Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 197 Konohamaru

The afternoon's task was, as always...boring. The task was assigned by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the objective was to take care of his beloved grandson, Konohamaru Sarutobi.

As the Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru naturally has a dedicated ninja as his tutor to provide theoretical instruction. This seemingly redundant D-rank mission is most likely something Konohamaru insisted on being assigned to Team 7 by the Third Hokage.

Naruto and Konohamaru's first encounter was some time after they were assigned to teams, before their mission to the Land of Waves. That day, Naruto had just finished a trivial D-rank mission and was preparing to go home to rest when this brat suddenly darted out from the roadside like a cannonball and blocked his way.

"Hey! You're that Naruto Uzumaki?! Let's have a match!" Konohamaru struck what he thought was a cool pose and challenged him in a childish voice.

As a result, Naruto didn't even lift his hand, but because of his big movement, he stepped on his own overly long scarf and fell face-first into the mud with a "plop".

"Damn it... Is it a trap? When was it set up?!" Konohamaru lay on the ground, clutching his sore nose, muttering to himself in a daze.

Naruto suddenly remembered that in the original story, he did indeed have a follower like this. Was this the reckless brat in front of him?

Naturally, under Konohamaru's chaotic and flawed taijutsu attacks, Naruto didn't even need to use ninjutsu. With just a few simple dodges and grappling moves, he easily subdued his opponent in the blink of an eye.

This feeling of being bullied as a child made Naruto feel a little strange.

"Wow...that's really powerful..." Instead of being discouraged, Konohamaru, who was pinned to the ground, had stars in his eyes. "No wonder Grandpa always talks about him..."

After a brief conversation, mostly Konohamaru talking incessantly, Naruto understood. Konohamaru's goal was no different from the original story; he still dreamed of becoming Hokage.

For this reason, he used to challenge the Third Hokage every day, but each time the old man would easily teach him a lesson with a single move. Then the Third Hokage would earnestly advise him, "You should learn more from a ninja named Naruto Uzumaki..."

Because I became a "good student," I was used as a positive example?

In short, it seems that Konohamaru's curiosity and competitiveness were completely ignited because he experienced an overwhelming gap in strength with Naruto and was constantly mentioned as a role model by the Third Hokage.

Instead of challenging the Third Hokage, he set his sights on Naruto, the "other people's child," wanting to see what he was capable of.

Thus, Naruto's peaceful life began to be disrupted by frequent "challenges." The frequency was roughly one small fight every three days, and a big fight every five days... basically, it was all Naruto unilaterally "stomping" the weak. Konohamaru, despite repeated defeats, showed remarkable resilience.

After a period of "sparring" like this, Naruto, who had easily thwarted another of Konohamaru's surprise attacks, suddenly heard a familiar notification sound in his mind.

【Ding! 】

[Congratulations, host! You have established an initial bond with the original character "Sarutobi Konohamaru"!]

Points earned: 150!

In the makeshift training ground in the backyard of Sarutobi's house, two figures, one large and one small, were engaged in what was called "ninja sparring"—or, more accurately, a one-sided ninja game and a crushing defeat of strength.

"Take this, Naruto-nii! This time I'm going to make you take a step back!" Konohamaru puffed out his cheeks and threw the wooden shuriken in his hand with all his might.

Naruto watched the wooden shuriken fly with a clear trajectory and slow speed, and easily dodged it by simply sidestepping.

He then effortlessly parried Konohamaru's next taijutsu combo, which was completely disorganized and full of flaws, using only one hand.

Although this kind of "sparring" was indeed a bit boring, Naruto was still quite happy to do it, considering that the Third Hokage was willing to pay for the mission.

After all, although he inherited a huge fortune from Kado and was no longer short of money, he still had the Jhin organization behind him that needed a lot of funding to maintain its operation and development.

Moreover, Konohamaru's goal has been "downgraded" all the way down – from initially being ambitious to "defeat Naruto", to later becoming more pragmatic to "draw", and now realistically adjusting to "making Naruto take a step back" as a victory.

This kind of perseverance... even though the direction was a bit off, made Naruto look at him with new respect.

"Konohamaru! Do your best!"

