Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 3: First Words, First steps, and First Ramen

Minato sighed. "Why did I even take this job again?" he asked no one in particular, except maybe the baby next to him. Two months had passed since that day, the day Naruto traveled back to the past and the day he saved his parents. Naruto was in the Hokage's office while his dad was working on the mountain of paperwork that was sitting on his desk, a lot of it doing with Kumogakure.

Konohagakure and Kumogakure were no longer at war any more, the war between them having ended around a year ago. However, that didn't mean that tensions were high between the two shinobi villages.

The Third Shinobi World War was coming to a close with Iwagakure pulling out of any military advances, mainly due to the actions of a particular blonde Leaf ninja, and rumors were circulating around the nations that Kirigakure was planning on doing the same. This is usually how wars on the scale of Shinobi World Wars ended, very anticlimactic. At the beginning, there was much anxiety amongst all nations with every nation dispatching their shinobi with the hopes of conquering one of the villages. However, as time passed, villages would cut back on the amount of offensive assaults they would carry out and switch to a more defensive position. This was due to many possible reasons. One, a village was beginning to lose numbers as casualties of war increased. This was the case with Iwa's change in tactics. Second, a village could find themselves under heavy assault and they could not afford to send their resources out on offensive endeavors. This was also another reason why Iwa began to pull out. Third, was internal struggle. This was the reason Kiri pulled out of the war as they were now in the middle of a civil war that looked like it was going to be long and bloody. The final reason was that a country began to lose sight in to why they were at war or their main objective was complete. This was Konoha's case. At the beginning of the war, Konoha's main enemy was Iwa, who was practically defeated at the time. With Iwa defeated, Konoha had no real reason to continue a war, but other nations did. One such nation was Kumo.

Kumo had been regarded as war-loving due to the habit they had of either starting wars or joining wars in which they had no business in with the hopes of earning some sort of spoil, whether it be money, support, or a new bloodline. Konoha was no longer officially at war with anyone, but there were still a few aggressive actions from Kumo every now and then, resulting in a pile up of paper work for the young Hokage.

Naruto was sitting in a cradle-like seat simply doing…well not much really. This was the one thing about being a baby that Naruto really hated. He couldn't talk because his vocal chords weren't developed, he couldn't walk or crawl because his legs and arms weren't developed, and worst of all…he couldn't eat ramen because he had no teeth. All he could really do was enjoy the company of his parents, which considering he lived for 17 years without them, really wasn't a bad thing.

A few minutes passed and the secretary came into Minato's office. "Sir, there have been reports of 'disturbances' around the bathing district" said the secretary before handing Minato the report and leaving the office.

"Looks like Ero-Sennin's back in town" thought Naruto. He couldn't wait to see that over grown pervert again. The last time he had seen him was just before Jiraiya left to go to Amegakure, his final mission before dying at the hands of Pein…that got Naruto thinking.

The memories of returning to find out Jiraiya had died came back to him and they hurt. He had been devastated, only to be helped back up by Shikamaru and Iruka-sensei. Speaking of those two, he was wondering when he would eventually see them. He couldn't wait to see all his old friends again, and now because he wasn't some 'Demon Brat' anymore, perhaps the parents of Konoha would be nice to him.

One other thought came to mind. Had Pein been created yet? Or were Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko still alive and well. If he was correct, the time it currently was should have indicated that Hanzo wouldn't double cross them for at least another 8 or 9 years, which meant he still had time. If he could save Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko, that would go a long way towards stopping the future. Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about it now.

"Well, well. Looks like a certain pervert is back in town. I think I'm going to go greet your sensei" said Kushina as she entered the room, hearing the report. Minato cringed at the thought of Kushina dealing with Jiraiya. She was almost as bad as Tsunade when it came to beating the peeping perv.

"So what do you think Naruto, you ready to meet your godfather?" asked Minato, going over to Naruto's cradle.

"QUIT PEEPING YOU PERV!" was heard all over the village, followed by a 'thwack' and then the sound of crashing boards as Jiraiya came sailing into Minato's office with a bruised and bloody face.

"Hey, there he is. There's my godson" said Jiraiya. He managed to recover himself and began dancing around with the little bundle of joy in his hands.

"Umm sensei…that's a pot" commented Minato. Jiraiya shook his head, still dazed from the blow and proceeded to the real Naruto.

