Naruto: Different Path

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Naruto stayed in the Land of Rivers for quite some time. 

Although he encountered a few people who needed help, none caught his eye as potential allies, leaving him disappointed after several days. 

Then, by chance, Naruto came across a place on the outskirts—a seemingly ordinary area not far from the city. 

However, an orphanage was located there, which piqued Naruto's interest. 

While he had seen some acts of kindness in the Land of Rivers, he hadn't encountered an orphanage before.

Curious, Naruto decided to sneak into the orphanage. Since ordinary people inhabited it, he had no trouble getting inside. 

Once in, Naruto noticed that the facilities were extremely basic, and there were no adults in sight—only children, most of whom were between the ages of eight and sixteen. 

There were dozens of kids, and Naruto saw that the older ones cared for the younger ones. 

While this wasn't unusual in an orphanage, the fact that no adults were at all made Naruto suspect something was wrong.

After observing for nearly a day, Naruto realized that the children barely had enough food. 

The older kids were scavenging for food, but there wasn't enough to feed everyone. 

Naruto figured that something must have happened to the person supposed to care for the orphanage. 

Using a transformation jutsu, Naruto disguised himself as a kind older man and knocked on the orphanage's door.

The oldest child, a sixteen-year-old boy, opened the door. 

Upon seeing Naruto, the boy's eyes were cautious as he asked, "Who are you? What do you want here?" 

Naruto smiled and said, "I was just passing by and was hoping to find a place to rest for a bit." 

The boy responded, "There's no space here. Please go somewhere else to rest." 

Just then, a girl, slightly younger than the boy, ran to the door, looked at Naruto, and turned to the boy, saying, "Tenba, don't be like that." 

"He doesn't look like a bad person. Let him come in and rest for a while."

Naruto noticed that the girl, Lucy, was very kind-hearted and adorable. 

Girls are often naturally more compassionate, and Naruto felt a bit of affection for her. 

Despite his young appearance, Naruto was mentally much older than these kids. 

The boy, Tenba, said, "Lucy, bad people are good at disguising themselves." 

"Some may look nice, but who knows what they're thinking?"

Lucy wanted to argue, "But..." 

Tenba cut her off, "Fine, whatever. He's just one person. Even if he's bad, we can handle it." 

Turning to Naruto, he added, "You can come in, but stay in that corner and behave, or else we won't be so polite." 

Naruto chuckled, entered the orphanage, and counted the children. There were over two hundred, some as young as seven or eight. 

Although a few were older, they weren't old enough to survive independently.

Tenba led these kids. The closest to him was Lucy and another boy named Dali, who was more mature but simple-minded. 

The children were kind to each other, caring for one another like a big family. 

Naruto found a spot to lie down and pretended to rest while keeping an eye on them. 

They became less suspicious of him as time passed and began discussing their situation.

Lucy said, "Tenba, we're out of food. If this continues, we'll all starve to death." 

Dali suggested, "Why don't we go steal something? If enough of us go, we should be able to get something, and at least no one will starve." 

Tenba shook his head and replied, "Too many of us. How could we steal enough food for everyone?" 

"Besides, the teacher taught us that stealing is wrong. Have you forgotten the beating we got last time?"

Another child said, "Tenba, why don't we all beg on the streets?"

"We might be able to get something that way, and it wouldn't go against what the teacher taught us." 

Tenba sighed, "In this country, most people have hardened hearts. Begging won't get us much, and beggars are often chased away." 

"We'd just end up wandering again." The children debated various ideas, but none of them seemed feasible. 

Eventually, they fell silent, their faces reflecting despair. 

In such a chaotic world, a group of orphans without any parents was likely headed toward a grim fate. 

Sensing their hopelessness, Naruto suddenly stood up and said, "How about I buy you all dinner today? Consider it a thank you for letting me rest here."

All the children turned to Naruto in unison, their eyes wide. 

