Chapter 261 Fated Friends
Q: What should I do if I'm transported to the dangerous world of Naruto?
A: Thanks for the invitation. I'm currently in Naruto, six and a half years old, and I'm busy running errands for my family.
Regarding Naruto, aside from the world's high danger, Haruko Hayama only vaguely remembered that there seemed to be several main characters, and Naruto Uzumaki, the son of the Fourth Hokage whom she met at the beginning of the school year, was one of them.
As the protagonist, there are countless dangers lurking around her. She can't get involved with the protagonist, or she won't even know how she died.
But by sheer coincidence, she became classmates with Naruto Uzumaki.
Naruto Uzumaki should be considered a sunny protagonist; he's always smiling, very helpful, and often assists his classmates.
He looks like the kind of protagonist who will be very popular in the book.
But for some reason, almost no one approaches him to talk; it's always Naruto who initiates conversations with others.
Everyone seems to be avoiding him like the plague.
Even though he treats everyone with enthusiasm, Naruto Uzumaki only has one true friend.
Sasuke Uchiha, a genius boy from the prestigious Uchiha clan.
However, judging from Sasuke Uchiha's disdain and speechlessness towards him, he might not have been entirely willing to be his friend.
This situation was truly baffling to Haruko Hayama, until she overheard gossip from her classmates.
"I'm paired with Naruto Uzumaki for the next class, how unlucky..."
"Although he's a bit weak, being in the same group as the Hokage's son isn't bad, right? Maybe the teacher will even give him a higher score!"
"Impossible. If the teacher had taken care of him, how could he have failed the last exam?"
"That's right, and there's a monster inside him. My parents both told me to stay away from him."
"That's what my parents say too. He's a fox demon!"
Fox demon?
Haruko pondered for a while. Could it be the protagonist's special identity?
No wonder no one in the class takes the initiative to approach Naruto Uzumaki. Despite being the son of the Hokage, he is far less popular than the cold-faced Sasuke Uchiha next to him.
Not only in his class, but also within the village, the subtle rejection of Naruto Uzumaki was even more pronounced.
For example, right now—
She was just running an errand when she saw Naruto Uzumaki on the street. Before Haruko could hide, she heard people talking about him.
"That's not the Nine-Tails..."
"Shh, he's the Hokage's son, don't talk nonsense."
"Although the villagers keep quiet about him, everyone knows his true identity."
"It's only because he has a father who is the Hokage that he can run around the streets and talk to people everywhere. It's really scary!"
"Yeah, what bad luck..."
Small groups of passersby huddled together, their faces showing either disgust or fear.
The one who spoke the most offensively was a middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, who pointed and gestured as he spoke.
He said something scary, but his expression didn't show any fear. Instead, a strange pleasure of belittling the Hokage's son rose in his dark pupils.
It seems that the more outrageous the words, the greater the sense of superiority one can derive from them.
Scanning the disdain on the faces of these people, Haruko Hayashi not only gripped the basket in her hand tighter, but also silently looked at Naruto Uzumaki, who was discussing books with Sasuke Uchiha at the shop entrance not far away.
Given the distance, it's impossible that he didn't hear it.
Even Sasuke Uchiha, who was impatiently listening to him, turned sour after hearing these gossips.
Is this what it means to be a protagonist? Even though he's the son of the Hokage, he still has to endure all this criticism.
However, it has nothing to do with her no matter what.
Haruko snapped out of her reverie and silently began to walk.
Naruto Uzumaki, seemingly uninterested in the self-promoting ninjutsu manual, walked side-by-side with Sasuke Uchiha in the opposite direction from her.
The sound of their bickering grew louder as they approached.
"I'm not so bad that I need a complete idiot like you to teach me ninjutsu."
"Don't be so polite, we're good friends!"
"When did I become your friend?"
"Here we go again, and I'm clearly happy about it!"
The streets here are not wide, and Haruko barely brushed past them with a distance of half a person between them.
That moment was so short, yet it felt like an eternity spanning several lifetimes.
"..."
For some reason, Haruko's pace gradually slowed down. She hesitated and turned her head, watching the two figures, one in yellow and one in blue, walk away into the distance.
Then, she turned her head and continued on her way.
In a ninja world where sacrifice is always a possibility, she must protect her own life.
So... it has nothing to do with her.
"Hey! It's Hayama-kun, right?"
The lively voice behind her startled Haruko Hayama. She turned around abruptly and saw Naruto Uzumaki's smiling face, which she thought had already gone far away.