"Hey! There's my little godson. It's your uncle Jiraiya." Naruto looked at the old man with an expression that was mixed with longing, sadness, and a little bit of 'who the hell is this creeper'.

"Kushi-chan, I think you over did it that time" commented Minato to Kushina, who had just stepped back into the office.

"Nonsense, he had what was coming to him for peeping" replied Kushina.

"I wasn't peeping. I was researching for my next book" Jiraiya defended.

"Well that still doesn't mean you can go around peeping into hot springs" said Kushina.

"What I was doing was perfectly fine. Isn't that right, Naruto?" said Jiraiya, pinching the 2-month old's cheeks. Naruto smiled. "See, Naruto agrees with me."

Now, Naruto couldn't walk, or talk, or call the perverted sage what he really was. But, there was something he could do that, being a baby, he could easily get away with.

"Blegh!"

"Hahahahahaha!" Kushina found herself rolling on the floor laughing, unable to breath as Jiraiya paled, giving Naruto one of those 'you're kidding me, right?' looks. Baby Naruto looked at Jiraiya with a big grin on his face, who handed the kid to Minato before going to wash the baby vomit off his shirt.

A few minutes later, Jiraiya returned. "I'm watching you, brat" he said, staring at Naruto, who was looking innocently at Jiraiya. "Fine, if bribing you is what it takes, then here." Jiriaya handed Naruto a stuffed frog, which Naruto immediately began playing with.

"It's good you're back Sensei" said Minato as everyone in the office regained themselves.

"Well, I had to stop back eventually to see the kid" said Jiriaya. "Anyways, have you made any progress on what happened that night, especially between Kushina and Furball?"

"Sadly no. I don't know how exactly to explain it. First he was trying his hardest to get out and then he instantly calms down. Next think I know, I'm in my mindscape and he's warning me about some guy named Uchiha Madara and that I'm in danger. A few seconds later, 'm forced out of my mind and there is the same man I was warned about, going for Naruto. I don't know. If the Kyuubi hadn't warned me, then who knows what would have happened" said Kushina.

"I know, and you wouldn't like it" replied Naruto to himself.

"Still I've tried to talk to him on that, but he's gone right back to being the insensitive jerk he was before. I can't even go five seconds of talking to him without him insulting me or something" said Kushina.

"What are you doing? I thought you changed" thought Naruto.

"I'll stop insulting you when you get this damn stake out of my chest…hehe, it's actually kind of fun to act like an arrogant bastard again" laughed the Kyuubi to himself. It was true, he'd insult her, she'd get flustered, and he'd laugh when she left. He would reveal the truth when and if Naruto ever revealed his own truth.

About another three months had passed and Naruto was really beginning to get tired of the baby stuff at this point. He was still considered immobile at this point despite all of his efforts to even try and crawl. If there was one thing about being a baby that he hated, it was the stinking diapers…literally. He figured once he got to the point where he could walk, then he wouldn't need diapers as he'd be able to use the toilet. The next time he traveled back in time he was coming back to a point where he could walk.

However, there was one thing that he had noticed about himself. The other day, while minding his own business, he noticed something hard and boney coming out of his bottom gum. It was a tooth. When his mom realized that, she pretty much flipped with excitement. This only meant one thing, his life was about to get a whole lot better…that's right, it was time for ramen.

Fortunately for him, Minato and Kushina had gone to Ichiraku for lunch and they had brought him with them. The first thing he noticed was that Old Man Teuchi really wasn't THAT old and that there was a little girl, probably about 5 years old, standing behind the counter watching at what Teuchi was doing.

"Wait, that can't be Ayame-chan, can it?" thought Naruto. In fact, it was. Apparently her dad had brought her into work that day. And so began the start of his favorite father-daughter-run ramen stand.

Finally, the moment Naruto had been waiting for. After what seemed like too much talking between Teuchi and his parents, the ramen came. Fortunately for him, he was sitting in his mother's lap and was actually within reach of the bowl of ramen. Unfortunately, before he could even get his hands on a noodle, the entire bowl was gone, replaced by an empty bowl. Kushina had practically downed the entire bowl and was already in the process of ordering another one. He looked over at his dad, who was eating his ramen much slower, but enjoying it none the less. Apparently, both of his parents were ramen lovers with Minato being the savor-it type and Kushina…well, let's just say he knew what side of the family his ramen-eating habits came from.

