***
After finishing the slightly salty fish soup he had made for himself, Naruto timed things carefully and headed back to Ichiraku Ramen.
When he explained what he needed, Teuchi listened with a chuckle and agreed without hesitation. Ayame came out a moment later, patted Naruto on the head, and went straight to the market to buy vegetable seeds for him.
Before long, she returned carrying several different packets. She even took the time to explain which ones were easier to grow, how deep they should be planted, and how often he needed to water them.
In the end, Ayame only accepted six hundred ryo. Naruto, however, secretly left behind a full thousand before bolting away. By the time the father and daughter noticed, he was already halfway down the street, running home with his little shoulders straight and proud.
Teuchi watched him go and shook his head with a smile. "Next time Naruto comes in, just count the extra as noodles. Give him a bigger portion."
Ayame laughed softly. "Of course."
At this point, it was impossible for Ichiraku Ramen not to become famous.
Then the black-bordered screen flickered, only for a heartbeat.
The image was brief enough that ordinary viewers barely registered it, but every member of the Akatsuki noticed at once. In the shadow behind Ichiraku Ramen, a man sat with a cigarette between his fingers, looking up at the sky in silence.
That silhouette was far too familiar.
Deidara's eyes widened. "Leader?!"
He immediately turned toward Sasori. "Did you see that? Tell me you saw it!"
Sasori's voice came from inside the puppet, flat as ever. "Don't confuse my eyes with your low-grade artistic sense."
Deidara nearly exploded on the spot. "What did you say? Explosions are art! True art!"
Meanwhile, deep inside Amegakure, Konan looked at Nagato in confusion. "Nagato... have you ever infiltrated Konoha?"
***
Nagato closed his eyes. He couldn't understand it either. That back, that posture, the way the figure held the cigarette - it all looked eerily like Yahiko. But the robe was unmistakable: black clouds on red. Akatsuki.
"No," he said at last. And for once, even that answer sounded uncertain.
On the black-bordered screen, Naruto knew nothing about any of that.
***
After bringing home the seeds, he immediately began his first attempt at planting. Even though he knew perfectly well that vegetables would not sprout overnight, his little face still lit up as he stared at the crude flowerpot he had made for himself.
He rested his chin on both hands and gazed at the damp earth with shining eyes, as if mere determination alone might force green life out of the soil.
That afternoon, he went fishing again.
This time, besides fish, he also found a cluster of rocks along the river where snails clung in bunches. For the next few days, life settled into a steady rhythm. Fishing, foraging, planting, checking the seedlings, cooking with awkward but determined hands - it was quiet, repetitive, and strangely peaceful.
That very afternoon, Naruto went out carrying seasonings and fire-starting tools.
The ANBU ninja keeping watch over him saw it all and immediately raced back to report to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Oh?"
Sitting in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen lifted his brows slightly. "So we're finally eating in the wild now?"
He waved for the ANBU to continue monitoring Naruto and then slowly set down the document in his hand. A moment later, he glanced at the light outside and narrowed his eyes.
"Judging by the time... it should be about right."
Then he rose to his feet. "It's time to go see Naruto."
The sun sank westward. Night slipped over the forest without a sound.
***
Naruto laid the last fish over the charcoal fire. It sizzled softly, the skin tightening, the thin sheen of oil rising under the heat. He sniffed the air, then carefully sprinkled salt over the surface, trying his best to spread it evenly.
The smell was irresistible.
It was nice to change things up once in a while. Not every meal had to be boiled into fish soup. Sometimes grilled fish was enough to make the whole day feel worthwhile.
While the fish was still cooking, Naruto used the firelight to keep fiddling with the twigs and fishing line in his hands.
On the way home the day before, he had seen a simple snare set by a villager. A pheasant had gotten its neck tangled in the loop. Naruto had not stolen the prey, but he had watched carefully. The trap was not complicated. After studying it for a while, he had already memorized the basic structure.
So tonight, he intended to set one up nearby.
If it worked, great. If it didn't... then he would simply shout into the woods tomorrow that he wanted rabbit meat, wait to see whether the ANBU monitoring him would secretly intervene, and go hungry for half a day if they didn't.
Naruto was already starting to understand how to use those invisible hands around him.
Just as that thought flashed through his mind, his eyes narrowed.
Without warning, he picked up a stone from the ground, spun around, and threw it straight behind him.
Snap.
An old, steady hand caught it cleanly.
"Smells good."
The entire chat room stirred at once.
Tobirama Senju reacted immediately. "What sharp perception! Could that be Kagura's Mind's Eye, the Uzumaki clan's sensory gift?"
Hashirama tilted his head. "Really? But hasn't black-frame Naruto always been like this?"
