Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 47

Naruto's mouth practically twisted to his ears: "That's right! We experienced a real ninja battle!"

Sasuke remained indifferent, but a barely perceptible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Hinata stood to the side, her fingers nervously twisting together, stealing glances at Naruto, her cheeks slightly flushed: "Naruto-kun... are you alright?"

Naruto said proudly, "Of course I can't get hurt!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto: "I wonder who was the one who was all injured back then."

Naruto said directly, "It's definitely you!"

The two of them spending a lot of time browsing Taobao made the atmosphere much more cheerful.

Hong finally spoke, interrupting the bizarre conversation: "Alright, the mission is important, let's go."

Kakashi lazily followed: "Let's go, don't waste any more time."

After the group set off, Kiba noticed that Shino deliberately kept his distance from Naruto and would occasionally look at him with a suspicious gaze.

Kiba whispered to Shino, "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you staring at Naruto like that..."

Shino pushed up her glasses: "...The insect is very uneasy."

"Huh? It's definitely Naruto, his scent hasn't changed." Kiba said, sniffing Naruto's scent to confirm that this person was indeed Naruto.

Shino said in a deep voice, "I'm not sure, but I always feel that Naruto is unconsciously exuding a kind of... domineering aura."

Inside the sealed space, Madara noticed Shino's subtle movements: "That kid with glasses is quite perceptive."

Minato followed Madara's gaze and said, "Judging from that, he must be Shiki's child. Their clan are all experts in training insects."

Nine-Tails yawned: "I hate bugs."

“The Aburame clan, no wonder they could sense it,” Madara said thoughtfully.

At this moment, Hinata walked beside Naruto, glancing at him every now and then, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Sakura leaned close to Sasuke and whispered, "Sasuke, have you noticed anything?"

Sasuke glanced at her out of the corner of his eye: "Hyuga has always liked that idiot, but the question is, does that idiot know it?"

Sakura couldn't help but sigh, "Sigh, when will Naruto realize it?"

Hinata's feelings for Naruto are known to all her classmates, except for Naruto himself.

After all, if someone doesn't like it, who would make bento boxes for that guy every day?

However, Naruto remained unmoved by Hinata's feelings each time. He would praise Hinata's good points, but he never realized that she liked him.

In the past, some classmates had tried to set them up, but Naruto just wondered why they would do that, since they were already friends.

Ultimately, the other students had no choice but to give up.

Meanwhile, inside the sealed space, Minato listened to Kurama's story about Hinata before he awoke.

Minato looked at Madara with a hint of resentment: "Madara-san, this isn't good for Naruto's physical and mental health, is it?"

Madara, however, remained nonchalant: "It's just a pointless relationship, why bother caring so much?"

Kurama chuckled and said, "Minato, you don't need to worry. Old Madara is a once-in-a-millennium abstinence type; he's completely uninterested in women."

"Scattered fox, what ascetic type? I'm only interested in the strong."

That's why she and Hashirama had a love-hate relationship.

Chapter 53 Naruto, what is liking?

The escort mission has been underway for three days, and the caravan is making steady progress along the winding mountain road.

The morning sunlight filters through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Naruto, who was walking at the front of the group, stretched out a big yawn, his golden hair shimmering in the sunlight.

Ah—the weather is so nice today!

Naruto turned to Sasuke behind him and grinned: "Hey, Sasuke, how about a contest to see who gets to that big tree first? The loser buys ramen!"

Sasuke snorted coldly, a hint of disdain flashing in his dark eyes: "Who would want to engage in such a boring competition with you?"

"Hehe, come on, come on!" Naruto said with a grin.

Just then, Hinata, who was walking on the side of the group, suddenly raised her hand, and the veins around her white eyes bulged: "Wait! There is a chakra reaction 500 meters ahead. There are about 15 people lying in ambush behind the rocks on both sides of the road."

Naruto immediately dropped his playful expression and turned to Hinata: "Really? Hinata, you're amazing! You could spot me from so far away!"

Hinata's face flushed instantly, and her fingers unconsciously twisted together: "Th-this is what I should do..."

Shino pushed up his sunglasses and calmly added, "Judging from the chakra reaction, they should just be ordinary bandits, not ninjas."

Kiba crouched down and let Akamaru sniff the air: "Akamaru also confirmed that there is no scent of chakra."

Sakura put her hands on her hips and smiled confidently: "That makes things simple. Let's take a slightly longer route to avoid them, okay? After all, our mission is to escort, not to wipe out bandits."

Naruto frowned: "But what if they attack other caravans later?"

After all, whether other caravans have ninja escorts is a question.

He would feel guilty if others were robbed because of this.

At that moment, Madara's voice rang in Naruto's mind: "Go ahead and fight if you want, but you can't use any ninjutsu, only taijutsu. It would be a waste to use ninjutsu against someone like that."

Minato nodded slightly in agreement: "Indeed, this can train Naruto's taijutsu."