On the tenth bowl, Naruto's opportunity came as Minato managed to distract Kushina long enough for him to make another go at the bowl. Minato saw this, but Kushina didn't as she went for the bowl, taking it from in front of a now disappointed Naruto. "Aww, did the big mean Red Habanaro take your ramen?" asked Minato in a sort of googly tone. Kushina scowled at this as Minato took Naruto from her lap and put him on his own.

"Thank Kami, dad to the rescue. Well, I guess that answers THAT dilemma" thought Naruto. Minato took some noodles from his second bowl, cooling them a little before feeding them to an ever joyful Naruto, who happily slurped up the noodles. Letting out a little burp, everyone at the stand either laughed or was going 'awww'.

"Looks like the love of ramen runs in the family" commented Teuchi.

"Dada" said Naruto as everyone's attention turned to the little blonde. Naruto had just said his first words (at least in this time).

"Naruto? What did you just say?" asked a Hokage who was in complete disbelief.

"Dada…dada" said Naruto again. Minato was filled with joy that he was his son's first words.

"Haha, my son just said his first word!" shouted the Hokage. Kushina sent him a glare, angry that she wasn't the subject of her son's first words. "Looks like I win." Apparently, Minato and Kushina had been having a little competition as to who's name Naruto would say first. Naruto knew about this, being able to understand them since he was born and he had been able to actually talk for a few weeks, but he figured he'd wait and see which parent passed his test.

"It's only because you gave him ramen" scoffed Kushina, causing Minato to grin even bigger. She turned away from then, crossing her arms and pouting a little.

"You can't underestimate the power of ramen" thought Naruto.

Naruto turned to his pouting mother and used the Puppy Dog Eyes no Jutsu, the only jutsu he was able to use at this point in time. "Ma-ma?" he called out.

Kushina fell for it, turning her head to look into his bright blue puppy dog eyes. "Kawai!" she screamed out. "I could never stay mad at you my little Naruto-kun" Kushina said as she swiped Naruto from Minato's arms and proceeded to squeeze him.

For Naruto, he was finally able to talk, even if just a little, and he was now eating ramen again. All that was really left was walking. Once he was able to do that, it would only be a matter of time.

Eleven months had passed since he was born…again. He couldn't believe how difficult it was to walk. He had been spending the past ten months trying o get himself to be able to walk. If there was anything he wanted right now, it was the ability to walk…even more so than ramen.

Speaking of ramen, he could smell the aroma of cooking ramen coming from the kitchen, meaning he knew what was for dinner. The first time he had his mother's home cooked ramen, he couldn't believe it. There was actually ramen better than Ichiraku and it was his mom's own home-made ramen. Screw walking, he wanted ramen now. Ne began to crawl towards the kitchen. On the bright side, he had learned how to crawl a couple of weeks ago and was at least somewhat mobile.

He made his way to the threshold between the family room and the kitchen and the aroma began to intensify. His mom was in there, making ramen. Unbeknownst to him, Naruto slowly made his way to his feet as he stumbled forward towards the pot of heavenly goodness, bumping into the table on his way in.

This caught Kushina's attention and she turned around to see who was there. Looking down, she saw Naruto, walking on his own. Not thinking at all, she scooped the child and began squeezing the life out of him as she jumped for joy. A few moments later, she realized what was happening and released her grip on her son. "My baby, I can't believe you just took your first steps" she cried out.

"Huh? I can walk? Yay I can walk! Finally, no more stinkin diapers!" declared Naruto. "Mommy, ramen?" he asked out in a cute voice.

"Aww, how can I say no to that. But not too much or you'll spoil your dinner" she said, taking a small bowl of ramen from the pot on the stove.

Mid slurp, there was a flash in the middle of the kitchen, indicating that Minato had just come home. Giving his redheaded wife a quick kiss, his attention was drawn towards to standing mini-Minato slurping down a small bowl of ramen. "Did he…" asked Minato. Kushina only smiled and nodded and Minato let out a joyful laugh. "My son just took his first steps!"

It was October 10th, now a year since Naruto's return to the past. Naruto had never enjoyed his birthday, no one to celebrate it with, drunken villagers chasing him around with knives, bats, and whatever they could find, and him sitting alone wondering why his life had turned out like it had. However, for once this birthday would be different. There would be no Kyuubi festival, no drunken villagers chasing him around, and he would have family that would actually celebrate his birthday.

