Chapter 20: Naruto Grows from Self-Doubt to Confidence

It was a joyful day for Uchiha Itachi. He had successfully obtained permission from the Third Hokage to take the day off, allowing him to spend time with Sasuke and teach him the art of shuriken and kunai throwing. 

 To satisfy Sasuke's curiosity.

 Itachi was always quite indulgent with his younger brother

 However, just when everything seemed normal.

 Itachi suddenly sensed something unusual. 

 He lifted his head and spotted a figure on a large tree ahead, knocking on the tree as if trying to get his attention.

 "Kakashi-senpai?"

 The person in question had distinctive features: a head of white hair, a black mask covering his face, and a ninja headband concealing one eye. 

 These characteristics were all too familiar.

 Uchiha Itachi was taken aback by the unexpected encounter with Kakashi-senpai here. Wasn't Kakashi-senpai supposed to be monitoring the Jinchuriki?

 "Wait! 

 Could it be?

 Uchiha Itachi was a step too slow because his younger brother, Sasuke, was running ahead excitedly. He turned around and shouted, "Brother! There's a river up ahead! Let's camp here and teach me how to throw Shuriken!"

 Sasuke, who wasn't paying attention, ran into an unknown object and cried out in pain. He quickly crouched down and held his head.

 "Sasuke! Come back!" Itachi's expression suddenly changed.

 "Damn it, that hurt!" 

 He grabbed onto something and stood up, only to realize that he was holding onto a piece of cloth.

 Sasuke was stunned.

 He turned to look at the object he had run into, only to realize that it wasn't a tree but rather a person's foot. He saw a large shoe in front of him.

 Shoe?

 Foot?

 Five-year-old Sasuke swallowed his saliva. He raised his head stiffly and looked up to see a giant who was looking down at him.

 Little Sasuke was dumbfounded!

 "Giant... Giant... Giant..."

Sasuke had been staying in the Uchiha compound for a while and hadn't been out much. 

 He hadn't heard any rumors or gossip about the outside world. 

 He had no idea that a man named Whitebeard had appeared in Konohagakure.

 He looked up into Whitebeard's eyes.

 The emotions in his eyes were mixed.

 * Shock

 * Fear

 * Curiosity

 "Gurarararara!" Whitebeard's gaze moved away from Sasuke and turned to Itachi, who was standing nearby, ready to fight. He had a cheerful smile on his face. "Hey, kid, your voice sounds familiar. Were you the masked kid I saw last night?"

 "Yes," Itachi said. He knew he couldn't hide from the man, especially since Kakashi had called him by name the night before.

 In this situation, there was no need to hide anymore.

 "Your little brother?" Whitebeard was referring to Uchiha Sasuke.

 "...Yes," Itachi could only answer in agreement.

 He could only respond with two consecutive "yes."

 "Gurararara! He is about the same age as my son!" Whitebeard slowly crouched down and asked the terrified Sasuke, "Hey black-haired Kid, What is your name?"

 "Uchiha S-Sasuke!" 

 Sasuke replied

 It was an uncontrollable fear, and even with Whitebeard's restrained aura, the overwhelming presence was something a child could not resist.

 Even Naruto, when he first encountered Whitebeard, had a similar reaction to Sasuke.

 "Uchiha?" The familiar surname made Whitebeard raise an eyebrow. "Isn't that the Konoha's Police Force?" !

 "Gurararara! You foolish son! Come over!" !

 Whitebeard shouted to Naruto. "I found you a new friend! An Uchiha kid who looks like a girl!"

 *snap...*

 Just after finishing his 50th push-up, Naruto lay exhausted on the ground, panting heavily like a tired fox.

 But upon hearing Whitebeard's words, his ears perked up, and he managed to crawl to his feet.

 "A new friend?" The somewhat disheveled Naruto looked at Sasuke and said in amazement, "He really does look like a girl!"

 This father and son duo kept calling him "girl," which widened Sasuke's eyes. 

 Disregarding his fear of the "giant," he blushed and tried to defend himself. "I'm not a girl! I'm an Uchiha! and I'm a boy!"

 "The blush makes you look more like a girl!" Naruto was astounded.

 "Ah!!!!" Sasuke couldn't hold back anymore.

 He quickly turned to Uchiha Itachi. "Brother, I don't look like a girl, do I?!"

 "Well, you don't," Uchiha Itachi naturally sided with his younger brother, even though he thought Sasuke did resemble a girl.

 Ahem!

 "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto, despite his aching muscles, walked up to Uchiha Sasuke, grinned broadly, and without his usual melancholy, said, 

 "We're friends from now on! 

 Nice to meet you"

 Sasuke's eyes widened even more.

 Hey Hey hey!

 Did I agree to this?

 "Gurararara! Uchiha kid, it seems your little brother... not too happy about being friends with Naruto?" Whitebeard glanced at Uchiha Itachi with his blank eyes, making Itachi's heart tighten.

 Sasuke was too close to Whitebeard, and Itachi couldn't guarantee that he could safely take Sasuke away from this situation.

 Itachi forced a smile and said, "Sasuke, it's good to make another friend..."

 He knew Naruto was the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. 

 He was even more aware of the consequences if a member of the Uchiha clan had contact with a Jinchuriki.

 But he cannot avoid this situation

 "Okay,"

 Sasuke listened to Itachi. 

 He glanced at Naruto's dirty hand, frowned slightly, and cautiously shook hands with him. He was about to release it, but Naruto held on tightly.

 Hahaha... You're my third friend now!"

 Naruto's face beamed with an even brighter smile.

 It hurts! ! !

 Sasuke instinctively wanted to cry out. Who would have thought that someone of his age could have such a strong grip?

 But he endured the pain.

 "Gurararara! You foolish son! You've met your new friend, now hurry back for special training! I've given you a task of two hundred push-ups, but you've only done fifty!"

 Whitebeard's voice froze Naruto's smile.

He quickly let go of Sasuke's hand and shouted desperately, "Alright, Pops! I'm starting now!" 

 Amid Sasuke's bewildered expression, he watched Naruto run to the side and immediately started doing push-ups on the ground, panting heavily.

 Soon, he was drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted.

 "What is he doing?" Sasuke couldn't understand his behavior.

 "This is Hokage training!" Naruto explained between gasps. "It's special training assigned by my Pops to become a Hokage. As long as I complete this training, I'll get closer to my goal. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm Gonna be a Hokage Dattebayo!"

 "Uchiha Sasuke, just you wait! Among your friends, there will be one who becomes the Hokage of the Konohagkure Village, and that person will be me, Uzumaki Naruto!"

 "Hokage?" Sasuke blinked.

 That's right!" "That's right! After I become the Hokage of Konoha, you, Shikamaru, and Choji will be my advisors!" Naruto raised his thumb enthusiastically.

 However, he couldn't sustain the weight of his body with just one hand, and he ended up sprawling on the ground with a nosebleed.

 Sasuke finally understood the last part. This peculiar guy named Naruto wanted to recruit him as his advisor in the future.

 "I'm the one who's going to be the Hokage!"

 Sasuke instantly felt challenged.

 In reality, he didn't want to become Hokage, but he had an urge to retort, even though he didn't quite know why.

 He had this feeling in his heart.

 This.....

 It was like it was his destiny...

 .....

 ..... 

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