and he was the younger brother of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. He developed many ninjutsu. Your father, the Fourth Hokage's most skilled Flying Thunder God Technique, was invented by Teacher Tobirama, and was known as the fastest in the ninja world at the time..."
"Speaking of which, your father and mother met in the Ninja School. Kushina was once kidnapped by enemy ninjas, and Minato rescued her, and later..."
...
Old people are like this, as long as they have an audience, they can talk non-stop, sometimes not even caring if you respond, or even if you're really listening, as long as you're there.
Naruto suddenly felt a little sorry for this old man. Although in his previous life he often joined others in criticizing him, saying he was greedy for power, that Minato was just a puppet Hokage, and that Danzo was someone he condoned, at this time he was just an ordinary empty-nest old man.
Naruto listened to the Third Hokage talk about a bunch of Ninja School history, the glorious deeds of the past Hokage, and the gossip about his parents. The old man seemed satisfied, or maybe it was time for class, so he let Naruto go play by himself.
...
And so, completing physical training every morning and running around the village in the afternoon, life was peaceful, and two months passed quickly.
December in Konoha had already ushered in winter. Unlike the so-called "magic damage wet cold" of Jiang Cheng's winter, Konoha's winter was more like the "physical damage dry cold" of the north, requiring a little extra clothing when going out each day.
The Land of Lightning's Cloud Village envoy had been staying in Konoha for several days, and the negotiations between the two countries regarding the alliance had come to an end. Konoha decided to hold a celebration on December 27 to celebrate the alliance between the two countries. That day happened to be Hinata Hyuga, the Hyuga Main Family's young lady's, third birthday.
The people of Konoha seemed to attach great importance to a child's third birthday, as if after turning three, they were qualified to be called an independent person. Naruto's third birthday was more grand than the previous two, and the Hyuga family attached even greater importance to it.
On this day, the entire Hyuga clan had to attend Hinata's third birthday celebration, even neglecting the village festival. Because on that day, Hinata's status as the Main Family's heir would be established, and Neji, as a Branch Family member, would be branded with the Caged Bird Curse Mark. From then on, Neji would live to protect the Main Family's young lady.
The Caged Bird Curse Mark was a bit like an enhanced version of the tight-fitting golden hoop. One function was that the Main Family could cause the Branch Family members marked with the Caged Bird Curse Mark to suffer splitting headaches, and could even directly destroy their brain nerves to kill them. The second was to seal the Byakugan's ability, destroying the eyeballs and brain when the subject died or had their eyes removed, to prevent the Byakugan from leaking out.
And at this time, Neji... seemed to be enjoying it. This child seemed to be a sis-con, not at all repulsed by the idea of protecting his cousin, and even happy about it...
That's how it was in the original story. It wasn't until Neji's father, Hizashi Hyuga, died that Neji hated the Main Family and Branch Family system and hated the Caged Bird Curse Mark.
And Hizashi Hyuga himself was even willing to die for Hiashi in order to get rid of the Caged Bird Curse Mark, claiming that this was his own decision and that he was resisting so-called fate.
But to think about it pessimistically, the term "Caged Bird" actually comes from a nursery rhyme of the same name in Japan, which roughly means that someone will become a scapegoat for the bird in the cage at the last moment. This was a bit ironic, as Hizashi's way of bravely resisting was to become Hiashi's scapegoat, which happened to coincide with the meaning of the Caged Bird Curse Mark.
People all had their own thoughts. The villagers of Konoha happily participated in the alliance celebration ceremony, including Naruto, who was strolling around with Kushina, eating and drinking;
The Hyuga family solemnly and respectfully participated in the Main Family's young lady's third birthday ceremony, and who knows how many people, like Hizashi, silently felt injustice for their children's fate;
But the Cloud Village ninjas harbored ulterior motives and planned to cause trouble.
The next day, a piece of news quietly spread in Konoha—"Shocking! Hyuga Group Chairman's Daughter Kidnapped!"
The leader of the Cloud Village envoy actually kidnapped the Hyuga family's young lady and was killed on the spot by clan head Hiashi Hyuga after being discovered. However, the Cloud Village envoy group made false accusations, slandering the Hyuga family for killing people for no reason and demanding that Konoha hand over the murderer.
The residents were in an uproar, some sympathizing with Hinata's experience, some cursing the Cloud Village ninjas for being shameless, and some worried that it would lead to conflict.
If this matter was not handled properly, it could turn Konoha and Cloud Village, who had just formed an alliance, into enemies.
So Minato immediately went to the Hyuga family, intending to understand the whole story in detail and negotiate a solution.
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