Seeing as he was still considered a baby, Minato and Kushina decided to keep the celebrations small and amongst themselves. Naruto could have the parties when he was actually old enough to enjoy them. Kushina had basically invited only themselves, Jiriaya, and the Sandaime and his wife, who Naruto had referred earlier on as Jiji. However, earlier in the day, he caught a glimpse of something that nearly made him cry for the first time since the day he was born…Sasuke. Uchiha Mikoto, a good friend of Kushina's had stopped by earlier to wish Naruto a happy birthday and she was carrying a year-old Sasuke with her. This Sasuke wasn't the same Sasuke that had left the village, nearly tried to kill him, or join Madara in the Fourth Shinobi War. No, this was a Sasuke that could still be saved, one that was still innocent.

Naruto figured he had about 8 years until the Uchiha Incident, if it even occurred at all. Naruto knew the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre. The Uchiha clan had planned to revolt against the village due to the suspicions that were mounting on them as a result of the Kyuubi attack. However, there was no Kyuubi attack. Did that mean that the Uchiha clan wouldn't revolt? Would there even be an Uchiha massacre? Naruto wasn't really sure about this, but he figured that he would play it safe and keep an eye out when the time got near. But for now, he had a birthday to enjoy. The first one in 18 years.

The Sarutobis arrived first. Minato and Kushina invited them as it appeared that Naruto had identified them practically as his grandparents, which the Sandaime was pretty much a grandfather figure to him in the previous timeline. Jiraiya arrived almost an hour later, bearing a huge red imprint of a hand on the side of the face. It wasn't hard to guess what he had been up to.

About two hours after their little party started, a 15-year old version of Kakashi had finally shown up. Even in this timeline, he was still as late as ever. Naruto had been introduced to Kakashi a few months ago, when he finally returned home from an extended mission. Since then, he had seen his past sensei only once or twice, figuring Kakashi had been busy or something. He wondered if he would still get Kakashi as a sensei in this time. If he did, then Kakashi was in for a few surprises during the genin test.

Now that everyone was finally there, Kushina brought out the thing Naruto was really waiting for…the special ramen. This was the same ramen that he had the day he finally learned to walk. He had been wondering why his mom didn't make it more, considering how good it was. He learned that there were a few ingredients in her recipe that were rare and very expensive. As such, that ramen she made was only for special occasions.

For presents, well he couldn't believe that he was actually getting presents for his birthday. Even if they were typical presents for a one year old, they were gifts none the less.

Unfortunately, the night nearly ended in disaster with Naruto almost taking a topple down the stairs. Curse the clumsiness that he still had in this body. Minato managed to catch him, but not before Naruto had fallen down a few steps already, resulting in a few bruises and cuts. Pretty much everyone had expected Naruto to cry, as a normal one-year old had done, but to everyone's surprise, he just gritted with the pain.

"That's a pretty tough boy you've got there" said Jiraiya. "Falls down the steps and doesn't cry."

"It's strange that you should mention that. Kushina and I were expecting a hassle during the first year of raising a child. You know, being woken in the middle of the night by a crying baby, five times over" said Minato. Sarutobi and Biwoko nodded, knowing what parenthood of a baby was like. "But, for some reason, I've never heard him cry…not since the day he was born. If he wants something, he either says so or at least he used to make some sort of noise, but he never really cried."

"Well, I never cried for something has never gotten me anything" thought Naruto. That was true, during his first childhood, crying never gave him any attention and eventually he stopped crying. The only time when he would cry was when he lost someone precious to him. But that crying was because of emotions, not because he wanted something.

Kushina was trying to nurse the few scrapes on Naruto's arms, when said scrapes caught everyone's attention. "Hey Minato, well look at that" said Jiraiya, pointing to the scrapes on Naruto's arm. "Looks like he has Kushina's bloodline."

"Bloodline?" thought a surprised Naruto.

"I didn't know you had a bloodline, Kushina-sensei" said Kakashi.

"Well, I tend to keep it a secret so don't tell anyone" said Kushina. Everyone nodded. "My clan, besides their renown skills in kenjutsu and fuinjutsu were also known for their incredible vitality and longevity. We also have a bloodline that went along with it. Basically we could heal any non-fatal wound in just a fraction of the time that it would normally heal. For example, a broken bone would heal in hours and cuts would be healed in seconds to minutes."

