Chapter 105: As a Newcomer, There's Still a Lot I Need to Learn
"Naruto Uzumaki… Isn't that the Seventh Hokage?!"
Inside the burger shop, Inojin, Chōchō, and Himawari surrounded the young Naruto as Inojin exclaimed in surprise.
"Hehe, don't call me Hokage, that's too embarrassing. Just Naruto is fine." Although he said that, a smug expression crept across young Naruto's face.
After all, he had achieved at least one of his two dreams—marrying Sakura and becoming Hokage.
"Hard to believe the man who saved the ninja world was like this as a kid." Shikadai shook his head, sitting nearby with Boruto and Sarada, watching the young Naruto awkwardly flail as Himawari hugged him affectionately. "So, what's the plan for this young Naruto, Hokage?"
"For now, he'll be joining our team…"
The atmosphere gradually grew heavy. Mitsuki's defection was a weighty subject.
"Hm? What's wrong with everyone?"
Noticing the sudden shift in mood, young Naruto asked.
He hated this kind of gloomy atmosphere—because something bad always came with it.
"Well… One of our teammates defected from the Leaf," Inojin explained softly.
"I see… Actually, one of my teammates also defected from the Leaf."
"What? Even the Hokage had a teammate defect?" Inojin's surprise was clear—most of the new generation knew very little about the older generation's past.
"Yeah. Back then, Sasuke left the village in his pursuit of power to avenge his clan."
"Sasuke?!"
No one had expected that. The story of Sasuke's defection was something the older generation never talked about.
"Yeah. Sasuke left to gain the strength he needed for revenge. But since he's in the village now, I guess that means I managed to bring him back. That's good enough for me." Naruto smiled as he spoke. "I don't know much about big ideals, but I figure… if even someone like me, the class loser, could bring Sasuke back, then you guys can definitely bring your teammate back too."
Even now, Naruto could say so casually that he'd once been a loser.
"Wait, what?! Dad was a class loser? I knew it! There's no way that idiot was ever top of the class!" Boruto had the biggest reaction of anyone.
"Huh?"
Young Naruto suddenly realized—had he just said something he wasn't supposed to? Had he just made trouble for his older self?
"Hey, hey, tell me more about the dumb stuff my idiot dad did when he was a kid." Boruto threw his arm around young Naruto's neck. "If you do, I'll treat you to burgers and even let you borrow my game console."
"...Burgers and game console? What are those?"
Seeing that young Naruto looked interested, Boruto pushed even harder: "Burgers are super delicious, and game consoles have loads of really fun games!"
Boruto knew—no kid could resist the temptation of burgers and video games.
"Boruto, isn't it kind of rude to dig up the Hokage's embarrassing past?" Sarada said, trying to rein him in.
"What's so bad about it? I've had enough of that idiot dad always acting all smug in front of me!"
"Alright, Boruto, don't forget we've still got a mission to do," Shikadai said, patting him on the shoulder. "Any thoughts on the investigation into the Jar Merchant?"
"What thoughts? Just find him and give him a good beating. Simple as that." Boruto cracked his knuckles.
The merchant hadn't technically scammed him, but making him wait like a fool all night still deserved payback.
"So how exactly do we find this guy?" Sarada asked.
"I heard Uncle Sasuke looked for him too for a while, but the Jar Merchant always managed to slip away. But I don't think it's that hard—should be easy to track him down." Boruto boasted confidently.
If Sasuke couldn't do something but he could—didn't that mean he was stronger than Sasuke?
"So, in other words, the Jar Merchant deliberately avoids people he can't handle," Shikadai said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.
"Na…ni…"
Boruto froze. According to Shikadai's logic, didn't that mean the Jar Merchant had always seen him as easy prey?
"Let's spread out to search for the Jar Merchant. But keep some distance between each other, so we can provide backup at a moment's notice."
…
"Hey kid, wanna buy a disc? This one's the latest hit—Konoha Ghoul. Totally worth your money."
Shunhi had come to a realization: selling ramen really wasn't profitable.
"...Ah! Jar merchant, I knew you'd be here!"
Boruto shouted as he pointed at the Jar Merchant.
"Isn't this…" Just as the merchant greeted them, the other five had already appeared via Body Flicker, surrounding him from both ends of the alley. "Boruto and his little gang, huh."
The Jar Merchant's gaze landed on the young Naruto standing beside Boruto and Sarada. "Looks like you've already found your Servant. Congratulations."
"Cut the crap, Jar Merchant. This time, we're definitely taking you in!"
"Oh? If it's about running away, I've never lost yet."
Before the system activated, Shunhi had survived war as an ordinary person. When it came to the art of laying low, he had plenty of experience.
"Everyone stay alert," Shikadai warned from the rear.
"...Weird. I can't sense my Flying Thunder God kunai."
"Don't underestimate Konoha, Jar Merchant. Until now, we simply weren't taking you seriously." A voice rang out from above. Sasuke looked down on them, his Mangekyō Sharingan glaring and his Rinnegan barely visible beneath wind-blown hair.
"Well, this just got tricky."
The Jar Merchant muttered as he looked up at Sasuke.
This was exactly why he always fled before encountering Sasuke—anyone with a Rinnegan was the ultimate counter to space-time jutsu.
"I never wanted to be Konoha's enemy. I just wanted to make a little money."
Even cornered, the Jar Merchant stayed calm.
Long ago, his identity had already been replaced by a puppet under Shunhi's control—letting him fulfill his dream of selling discs and ramen at the same time.
"Save it for the Hokage Tower." In a flash, Sasuke appeared behind him, the Kusanagi Sword at his throat.
"Easy, easy. I won't resist."
The Jar Merchant raised his hands.
Although losing one puppet wouldn't hurt Shunhi much, it was still better not to lose any—after all, each one was a hard-earned prize.
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslations.
3 new chapters are released daily—thank you for your support!
Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, 1 chapter will be unlocked.)