Mito Uzumaki answered more calmly. "Not Kagura's Mind's Eye. But that child's natural sensory talent is indeed no worse than that of a trained sensory ninja."
Tobirama fell silent for a moment, then added, "The difference may be that black-frame Naruto has been slowly replenishing the nutrients his body was missing. That would affect more than just his strength."
Below in the arena, Neji also spoke. "Don't forget that Naruto in the black-framed world has been resisting that strange influence in his mind this whole time. Perhaps once that pressure weakened, his senses became sharper in return."
Tenten nodded at once. "Neji's right."
On-screen, Naruto was anything but relaxed.
He stared at the old man who had appeared from the darkness, every line of his little body tense with caution. But Naruto also knew something else: that strange feeling of being watched was still nearby. The ninja monitoring him had not gone anywhere.
If the old man in front of him truly intended harm, the shadow watcher would never have let him get this close.
So Naruto swallowed down the instinct to step back and asked in a low, wary voice, "Who are you?"
The old man did not answer immediately. He only walked forward slowly, into the firelight.
Now Naruto could see him clearly. White hair. Wrinkled face. A gentle smile that would have looked kind to anyone who knew nothing.
And eyes full of affection - or at least, something that wanted to resemble affection.
Naruto's brows drew together even harder.
Those eyes and that smile both made him uncomfortable. He couldn't explain why, but the old man's face set off alarm after alarm in his head.
At that exact moment, Orochimaru turned and looked at Hiruzen with a smile that was all malice and amusement. "Sarutobi-sensei, do you think black-frame Naruto will soon see through your identity as the boss of that bastard crowd?"
***
Hiruzen's expression darkened. "Don't paint me as some kind of irredeemable villain."
Then inspiration struck him, and he immediately sent a message into the chat room.
"For Naruto's safety, I had no choice but to hide my identity. If Naruto's true background were revealed, he would immediately become a target for the other villages."
The Fourth Raikage replied without a trace of politeness. "You've got to be joking. With the way the kid looks, you still call that hiding?"
Onoki snorted. "What exactly were you hiding? That he's the Fourth Hokage's son? Or only that he's the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki?"
Mei Terumi smiled sweetly while stabbing straight at the sorest point. "So you exposed his jinchuriki status but concealed his heroic bloodline? How convenient."
Even Rasa joined in with cold mockery. "Third Hokage, for you to come up with such a flimsy excuse - and still say it with a straight face - is honestly impressive."
Hiruzen's smile froze right where it was. Beside him, Orochimaru laughed so hard it sounded painful.
Back on the screen, the old man noticed that Naruto was still staring at him with open suspicion.
So Hiruzen did what he believed to be the most natural thing in the world. He removed his Hokage hat, set it aside, and sat down across from Naruto as though they were already familiar with each other.
"Who am I?" he said with a chuckle. "I'm just an old man passing by."
He wore what he considered a warm, approachable smile. To anyone who did not know him, perhaps it really would have looked like the smile of a kind old grandfather.
To Naruto, however, it only made the uneasiness worse.
At the same moment, Hiruzen's gaze dropped to the grilled fish in front of Naruto.
Grrr...
His stomach chose that precise moment to rumble.
The atmosphere turned strangely awkward.
Naruto did not laugh. He did not smile. He simply stared.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, kept smiling alone.
Far away in the Pure Land, Kushina burst into wild laughter. "Well done, Naruto! That's my son! You definitely saw through that old monkey's real face!"
Not far from her, Mikoto Uchiha blinked in confusion.
***
Just a moment ago, her vision had blurred, and before she could understand what was happening, she had been shifted to a different place entirely. The only thing she could hear clearly now was Kushina's slightly deranged, increasingly triumphant laughter ringing in her ears.
Mikoto looked around, dazed, then back at her best friend, and for once found herself completely at a loss for words.
On-screen, the night fire crackled softly between the old man and the child.
One of them believed he had come at exactly the right time. The other was already instinctively baring his teeth beneath the surface, like a small, starving beast that had finally learned not to trust easy smiles.
Naruto did not speak at once. His eyes flicked from the old man's face, to the hand that had caught the stone, to the dark woods around them where hidden watchers still lurked.
The fish on the fire hissed. The salt tightened on the skin. Smoke drifted upward in pale ribbons.
Nothing had happened yet, and yet the tension was already there, drawn tight enough to snap.
Because everyone watching knew the same thing: this was not the same Naruto who would foolishly hand over his dinner just because an old man smiled at him.
This Naruto had been watching, learning, testing, and remembering from the very start.
And now, at last, the so-called old man passing by had walked right into his line of sight.
What happened next would decide far more than a single meal by a campfire.
It would decide whether Hiruzen Sarutobi could still play the role he had prepared for himself... or whether that carefully arranged mask was about to be torn clean off.