Chapter 125: Naruto and Sasuke, Education and Procreation

"Eat quickly, little guy, you're only two and so picky; you'll stay short later. This was made by the Toad Sage himself, your dad never got this blessing."

In a rundown floor, Jiraiya, flustered, held the struggling Naruto and shoved the freshly made black dish into the little guy's mouth.

Naruto shook his head desperately, trying to resist, but against Jiraiya's forceful suppression it was all futile.

He could only watch helplessly as spoon after spoon of black mush was forced into his mouth.

It can't be called tasty; it only makes you nauseous and is practically impossible to swallow.

Fortunately, Jiraiya thoughtfully prepared egg drop soup for him; the soup had no seasoning, plain as water.

But as long as it's drinkable and nutritious, that's fine.

Following the egg soup, the bowl of black mush was thus shoved into Naruto's stomach.

Naruto's disgusted reaction was naturally seen by Jiraiya, but they only know how to make barbecue; however a child's growth needs balanced nutrition, so for Naruto's health they had to sacrifice flavor.

But they believe that once they learn to cook, everything will improve.

"Alright, stop vomiting; tonight I'll take you to a barbecue. Let's go play first."

Patting Naruto's head, Jiraiya got up to tidy up. Naruto recovered; his constitution is special, so the discomfort vanished quickly. After realizing, he made a funny face at Jiraiya's back.

But that's all there is; although the other's food was terrible, it made Naruto feel very warm. After glancing again at their busy figure, Naruto happily grabbed the toy Jiraiya bought for him and ran around the house.

Jiraiya's arrival furnished the house with many pieces of furniture, making the previously empty home feel a bit crowded.

And Naruto, excited like a toad, hopped around the furniture, then flung his shuriken toy everywhere, covering the floor. He jumped and laughed, playing by himself, very happy.

When Jiraiya finished cleaning the kitchen and saw the toys strewn everywhere, they were furious, wanting to kick Naruto's little bottom with their 43‑meter‑long foot.

"Toad Grandpa, play ninja game with me~"

Seeing Jiraiya come out, Naruto immediately ran to hug their thigh, looking up with a hopeful face.

Feeling Naruto's clinginess, Jiraiya's anger melted; their gaze turned to indulgence and guilt, then they bent down and hoisted Naruto onto their shoulders.

"Alright, Toad Grandpa will play with Naruto~"

He didn't want to bring up the Third Hokage's matters; he also chased away the surrounding ANBU. Before leaving, he wanted to spend time with Naruto as compensation.

Carrying Naruto, Jiraiya prepared to take him for a stroll on the street; the two‑year‑old had been indoors too long, rarely meeting anyone besides the Third Hokage.

"Look, it's Grandfather Third~"

The two walked onto the street; Naruto, feeling the warm breeze, saw the Hokage Rock portrait and shouted excitedly, while passing villagers looked at him puzzled.

Quite a few ninjas recognized Jiraiya and came forward to greet him.

Jiraiya grinned, bragging to Naruto: "Did you see the greatness of the Toad Sage? So many people are fans of my Toad Sage."

"Toad Grandpa is awesome, I want to become a Toad Sage someday~"

"Hahaha, sure, when you grow up Grandpa will let you become a Toad Sage."

The two coaxed each other, when Jiraiya's expression suddenly froze; looking down the street, they saw several ANBU blocking the intersection, seemingly stopping something.

Just as they were about to step forward, three more ANBU with white hair leapt from afar and ran to their front; Jiraiya looked at the white‑haired ANBU and recalled their identity.

"Kakashi? What does the old man have to say this time?"

Sensing Jiraiya's displeasure, Naruto behaved obediently, hugging Jiraiya's head without a sound.

Kakashi lowered his head, not daring to look at them, and coldly said, "We encountered a Uchiha; the Third Hokage ordered that Naruto must not have contact with Uchiha people."

"Alright, I understand, you may return and report back."

Jiraiya's expression remained calm, ignoring the three and continuing forward with Naruto; the three exchanged glances and had to return to report.

Naruto gently tugged Jiraiya's hair and whispered in his ear, "Toad Grandpa, I don't want to go shopping anymore, let's go back."

"Hm?"

Jiraiya was startled, instantly understanding Naruto's thought, then grinned and said, "You little one, it's fine, don't worry. With Toad Grandpa guiding you, there's no place in Konoha you can't go!"

He had originally planned to comply with the old man and not cause trouble, but now that wasn't possible.

With that in mind, Jiraiya led Naruto straight toward the intersection, soon spotting Shisui Uchiha and a few others preparing to take a detour.

"Lord Jiraiya? Good afternoon, who is this?"

