บท 29: Chapter 29: Naruto’s Home
The next day, after completing his plans for the day, Natsuro made his way to the agreed-upon location.
"Natsuro, over here!"
When he arrived at the meeting point, he saw Naruto waving excitedly and running toward him. Glancing at Naruto, he noted that despite his habit of arriving early due to his past experiences, Naruto had managed to get there even earlier. Clearly, Naruto was very eager about this visit.
"You're here so early. We still have plenty of time before the agreed hour." Natsuro remarked.
"Heh-heh, I'm just excited." Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed.
Naruto then led the way, guiding him to his home. To be honest, without Naruto's guidance, finding his place would have been quite challenging.
As they approached the house, Natsuro observed that it was fairly large. For Naruto living alone, it was quite spacious. This was likely the residence provided to him by the Third Hokage.
It was obvious that Naruto could not live in the Fourth Hokage's former residence, as it would only draw more attention to the connection between him and the Fourth Hokage. In fact, the village was keeping the relationship between the Fourth Hokage and Naruto a secret.
So, this house was certainly not the Fourth Hokage's old residence.
Soon, Naruto led Natsuro inside. Before entering, he noticed some marks on the door that seemed to have been cleaned off. It was not surprising; although Naruto's house was in a secluded area, it wasn't uncommon for people to find it and do unreasonable things, like carving graffiti or vandalizing it.
Inside the house, he was surprised to see that although Naruto's room wasn't spotless, it was quite tidy. For a boy his age, this level of cleanliness was quite commendable.
"By the way, do you have any plans for what to do next?" Natsuro suddenly asked Naruto.
"Huh?" Naruto blinked, not quite understanding why there would need to be a plan.
He sighed. It was unrealistic to have high expectations from Naruto and asked, "So what do you usually do?"
"Usually?" Naruto thought for a moment. "I guess I don't do much. Sometimes I wander around by myself or go play in the village."
Natsuro glanced at Naruto, deciding not to pursue the topic further. "Play in the village" probably meant doing some odd things to attract attention.
"So, do you have anything to play with at home?" Natsuro asked.
Naruto thought for a while and then shook his head, replying, "Do you know of anything fun to do?"
At that moment, hefell silent. What was there to do for fun? He couldn't remember much from his childhood and with no smartphones in this world, he struggled to think of something entertaining. He shook his head.
"So we're the same, huh?" Naruto said with a grin.
"We're different. I don't play because I choose not to, while you don't play because there's nothing to play with." he said, rolling his eyes.
Naruto squinted, not quite seeing the difference. To him, not having anything to do was the same as choosing not to do anything.
"Do you have any problems with your lessons? I could help you with them." Natsuro suggested, since there didn't seem to be anything else to do. Besides, he had forgotten to bring any books, and if he had known Naruto had no plans, he would have brought his own study materials.
"Huh? You want to study even on a day off?" Naruto seemed reluctant.
"Stop complaining. Your theoretical knowledge isn't very good." he said, giving Naruto a pointed look.
"Okay, okay." Naruto reluctantly agreed and pulled out his textbook, starting to read with a frustrated expression.
Natsuro had nothing else to do, so he took the opportunity to carefully examine Naruto's room. It was quite well-equipped with appliances like a refrigerator, washing machine, and air conditioner. He found the technology in this world to be quite confusing, and it was clear that Naruto couldn't afford these items on his own.
Most likely, these were provided by the Third Hokage. If the Fourth Hokage's inheritance had been given to Naruto, it would make him a wealthy child. It seemed what the Third Hokage was giving was not as much as the Fourth's inheritance, but it was enough, well enough to solve the issue of his expenses. The problem was that Naruto couldn't spend the money wisely.
There was a lot of instant noodles and milk in the refrigerator, which was probably also from the Third Hokage. Given Naruto's tendency to waste money, the Hokage likely decided that sending easy-to-store food was better than giving him cash. As for the rest, even if it was fresh meat, Naruto would have to know how to cook. However, even with ample milk, the nutritional value of instant noodles was insufficient. This could explain why Naruto was shorter in his early years, with rapid growth spurt happening later under Jiraiya's care.
Yet despite his poor diet, his chakra reserves was enviable.
Noting the abundance of milk, he checked the expiration dates. The milk was still fresh on the outside, but looking inside he found some that had already expired.
"Does the Third Hokage really send expired food to Naruto?" he wondered. It seemed unlikely. If Naruto had consumed expired milk, he would be spending all his time in the bathroom. The reality was that Naruto had not yet drunk any of the expired milk.
The issue likely lay with Naruto himself. Natsuro called out, "Naruto."
"Huh? What's up?" Naruto looked up from his textbook, noticing Natsuro standing by the fridge with milk in hand. His eyes brightened as he said, "If you want to drink some, feel free. I've got plenty."
"I'm not here to drink it. I just wanted to let you know that you should use the milk from the inside." he said.
"Why? Isn't it more of a hassle?" Naruto asked, puzzled.
"Don't you always take from the outermost part?" Natsuro asked.
"Well, of course!" Naruto replied.
"But if you keep drinking from the outside, the inner milk will expire." Natsuro explained.
"Ah?!" Naruto came over, looked at the milk in Natsuro's hand, and checked the dates. He scratched his head and said, "I didn't notice that. What should I do if the outer milk expires?"
"Just keep drinking from the inside. When the inside is finished, the outer milk will become the new inside. If you drink frequently, you might never get to the innermost milk, so it will expire." Natsuro said with a sigh. How could Naruto not understand this?
"Oh, I get it now!" Naruto exclaimed with a clap of his hands, finally understanding. "Natsuro, you're so smart!"
He couldn't help but sigh. Even though Naruto praised him, he didn't feel particularly pleased. It wasn't about being smart; it was just that Naruto was unusually slow in grasping such simple concepts. It was hard to believe that neither the Fourth Hokage nor his wife showed such traits.
"Just remember to follow this advice. By the way, you've looked at your book. Do you have any questions?" Natsuro asked.
"Um…" Naruto scratched his head.
"You don't understand anything, do you?" Natsuro gave Naruto a resigned look.
"Heh-heh~" Naruto gave a silly grin.
He had never felt so frustrated before. He had expected Naruto's theoretical knowledge to be lacking, but this level of ignorance was beyond his expectations.
Now, Natsuro felt like a frustrated tutor dealing with a child's homework, constantly on the brink of losing patience.
Why did he even agree to help Naruto with his studies? If only he could rewind time and avoid this trouble altogether!
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SaintXI
SaintXI A/N: Honestly this chapter is quite sad, seeing a child not geting the right nutrition mainly because of the lack of guidance or parental figures in his life really makes you reflect.
I dont get how the Third Hokage could deal with that guilt. You'd think it would be crippling for most people...
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