Chapter 10: Lifelong Active Duty

Suddenly, all the blood drained from my face, but there was no use in simply wallowing in despair.

If I think about it carefully, there's no reason to worry just because I met the Third Hokage and Tsunade-chan. Nobody is going to attack us just because of that... It's not a huge problem, after all!

Now that I realize that, I feel a bit relieved.

So, the first thing I need to do is assess the current situation... If I don't understand what's going on, I won't be able to do anything.

Since the Third Hokage is looking at me with concern, I should start by asking why he's here.

"I apologize for not realizing you were the Hokage."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. There's no point in blaming you for not knowing."

"I'm relieved to hear that. By the way, you mentioned earlier that you came here because of a student…"

"That child is the grandchild of my mentor. If something happens to them, I can't face my mentor."

"Honestly, I intended to come much sooner, but after seeing that child, it didn't seem like anything was wrong. With my schedule being busy, I couldn't make it until now. But since I finally had some free time, I thought I'd come check on them."

"So, you thought I might be a ninja from another village because I've trained and have chakra, right?"

"That's right… I must have offended you, huh?"

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, looked genuinely apologetic.

I won't deny that it didn't feel great to be thought of as a spy, but nothing serious happened, and I learned some important things.

More than that, if the awkward air between us continued, my stomach might end up in trouble, so I have to break the tension!

"No, please don't worry about it."

"What you did was to ensure the child's safety, and as long as you understand, that's enough for me."

"By the way, I do train my body and work on my chakra, but I don't have a teacher. I can only do what's in the academy textbooks, and even then, there are things I can't do.

"To put it simply... if I were to attack that child, I'd be easily defeated, haha... ha."

"Oh, I see…"

I don't have a way to measure someone else's chakra, but even though she's young, Tsunade-chan definitely has more chakra than me.

After all, my chakra runs out just after doing the tree-climbing training (a technique where you focus chakra on the soles of your feet to climb a tree without using your hands) about ten times, right?

There are probably a lot of wasted movements in my technique, but it's definitely less than hers.

When will I even be able to do the waterfall training?

Thinking about all the things I've fallen short of, I started feeling down, but the Hokage seemed awkward in a different way, so I had to snap out of it!

"Anyway, Hokage-sama, you have nothing to worry about. You didn't do anything wrong."

"That's good to hear.

"Well, I should get back to work or my subordinates will get angry. I should leave soon…"

"Ah, wait a moment! Just a little bit!"

"I can't wait long, but I can spare a little time."

"Just a moment, please!"

With that, I ran to the warehouse.

Inside, I grabbed a book that was tucked away on the back shelf and hurried back to the shop.

I hope it'll be appreciated… after all, since we've met, I'd like to leave a good impression.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting! Please accept this as a token of our acquaintance."

"You didn't have to go through the trouble… Wait, what is this?!"

"I heard from that child that you often have similar conversations with a white-haired boy, so…"

What I brought out from the warehouse was an adult magazine.

It's not an extremely explicit one, but it's the kind of book with some revealing illustrations, which, in this world, counts as an adult magazine.

I remembered that the Third Hokage was known to be quite perverted, so I thought I'd give him one as a greeting.

As I expected, he flipped through it eagerly.

"I don't display these out front since children sometimes come in, but it'd be a waste to throw them away. Some customers even come to sell their magazines here because they're afraid their family will find them. So, it's slowly building up in the warehouse.

Nothing illegal, of course, but I've got a few types in stock. If you ever come by again, I can pull them out for you."

"This… this is unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.

"The way children should never see this… H-hey, shopkeeper!"

"Did you say there are more ?!"

"Yeah, since selling these openly would scare away female customers, I only sell them to those who approach me directly. But of course, I can't hide things from the Hokage. Only those who come to sell know about these, so no one has actually bought them yet. So, they've been quietly piling up in the warehouse."

"W-Well, that's a waste… I mean, it's sad for the books!"

"Alright, from now on, I'll make sure to occasionally come by and buy these poor books!"

Alright, new loyal customer secured!!

I've really been struggling to dispose of those types of books.

Even though I'm buying them now, Tsunade-chan… actually, let's just call her Tsunade-chan from now on… Tsunade-chan dislikes adult books, so selling them openly would lower my regular customer count.

But with the Hokage, I figured women would come to him naturally... but maybe he has to be careful with honey traps and such?

As I was thinking about these messy details, the Hokage had finished reading a part of the book and closed it, looking at me.

His face was no longer in the playful mood it had been earlier, and I straightened my expression as well.

"I'll say this once."

"That child is my mentor's grandchild, and an important student.

But at the same time, I also think of them as a child... soI will not allow anyone to make them sad. You understand?

That child trusts you.I t's not romantic, but they likely think of you as an older friend.

If you treat them coldly, they'll be hurt… they may not show it, but they will."

"In other words, I should just continue to interact with them as I have been, without worrying about you, right? That was my intention from the start, so it's fine."

Hearing that, the Hokage gave a bright smile, like a child, and said, "Good, then," before turning his back and leaving the shop.

The Third Hokage is truly kind to those he takes under his wing.

You can tell from how he dealt with Orochimaru in the original story.

I smiled naturally at the Hokage's kindness, and while lowering my head deeply, I said, "I hope to see you again."