Shisui, curious, examined Naruto; beside him stood an angry Hui and Itachi holding Sasuke. The ninja academy's vacation was ending, and he rarely took time to bring Itachi and Sasuke out for a walk.

"So it's Shisui, this is Naruto; Naruto, give them a greeting."

Naruto, a bit shy, tucked his neck behind Jiraiya's head, hesitated, then stuck his head out and said, "Uh, good afternoon."

For some reason, hearing that voice, Sasuke suddenly stepped out from behind Itachi, poked his head out, and looked at Naruto with a strange expression.

It seemed a special feeling swirled in his heart, both yearning to approach this peer and an urge to slam the other to the ground and beat them up.

"Is this from the Fugaku family?"

Jiraiya noticed Sasuke, lifted his hand to set Naruto down. Though they'd only known each other a few days, he sensed Naruto's loneliness and hoped, if possible, Naruto could make some friends.

As for the Uchiha and Nine‑Tails matters, he didn't care; he trusted Shisui Uchiha a bit, but more so his own strength.

Itachi pulled Sasuke forward a step, indicating he should introduce himself.

Sasuke was also a bit shy; though timid, under everyone's gaze he puffed his chest, stepped before Naruto, extended his hand and said, "I am Sasuke Uchiha, hello."

"Uzumaki Naruto, hello."

Their small hands clasped, a strange feeling rose in their hearts.

"Want to play a ninja game together?"

"Hmm, I also like ninja games, and my brother is a super‑strong ninja."

"Really? But I have Toad Grandpa, and he's also a super‑strong ninja."

Even though it was their first meeting, the two seemed to have endless things to say, their words even a bit sharp, and they chatted before simply holding hands and running to the side.

That harmonious scene made the others pause, then with an aunt‑like smile they watched the pair play, and after a moment Jiraiya cheerfully said, "Those two little guys match well, too bad they're both boys."

Jiu Xingnai and Uchiha Mikoto had some agreement that Jiraiya knew about; seeing the two click, he felt it was a pity.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Looking at the golden hair and the familiar feeling, Shisui finally reacted, understood the other's identity, and, looking at Jiraiya, asked, "Naruto couldn't possibly be…?"

Jiraiya nodded; Naruto's identity was known to all the great families in the Village, so there was no need to hide it.

"I see." Shisui's expression was shocked, and he instantly understood why the ANBU had made them take a detour earlier; he didn't expect to encounter a Nine-Tails jinchuriki here.

Although Shisui didn't know why Jiraiya would let Naruto interact with them, he knew he should keep his distance.

"Itachi, take Sasuke and Naruto to play together. Hui and I have some business at the Police Department. Sorry, it looks like we can't go shopping with you today."

Shisui, with an apologetic expression, patted Itachi on the back of the head, then greeted Jiraiya.

Itachi didn't understand why Shisui suddenly changed his mind, but he still nodded obligingly.

Jiraiya naturally knew the reason, but he didn't want his matter with the Third to affect others, so he said, "Don't worry, go ahead. You don't need to worry about the old man's side."

Shisui, hearing that, could only smile gently and then bid farewell to the others.

Hui was also a bit puzzled; after the group left, he whispered to ask the reason, and upon learning Naruto's identity felt a chill and subconsciously glanced at the surrounding eaves.

Jiraiya, watching Shisui's departing back, couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "At such a young age they have to consider these things; the old man should retire early."

On the other side, the Third also learned that Jiraiya had brought Naruto into contact with the Uchiha.

"How can this be? Letting Jiraiya bring a jinchuriki back; the Uchiha must not contact a jinchuriki!"

Koharu erupted in fury, and together with Mizumon En immediately demanded that someone summon Jiraiya at once, while Danzo, unusually, remained silent.

"Jiraiya is present, go with them."

The Third hesitated for a moment before agreeing, and only after Jiraiya had taken the three of them to finish a barbecue that night did he send someone to inform Jiraiya.

Meanwhile, on the way home, Naruto was perched on Jiraiya's head, excitedly talking to him about Sasuke.

Jiraiya just smiled and asked, "Do you enjoy playing with that kid?"

Naruto pondered for a moment, then said, "Although he can be annoying, I quite like playing with him."

"Hahaha, what kind of answer is that~"

Naruto also gave a cheeky laugh, not really understanding it.

The two laughed until, after returning home, Jiraiya washed the excited Naruto clean and tossed him onto the bed to sleep.

He sensed the ANBU signal, but never responded, until Naruto, holding his arm, fell asleep.

"Grandpa Toad, Sasuke, hate~"

Naruto's sleeping posture was poor, drooling, yet oddly sweet, and in his dreams he kept calling out to him and Sasuke.

