Why Was Naruto So Weak After Becoming Hokage?

The square before the Hokage Building was still packed with people.

The Jonin Meeting had been going on for quite some time. Following a tacit round of mutual concessions after the drastic shift in circumstances, seven-year-old Naruto Uzumaki had been chosen as the "Acting Hokage," while Shikaku Nara, Kakashi Hatake, and Hyuga Hiashi had been selected as Hokage's Aides.

All at once, the noisy jonin discussing matters fell silent. In the distance, with Daren Yi taking the lead as an example—

The Konoha 11 were walking along while kicking the esteemed Konoha Council Elder, Shimura Danzō—the darkness of the ninja world—around like a ball, rapidly passing him back and forth beneath their feet.

Elder Danzō was unconscious. His disheveled body was covered in mud and dust, and Shino Aburame, wearing sunglasses, was to blame for that.

For some reason, Shino had suddenly slipped on the road and accidentally kicked Lord Danzō into a filthy ditch. He then had no choice but to dunk him in a pond several more times to rinse him off before they could continue using him.

"What... what are you doing?!"

The fingers of the two Council Elders, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, trembled with rage. Beside them, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been smoking with a worried frown, was so shocked that his pipe fell to the ground.

Utatane Koharu, who had been bottling up her anger and was especially prone to emotional outbursts, snapped back to her senses and charged over with a roar.

"How dare you! How dare you disrespect Elder Danzō like this?! Attacking and humiliating an elder—are you trying to betray the village?!"

Daren Yi could not even be bothered to respond to her. He casually glanced at her and said flatly, "Izumi, kill her."

Pfft!

Before anyone could react, the obedient teardrop mole girl had already driven a kunai into Utatane Koharu's heart.

"Y-you... you actually dared..." "Koharu!"

Utatane Koharu's final, disbelieving words rang out at the same time as Hiruzen Sarutobi's shocked and grief-stricken cry.

Ever since becoming a Council Elder, she had almost never set foot on a battlefield. She had hidden safely in the rear for decades, never facing danger.

Her combat instincts and sense of danger had long since completely deteriorated along with her aging body. Moreover, she had never imagined that in Konohagakure, in broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of all the jonin—

Someone would truly dare to kill her?

What kind of joke is this? I'm a dignified Konoha Council Elder! What's wrong with scolding you a few times?

You actually dared to kill me? Where did this idiot come from?!

Utatane Koharu died with her eyes wide open...

"Bring over the camera. It contains footage we just recorded inside the Root base. All of you jonin should take a look and learn what our Third Hokage and three Council Elders have been doing all these years!"

Daren Yi patted Neji Hyuga on the head. The camera and other crucial evidence had been kept with Neji. They had already decided to give Neji this chance to vent his anger.

As he watched eight-year-old Neji Hyuga approach, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed at the hatred in the boy's eyes. His aged body seemed to hunch over even further.

The "evil causes" he had planted one after another in the past had now all borne "evil fruit."

He truly had wronged this child over Hizashi Hyuga's death...

As for what was on the camera, he did not need to watch it to know. It was the sin he had always avoided, the darkness wrought by his constant shirking of responsibility.

"Ah!" "This is..." "How could it be so cruel?!" "Unforgivable!"...

A moment later, the gathered jonin all cried out in shock. The recorded images before them were far more cruel and bloody than anything they had previously imagined.

Among them, Kakashi Hatake's hoarse, heavy cry was so grief-stricken it was almost as if he were coughing blood. He seemed to have imagined his dear friend being repeatedly subjected to brutal experiments and alterations.

"Obito!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes in despair. Yes, he had committed countless mistakes in the past, but this one—this one truly had not been his doing!

More than ten days later, the lively and turbulent Konohagakure gradually returned to peace. Daren Yi and Izumi Uchiha, who was always at his side, sat together in the Hokage's Office, drinking fine complimentary tea and enjoying the spectacle.

This time, more than ten years after crossing into the Naruto World, he had finally gotten the chance to observe the entire process of a new Hokage taking office from up close, thoroughly satisfying his curiosity.

How should he put it? The procedures and ceremony were not particularly crude, but they were nowhere near as solemn and grand as he had imagined. The ceremonial etiquette was not especially elaborate or meticulous either.

After all, Konohagakure had only existed for a few decades, and Naruto was still merely an "Acting Hokage."

The fact that no one had raised objections or attempted to obstruct him despite his being only seven years old was already thanks to his formidable reputation as the "seven-year-old who plotted the downfall of Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi"—a reputation for holding grudges, being able to fight, and striking ruthlessly.

It was impossible for the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and the nobles to be particularly pleased about it!

Compared with Hiruzen Sarutobi, an old acquaintance they had dealt with for many years, the young and "venomous" Naruto Uzumaki was clearly far less pleasant to deal with.

According to Shikaku Nara, who had accompanied him to the capital of the Land of Fire, some nobles had looked visibly panicked upon seeing Naruto Uzumaki, who bore the titles "Ninja World's Strongest Schemer" and "Crimson Cunning Fox." Some of their calves had even trembled.

When the daimyo finally accepted Naruto's status as "Acting Hokage," his expression had clearly been reluctant. After all, the "personality, cunning, and depth" Naruto had displayed during his rise to power had been rather terrifying...

At that moment, Naruto Uzumaki had thrown himself into Hokage work day and night. Though he was only seven years old, he already looked somewhat as frail as he would in the Boruto era decades in the future.

Whenever he was in Konohagakure during this period, Naruto practically remained in the Hokage's Office at all times. He rarely went home even to sleep, and Hinata often brought him boxed lunches at the Hokage's Office.

Daren Yi had once heard Neji Hyuga, acting as his future brother-in-law, describe through gritted teeth how it had actually been Hinata's father, Hyuga Hiashi, who had taken the initiative to remind her to bring Naruto boxed lunches...

Daren Yi could only sigh at the Hyuga Clan's way of survival. It truly could not be underestimated!

No wonder the Senju Clan, Uchiha Clan, Kaguya Clan, and Moon Otsutsuki—millennial noble house ninja clans that were all direct descendants of Six Paths Level Experts—had successively fallen apart, leaving only the Hyuga Clan behind.

And later, they even lived increasingly well... The facts were right there. There was no arguing with them—survival was the hard truth!

"Mr. Shikaku, over this period, I've roughly gone through the village's records and archives in various areas. I found that genin seem to have the highest mortality rate in the village, right?"

Seven-year-old Naruto Uzumaki raised his head. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, and his face was full of exhaustion as he earnestly asked Shikaku Nara, his Hokage's Aide.

For some time now, the one actually handling Konohagakure's many affairs had been Shikaku Nara, and he had indeed done an excellent job.

The Nara Clan's sharp minds were absolutely perfect for dealing with all manner of large and small administrative tasks. They let their leaders save both effort and worry, making them ideal secretaries.

Shikaku Nara, who had been working, also looked up. Seeing Naruto's dark circles and frail appearance, he helplessly advised, "Naruto, you need to get some rest. I don't want to see the first Hokage to die of overwork in his office!"

"You don't know, Shikaku? Naruto used the Shadow Clone Technique to stay up all night reading all kinds of documents and materials. In such a short time, he'd roughly gone through every document in Konohagakure. In the end, though, he wore himself out like this!"

Daren Yi sat on the nearby sofa with a teacup in hand, gloating over Naruto Uzumaki's misfortune. Naruto like this was quite a hilarious sight!