A Conversation in the Hokage's Office

Naruto had initially only wanted to mooch a free bowl of ramen from Uncle Choza, but when he saw Choji's gaze—

He understood. This wasn't an ordinary contest. It was a contest between men—real men!

A man didn't necessarily need to boast about having powerful muscles.

If you truly wanted to see whether someone was a boy or a man, don't look at his body. Look at his heart.

Words of wisdom from Brother Ge!

From that moment on, the nature of things changed.

Because Naruto was still adapting to the Uzumaki Clan constitution, he had a huge appetite.

And he had gone to sleep after ten last night.

He hadn't eaten for more than ten hours. He was one second away from starving to death!

As a descendant of the Akimichi Clan, Choji naturally possessed an appetite beyond that of ordinary people.

At first, the two of them were surprisingly evenly matched!

As the pile of empty bowls kept growing, Uncle Teuchi would ask whether they could still eat before making another bowl, in order to avoid wasting food.

Only after receiving a definite answer would he start cooking the next bowl.

As an adult, Akimichi Choza was thrilled as he watched his child compete with Naruto.

Passionate—too passionate! This was how real boys were supposed to act.

At that moment, he had even forgotten the private order Hiruzen Sarutobi had given him before: get close to Naruto and have his child become friends with him.

Now, Choza genuinely acknowledged Naruto from the bottom of his heart. He truly was Minato's child!

In the end, the battle concluded with Naruto eating eight bowls and Akimichi Choji eating seven!

"Naruto, I can't eat anymore. You win. I surrender!"

Choji, standing nearby, raised the white flag as well, signaling his surrender.

In truth, Naruto was almost at his limit too. He could still eat, but after eating so much, even delicious Ichiraku Ramen was starting to become a little tiresome.

"Choji, you're amazing too. I can barely eat anymore myself. Let's eat together again when we get the chance!"

The moment Choji heard that, he instantly revived at full health and happily slung an arm around Naruto's shoulder. "Then it's a promise! We'll eat together again next time!"

Choji also truly acknowledged Naruto. Naruto was a man who could become his lifelong best friend!

"Hahahahaha! Watching you two today made me happy too. I'll pay the bill!" Akimichi Choza said as he got up to pay.

Naruto suddenly remembered something and hurriedly stood up. "It's fine, Uncle. I had a lot of fun today too. Let me treat you!"

"Sure, but Naruto, do you have money?" Choza was somewhat curious. He had heard that Naruto didn't seem to have much money and lived a rather tight life.

"It's okay, it's okay. An old grandpa will help me pay!" Naruto said, pretending to be innocent.

Seeing Naruto insist so strongly, Choza could only leave with Choji.

After waving goodbye to the two of them and asking Uncle Teuchi to put the bill on the old grandpa's tab, Naruto left Ichiraku Ramen and returned home.

On the way home, Akimichi Choza spoke to the somewhat dejected Akimichi Choji. "It's okay, Choji. Losing once isn't embarrassing. Once you start at the Ninja Academy, you can learn our Akimichi family's secret techniques. We Akimichi have the ability to convert fat into a huge amount of Chakra.

"Once you learn the secret techniques, you'll definitely be able to out-eat Naruto!"

"Really? Dad, that's great! Naruto is seriously incredible. His appetite is even bigger than mine. Next time, I'll definitely win!" Choji immediately cheered up.

"Hehe, of course!" As he and Choji walked home, Choza suddenly remembered something and said, "Choji, you go home first. I have something to do, so I'll be back later!"

Though Choji had some questions, he said nothing and went home by himself.

Choza headed straight toward the Hokage's Office and soon arrived there.

He knocked on the door. After hearing "Come in," Akimichi Choza entered and saw Hiruzen Sarutobi working at his desk.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced up. Seeing that it was Choza, he lowered his head and continued processing documents. "Choza, how did the task I gave you go? What do you think of Naruto?"

Choza had come to report on his work. "Hokage-sama, I think Naruto is a good child, and Choji likes him very much too. They will definitely become good friends."

"Oh? Is that so? It seems Naruto really is a sensible child. Then I can rest easy in the future. Besides you, I also instructed the heads of several other clans. You must build a good relationship with Naruto. Whether there's a reason or not, talk to him more about the Will of Fire. That will be good for Naruto too."

"I understand, Hokage-sama. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

After Akimichi Choza left, Hiruzen Sarutobi set aside his work and began thinking about Naruto.

Naturally, he knew how Naruto was treated in the village. Sometimes, even he couldn't help feeling that Naruto was rather pitiful.

On the surface, he had ordered Naruto's background concealed for Naruto's own good.

He claimed that Minato and Kushina had made too many enemies in the ninja world, and that revealing Naruto's identity would be terribly disadvantageous for him.

In truth, he understood, and the other clan heads understood as well, that it was all meant to consolidate his own position. Though he was already old, his desire for power had not diminished in the slightest.

The Uzumaki Clan name, blond hair, and being called the Demon Fox by the villagers.

Anyone with the intention of investigating the Nine-Tails could possibly deduce Naruto's identity.

What the Third Hokage said was merely an attempt to cover his ears while stealing a bell.

Only if Naruto was the Demon Fox could the death of the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze appear even more tragic and heroic, while the villagers would firmly remember his own achievement of stepping forward and subduing the Nine-Tails.