Jiraiya smiled and stayed nearby until Naruto was sound asleep, then went out with the ANBU to the Hokage Building.

The four waited for a long time; they had prepared many words, but the result was not as they expected, and this time Jiraiya got into a heated argument with the Third and the assistants.

Facing the various demands, Jiraiya said coldly, "Since you're worried about the Uchiha, I'll just take Naruto and leave Konoha!"

"What are you joking about? Naruto is a Nine-Tails jinchuriki; how could you take him away!"

"Hmph, I only know he's Minato's son; is this how you take care of the Fourth's orphan?"

With those words, the four fell silent; seeing Jiraiya's serious expression, the irritable Koharu also decisively shut up, and they had to compromise.

The Third, watching Jiraiya's growing disaffection, felt exhausted and simply stopped paying attention.

"What is the reason, then?"

"The Ninja Academy's holiday is about to end; how did the two months of special training turn out?"

A few days later, Jiraiya's warning took effect; the Third did not bring up Naruto's matter with Shisui, and Shisui gradually pushed Naruto's issue out of his mind.

He continued to monitor the progress of the Clan Academy; these people are the family's future.

"These are the results of the Ninja Body Illusion Three-Item Test; some students already qualify to become Genin, but their combat ability is still far insufficient."

The Uchiha clan's constitution may not match that of the Uzumaki or Senju, but compared to ordinary people it is still many times stronger.

Under the thoughtful guidance of secret medicines and Elite Forces Jonin, these people's strength surged, but Shisui's standards are stricter; those who only know the Three-Body Technique cannot leave the Clan Academy.

Shisui looked at the results and nodded; education is not a one‑day task, and as long as there is any progress he is satisfied.

"The time for combat training can be extended a bit; also, take advantage of these days to conduct an outdoor special training, enlist more covert protectors, and be careful not to let them lose their sense of danger."

"Yes!"

"The Chunin squads within the clan should have almost finished their cohesion; let the leading Jonin train them well and patch those weaknesses."

Some Chunin are very young, promoted only because of wartime, and Shisui has always felt they lack strength; now the Ninja Academy is about to reopen, and some Jonin in the clan can spare time again, so he cannot let these people stay idle.

"Yes!"

Shisui was willing to continuously adjust and try cultivation plans; after all he had enough time, and half a month later, with a letter from Uemura Kishi and a large sum of funds arriving, he became more at ease.

Uemura Kishi told Shisui that, with the help of those reinforcements, they had recruited enough manpower and carried out a large‑scale expansion.

During that period they conveniently eliminated many obstructing salt merchants, acquiring a huge amount of money, most of which would be used to consolidate the gains, win over nobles, and hire ninja.

A small portion was sent to Konoha, and that portion amounted to 180,000,000 ryō.

With that money, Shisui immediately paid the overdue salaries of the clan's Jonin, then added facilities to the training grounds and covertly prepared materials to repair the external Barrier.

As the funds arrived, internal pressure eased, and Sima Yi and Shisui soon discovered another problem.

"The clan has only a little over a thousand members; although there are many elites, only you and Fugaku can open the Kaleidoscope. If we cannot improve quality, it would be best to enact policies encouraging childbirth."

The Uchiha bloodline is extremely strong; once the Copy Wheel Eye awakens, ordinary ninja are no match. If there were enough Uchiha ninja—not tens of thousands, but even three thousand—they could comfortably take over Konoha.

"Having children?"

Shisui was taken aback; with Uemura Kishi violently opening the situation on the Tōkaidō, internal clan pressure would gradually lessen, but that's for the clan as a whole; the money won't instantly flow to ordinary clan members, and ordinary members don't have a strong desire to have children.

"Launch a Clan Council campaign, give a reward for each birth, how about that?"

The Clan Council was firmly held by Shisui; he intended to shape it into an internal policy‑propaganda venue, deliberately avoiding any topics related to Konoha, thereby separating the Council from external decision‑making.

"Giving direct rewards is doable, but we must address the root; start by demolishing some houses on the clan's outskirts, then launch construction projects hiring clan members, pay them wages, and as their income rises they'll naturally want children."

"Just like last time, I understand; I'll plan what to build."

Shisui has experience with such matters; he grasps it instantly and quickly returns to the clan's construction.

Busy days always pass quickly; Sima Yi roams the edge of the clan lands, continuously inspecting the clan Barrier, then makes revisions on paper. He plans to modify the family Barrier foundation, and for that he has specifically taken many children from the clan seal class for practical teaching.

Unwittingly, Sima Yi has been in this world for more than ten months, and there is just over a month left before he can obtain the next point.

(End of chapter)