"That's right! Let Naruto see the results of your special training!"

Behind them, Konohamaru's two little friends—Udon, who always has a runny nose, and Moegi, who has two buns in her hair—are enthusiastically waving their little fists to cheer him on.

Standing next to him was a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses—Ebisu, Konohamaru's tutor.

Incidentally, Naruto was quite surprised when he first met Ebisu. Because this guy's attitude towards him... was actually quite nice? There was none of the rigid disdain he remembered.

This is because in the original work, Ebisu's prejudice against Naruto was not primarily due to the rumors of the "Nine-Tailed Fox."

It was because Naruto was a complete "bottom-of-the-class student" at the time, ranking at the bottom in both theory and practice, and did not meet the standards of "what a Hokage should be qualified for" in his mind.

Now, Naruto was known as a "hard-working genius" during his time at the Ninja Academy. His excellent grades and outstanding strength naturally made Ebisu, an elite teacher who valued talent and hard work, take notice of him early on and treat him much more kindly.

Although the system only displays 10 bond points.

A little distance behind Naruto, Sakura Haruno looked at Kakashi-sensei, who was leaning against a big tree, engrossed in reading "Icha Icha Paradise" and completely detached from the situation, and asked him uncertainly.

"Kakashi-sensei... are we really okay like this? Are we just going to... slack off here for this mission?" She looked at the scene where it was completely Naruto's solo show, and felt that the other three of them were completely invisible.

Kakashi didn't even take his eyes off his book, replying in his signature languid tone, "There's no other way. The Third Hokage's explicit request was 'Naruto sparring with Konohamaru.' Our mission is 'protection.' Since there's no threat to our client, doing nothing is technically fulfilling our duty. Besides, look how well Naruto handled it!"

Beside Sakura, Uchiha Satsuki clenched her fists slightly at her sides, her gaze fixed on the blond figure who seemed to be handling the game with ease. In this situation, she genuinely wanted to cheer Naruto on, even though she knew he was the one who would win.

But... if I actually shout it out, will Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, and Konohamaru look at me with those strange, ambiguous looks?

The thought of that possibility caused Zuo Yue's hard-won courage to deflate like a punctured balloon, and she could only maintain a seemingly calm exterior, silently swallowing her cheers.

On the training field, Konohamaru was panting heavily, his face flushed. In contrast, Naruto remained calm and composed, not even breaking a sweat, as if the previous activity was just a warm-up.

Faced with this despairing disparity in strength, Konohamaru steeled his resolve and decided to unleash his ultimate trump card, which he had honed through years of rigorous training and had been tested in real combat!

Actually, the inspiration for this "trump card" came from Naruto. It was shortly after Konohamaru and Naruto met, when Konohamaru asked Naruto in distress, "Big brother Naruto, what do I need to do to defeat Grandpa?"

Naruto, stroking his chin, recalled a classic scene from the original work and offered his advice with a mischievous smile. "With your current strength... a direct assault is definitely out of the question. What you need is... um... a very special, extremely 'impactful' ninjutsu! A technique that could catch even an experienced ninja like the Third Hokage off guard!"

Naturally, Naruto was referring to the Sexy Jutsu that he was famous for, but which the Naruto of this world had never actually practiced. He had only mentioned it casually, but Konohamaru actually took it seriously and secretly began to practice it diligently.

The "real-world" effectiveness of this technique has already been proven on one person—Konohamaru's tutor, Ebisu! During a special training session, Konohamaru suddenly used this move, and the effect was outstanding. It caused the usually serious Ebisu to have a nosebleed and be petrified on the spot, leaving an extremely deep impression on Konohamaru.

This also led Ebisu to be even stricter with Konohamaru's education afterward.

At this moment, Konohamaru mustered his courage once again and charged towards Naruto, his hands already rapidly forming hand seals as he sprinted forward! His face wore an expression that was a mixture of determination and anticipation as he shouted loudly.

"Take this, Naruto-nii! This is the ultimate ninjutsu that even Ebisu-sensei couldn't resist!"

"Ninja Art: Sexy Technique!"

boom!

A burst of white smoke instantly exploded, completely enveloping Konohamaru's figure!