Not everyone knew that Minato had used his own life to perform the Reaper Death Seal, sealing half the Nine-Tails inside Naruto and the other half inside himself.

Most of these Konoha Villagers were ignorant. As long as he gave them a reasonable explanation, they would certainly believe it and have few doubts.

Even so, Naruto had somehow remained so optimistic and didn't even resent the villagers. Minato, was your child born to be a Hokage?

Before he realized it, Hiruzen Sarutobi's identity had quietly shifted from that of an ambitious politician toward that of a true grandfather.

Even so, nothing he had done in the past could be changed. People constantly changed and moved forward amid such contradictions.

With a wave of his hands, an Anbu appeared instantly.

"Hokage-sama!" The Anbu gave a slight bow and spoke to Hiruzen Sarutobi with great respect.

"Notify Kakashi and have him come to the office." Hiruzen Sarutobi resumed handling official business as he spoke to the Anbu beside him.

"Yes!" The Anbu moved quickly.

Before long, Kakashi arrived at the Hokage's Office.

Kakashi had a head of silver-white hair, often described as "bedhead" because he always looked as though he had just woken up.

His hair had slanted bangs across his forehead, while the hair on both sides was slightly longer and could cover part of his ears.

Kakashi's left eye was covered by his forehead protector. That left eye was the Sharingan his close friend Obito had left him.

Kakashi's features were fairly gentle, with a high nose bridge and thin lips.

His jawline was well-defined, giving him a calm and resolute impression.

But most of his face was concealed by his mask and forehead protector.

As a ninja of Konohagakure, Kakashi wore the standard ninja outfit, including a green jacket bearing Konoha's symbol, as well as a black bodysuit and pants.

He had a large pouch on his thigh for carrying ninja tools.

"Hokage-sama, you summoned me." Kakashi spoke respectfully to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Kakashi, you have been in the Anbu long enough and completed many missions. But your methods have become increasingly ruthless recently. If this continues, I will question whether you can become a ninja with excellent judgment."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke slowly.

"Hokage-sama, I believe my methods are reasonable and necessary. My opponents are enemies from the various ninja villages. Showing them mercy is being cruel to ourselves!"

Kakashi did not believe he had done anything wrong.

"It's fine, Kakashi. I don't mean to blame you. For the time being, take some rest. I have another task for you."

"Hokage-sama, what task is it? I will definitely complete it properly!" Kakashi had experienced too many upheavals by then. He could only numb his senses by immersing himself in missions.

Otherwise, his close friend's death, personally killing Rin Nohara from his own team—

His father committing suicide at home—

The deaths of his teacher and teacher's wife—

After such a series of experiences, an ordinary person would have suffered a complete mental breakdown long ago!

"A very important task. Protect Uzumaki Naruto. Until he successfully graduates from the Ninja Academy, you will be primarily responsible for his protection. Can you accomplish it, Kakashi?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked sternly.

"Uzumaki Naruto? My teacher's child? I will definitely complete this task properly!" Kakashi accepted the mission as well.

"Very good. With Naruto's safety in your hands, I can rest easy. Go, Kakashi. I hope this long-term mission can help you emerge from the shadows."

Hiruzen Sarutobi also felt somewhat guilty toward Kakashi.

Back then, Kakashi's father, Hatake Sakumo, had been one of Konoha's pillars. A genius ninja who wielded a Chakra short blade that emitted white light, he had been known as Konoha's White Fang. His strength was formidable, and his name resounded throughout every nation.

But because he had earned the Daimyo's favor, he had been granted the Hokage Half-Sleeve.

This made Danzo, who had coveted the Hokage position for a long time, intensely jealous.

That was why he carefully planned the incident that later shocked Konoha.

During a certain secret mission, Hatake Sakumo chose his comrades' lives over completing the mission.

As a result, the mission failed.

Originally, that was perfectly normal. Any ninja undertaking any mission could fail.

But Danzo took advantage of this failure.

Not only did he spread rumors throughout the village that Hatake Sakumo had caused the mission to fail for selfish reasons,

he also brainwashed the comrade who had been saved during the mission, making him say to Hatake Sakumo,

"I never asked you to save me. Why didn't you complete the mission? Now the villagers are pointing fingers at me. I would have been better off dying back then."

The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi knew all of this, but Hatake Sakumo's reputation had been far too high at the time, even surpassing the Legendary Sannin he had originally intended to pass the Hokage position to.

So he tacitly permitted this method of suppression, wanting to reduce Hatake Sakumo's prestige and pave the way for Konoha's Sannin to inherit the Hokage position.

He had never expected it to go too far. Amid enormous controversy, the villagers' condemnation, and his comrades' accusations, Hatake Sakumo—

suffered a mental breakdown and chose suicide.

Konoha directly lost such a high-level combat force, which also made Hiruzen Sarutobi deeply regretful.

From then on, Hiruzen Sarutobi transferred the guilt he felt toward Hatake Sakumo onto Kakashi.

Kakashi was also an exceptionally talented younger ninja of Konoha, but he had suffered too many blows.

As a result, he now lived for slaughter every day and was on the verge of losing himself.

That was why Hiruzen Sarutobi had him protect Naruto, hoping Naruto's optimistic attitude could gradually pull him back onto the right path.

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