"Old gramps!"
The mont Naruto saw who it was, his face lit up with excitent. He waved both hands energetically in the air, grinning brightly.
As the Third Hokage walked over, he quietly removed the Hokage cloak beneath the cover of night and neatly folded it in his arms. By the ti Naruto got a clear look at him, all he saw was a kindly old man dressed in thick winter clothes.
"Naruto, it's been a while…" the Third Hokage said with a smile, gently patting his head.
"Yeah! I haven't seen you in a long ti, old gramps!"
"How have you been lately?"
"Mhm! I'm doing great! You should take care of yourself too, old gramps!"
"Haha, don't worry. I may be old, but I'm not weak enough to need a kid like you worrying about just yet."
As he spoke, Hiruzen glanced toward the frozen river surface.
Near where Naruto had been standing earlier was a small crack in the ice, clearly made by thrown stones.
A thoughtful look flashed through Hiruzen's eyes.
After chatting casually with Naruto for a while, he smoothly shifted the topic.
"Naruto, it's awfully late for you to still be out here. It'll only get colder as the night goes on."
His tone was warm and concerned.
"Hehe, it's okay! I figured the fish would be asleep right now, so they'd be easier to catch! I'm not scared of the cold at all—Ah-choo! Huh? Why do I suddenly feel so cold?"
Naruto had been about to tell the old man how strangely warm his whole body had felt all day. But the very next mont, icy wind suddenly swept over him, making him sneeze repeatedly.
Little Naruto looked completely baffled.
Seeing that, the Third Hokage smiled warmly.
"Um… old gramps? Why are you carrying that cloak instead of wearing it?"
Naruto rubbed his hands together awkwardly as he asked.
Hiruzen chuckled.
"I'm not cold either. Want to wear it instead?"
Though phrased like a question, Hiruzen didn't wait for an answer. He had already seen through the little boy's thoughts and unfolded the Hokage cloak, draping it directly over Naruto's shoulders.
For Naruto's tiny fra, the cloak was far too large. It wrapped around him like a blanket, completely enveloping his body. The slightly distorted words Third Hokage happened to cover Naruto's little blond head perfectly.
And during the instant the cloak touched Naruto, Hiruzen had already inspected nearly every inch of the boy's body.
No leakage of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
No abnormalities.
The Third Hokage silently reached his conclusion.
"Um, old gramps… this cloak looks really nice. It'll get dirty if it drags on the ground…"
Completely unaware of Hiruzen's inspection, Naruto clutched the cloak around himself and looked worriedly at the portion dragging through the snow.
"It's fine, it's fine."
Hiruzen laughed heartily.
"Naruto, the Hokage is basically the village elder. In other words, if my clothes can help keep you warm, then getting them dirty is well worth it."
As he spoke, the Third Hokage stood up and pulled out his pipe from his sleeve.
"You're trying to catch fish to roast, right? You treated this old man to fish a few tis before, so this ti let treat you instead."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly.
The pipe spun once in his hand, its pointed mouth aid toward the frozen river before he flicked it forward like a shuriken.
Whoosh.
The sharp sound of sothing slicing through the air echoed through Konoha's midnight silence.
Only after the sound of cracking ice rang out did Naruto react and hurriedly turn toward the stream.
The crack in the ice he had created earlier now had a pipe embedded directly in its center.
The pointed end of the pipe had pierced straight into the water… and skewered an unlucky fish passing beneath.
"S-So amazing…"
Naruto stared with wide eyes.
"Haha, looks like we're lucky tonight."
The Third Hokage smiled cheerfully.
"Alright, Naruto, go bring the fish over. I'll start a fire."
Soon, flas crackled beside the stream.
Three unfortunate river fish were skewered over the fire, their skin sizzling as an appetizing aroma filled the air.
The old man and child sat on opposite sides of the fire without caring about appearances.
But unlike before, Naruto wasn't focused solely on the roasting fish. Instead, he stared thoughtfully at the cloak wrapped around him.
"Old gramps… what's a Hokage?"
At last, unable to suppress his curiosity any longer, he asked about the word Hiruzen had ntioned several tis earlier.
You finally asked.
Hiruzen thought to himself.
"A Hokage is basically the village chief… or you could say the village elder."
The Third Hokage explained kindly,
"The Hokage's duty is to protect the entire village and keep all the villagers safe. At the sa ti, they maintain order and establish rules. In short, they manage everything in the village."
He smiled gently.
"But a Hokage isn't so unreachable person above everyone else. For example, helping you catch fish tonight and making sure you don't go hungry—that's also sothing a Hokage can do. Because you're one of the village's people too, Naruto."
"Oh… so that's how it is…"
Naruto seed to understand only vaguely. He instinctively lifted his head and looked toward the enormous Konoha building towering in the distance.
Seeing Naruto's expression, Hiruzen paused briefly before finally saying the words he had intended from the beginning.
"At the sa ti, the Hokage is also the person most trusted and acknowledged by everyone in the village. Only soone recognized by everyone can beco Hokage, because the Hokage protects the peace of the village and the lives of all its people…"
Just as expected, the mont Hiruzen ntioned trust and acknowledgnt, a distinct light appeared in Naruto's eyes.
That was exactly what he longed for.
Seeing his objective achieved, Hiruzen chose not to elaborate further. He simply picked up his pipe again and carefully wiped away the small traces of fish blood remaining on it.
His primary reason for coming here tonight was naturally to inspect whether anything was wrong with the Nine-Tails inside Naruto.
For Konoha, the safety of the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki was critically important.
At the sa ti, on his way here, Hiruzen had already quietly removed several spies Danzō had left nearby.
Danzō's obsession with the Nine-Tails unsettled Hiruzen. It reminded him of how obsessively Danzō had targeted the Uchiha clan after the Nine-Tails Incident years ago.
The Nine-Tails had required the Fourth Hokage's life to seal away…
Yet the Sharingan possessed the ability to control it.
As for what Danzō—who constantly coveted the position of Hokage—intended to do, Hiruzen could easily guess.
However…
The Uchiha clan's suspicion truly was too great.
Everyone in the world knew that the Sharingan was the Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai. No one else should have possessed the power necessary to control the Nine-Tails and attack Konoha.
And because of that, Hiruzen had tacitly permitted many of Danzō's increasingly harsh actions against the Uchiha clan.
After all…
The Second Hokage had once done the sa.
Still, what Hiruzen truly hoped for was for Naruto—the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki—to beco a Konoha shinobi who inherited the Will of Fire.
He once heard Minato Namikaze ntion that Kumogakure's Eight-Tails Jinchūriki could freely control the Tailed Beast's power in battle, possessing strength rivaling even the Raikage who had once fought Minato himself.
Therefore…
If Naruto could grow up embracing the dream of becoming Hokage from childhood onward—
That would be the ideal outco.
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