Naruto brushed off his clothes and smiled, "So, what do you want to eat?" 

Tenba, still suspicious, snapped, "Didn't I tell you to stay put? What's your purpose? If you're done resting, leave." 

"Our problems are none of your concern." 

Lucy quickly ran over and pleaded, "Tenba, this man isn't bad." 

"If he had any bad intentions, he would have done something already, but there's nothing here worth taking. What could he possibly want?"

Naruto ignored Tenba's attitude, smiled at Lucy, and walked out. "Anyone hungry? Follow me! I'll buy you lots of good food." 

Lucy immediately followed him, and soon after, Dali and a dozen other kids trailed behind. 

Tenba couldn't stop them as more children joined, and others followed Naruto. 

Seeing the growing crowd, Naruto turned to the rest and said, "They're enough. We'll bring the food back." 

"Feel free to stay hungry if anyone doesn't want to eat." He gave Tenba a meaningful look.

Furious, Tenba wanted to rush at Naruto but was held back by the other kids. 

One of them whispered, "Don't be rash, Tenba. If he changes his mind, we'll all go hungry again." 

Tenba had no choice but to swallow his anger and grumbled loudly. Naruto found this amusing and said to Lucy, "Let's get some food."

They soon arrived at the market. Although Naruto and the group of children attracted some attention, they weren't too out of place. 

Without hesitation, Naruto buys massive amounts of food, and Lucy accepts everything Naruto offers. 

The group returned to the orphanage, exhausted from carrying the load. 

The children eagerly devoured the food, and Naruto could tell they had been starving for a long time from how they ate.

Only Tenba was stubbornly holding out. Naruto commented, "Some fools will faint if they don't eat." 

Tenba clenched his teeth even harder, resisting the urge to look at the food. 

Finally, Lucy dragged him over, and once he started eating, he wolfed down the food faster than anyone else. Seeing this, Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

The meal Naruto provided to the children was like a blessing in disguise. 

After eating, Naruto noticed that the children, including Tenba, had become much friendlier toward him, no longer seeing him as a potential threat. 

Naruto, feeling their gratitude, asked, "What happened to the people who used to take care of you?"

At this question, the children fell silent, and a few even started to cry. After a while, Dali began to explain the situation to Naruto. 

It turned out that the orphanage had been established by a travelling merchant who frequently conducted business between countries. 

He and his wife had taken in orphans from various lands. 

The merchant's wife was responsible for caring for and teaching the children, and they affectionately referred to her and the merchant as their "teachers." 

For these orphans, it had felt like they had finally found hope. 

However, three months ago, the merchant's wife had left urgently, and neither she nor her husband ever returned. 

The children eventually learned that bandits had killed both. Naruto sighed when he heard this. 

Even good-hearted people could meet tragic ends in a world like this. 

It made Naruto realize even more how important it was to bring peace to the world. 

Naruto stayed with the children for a few more days, during which he became close to them. 

As long as Naruto was around, the children no longer had to worry about going hungry. 

Naruto found their company pleasant; they had unique stories from different countries and backgrounds. 

To them, Naruto introduced himself as "Uncle Kenji", continuing to use the alias.

After a few days, Naruto gathered all the children and said, "Uncle Kenji isn't from this country, and I can't stay here forever." 

"I'll have to leave soon. What will you all do after I'm gone?"

Tenba, the children's leader, replied, "If Uncle Kenji hadn't come, we would have likely starved by now. If you're willing to take us, we'll follow you."

Tenba was quite smart compared to the other children. 

His initial wariness toward Naruto showed his careful judgment, but once he acknowledged Naruto's sincerity, he became even more reliable. 

Unsurprisingly, the other children followed his lead. Naruto scratched his head, a bit conflicted. 

"Uncle Kenji doesn't have a place to take you yet. How about I find somewhere safe, and then I'll return for you in a month? Would that be okay?"

The children eagerly responded, "Uncle Kenji, you have to come back!"

