Playing with Naruto.

3rd POV

Seven years later.

A boy with face paint was running swiftly as different people chased after him.

"Come back here, kid!!"

Some were civilians, while others were untalented or lazy ninjas who remained as auxiliary Genin, never having the chance to enter elite squads.

"Hahaha, you can try."

The boy held a few prank ink bombs and laughed in amusement. Noticing that people were closing in on him, he awkwardly moved his hands and formed a few hand seals.

"Wind Style: Levitation Jutsu!"

He jumped just as chakra surged from his body, transforming into small gusts of wind that propelled him upward onto a nearby building, allowing him to escape.

The ninjas immediately planned to pursue him, but at that moment, floating objects began appearing in front of them.

Some of the objects had wind swirling around them, while others simply hovered in place. The most notable among them was a red fox plushie, moving in an oddly vivid and animated manner, even making mocking gestures.

One of the civilians who saw it screamed,

"Ackkk!! The ghost is back!!"

The civilians quickly retreated, while the ninjas grew frustrated. They could sense faint chakra fluctuations, yet they were unable to trace them accurately, as if something was concealing the source. Some thought they could glimpse nearly invisible threads, while the most noticeable force was the wind infused with energy.

Of course, all of this was caused by a young red-haired girl.

She had an elegant, slender body, already showing signs that she would grow into a stunning beauty. Her face bore a cold yet captivating charm, though at the moment, she seemed amused. A faint killing intent flickered in her gaze toward the ninjas, but a deep affection and warmth lingered for the blonde-haired boy still running ahead, seemingly on his way to paint the Hokage's faces.

....

MC POV

I had a lot of fun playing and helping my brother.

Over these past seven years, I trained hard, though I was limited due to my lack of access to techniques ranked C or higher. Fortunately, I managed to blackmail the old Hokage by hinting that I knew who my parents were. At the very least, I secured access to more advanced Fūinjutsu manuals and some Uzumaki heritage techniques. I even received a box from my father, though, to my frustration, I was unable to open it.

I also told my brother about our parents. He didn't give up on becoming Hokage, but now, seemingly trying to follow in our father's footsteps, he became even more passionate—though he did start controlling his pranks... at least a little. Compared to before, at least when he painted the Hokage statues, he never vandalized the Fourth Hokage's face.

As for why these Genin couldn't recognize or find me—well, my chakra control and sensory abilities had improved significantly over the years. I combined them with my Nine Phantom Lotus technique, making it difficult for even Chūnin or elite Chūnin to detect me. Even special Jōnin might not necessarily be able to track me if I made a serious effort to hide. Of course, nothing is perfect—unique Kekkei Genkai users or those with extreme sensory abilities could still have a higher chance of finding me, but it wouldn't be easy.

(Note: A special Jōnin is an advanced Chūnin specializing in a particular field, though still weaker than a true Jōnin.)

As I enjoyed myself, I sensed a presence behind me, which caused me to pause for a second. But I quickly resumed my movements.

"What do you want, Grandpa?"

The person who appeared behind me was none other than the Third Hokage—or rather, one of his shadow clones.

"Little girl, instead of keeping your brother out of trouble, you're helping him cause chaos."

I shrugged indifferently, my expression even carrying a hint of coldness.

"Well, they could be less ignorant and stop being cruel to my brother and me. Not that they dare mess with me much these days."

The Third sighed.

"They are ignorant… but you know not everyone is like that."

I didn't care. No justification was enough to excuse their neglect of a child.

In the anime, Naruto, with no one to support him, suffered immensely, making it impossible for him to see even the faintest traces of kindness in people. Living here, I realized that part of the blame lay in the Third Hokage's negligence and that of some village members. But I decided not to judge too harshly—after all, the world is complicated. Duties, responsibilities, personal trauma, and emotional struggles make things difficult to evaluate, not to mention politics and power struggles.

Of course, that didn't mean they were entirely off the hook for their neglect. That's why I still chose to support my brother's pranks. Obviously, I don't enjoy them myself—cough cough—but they were also useful for gathering some leverage.

Just like I had done with the Third Hokage, securing Fūinjutsu knowledge, more varied jutsu, and even a few rank C techniques. I also made him pay for my Fūinjutsu practice materials and some equipment for me and my brother.

For now, I was satisfied.

The rank C jutsu I obtained were limited, but my greatest "blackmail" reward was probably my flying fox doll.

I reached out my finger, and the fox puppet obediently followed me, settling on my shoulder.

In reality, the fox was a type of puppet. I had managed to make the old man pay a hefty price by obtaining some materials and two stolen scrolls from the Sand Village related to puppet techniques. No one in the village truly had expertise in the art, given the absence of skilled practitioners.

But that didn't stop me from experimenting.

I refined my chakra control, created and controlled my threads, and built my adorable flying fox puppet. Its exterior was made of soft fabric, while its interior contained wood and materials equipped with small traps. I also embedded resistance seals for fire, water, and lightning, energy conduction enhancements, and cloaking mechanisms.

It was both an effective secret weapon and a fun toy.

Personally, I wanted more manuals and puppet designs, but acquiring them would require either stealing them myself or using different forms of blackmail against the old man. I decided to hold off for now—I could use those favors for something else later.

"Anything else, Grandpa?" I asked with an innocent, sweet smile. But he recognized the impatience in my eyes, knowing full well he was interrupting my fun.

"No. Just stop playing around and graduate already."

With a puff of white smoke, he vanished into thin air.

He was referring to the fact that I had delayed my graduation by refusing to perform the clone jutsu.

Not just for Naruto, but even for me, the clone technique was annoyingly difficult. Eventually, I managed to pull it off, but it remained frustrating.

I didn't want to graduate before my brother, so I decided to stay in his class alongside our other friends. Besides, the time was approaching when Mizuki would try to deceive my brother, which would be my opportunity to obtain the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu and read the scroll myself.

Though, I doubted the scroll would be real.

Unlike in the anime, I found it impossible to believe that the Third Hokage, with so many powerful ninjas, ANBU, and security seals protecting the vault, would allow a kid with no real stealth skills to steal something so valuable.

Which meant that the old pervert let it be "stolen" on purpose.

Still, I was curious.

After playing a bit longer, I collected my toys and sealed them inside a spatial scroll strapped to my waist. My fox puppet, which I had named Little Cutie, was stored in another scroll.

I had crafted all my own storage scrolls.

With everything secured, I went to check on my brother's masterpiece.

My body moved swiftly, and with a flicker, I vanished from one spot and reappeared meters ahead—no hand seals necessary.

I had fully mastered the Body Flicker Jutsu (rank D), even eliminating the need for hand signs. My proficiency in space-time techniques seemed to enhance its effects.

In mere moments, I was closing in on my adorable little brother.

(Note: I thought the name "Little Cutie" was simple yet cute and fun.)