Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 483 Blessing

The "Snake" squad's attack was barely repelled because Naruto repeatedly assured them that Sasuke would return once the Jinchuriki no longer needed protection and appeared on the battlefield. Therefore, these young men, who had suffered greatly from the cruelest aspects of the ninja world, naturally demanded to join the war, despite Naruto's warnings about the dangers.

In just a short while, the second group of companions who came to find Naruto arrived.

"It's really not easy to smell you outside the Hokage Building." The team led by Ya appeared, but it consisted of a few people who didn't have official positions and were relatively free; those who needed to be busy were still extremely busy.

"Make way! Make way!" Ino suddenly cut into the crowd, passing through the middle of the "Snake" squad, and then, with an aggressive air, handed over a bouquet of flowers.

"Congratulations! You've fulfilled your lifelong dream, Sixth Hokage!"

Sasuke paused for a moment, then accepted the bouquet with a smile. It was a bouquet mainly of sunflowers, interspersed with a few pale yellow roses and small white flowers he couldn't name. Since the Ino family owned a florist, sending a bouquet wasn't unexpected.

Kiba, who was posing on the rooftop, immediately jumped down and said indignantly, "Ino, how can this be considered 'first-come, first-served'? I was the one who found the person first."

Ino ignored the guy who lost first place for the sake of a good pose and said, "Shikamaru himself is too busy to stagger his holidays, but he said he would share the meal expenses, so we can't let him off the hook."

"Here, take this." Ya actually gave him a small box that looked unusually proper, its size was just right to hold a kunai.

"You actually went out of your way to make packaging?"

Ya touched his nose awkwardly and said, "My parents forced me to change the gift I chose to this one. I don't know why they have to interfere with me here."

Sasuke had a gut feeling that what was inside was probably very important to Naruto. He opened the box in front of everyone and found a well-preserved special kunai lying inside. Its three forked tips reflected the cold light of metal. Only the wooden handle was slightly faded and worn, with a line of elegant characters engraved on it.

"The Sword of Endurance and Love?" Tenten, whose family owns a weapon shop, read out the words on the handle and complained, "Did your parents even give a kunai a special name?" Such a... cheesy name.

Ya blushed amidst the teasing, but what could he do? If he didn't deliver this today, it might have been his own mother. If he had to lose face, it was the least costly way for him to do it.

However, Naruto remained unusually silent upon receiving the gift, staring intently at the kunai with his head down. It wasn't until everyone sensed something was amiss that he finally said, "Thank you, Kiba, and thank you to all the uncles and aunties. This is truly a very meaningful gift for me."

The lively atmosphere faltered a bit, but Naruto insisted on keeping things under wraps. Instead of explaining the reason on the street, he rushed towards their usual team-building restaurant, surrounded by everyone. On the way, he even asked the "Snake" team, who had been squeezed to the side, if they were coming.

They refused. Before Ino called out the title of "Hokage," they still had the courage to ask this question, but now... well, they were afraid that their recklessness would cause trouble for Sasuke. After all, Naruto's identity was so special. If he were even a few years older, people wouldn't have to overlook his identity as Hokage.

As the saying goes, fame brings trouble.

In the short time it took to eat, several groups of people came to see the heroes of Konoha and tried to get autographs. In the end, the restaurant owner had to move them to a more secluded corner and use a screen as a temporary partition. Everyone joked that the restaurant should expand, as such a small place really couldn't accommodate such popular celebrities.

"Can you tell me the secret of that kunai now?"

"Oh, it's nothing special. It's a specially made kunai, and the words on the handle are the Flying Thunder God mark."

"Flying Thunder God?!"

"Isn't that a technique only Naruto can use?"

"Of course, it's not just me. There are two other Konoha ninjas in history who can use it. This kunai belongs to the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. The four characters you see are his Flying Thunder God mark."

"I had no idea my parents knew the Fourth Hokage!"

"Judging by his age, the Fourth Hokage should be from our parents' generation, so it's normal for us to know him."

"Then, why give me this gift? Is it so you can research the Flying Thunder God Technique?"

"No, it's just returning it to its rightful owner. To me, it's a memento from my father."

The table fell silent instantly, even Choji paused just as he was about to put a piece of grilled meat in his mouth. They had indeed grown up with Naruto and had never heard any rumors about him being a "monster" from their parents, but that didn't mean they could guess that Naruto's parents were like that. The Fourth Hokage was a hero who protected the village from the Nine-Tailed Fox, but Naruto's childhood was completely incompatible with that of a hero's son!

"What's wrong? Keep eating, this meat is going to burn." Naruto seemed to take his parents' status for granted, but how much bitterness lay beneath that smiling face?

no one knows.

"The Inuzuka family are reconnaissance-oriented, so it's reasonable that they were given kunai with the Flying Thunder God mark. It's really unexpected that something like this has been preserved to this day," Naruto remarked in his mental space.

In reality, Sasuke silently pulled a file folder from his bookshelf, placed it on the table with great seriousness, and opened it. Inside were several exceptionally sturdy green property deeds, the unique real estate certificate format of Konoha. To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke flipped through the deeds. Some locations were in the heart of Konoha, while others were in the far suburbs—locations that no normal person would buy.

"This is......"

"One of the legacies of the Fourth Hokage and his wife." Only after becoming a leader did Sasuke truly understand the cost of food, clothing, shelter, and daily necessities. Naruto had put in so much effort to ensure that everyone had enough to eat, wear, and live in. So when Sasuke learned about Naruto's parents' identities, he began to plot to take back everything that was rightfully Naruto's.

"These things were previously managed by the Third Hokage, and later they were incorporated into the Sarutobi clan. They were quite sensible; I had only just linked your file with your parents when they sent someone to return these things."

"However, the property rents over the years must have been substantial, and they have no intention of returning them yet."

Seeing Sasuke's expression gradually turning dangerous, Naruto quickly pulled him back, saying, "Managing these houses on the ground is also a troublesome matter. Let's forget about them, Sasuke. We're not short of money."

Sasuke would never admit that he was pleased with the phrase "we," and he knew that it was unlikely to get the money back at this juncture, but it was something that originally belonged to Naruto, and he wanted it back.