I Had No One by My Side, and I Wouldn't Cry Alone

"Two bowls of ramen."

"The Third Hokage is treating."

Akihara Kagura pointed at the old man behind him, sounding rather impolite.

"I want two bowls of ramen too!"

"Hokage Grandpa is treating too!"

Naruto Uzumaki imitated Akihara Kagura's pose with a cool expression, pointing at Hiruzen Sarutobi behind them and acting even more rudely than Kagura had.

Naruto Uzumaki was just a little kid who did not understand what politeness meant. At six years old, children liked to imitate the people they met.

Sometimes...

Naruto Uzumaki could even surpass his teacher.

"Uncle Teuchi, Ayame!"

Naruto Uzumaki grinned happily and laughed. "If you have any wishes, you can ask Hokage Grandpa! As long as you tell him your wish, he'll make it come true!"

"Huh?"

Boss Teuchi tried to open his eyes in confusion.

"Really?"

Ayame looked at the old man in surprise.

"Cough, cough..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly coughed a few times and said helplessly, "Naruto, the Hokage does not exist so everyone can make wishes whenever they want!"

"Oh."

Naruto Uzumaki's face immediately fell.

However, Naruto Uzumaki quickly cheered up again. "Forget it. I'm already happy just to have ramen tonight!"

"Forget it."

Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a faint sigh and sat beside them. "Teuchi, bring me a bowl of ramen too. I may have to put it on my tab tonight."

"Oh, all right."

Boss Teuchi nodded honestly, not minding the Third Hokage's intention to eat on credit.

At this time, Konoha's Hokage still had a fairly good reputation. No one would believe that the Hokage of the strongest ninja village would skip out on a bill.

"Hey, I just remembered something."

While they waited for the noodles to cook, Naruto Uzumaki curiously turned to Akihara Kagura. "I don't think I've asked your name yet?"

"Kou."

Akihara Kagura gave his Root codename, then added, "But only Lord Danzō can call me that. You can call me Kagura, Akihara Kagura."

"Why?"

Naruto Uzumaki asked directly.

"Because Lord Danzō gave me a new life."

Akihara Kagura's expression was calm, as though he were merely stating a fact. "I used to be a child at the village orphanage. Someone sent me to a dark place, where a long-haired man cut me open with a knife every day. I couldn't even die if I wanted to. Lord Danzō was the one who saved me."

"Oh? Danzō saved you?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's furrowed brows suddenly relaxed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had been wondering about the relationship between Akihara Kagura and Shimura Danzō. Upon hearing Kagura's explanation, he immediately gained some understanding.

"Yes, Lord Danzō saved me."

Akihara Kagura took out a pair of chopsticks and slowly adjusted his emotions. "When I thought everyone had abandoned me, when I had despaired of this world, Lord Danzō saved me. He made me a ninja and taught me ninjutsu..."

"He sounds like a good person..."

Naruto Uzumaki's opinion of Shimura Danzō immediately improved considerably.

"Cough, cough..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as though he had choked on smoke.

Shimura Danzō was a good person?

That seemed rather insulting to this old man's ears.

"The Third Hokage thinks so too, right?"

Akihara Kagura smiled as well, seemingly happy at Naruto Uzumaki's praise. He reached out and patted the little blond's head. "Once you become a ninja, I'll have Lord Danzō transfer you into Root. Then the two of us can kill all the other people in Root together."

"Huh?"

Naruto Uzumaki's smile instantly froze.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi began coughing violently.

The Hokage suddenly felt that transferring Akihara Kagura out of Root and into the Anbu was actually saving his old friend Danzō. Otherwise, Root might become an empty shell one day.

This lesson had been somewhat of a failure, but it had also yielded considerable gains. Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that he was gradually uncovering the truth behind Akihara Kagura's loyalty to Shimura Danzō.

If he was not mistaken, the long-haired man who had performed human experiments on Akihara Kagura was probably his former student who had defected from the village, Orochimaru...

As for Danzō saving the boy, only an innocent child would believe that. The one who had thrown Akihara Kagura into that laboratory might very well have been Danzō himself.

In truth, Hiruzen Sarutobi more or less understood some of the truth. Shimura Danzō had always supported Orochimaru's illegal human experiments in the past.

He needed to find a suitable opportunity to let this child learn the truth...

At that time...

Would this child still remain so loyal to Shimura Danzō?

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly put his pipe back in his mouth. The only troublesome matter he needed to consider was how to make sure that, after learning the truth, the child would not hate Konoha for its mistakes.

Something like that...

Was not a problem for Hiruzen Sarutobi.

As long as Akihara Kagura formed bonds with others and gradually learned to protect the friends tied to him in his future life...

"Kagura."

"Don't always think about hurting others."

"The meaning of a ninja's existence is not to harm others."

With his pipe in his mouth, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked earnestly at Akihara Kagura, intending to restart his lesson. "Kagura, the meaning of a ninja's existence is to protect others, to protect the people they want to protect. Have you ever had someone you wanted to protect?"

"I suppose I have."

Akihara Kagura nodded and continued indifferently, "I used to want to protect the orphanage director, Yakushi Nonō, but she abandoned me, so now I want to kill her..."

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression shifted slightly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had heard the name Yakushi Nonō before. She seemed to be a member of the village's Intelligence Department and had always provided the village with a great deal of intelligence...

But...

Was this child not a little too extreme?

"Now, I only want to protect Lord Danzō."

Akihara Kagura propped his chin on his elbow, considering what he wanted to say. "But what Lord Danzō asks me to do is probably just to help him kill enemies and things like that."

"This Danzō..."

Naruto Uzumaki trembled where he sat at the table.

"Do not speak lightly of killing."

Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe, his expression becoming extremely serious. "For a life to reach my age, it takes more than sixty years. Yet for a life to end, it often takes only a few seconds..."

"So..."

Akihara Kagura seemed to grasp the lesson without being taught, and his eyes lit up. "If you want to protect someone, you need to work hard at it for decades. But if you want to help them kill an enemy, you only need a few seconds. That seems simpler..."

"..."

Naruto Uzumaki felt that something was not quite right.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi repeatedly waved his hand and said, "Even so, an outstanding ninja must often accomplish what ordinary people cannot..."

"..."

Akihara Kagura fell silent.

But after only a moment, Akihara Kagura suddenly said, "Lord Danzō said that I can use Wood Style Ninjutsu, something no one else can do, so I'm already outstanding enough."

"That's not what I meant..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help gritting his teeth.

That bastard Shimura Danzō had clearly led this child down the wrong path!

"Hey, what about you?"

Akihara Kagura looked at Naruto Uzumaki. "Are you an outstanding ninja? Is there something you can do that no one else can?"

"Yes!"

Naruto Uzumaki lifted his face, sniffed, and answered proudly with a flushed face. "All the other brats can throw themselves into their dad and mom's arms and cry, but I don't have a dad or mom. There isn't anyone by my side, and I won't cry alone!"

"You're an outstanding ninja too."

Akihara Kagura praised him with complete sincerity.

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression gradually turned heavy.

The old man forcefully tapped out the tobacco from his pipe and put it away. Looking at the ramen Boss Teuchi and Ayame had brought over, he finally decided to completely abandon this lesson.

"Eat your ramen..."

"After you finish, go back and rest."

"Children must go to bed early. You can't stay up late."

Second update.

I just finished watching seven hundred episodes...

The word count is gradually getting higher...

It seems chapter comments have been restored. Everyone can keep cursing Danzō, but once you're done cursing him, don't curse me too.