Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 200 New Year

As the New Year's bells rang, the snow-covered streets and alleys were filled with the sound of firecrackers, and the dazzling light of fireworks illuminated the entire sky. People gathered around the fireplace, laughing and listening to joyful sounds from the radio, sharing their hopes and wishes for the New Year. Even on a cold winter night, people's enthusiasm was as warm and bright as a fire.

"Naruto, Happy New Year!" Iruka raised his glass, his face slightly flushed, clearly a little tipsy. Almost every year during this special time, he would bring all sorts of ingredients to visit, spending the holiday with the only two orphans in the class, a holiday that should be spent with family.

At first, Iruka tried to cook himself, but he was really not good at it, and what he made was barely edible. The children didn't express any obvious dislike, but the next day he was served a delicious bowl of oil-splashed noodles for breakfast, which greatly motivated him. He went back and practiced his cooking skills diligently, and eventually... became the one who obediently provided the ingredients.

Across from Naruto, his glass contained juice and milk. They drank glass after glass together, and soon Naruto was feeling a little dizzy. Naruto said the drink was brought back from southern Fire Country; it tasted very flavorful, even a little sweet, so why was it so strong?

"Happy New Year, Iruka-sensei." Naruto's voice sounded a bit distorted, and even his smile was split into three parts, making people dizzy.

Iruka, who usually only drinks sake, couldn't withstand the ravages of strong liquor. He fell asleep almost immediately and didn't even wait for the next turn.

After the second person in the room lost consciousness, Naruto's smile vanished. He moved Iruka to the makeshift bed he had prepared earlier and carefully tucked in the blankets. The food on the table hadn't been touched much. If Iruka hadn't been blinded by the festive atmosphere, he would have noticed that Naruto's drink was untouched and the dishes were spotless. He had even used genjutsu to conceal this.

Naruto quietly tidied everything up and nestled on the sofa, flipping through Konoha's official documents. Nothing particularly important was brought home; just some ordinary mission reports from last year. Even a combat-oriented talent like him couldn't escape Tsunade's clutches. Ever since his secret was revealed at the meeting, he'd been relegated to the mission allocation department. Becoming a Jonin not only meant receiving higher-level missions, but also that he had to start considering issues beyond just completing the missions. In recent years, there had been frequent instances of mission realities not matching mission levels. Fortunately, Konoha's ninjas were of high quality, and they habitually maintained a surplus of combat power, preventing any major incidents. Previously, this department was under the control of the Third Hokage, which was fine, but since the Third Hokage's death, the department had begun to lean towards the advisory group, who were old friends of the Third Hokage.

The Fifth Hokage was indeed a powerful figure, capable of winning hearts and minds on a grand scale. However, the finer details cannot be changed through mere outward intimidation; only by delving into the underlying issues can the root of the problem be found and eradicated. With Kakashi-sensei in charge of the Anbu, and the education department gradually promoting Iruka-sensei, the task allocation department, so closely tied to the lives of ninjas, must be gradually established by a young, reliable person who will absolutely not be swayed by the advisory group.

Thus, Naruto began his second job in Konoha.

Teenagers are the age when people are most likely to lower their guard. Naruto started from the bottom, working shifts when there were no missions, and quickly became one of the team members. He was the only ninja in the entire office who had carried out several S-rank missions, meaning his strength was still a valuable asset in the ninja world. It was precisely this network of connections that allowed everyone to gradually lower their guard and freely discuss past gossip, and the power of gossip can sometimes be quite formidable.

The days leading up to the New Year holiday are the most relaxing time for everyone. Naruto took advantage of the convenience to dig out some old files, intending to carefully verify the authenticity of the gossip. However, he unexpectedly received a telepathic communication from afar. The sender was a member of the Uchiha clan of his generation.

Those children interested in further education were quietly sent to prestigious universities around the world. They naturally possessed "Golden Wheel's" chakra, and were also protected by Hui's teams in various industries in their respective locations. They rarely had to directly contact "Golden Wheel" himself; at most, they would contact their parents or friends.

"Lord Jinlun! Excuse me! I have an incredibly amazing New Year's gift! Although it's not finished yet and I shouldn't be showing it to you so soon, I think you must see it for yourself!"

"Yes, I heard that. It's at Danzhu National Academy, right, Xia?"

"Yes, yes! Lord Jinlun, you actually remember me!"

"You were the most creative kid in the base, of course I remember. Didn't you blow up my office when you were nine?"

"Ahhh! Stop it, Lord Jinlun! I'm sorry, I was immature back then!"

"It's not that I'm blaming you, it's just that you like playing with gunpowder and things like that too much. Be careful not to hurt yourself."

Thank you! You absolutely must come and see!

When Naruto agreed to this, he had no idea what he was about to see.

In the era when ninjas were prevalent, people were overly obsessed with the exploitation of chakra, and weapon development tended to focus on the assistance and application of chakra, while research into mechanical firearms was weakened. Later, the invention of chakra storage devices and batteries further rendered firearms that still fired steel balls obsolete. The technology tree was indeed progressing, but weapons were never truly free from the connection to chakra, after all, people had witnessed techniques that could easily control the entire world.

The fact that it has not become mainstream does not mean that no one has studied it; the past, which was buried in history, has surfaced as the world changes.

Uchiha Natsu, an incredibly mischievous Uchiha with a head full of whimsical ideas. His audacity in trying to blow up the leader's office reveals his recklessness; he's willing to try anything. If his parents weren't currently in Edo Tensei form, and if the Senju next door weren't a powerful medical ninja, this family might have perished in their wild imaginations. This child's intelligence has never been used for ninja training, much to his parents' dismay. However, Tobirama discovered the child's talent and recommended him for the first batch of students sent abroad for further studies.

Of course, whether or not one can successfully study abroad still depends on their hard skills. If they can't pass the entrance exam, they won't donate buildings to the school.

Xia was a bright student; he barely made it into the school, mainly because his humanities subjects were terrible, dragging down his science scores. His parents were both happy and worried, constantly fearing their kid would blow up the school building. However, Xia was a clever guy; he learned from the explosion that almost cost him his life and switched to small-scale, targeted demolitions.

His research on the proportions of trace gunpowder was so successful, almost too successful, that it attracted the attention of the school's most low-key research fanatic.

Senior student Ma Han presented a set of improved blueprints, hoping that he could contribute to the innovation of firearms.