The next day, once Tōma finished his morning training menu, he headed toward the meeting spot.
"Tōma! Over here!"Naruto came sprinting over the moment he spotted him, waving both arms like a windmill.
Tōma checked the time.He’d arrived early—as always—but Naruto had beaten him anyway. Judging from the boy’s slightly red eyes and jittery steps, he’d probably been waiting for who knew how long.
The kid was way too excited about this.
"You’re early," Tōma said. "It’s not even close to the agreed time."
"Ehehe... I was just kinda excited," Naruto admitted with a grin.
He took the lead, guiding Tōma through alleys and backroads. Truthfully, without a guide, even a seasoned shinobi would have trouble finding the place.
Tōma finally saw the building. Not small by any means—big, even, for a boy living alone.Definitely a place arranged by the Third Hokage.No way Naruto would be placed in the Fourth’s old home. With that bright blond hair, letting him live there would be like hanging a sign that said Please guess the connection.
The village had chosen to hide the truth about Naruto’s lineage.So this could only be a deliberately obscured location.
Before entering, Tōma noticed the faint remains of scrubbed-out marks around the doorframe. Hard to see unless you were looking for them.
Paint. Scratches.The kind of petty cruelty people inflicted because Naruto was Naruto.
Inside, though... Tōma blinked.
The place wasn’t spotless, but it was surprisingly neat—especially for a boy living on his own.
"Anyway, what’s the plan today?" Tōma asked.
Naruto blinked. "Plan?"
Tōma sighed. Of course."What do you usually do at home?"
"Uh... nothing?" Naruto thought for a second. "Sometimes I wander around. Sometimes I go into the village to play."
Play.Right.By "play," Naruto definitely meant "cause chaos until someone pays attention to him."
Tōma tried again. "So what do you do for fun at home?"
Naruto thought harder. Then... shook his head."What about you, Tōma? Know anything fun?"
Silence.
Tōma stared into the abyss of his past-life adulthood and realized he had absolutely no idea how kids entertained themselves without phones.He also did not, in fact, have a console hidden in his ninja pouch.
"...No," he admitted.
"Heh! So we’re the same!" Naruto puffed up proudly.
"We are not the same. I don’t play because I don’t want to. You don’t play because you literally have nothing to play with."
Naruto squinted. "...Feels like the same thing."
Tōma ignored him.
"Fine. Bring out your textbooks. I’ll help you with theory."
"What?! It’s a day off!" Naruto wailed.
"Which is exactly why we have time. Your theory scores are a disaster."
Naruto slumped but obeyed, pulling out his books.
With Naruto occupied, Tōma wandered the room.The place had everything—fridge, washing machine, even air conditioning.
Konoha’s tech tree made absolutely no sense.
Most of this was probably arranged by the Third.If the Fourth’s inheritance were given to Naruto directly, he’d be a rich kid—but with no way to spend it.
Instant ramen and milk filled the cupboards and fridge.That... lined up with canon.Ramen for every meal. Milk for protein.Yet Naruto was still short for his age—probably tied to that tragic diet.
Tōma grabbed one pack of milk and checked the date.The outer layer was fresh.
Then he checked the back row.
Expired.
"...Naruto."
"Yeah?" Naruto looked up—then brightened when he saw Tōma holding milk. "If you wanna drink some, go ahead! I’ve got tons!"
"I don’t want to drink it," Tōma said dryly. "I want to tell you to drink the ones in the back first."
"Why? Isn’t it easier to grab the ones in front?"
"You always drink the ones in front, don’t you?"
"Obviously!"
"And that’s why the ones in the back go bad."
"Eh?!"
Naruto dashed over, checked the label, panicked slightly, scratched his head, then muttered, "Oops... I never noticed..."
"If you drink from the back first, the rest rotate forward. The ones outside become the inside ones. You drink oldest to newest, and none of them expire."
Naruto’s jaw dropped like he’d just learned a forbidden technique."So smart, Tōma!"
Tōma sighed.Being praised by Naruto didn’t feel good.This wasn’t genius—Naruto was just... Naruto.
Even Minato and Kushina weren’t like this.How did genetics skip this hard?
"Anyway," Tōma said, "did you understand anything you just read?"
Naruto froze.
"...Ahahaha."
"You understood nothing."Tōma leveled a dead-eyed stare at him. "I should’ve brought medicine for headaches."
At this moment, Tōma realized something crucial:
Tutoring Naruto felt exactly like being a parent helping a kid with homework.
The kind of parent who might die young from stress.
Why... why did I offer to help with theory? Can I rewind time? I swear I won’t make this mistake again.