Naruto smiled. "Don't worry, I'll return for you. Here, this is for your living expenses for the next month." 

He handed the money to Tenba and added, "While I'm gone, make sure to listen to Tenba."

Even though Tenba is the most stubborn / tsundere character, Naruto knows that he is also the most reliable. 

After giving the money, Naruto left, with the children watching him go. Naruto knew he had to head to the Land of Grass to find a hidden treasure. 

With so many children to care for and possibly more to come, Naruto needed to secure financial support. 

He figured that the people of the Land of Grass hadn't given up on searching for the treasure, and he wanted to find it first. 

But this likely meant facing another fierce battle, and Naruto needed to do it without leaving any traces.

Naruto teleported to the Land of Grass using the Flying Thunder God Technique. 

This time, he didn't bother gathering information; instead, he brazenly appeared in the same guise he had used when he stole the treasure map and openly roamed around the area. 

If the Grass Ninja didn't notice him now, they might as well give up. 

Soon, Naruto sensed he was being followed and smirked, thinking, "Looks like the fish have taken the bait."

Naruto pretended to browse through some goods before heading into the wilderness, acting like he was searching for the treasure. 

He occasionally stopped and checked the ground, making it obvious he was hunting for something. 

All the while, he sensed four people tailing him, and the number hadn't increased, suggesting that the Land of Grass, being a smaller country, couldn't afford to send more ninjas for an extended treasure hunt.

However, Naruto didn't let his guard down. 

He had heard that Grass Ninja specialized in binding techniques, a type of jutsu that Naruto wasn't too familiar with, so he needed to proceed cautiously.

Naruto stopped at a secluded spot and smashed open the ground, pretending to enter a hidden chamber. 

The four ninjas appeared instantly, raising their hands to cast a technique. 

Suddenly, Naruto found himself unable to move, restrained by the distinctive power of a Fire Release jutsu.

The four masked ninjas started laughing. "You've made it quite easy for us. Our binding technique traps you, and now, you're finished!" 

They began forming seals, preparing to unleash a deadly jutsu.

However, what they had captured was merely a wooden clone. Realizing they had been tricked, the ninjas frantically looked around for the real Naruto.

Now armed with information from his clone, Naruto knew that his opponents all used Fire Release techniques, giving him the upper hand. 

Hidden behind a tree, Naruto quickly formed hand seals and unleashed "Water Release: Waterfall Technique." 

A torrent of water surged through the forest, forcing the four Grass Ninjas to scatter. 

Seizing the moment, Naruto teleported in and swiftly killed one of them with his Flying Thunder God Sword. 

He noted that these ninjas were far weaker than the Iwagakure ninjas he had faced earlier. Without the binding technique, they were no match for him.

As the water receded, the remaining three regrouped. Naruto stood atop a tree, taunting them. 

"One of your four is already dead. Your binding technique only works with all four of you together, and you're using Fire Release in a place where Water Release is dominant."

The three remaining ninjas hesitated, surprised by how quickly Naruto had figured out the weakness in their jutsu. 

Nevertheless, their leader was determined to fight back. All three began forming hand seals again, charging directly at Naruto. 

It seemed like their jutsu required close contact to be effective. However, Naruto's speed far outclassed theirs. 

Without the ability to hit him, their techniques were useless. Sensing their desperation, Naruto attacked swiftly. 

With his powerful Lightning Release, their close combat skills were no match for him, and he quickly eliminated another one.

"What? How is he so fast?" the leader exclaimed in shock. He had heard of Naruto's strength but didn't expect him to be this formidable.

"Scatter!" the leader shouted, and the two remaining ninjas fled in opposite directions. 

Naruto instantly took down one of them and quickly caught up with the other, eliminating him as well.

Naruto sighed to himself. While small nations' ninjas might have unique techniques, they still couldn't compare to the strength of those from larger countries. 

This was the difference in resources.

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