Naruto: SSS-Rank Romance System

Naruto walked out of the Hokage Building, sunlight hitting his body, but he couldn't feel its warmth. He glanced around briefly and walked off in a particular direction.

The bustling streets of Konoha were as lively as ever. Naruto strolled, already putting the recent events behind him. Since the Third Hokage wanted him to withdraw from the Chunin Exams, he decided to keep stirring things up in Konoha.

Arriving at the meeting spot, he saw a little girl, and his face broke into a smile.

Everyone was preparing for the Chunin Exams and busy with their tasks. Originally, Naruto still had D-rank missions to pass the time, but Kakashi had also relieved him of those duties.

But with the Third Hokage's words telling him to quit the exams, it felt like he'd been sent back to square one.

Kakashi was busy mentoring Sasuke, Sakura was studying medical ninjutsu, and all the other teams were training for the exams—even Hinata was working hard.

Everyone was busy, leaving Naruto alone, free as a cloud in the sky, but also incredibly bored.

In the morning, Naruto took the girl to the woods to catch animals; in the afternoon, they fished in the creek, and at sunset, they went to the Hokage Rock to look down at the village.

Naruto asked about the whereabouts of the other three, but the girl vaguely replied that they were playing on their own. He didn't care and continued playing freely.

Having a companion to share a meal with made everything better. Since he wasn't short on money, he treated them to barbecue at noon, Ichiraku ramen in the afternoon, and seafood or mountain delicacies the next day.

Time flew by, and the Chunin Exams drew nearer.

"This is expensive, isn't it?" the girl looked at Naruto with some confusion, even sensing that this lifestyle was a bit extravagant.

Naruto didn't think anything of it and replied, "Is it?"

"Yeah."

The night breeze brushed past as they stood on Hokage Rock, looking at the lights of Konoha. Naruto jumped onto the railing, squatted down, and said, "As long as we're happy, money doesn't matter."

After a long silence, Naruto didn't hear a reply. When he turned to look at the girl, he saw a hesitant expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, then added, "Tomorrow, let's visit the Valley of the End. I hear there are big red fish there."

"I can't go tomorrow," the girl suddenly said.

"That's fine. I'll go alone," Naruto replied. "How about the day after? I think we've already been to most places, and there's not much left to see."

"I have things to do, and I might not have time to play with you anymore," the girl said hesitantly. "I'd like to, but I have something important to attend to."

Naruto paused, jumped down from the railing, and gave her a smile. "If you have things to do, go ahead. We're both from Konoha, right? We'll have time to play again in the future."

"Yeah," she replied, her gaze dimming slightly.

"Then go. We can hang out when you're free again," Naruto waved goodbye, showing no sign of sadness.

"Okay." The girl nodded, standing there briefly before slowly turning and disappearing into the darkness.

Under the night sky, Naruto let out a long sigh, his expression showing a hint of melancholy before shifting back to a cheerful look.

"By now, the only ones sneaking into Konoha would be Orochimaru's people—like Tayuya."

...

Meanwhile, Tayuya had returned to the team's quarters, which was really just an abandoned, drafty house.

"Hey, Tayuya, why are you back so late again?" Kidomaru asked from a distance.

"It's none of your business," she replied coldly, not even looking at him.

Kidomaru felt frustrated but held back, knowing that Tayuya was always blunt. But he couldn't help thinking that her attitude wasn't the same around Naruto.

"Don't tell me you've gotten attached to that guy?" Kidomaru said, irritated. "It's not like you owe him for a few meals. Besides, that Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is just a fool…"

With a bang, Kidomaru's eyes widened as he spat out stomach acid, his body curling up in pain. Tayuya had kicked him in the stomach, staring coldly as he collapsed, clutching his abdomen.

"Are you alright?" Jirobo asked, looking concerned as he helped Kidomaru up.

"Get off me!" Kidomaru pushed Jirobo away, gritting his teeth as he stormed off.

...

The next day.

Naruto was out wandering as usual, fishing by the river and swimming under the waterfall. After a while, he felt a bit bored.

He had figured out Tayuya's identity but hadn't exposed her. The only reason was that he was bored, and she was the only one around to spend time with.

Now that the dream had ended, he was ready to start stirring things up in Konoha again.

Naruto opened the system panel and typed in the puppet character chatbox: "August 29th, just a casual prophecy—the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, will die in the Chunin Exams."

After pressing confirm, Naruto smiled.

In that moment, nearly everyone in Konoha stopped what they were doing, a look of shock on their faces.

The Third Hokage will die?

At a hot spring in Konoha, the men's bath.

Jiraiya, soaking in the hot spring, suddenly turned serious, his peaceful expression shattered by the news.

Although Jiraiya and the Third Hokage had their disagreements, that had been part of why Jiraiya chose to travel, and why Tsunade had buried herself in gambling.

But even so, Jiraiya had never imagined that the old man would die. It didn't seem like a prank—no chakra signals were present, but the message had appeared in his mind as clearly as his own thoughts.

With a splash, Jiraiya stood up from the hot spring, wrapped his white towel around himself, and slowly walked out.

He needed to see the Third Hokage to check if he was still alive.

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