Chapter 5: The Toughness of the Third Hokage

"Excuse me, can I have a portion of ramen?!"

Just as Sakura had finally finished making all the ramen and brought it to the table, a slightly old voice sounded outside the Ichiraku Ramen shop.

"Third Hokage-sama..." The owner of Ichiraku Ramen stood up in surprise, not understanding why the Third Hokage would appear here.

"Since I'm here, can I refuse?" The Third Hokage said.

Sakura rolled her eyes secretly. She knew that the creepy old man had been monitoring them with a crystal ball, but she never expected him to come and mooch food at this time.

"Ahaha..." The Third Hokage laughed awkwardly, feeling like Sakura didn't like him very much.

"Thank you..." The Third Hokage's back was facing a ninja wearing a mask and sporting a head of dazzling silver hair. He walked in and sat down at the table without any sense of politeness.

Kakashi Hatake! Sakura recognized him at first glance. In the entire Konoha, there was no one else with silver-white hair, a mask on his face, and his left eye covered by a forehead protector except for Kakashi Hatake.

However, the aura emanating from Kakashi Hatake now made Sakura frown. It was dead silence, indifference, and darkness in his heart, unlike the Third Hokage's ANBU, but more like the feeling Sakura got from Danzo Shimura's Root.

But after thinking about Kakashi's experiences, Sakura felt relieved. At this time, Kakashi was still immersed in the shadow of his companions and teacher's deaths. Especially since Obito Uchiha sacrificed himself to save him, and Rin, whom Obito Uchiha entrusted him to protect, died in his hands. It was already the best result that he didn't have a mental breakdown.

Seeing Kakashi staring at her with one dead fish eye, Sakura sighed helplessly and turned around to make ramen again.

"Is this a kekkei genkai?!" The Third Hokage was slightly puzzled as he watched Sakura float in mid-air. Although there were countless strange kekkei genkai in the ninja world, the activation of kekkei genkai required chakra. Sakura was only four years old and had not yet learned chakra. How could she activate a kekkei genkai?

But this thought only flashed through his mind and disappeared. Sakura's parents were original residents of Konoha, and there was no possibility of them being spies. Perhaps this was just an alternative kekkei genkai.

"I'm starting..." Naruto Uzumaki ate his ramen loudly. Seeing this, the Third Hokage suddenly felt a little sour in his heart. He thought of his three disciples who either defected or refused to return to Konoha, and his only descendant left behind was living such a hard life. He really was a derelict Third Hokage.

"Hey, Naruto Uzumaki, do you have any dreams?" The Third Hokage suddenly asked.

"Huh? Dreams?" Naruto Uzumaki widened his eyes and looked at his grandfather who occasionally brought him food and relief money. After thinking for a while, he asked, "What is a dream?"

"It's something you really want to do!" The Third Hokage said.

"Something I really want to do..." Naruto Uzumaki put down his chopsticks, tilted his head and thought for a while, and said, "I want to protect Sakura, Ino, Ichiraku Ramen owner, Sister Ayame, and make sure we can eat enough every day. And I want everyone to recognize me and stop calling me a demon fox!"

"Protect your companions and be recognized by others?" In a daze, the Third Hokage suddenly thought of Minato Namikaze. The same golden hair, the same azure eyes, and that particularly similar sunny smile. But when he heard Naruto Uzumaki's second wish, he felt particularly heartbroken, thinking of the premature death of Minato Namikaze. The Third Hokage's complex emotions were indescribable.

"So, Naruto Uzumaki, do you want to become Hokage?" The Third Hokage asked.

"What's a Hokage?" Naruto Uzumaki looked at the Third Hokage in confusion. He had no idea what a Hokage was.

"Being Hokage means being the protector of Konoha!" The Third Hokage said with a smile. "Every Hokage is very popular among the villagers!"

"If I become Hokage, will everyone recognize me?" Naruto asked expectantly.

"They will!" The Third Hokage replied.

"Then I definitely want to become Hokage!" Naruto raised his hand and said loudly. He had always been hated by those around him and was extremely eager for recognition from others. This was his deepest obsession.

"It's not just becoming Hokage that will make people recognize you!" Sakura turned her head and looked at Naruto, saying, "It's the person who is recognized by everyone that can become Hokage!"

"Huh? What's the difference?" Naruto was confused, with question marks all over his head. He still didn't understand the meaning of this sentence, but the Third Hokage beside him suddenly brightened up.

"This is the Will of Fire..."

After finishing their meal, everyone went home. The Third Hokage had just brought Kakashi back to the Hokage Tower when he saw a familiar figure walking towards him.

"Danzo?!"

"Hiruzen, I heard that the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki brat has been in contact with a stranger?" Danzo leaned on his cane, his expression gloomy. As someone who advocated for turning Jinchuriki into emotionless weapons, he naturally didn't want Naruto to make friends. He even hoped that Naruto would go on a rampage in Konoha so that he could find a reason to implement his own ideas.

"I have my own plans for this matter..." The Third Hokage didn't want to say too much to Danzo. His old classmate's thinking was too dark.

"Hmph, anyone who has contact with the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki must be arrested to prevent spies from other villages from influencing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!" Danzo snorted coldly, and the exposed eye emitted a murderous aura.

"That's enough, Danzo. I will handle this matter myself. You don't need to intervene in the matter of the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki!" The Third Hokage naturally couldn't let Danzo do anything to Naruto according to his own ideas, especially when he thought of Naruto's smile, which was extremely similar to Minato Namikaze's.

"Hiruzen, you are too indecisive. This kind of weapon of war like the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki must be controlled..." Danzo stood in the shadows and argued with the Third Hokage.

"I am the Hokage..."

The Third Hokage interrupted Danzo directly. "Danzo, do your own job. Don't interfere too much in other matters!"

"You..." Danzo snorted in dissatisfaction, but in the end, he could only turn around and leave helplessly. However, the killing intent in his eyes showed his true thoughts.

"Minato, Kushina, don't worry. I will protect Naruto..." The Third Hokage stood by the window, looking at the head of Minato Namikaze on the Hokage Rock. His aura seemed to have returned to the state of being called the "Shinobi Hero" when he was young.

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