Reborn!

6: Discussions, Seals and Training

"Naruto-kun, I believe that Anko-san here has told you about your new living arrangements as well as your choice of a guardian?" Hiruzen started by reconfirming that Naruto was aware of the topics they were to discuss.

"Yes. I am to stay within this tower unless I choose to rent an apartment in the village, however, I do not think that that would be a good idea," Naruto replied with a curt nod.

"Why do you say so?" Hiruzen asked the boy curiously.

"The villagers will probably barge in and ruin my belongings, Jiji," Naruto said dryly.

"Ah... May I ask who taught you to speak so well?" Hiruzen acknowledged before questioning with a raised brow.

"No one. I taught myself by listening to those from the Hyūga and Uchiha clans," Naruto replied smoothly with the reason he had learnt how to speak in the first place in the previous timeline.

This made the aged Hokage's eyes widen in surprise. The child had learnt the language all on his own without aid and yet the grammar and pronunciation were flawless! His range of vocabulary was also rather wide!

"Ah, I see... Can you read?" Hiruzen asked once again.

"I listened to the orphanage matron teach the other children. I learnt it on my own, though," Naruto answered, now slightly uncomfortable.

'Kurama, should I have spoken more childishly? I think the old man's getting suspicious...' Naruto asked his friend in a slight panic.

'It's okay, kit. The old man seems to just think that you're really smart," Kurama said in a calming manner.

'If you say so, Kurama,' Naruto thought to Kurama.

"You're a smart kid. Would you like to start the academy early?" Hiruzen praised before asking warmly.

"No... There's no need. I would join at the normal age and use a 'mask' of sorts to hide my true intelligence and strength," Naruto rejected smoothly while giving the Hokage a hint to what he was going to do.

"Why? Most would want to flaunt their skills. Do you not want to do the same?" Hiruzen asked, now very puzzled by the boy's words.

"Think about it this way, Jiji. Do you think that it would be easier for the villagers to accept a dumb, weak demon, or a smart and strong one? Flaunting my skills will only lead to them attacking me more often and with more vigour. I would not want to see how that will go, considering that it is already bad enough," Naruto explained simply.

This made the old man nod blankly at how well the boy had thought it through. It then suddenly occurred to him to make Naruto do an IQ test to truly find out exactly how smart he is.

"Naruto-kun, would you mind doing an IQ test for me?" Hiruzen asked.

"Why not?" Naruto said as he shrugged his shoulders.

The Hokage unsealed an advanced IQ test from a storage seal hidden in the sleeves of his Hokage robes, passing it to the boy with a pen.

Hiruzen was stunned when he saw the boy easily answering the questions, finishing the fifty questions within ten minutes. He scanned through the answers as he unsealed the answer key and collating the results, only to reveal that Naruto had answered all the questions correctly.

"Your IQ is, amazingly, over the charts! It seems to rival that of the smartest Naras!" Hiruzen exclaimed in awe, thinking that Minato must have passed down his intelligence to his son.

This made Naruto scratch the back of his neck nervously as he tried to shy away from the shocked gazes of his surrogate grandfather and the snake mistress.