Chapter 25: Young Master, Please Let Us Swear to Follow You to the Death
"There's one fish that slipped through—heading this way! Hurry—catch him before it's too late!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"…"
Several ANBU members rushed over in a hurry.
Bloodstains still fresh on their clothes.
Knock knock knock…
They pounded urgently on Naruto's door.
"Who is it? In the middle of the night."
Naruto opened the door.
A group of ANBU stood outside.
Here to deliver community warmth… no—here to check on his safety.
"Young Master… are you alright?"
The ANBU squad captain asked respectfully.
He had once served under the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Minato had treated his subordinates very well.
He had personally taken care of this captain many times.
After Minato's death, there was no chance to repay that kindness.
When he learned Naruto was Minato's son,
this ANBU captain swore to serve the young master to the death.
His comrades felt the same.
Minato had promoted them in the past.
Through their strong insistence,
the original ANBU team assigned to monitor Naruto—Hiruzen's loyalists—had been replaced.
Now it was them.
"Young Master??"
Naruto looked confused.
The term left him completely baffled.
Why had he suddenly become "young master"?
Were these people from the Uzumaki clan?
No—the Uzumaki clan was nearly wiped out.
Besides himself, he only knew of one survivor: Karin Uzumaki.
The captain hurriedly explained:
"Young Master, it's like this—we once served under Lord Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze."
"Lord Minato treated us very well."
"Young Master—please allow us to follow you."
Naruto suddenly understood.
So they were direct subordinates of his cheap old man.
After Minato's death,
Hiruzen Sarutobi had retaken control of the ANBU.
Some of Minato's most loyal ANBU members
had no choice but to follow Hiruzen's orders.
But once they learned Naruto's true identity,
they stopped listening to orders.
Compared to an old man already half in the grave like Hiruzen,
the young, decisive Naruto
was a far better master to serve!
A young lord with great potential.
After seeing Naruto use Rasengan,
their conviction only grew stronger!
Thud thud thud.
They dropped to one knee, heads bowed deeply.
"Young Master—if you don't accept us, we'll kneel here forever!"
"Kneel forever!"
"Kneel forever!"
"…"
Their voices were loud and resolute.
Naruto waved his hand casually.
"Get up."
He wasn't stupid.
Why would he turn down free workers?
"Thank you, Young Master!"
"Thank you, Young Master!"
Once they stood,
the tall, burly ANBU captain spoke urgently:
"Young Master—are you alright? Just now, assassins from another village broke in. We dealt with them."
"But one extremely well-hidden one slipped through! We failed to protect you—please forgive us."
With your efficiency?
If I wasn't strong enough,
I'd already be dead, right?
Naruto shook his head.
"Didn't see anything."
The masked burly man trembled. His tone grew serious:
"Then tonight we'll guard near you. If that guy shows up, we'll eliminate him immediately!"
"Young Master—rest easy. With us here, you can sleep soundly tonight."
"Exactly."
Naruto was stunned.
Sleeping required this many people watching over him?
He didn't have any weird habits.
Why did he need guards just to sleep?
Naruto patted his forehead.
"Oh—I remember now. I sensed that guy's aura, went out, and casually took care of him."
The atmosphere fell into eerie silence.
Under their masks, the ANBU members were completely dumbfounded.
The young master was that strong?
That extremely well-hidden but relatively weak ninja
was still an elite ninja.
The young master had only become a genin less than a day ago.
And he'd already killed a battle-hardened chunin?
Naruto paused for a second.
Did he oversell it?
Maybe he should've said someone else killed the guy.
They still thought he was trash.
But he really wasn't.
The entire ANBU squad removed their masks.
"If Lord Fourth is watching from above, seeing the young master grow so strong… he must be incredibly proud."
"Yes… Lady Kushina too."
"Young Master—may we ask what ninjutsu you used to defeat that chunin?"
One squad member asked curiously.
The others looked equally astonished.
Naruto said calmly:
"Rasengan."
It wasn't anything worth hiding.
He'd already used it when training Konohamaru.
Oh… and when fooling Sasuke too.
Nothing shameful about it.
"Wuwu… I knew it! Lord Fourth must have descended in a dream and taught the young master this technique."
"With you here, Young Master, you'll definitely lead Konoha to a whole new level!"
"Yes…"
A group of hardened killers who wouldn't blink at slaughter
were now crying like little girls.
Holy crap.
He, Naruto, hadn't even explained anything yet.
And these ANBU had already brain-completed the entire story themselves.
Whatever—let them fantasize.
It worked out perfectly.
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