"I knew I wasn't mistaken!" Naruto Uzumaki proudly raised his head. "I really am amazing!"
Unable to bear his boasting, Uchiha Sasuke retorted expressionlessly, "You only remembered after you've gone this far. You're really something."
Startled by his choke, Naruto glared at him unhappily.
After receiving a calm glare from Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki coughed lightly and turned to speak to her.
"Are you out running errands?"
Her earnest questioning revealed no trace of her earlier embarrassment.
"Ah...yes."
Haruko is still trying to figure out why the protagonist is talking to her, and what's more, he actually remembers her name—that's so strange...
Naruto was quite concerned about the pretty girl in front of him, after all, she was one of the few people in the class who looked at him without fear, disgust, or fawning.
Catching a glimpse of a corner peeking out of her basket, Naruto Uzumaki excitedly pointed at the basket and shouted.
"Oh! This! Is this a new bread flavor?"
Following his hand, Haruko saw bread emerging from the basket and nodded hesitantly.
"It looks like chocolate... no, I already have chocolate flavor, I wonder what this tastes like..."
Its sapphire eyes, shining like those of a golden retriever, were fixed intently on the bread.
Remembering the comments from passersby, Haruko took bread out of her basket and handed it to him.
"Here, have this."
Upon hearing that she wanted to give it to him, Naruto immediately stepped back, waving his hands and saying, "No way, this is yours. I'm not a bad guy who steals other people's bread!"
His tone was firm and forceful; if his eyes hadn't been glued to the bread, he might have been even more persuasive.
Even Sasuke Uchiha, who was waiting with his hands in his pockets, could see through his hypocrisy. "You big idiot, wipe your drool first."
Naruto quickly raised his hand to wipe his mouth, only to find nothing before realizing that the man was mocking him. He stomped his foot in anger.
"I wasn't drooling!"
"Really? Your expression is hardly convincing."
"Damn Sasuke!"
A sudden burst of clear laughter stopped their argument. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha both looked at Haruko Hayama, one with embarrassment and the other with coldness.
Haruko managed to suppress her laughter in the morning, but her slightly curved eyes still held a hint of amusement.
"Delicious food tastes even better when shared with others, so please accept this!"
Staring blankly at the bread being shoved into his hand, before Naruto could even look up to thank her, Haruko Hayama had already turned and walked a few steps away from them.
Uchiha Sasuke glanced at the bread in his hand and urged, "Go back, you big idiot."
After a few seconds of silence, Naruto's eyes suddenly hardened. He gripped the bread in his hand and, to Sasuke's astonishment, pulled him along to catch up with the figure ahead.
"Naruto, what are you doing?!"
"Sasuke! I want to be friends with her!"
******
The list of recipients of gratitude as of July 8, 2024:
grateful--
A jotting-down charm sent by Uzuki Yugao, who loves dried shrimp.
Crane Tree (gift of bubble tea)
The lotus pond flows gently, carrying a love letter and flowers from Rongmeizi.
Iris sent a thumbs up
A love letter from Park Yeon-yeon
Flowers presented by Emperor Qingwenzong to the Daibun Hall (x2)
After the snow and rain, Teacher A, a passerby, updated his blog with a kick, Crane Tree (, Uzumaki Rasengan, Qingwenzong of Daibun-dono, Yuan Yuanmanman, Sanhao Squirrel, Yan Yiyue, User 34476817, Fox Spirit Matchmaker, Kite Mast^, Ayu is really c, Healing Unicorn in the Lightning, Jin Xiula from Nanning sent 3 x Love Power Generation
Zaolai Chizuru, from the Mu Wangfu who loves black rice fried rice, is Xiao Yu, not Xiao Yu, and was given by the Alien Empera from Yancheng Mountain Island. (Gifted by love x2)
Warm water boils Qin Ting, Fusang Qin, Khusa, Wu Ziyun, ★★●, One bite of Su Nuo, Silver_w, Shishi Poetry, Piano Lacquer Worker, Xiao Xingxing who loves to eat ginger-fried ducklings, likes big-scaled drakes, 1.31415926, Silent Blue Wave Islands, Open the skylight and swear, Yang Rubing who is real and fake, Sweet Melon Guy, You win if you read novels without using your brain, a gift powered by love.
Thank you for the gifts! The author is so touched! The three little ones are all snuggling together ヽ(°▽°)ノ
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