"Wait? Does that mean my healing was a bloodline? Not the Kyuubi?" thought Naruto. "Wow! This is cool! Even without the Kyuubi I still won't have to put up with hospital food!"

"I know what your thinking Naruto, and no I did not heal you except for when that bastard friend of yours put a hole through your chest" thought Kurama.

"It also means I'm not affected by most poisons and diseases" said Kushina. She then shot a glare at Jiraiya. "Although, the bloodline is one secret we try to keep secret. Can you imagine what other villages and clans would do if they figured out?"

"Sorry, it left me for a moment when I realized your brat had it as well" said Jiraiya.

"Hey! He's not a brat!" objected Kushina.

"He was the moment he threw up on me in your office" said Jiraiya. Kushina and Naruto laughed at the memory.

Naruto still couldn't believe it. He had a bloodline. After all the bragging amongst other shinobi he met in the previous timeline about them having a bloodline, he couldn't believe his luck.

It was a little over two years now since that fateful night. Naruto had finally gotten his motor control to a point where he could actually begin training a little. Unfortunately for him, his chakra control in this new body was even worse than he ever had, partially due to his age and still rapidly developing body. His speech was at the point where he could put together coherent sentences and no longer had to use a combination between baby-talk and English (yes I know. For this purpose, they speak English for the most part).

Naruto was outside, behind the Namikaze estate, trying to do the leaf concentration exercise at an attempt of getting some form of chakra control so that he could see which jutsu he could still do.

"Naruto…you out here?" called out Minato. He caught Naruto trying to do the leaf concentration exercise. "Is that Naruto? And why is he doing that? I might have mentioned chakra to him once or twice, but I never showed him how to control it. After all, most parents haven't even thought about their kid being ninja yet."

Naruto heard this and his concentration broke, startled and afraid he might have been caught. "Naruto, what are you doing?"

"Dad, you see I was just seeing if I stick this leaf to my head" said Naruto. He was busy trying to come up with some sort of lie, but it needed to have some element of truth to it.

"I see, but where did you learn about that. Your mother and I may have mentioned chakra to you, but no one's told you how to use it yet" said Minato.

"Well, I kind of overheard one of the teachers at the academy talk about this the other day when you took me there. They said something like concentrate on the leaf to work on something they called chaka control?"

"You mean chakra control?" asked Minato.

"Yeah, that's it!" exclaimed Naruto. So far his dad was buying it.

"Okay, but just know dinner will be ready soon" said Minato, walking off and leaving Naruto to his business. "Chakra control already?"

"I was about that age when my dad started working with me" said Kakashi hopping down from a tree.

"Kakashi, don't you have a mission you should have left for two hours ago?" asked Minato.

"Hehe, I'm heading there right now sensei" said Kakashi as he took off.

"Hmm. Maybe. I wanted him to just be a kid a bit longer before I began teaching him about being a shinobi, but perhaps it is about time Kushi-chan and I start working on him" thought Minato.

The following day, Minato took Naruto into the back of the estate and told Naruto that he would begin training him to some extent if that was what Naruto wanted. But first he asked Naruto a question. "Now, I want to know why you want to start on stuff like chakra control already, son?"

Naruto already knew an answer that he could give. It had been the answer he had always given if someone asked him why he wanted to become a ninja. "Because, I want to be just like you tou-san. I want to be Hokage! –ttebayo" declared Naruto.

"-ttebayo? Oh dear, you're mother's not going to be happy" said Minato. Naruto looked at him confused and asked why. "Because, she has that same verbal tick and was hoping you wouldn't pick up on it." Naruto just grinned at this. "Anyways, so you want to be just like me, huh?"

"Yeah! I want to be just like you dad! A strong and powerful ninja who looks after the whole village!" said Naruto, trying his best to give an answer a two-year-old would give. Minato chuckled a little. And so, Minato and Kushina began working on their son's goal to become a strong ninja…and perhaps the next person to take over Minato's position.

Months passed and Naruto was finally getting in some training. It wasn't a lot as his parents still wanted him to enjoy his time as a kid and even he couldn't really complain about that, but it was enough to help him get his chakra control back to the point where he could perform at least a decent henge, although his parents didn't know that because he had worked on that in private.

