"Naruto, I know that you live with Sasuke and that you often train together," Iruka Umino said after school, pulling Naruto aside to the training field. "But your current grades will affect your graduation. Pay more attention during your usual training. A good graduation score is very important for your future ninja record."
In Iruka's eyes, Naruto's repeated injuries were probably caused by Sasuke on purpose.
But as a teacher, without solid proof, he couldn't say such things out loud.
"Iruka-sensei… Am I really that annoying? I can't seem to do anything right. Even the food I cook lately doesn't taste right..."
Naruto stood there with a pitiful look. Putting on a miserable act in front of Sasuke had become a habit, so now his downcast and confused state was practically second nature.
"Of course not," Iruka said. "Naruto, you've always worked hard. It's just that you've all been too anxious lately. This year is important for your graduation, yes, but some things can't be rushed."
Looking at Naruto's appearance, Iruka put away the harsher words he had intended to say.
He placed a hand gently on the boy's head, thinking of how to comfort him—or perhaps how to help Naruto realize he didn't need to rely entirely on Sasuke.
"But I really am stupid..." Naruto said with a wronged tone. "I used to be able to keep up with Sasuke during training, but now he's gotten so much stronger than me..."
Looking so pitiful and on the verge of tears in front of Iruka, Naruto's performance even made the observers sigh quietly.
Especially the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, watching through his crystal ball in the Hokage's office—and standing beside him, Danzo, who wore a mocking sneer.
"Hiruzen, are you seeing this clearly now? This boy has already been ruined by your leniency. If this goes on, he'll definitely become a puppet of the Uchiha!"
Danzo looked at the image of Naruto in the crystal ball, completely unsurprised by what he saw.
The Uchiha clan was always capable of controlling the Nine-Tails. Even though that Uchiha Sasuke is just a worthless kid in his teens with only a single tomoe in his Sharingan, the fact remains: this Nine-Tails jinchūriki lives with an Uchiha. It was inevitable that, over time, he'd be drawn in and tamed. That outcome had long been predictable.
Now, the facts have proven him right—so it's time for Hiruzen Sarutobi to hand over the Nine-Tails to him.
"Danzo," said the Third Hokage calmly, "What you're seeing is only Naruto's obedience to Sasuke. But you also need to look at Sasuke's current state—he's begun to feel a sense of belonging to Konoha. He follows the school rules. Even when he tries to bend them a little, he still operates within Konoha's framework."
The Third Hokage was very satisfied with Naruto's current demeanor—because this was exactly the result he had hoped for.
Naruto was indeed too fixated on Uchiha Sasuke, but at the same time, he had other friends, and a strong bond with Iruka.
More importantly, rather than saying Naruto couldn't leave Sasuke, what Hiruzen saw was that Sasuke, the orphan of the Uchiha clan, was the one who couldn't live without Naruto.
Whether for better or worse, Sasuke's first instinct in any situation was to find Naruto. His second was to look for Kakashi.
And that outcome? Hiruzen was more than satisfied. What Danzo saw and what he saw—were not on the same level at all.
"You're the one who said it back then—if he couldn't be tamed, you'd hand him over to me. And now you're going back on your word?"
Danzo glared at the Third Hokage, practically ready to drag him out of his chair and demand whether he planned to stop being reasonable altogether.
Those conditions they'd agreed on—was Hiruzen now pretending they never existed, just rewriting them with his words?
So what? That promise he made before—"If it fails, I'll hand him over to you"—was just... bullshit?