Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 327 Not a Riddler

"Oh~ so you're a street performer." Jiraiya stroked his chin and nodded thoughtfully. "Although I'm also a creator in the field of art, I personally want to believe in you... but..."

He abruptly changed the subject, his tone suddenly becoming serious, "The current Hokage of Konoha is facing a minor issue, and as the temporary head of the village, I must ensure his safety. You should know what's been happening in Konoha lately, right?"

Sasuke frowned slightly upon hearing this. He was well aware of what had happened at this point in time—Orochimaru's "Konoha Collapse Plan," the sacrifice of the Third Hokage... but the dismissive statement that "something went wrong" felt very incongruous to him.

"Sigh, to be honest, I really don't like this bureaucratic attitude." Jiraiya shrugged. "Simply put, these are extraordinary times, so we have to send someone to monitor you."

"Huh? Surveillance?" Boruto's eyes widened in surprise. As the son of the Hokage, he had never imagined that one day he would be treated as someone to be monitored in Konoha.

"Um... Jiraiya-sensei, since we need to carry out a surveillance mission, why don't you leave it to me?" Naruto suddenly volunteered.

"Huh? You?" Jiraiya's expression was one of disbelief. It wasn't that he doubted Naruto's abilities, but rather that he felt it was a waste of Naruto's talents to perform such a low-level task.

"It's okay, anyway, all the ninja missions have been suspended recently, so I'm pretty free." Naruto said casually.

"Sasuke-san! That's great!" Boruto whispered, unable to hide his excitement. "I never thought I could be by Dad's side so naturally!"

However, Sasuke did not respond to Boruto's joy. He stared at Naruto's back and realized something was wrong again—Naruto was being far too polite.

In his memory, Naruto at this stage should have been a noisy, lively, and even somewhat clumsy hot-blooded boy. The Naruto before him, calm and polite, was mature to an unfamiliar degree.

"I see... alright then..." Jiraiya stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh! It's settled then! Miss, would you like to go for a cup of tea together?"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiraiya instantly teleported to the side of a passing, very voluptuous female villager and began to chat her up enthusiastically.

"Snapped!"

The female villager was startled by the sudden approach. "Slap!" A crisp slap landed mercilessly on Jiraiya's face, its sound particularly loud in the quiet street.

Boruto, standing to the side, was dumbfounded. He secretly glanced at Sasuke beside him and found that the other man was still expressionless. Naruto sighed softly, already used to this scene.

"Huh? Get away from me, you old pervert..." The female villager was about to scold her when she suddenly caught sight of Naruto standing not far away. Her expression instantly brightened, and her voice became sweet, "Eh? Isn't this young master Naruto?" She bowed slightly, her face full of a friendly smile, "Are you going to train? You must be tired. Would you like to come to my house for dinner?"

Naruto politely took a half-step back, maintaining a just-right distance. "Eh? Well, no need, I've already finished eating." His voice was gentle but carried a clear sense of detachment.

"Don't be shy~" The female villager took another step closer and said, "If it's young master Naruto, you're welcome to come to my house anytime." Her eyes were full of flattery, a stark contrast to her attitude towards Jiraiya just now.

"Ahem," Jiraiya rubbed his flushed cheeks, unwilling to give up, and interjected, "Miss, Naruto has an important mission right now, so... if you don't mind, I'll take his place?"

"Slap!" Another resounding slap landed. The female villager glared at Jiraiya, then turned to Naruto with concern. "Young Master Naruto, please don't get too close to that kind of pervert. It will corrupt your pure heart." With that, she straightened her kimono and strode away with elegant steps.

"What on earth is this guy doing..." Boruto muttered to himself, his lofty image of the "Sannin" in his heart was being violently shaken.

Sasuke observed all this quietly, his brows slightly furrowed. The villagers' attitude towards Naruto was far too abnormal, bordering on obsequious respect. This further convinced him that the trajectory of this world's development was indeed completely different from his understanding.

"...Ahem," Jiraiya cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to salvage some dignity. He feigned composure and said, "Alright, Naruto, I have some important matters to attend to. I'll leave the surveillance to you. I'll come find you again when I'm done."

He turned to leave, thinking that although he could no longer peep into the women's bathhouse because of Kushina's warning, it should be fine to go to those legal brothels to experience "local customs"—after all, it was a transaction between mutual consent.

"Um, please wait a moment," Sasuke suddenly spoke up.

Jiraiya stopped and turned around, slightly impatient. "What else is it?"

Sasuke took a step forward, carefully choosing his words. "Recently... in Konoha... have there been any cases of rogue ninja leaving?"

"A rogue ninja?" Jiraiya's eyes showed confusion. "There hasn't been anything like that lately. Where did you hear such unreliable news?"

"...I see, I understand, thank you."

------

The three figures moved slowly across the somewhat empty street. After Jiraiya left, a delicate balance had formed between Naruto, Sasuke, and Boruto. Logically, Naruto, as the one monitoring them, should have followed behind the other two, but the situation was completely reversed—the two being monitored were following closely behind Naruto.

Boruto rested his hands behind his head, curiously observing this Konoha that was so different from what he knew. The buildings on both sides of the street were somewhat old, some shops had not yet fully recovered from the previous attack, and occasionally workers could be seen repairing damaged eaves.

Sasuke's gaze remained warily scanning his surroundings, while a portion of his attention was focused on Naruto ahead. This blond-haired boy was a stark contrast to the always bouncy Naruto he remembered. Sasuke's doubts deepened—what had this Naruto experienced?

Finally, they arrived at a relatively quiet area. Most of the houses were empty, and there were hardly any pedestrians on the streets, with only a few withered leaves swirling in the breeze. Naruto stopped and turned around.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Dad..." Boruto started to speak subconsciously, then quickly corrected himself, "Is there something wrong?" He put his hands down from behind his head and stood up straight, looking slightly nervous.

Naruto's gaze shifted between the two men before finally settling on Sasuke. He gave Sasuke a slightly apologetic smile and said, "Um... I have something I'd like to say to this person. Could you please excuse me for a moment?"

"Huh? Looking for Sasuke…" Boruto looked at Sasuke, puzzled, his eyes questioning. After receiving a barely perceptible nod from Sasuke, he reluctantly agreed. "Alright, I'll wait for you up ahead."

After Boruto disappeared around the street corner, the area became even quieter.

"Alright, what's up?" Sasuke broke the silence first. "If it's about hidden ninjutsu... well, we don't have any intentions towards Konoha."

As Sasuke spoke these words, he felt a strange sensation. The boy standing before him looked almost identical to Naruto from the same period in his memory, except that he was a little taller.

But that composed demeanor was completely different from the lively and impulsive Naruto he remembered. This familiar yet strange sense of contradiction made Sasuke unconsciously tense up.

Naruto raised his head and looked directly at Sasuke's face, which was hidden by his clothes. His eyes became unusually serious.

"You...you're Uchiha Sasuke, right?"