About two months after his third birthday, a visitor stopped by the Namikaze estate. It was a tall man with long brown hair and pale eyes. If you didn't know better, you would say this man was blind. Standing next to him, holding onto his robes was a rather small girl with the same pale eyes and lavender hair.

"Hiashi-san, what can I do for you today?" asked Minato, greeting the guest.

"Minato-sama, Kushina-sama good day. I just stopped by to invite you to Hinata's third birthday party that will be coming up in a few weeks" said Hiashi, handing Minato the invitation.

Minato took a look at the date on the invitation. "I'm sorry Hiashi, but I don't think I personally will be able to make it. You are aware that is the day the Kumo delegation is coming to sign the Non-Agression Treaty and I don't know if I will have time. Sadly that day is one of those days where my duty as Hokage comes before my duty as a father. However, I will stop over if I can and I'm sure Kushina wouldn't mind bringing Naruto over" said Minato as Kushina smiled and nodded. Kushina and Hotaru, Hiashi's wife and Hinata's mother, were good friends and she would have no problem taking Naruto that day.

It was at this time that Naruto had walked into the family room of the house, stopping dead in his tracks.

*Flashback*

Naruto could feel Pein's chakra inside him, coming in through those rod-things that he had pierced him with. "It's time for us to go, Kyuubi…" said Pein.

Before he could take Naruto away, someone came rushing to his rescue…someone Naruto had not expected.

"I won't let you lay another finger on Naruto!" the newcomer declared.

"What are you doing?! Get out of here! You're no match…" shouted Naruto before he was interrupted.

"I know. I'm just being selfish…" the newcomer said.

"What are you talking about?! What're you doing here? It's dangerous!" shouted Naruto.

"I'm here of my own free will. I used to always cry and give up…I nearly went the wrong way. But you…you showed me the right way. I was always chasing you, wanting to overtake you. I just wanted to walk with you, I wanted to be with you. You changed me! Your smile saved me! So I'm not afraid to die protecting you. Because…I love you!"

*End Flashback*

"Hinata…" said Naruto softly. Until then, he had never heard anyone say it. She was the first person who openly said that they loved him. The time when Sakura confessed to him as well in the Land of Iron, it was honestly that moment, those words from Hinata that had stopped Naruto from accepting Sakura's confession. Despite everything, Hinata really did love him and for many years too.

"But this time is different. Would she still like me? Would she still fall in love with me?" thought Naruto to himself. Unfortunately, only time would tell.

Author Notes

Alright, so there is the next chapter. It is closer in length to how I like writing my chapters (between 5k and 8k words/chapter). Hope you enjoyed.

I decided to start it off by describing the current status of the world. If I am correct, the Third Shinobi World War is still technically going on, but in its waning years. There is not much more action in the war with the exception of a few provocative actions and a few occasional clashes.

I know it started off kind of slow with Naruto not being able to do much; after all, he is still a baby. Even though he may have the mind of a 16/17-year old, the body is still that of a baby/toddler. Most of the first three years of his life was basically spent simply enjoying the time he had with his family and him trying to figure out and strengthen his developing body to the point where he could actually begin to work on a few things.

As for starting Naruto's training when he is just a little older than two, again it is nothing serious (just some basic chakra exercises and physical exercises, but something to get him started). I also would not be surprised if the more prestigious clans (like the Uchiha and the Hyuga) started their children off at a pretty early age (4-5yrs). Again, the difference between most 2-3 year olds and Naruto in this story is that Naruto came from the future and knew how to do a lot of the stuff most kids would have to learn. For him, it was mainly just a waiting game and getting adjusted to a younger body. Also, I think Kakashi graduated from the academy at age 5, so he had to have started working on shinobi training at a very young age as well.

I did try to make the development of Naruto somewhat reasonable and I also tried to add some humorous elements into the mix. Near the end, I introduced Sasuke and Hinata. Hinata will appear in the next chapter while Sasuke won't appear for another chapter or two afterwards. The next couple chapters will cover years 3-6/7 (up until the point where he enters the academy). After I reach that point, I will unfortunately slow down on the rate at which I post chapter due to a lot of stuff that will be happening during the academy years. There will also be a nice surprise for Naruto coming in the next chapter.