Six months have passed. The leaves of Konohagakure were changing into brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow. It was a calm, peaceful day, the kind where the Nara clan took a day off to enjoy it. At least it was, until...
"NARUTO! GET TO CLASS!"
A nearly eight year old girl with a haircut not unlike the Fourth Hokage's ran for all she was worth.
"Nyaa-nyaa! Can't catch me, Iruka-sensei!"
Or so she thought. However, Iruka had nearly jonin-level speed, and eventually caught her.
Hours later, Naruto was cleaning the "tastefully decorated" Hokage monument.
"Why do you do these things, Naruto?"
The girl remained quiet for a moment.
"Naruto?"
In a quavering voice, she began.
"The cold looks..."
Iruka was very confused.
"What do you mean?"
Naruto hid her face.
"Everyone...seems to hate me. I just don't understand why. Without the pranks...no one cares about what I do. If I get a hundred on an Academy test, I have no one who cares. Without the pranks...no one acknowledges me."
Iruka reached over.
"Naruto..."
The container of the Kyubi turned to face him.
"If you finish...I'll buy you ramen for dinner."
Naruto looked ecstatic.
"I can see Ayame-nee and Teuchi-jiji again!"
The whole monument was clean in under an hour, just in time for dinner
As people passed Ichiraku Ramen, they could see a brown-haired chunin laughing and chatting with a buoyant young girl.
And so, Naruto gained another precious person.