Nine-Tailed Fox lazily interjected, "If you ask me, we should just fart and drive them away."

The conversation between the three fathers made Naruto burst out laughing, which made Sasuke next to him look at him with a "you're an idiot" expression.

Ultimately, under Kakashi's guidance, they chose a slightly longer route to avoid the bandits.

Throughout the process, Hinata's Byakugan continuously monitored the bandits' movements, ensuring the caravan's safe passage through the dangerous area.

During their midday rest, the caravan stopped on a wide-open meadow.

The wealthy merchants alighted from their luxurious carriages, spread out exquisite carpets, and laid out sumptuous food. In stark contrast, the ninjas simply sat in the shade of a nearby tree.

"My lords, would you like to join us for a meal?" a portly, wealthy merchant greeted him warmly.

Kakashi politely shook his head: "Thank you for your kindness, but we have a rule that we cannot accept hospitality from our clients while on a mission."

Just then, Hinata took out several carefully wrapped bento boxes from her backpack: "Um... I prepared some bento boxes, if everyone doesn't mind..."

"Wow! Hinata, you're amazing!" Naruto's eyes lit up, and he was the first to rush over.

Hinata's face flushed even more. She carefully handed Naruto a lunchbox that was larger than the others: "Naruto-kun...this is for you..."

The bento box was opened, revealing a small sun shaped like a golden egg roll, surrounded by a small fox carved from a carrot, and the rice was shaped like Naruto's favorite ramen bowl.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Naruto exclaimed. "Hinata, you're so kind!"

After saying that, he began to wolf down his food, completely unaware of Hinata's expectant gaze and slightly trembling fingers.

Inside the sealed space, Minato covered his face: "My God, how can my son be so slow..."

Minato doesn't consider himself a handsome guy who can charm countless girls, but he does have at least some emotional intelligence. Otherwise, how would he have managed to win over Kushina, that fiery hot pepper?

However, Naruto gave him the feeling of being an unbreakable piece of ironwood.

Ban smiled knowingly: "At least he thanked me; that shows basic politeness."

Nine-Tails was laughing so hard he was rolling on the ground: "Hahaha, this kid didn't even notice the girl's feelings! Look at the artistry of that bento! I've lived for hundreds of years and never seen such thoughtfully prepared food!"

Minato looked at Madara with resentment: "It's all your fault... How exactly did you educate him before I woke up?"

Ban looked away somewhat guiltily: "At least he didn't turn out badly..."

I don't think I taught him anything wrong, since he used to learn all the training his dad taught him, which was very normal (Spartan) training.

In the real world, Sasuke, watching Naruto's rude eating habits, couldn't help but mock him: "You loser, can't you eat with a little more grace?"

With his mouth full of food, Naruto mumbled, "Mmm... Food should be enjoyed! Hinata's cooking is so delicious!"

Upon hearing this, Hinata seemed to steam rising from her body, her fingers gripping the hem of her clothes tightly: "Th-thank you, Naruto-kun..."

Sakura shook her head helplessly, leaned close to Hinata's ear and whispered, "This girl is completely hopeless, isn't she?"

Hinata smiled gently, "No... Naruto-kun is just that kind of sincere person... I like him very much..."

Sakura, seeing Hinata's expression, suddenly understood something, her eyes widening: "Wait, Hinata, you wouldn't...!"

Hinata hurriedly waved her hand, "N-nothing!" But because of the large movement, she accidentally knocked over her own lunchbox.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, watching as the carefully prepared food was about to spill on the ground.

A golden figure flashed by, and Naruto caught the falling lunchbox with astonishing speed, without spilling a single grain of rice.

"Phew—that was close!" Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and handed the lunchbox back to Hinata. "Hinata, be careful, it would be such a waste to spill such delicious food!"

Hinata stared blankly at Naruto, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest: "Th-thank you, Naruto-kun..."

In their inner world, the three "fathers" remained silent for a few seconds.

Minato smiled with satisfaction: "I think I've still retained some of my personality."

Ban snorted: "Just an instinctive reaction."

Nine-Tailed Fox scratched his chin: "Is this the speed he unleashed just to eat? This kid has the style of my younger days."

Ban then mocked, "No wonder you're so fat!"

Nine-Tailed Fox roared in fury: "Where am I fat?!"

Chapter 54 Naruto, the Emotionally Ignorant

The afternoon's journey went smoothly until nightfall, when the caravan set up camp by a stream.

The wealthy merchants stayed in luxurious tents, while the ninjas took turns keeping watch.

Naruto and Hinata were assigned to the first half of the night's guard duty.

The night sky was dotted with stars, and the stream flowed gently. Naruto sat on a large rock, gazing into the darkness.

Hinata stood not far from him, her Byakugan continuously scanning the surrounding movements.

“Hey, Hinata,” Naruto suddenly said, “your Byakugan is so convenient! We were able to complete this mission so smoothly thanks to you.”