Three Questions, Three Answers

At two thirty in the afternoon, Hiruzen Sarutobi personally sat before Haruno Sakura to oversee her graduation exam.

The Clone Technique, Transformation Jutsu, and Substitution Technique were all performed perfectly, passed in one go.

When Haruno Sakura accepted the forehead protector Hiruzen Sarutobi handed her himself, there was not much of a smile on his face.

Instead, he looked at Haruno Sakura with a solemn expression and said,

"Sakura, come with me."

"Yes, Hokage."

Haruno Sakura remained calm. She had long expected this.

She had no choice. She was graduating, yet she still had not obtained the Yin Seal.

Over the past year, Hiruzen Sarutobi had only given her Monstrous Strength and the Body Flicker Technique.

As for the so-called Yin Seal, there had not even been a trace of it.

Clearly, in Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, it was already enough for an eight-year-old child to master Monstrous Strength and the Body Flicker Technique. The rest could come gradually.

And that was indeed true.

For an eight-year-old Genin, Monstrous Strength combined with the Body Flicker Technique was already an absurdly high-level loadout.

But Haruno Sakura was anxious. At present, there were only two people who could possess the Yin Seal's training method.

One was Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the other was Tsunade.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was right in front of her, while Tsunade was probably hiding from debts all over the world at this point in time.

Where was Haruno Sakura supposed to find her?

"How could an eight-year-old Genin obtain the S-rank secret technique, the Yin Seal, through normal means within a year?"

It was impossible even to think about. Under such circumstances, Haruno Sakura could only take a risky move and win through surprise.

Clearly, Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions now proved that Haruno Sakura's idea had worked.

She just did not know whether it was good or bad.

Hiruzen Sarutobi led Haruno Sakura forward step by step without showing any intention of speaking. Her previously calm heart gradually became uneasy.

Until they reached Konoha's highest point, above Hokage Rock.

The high-altitude wind stirred Hiruzen Sarutobi's robes and Haruno Sakura's hair tips.

"Sakura..."

There was a hint of helplessness in Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice.

From that ambitious piece titled "Haruno Sakura's Will of Fire," he could tell that this seemingly well-behaved little girl with Pink Hair was not as adorable as she appeared.

"I'm here, Hokage Grandpa."

Haruno Sakura looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and spoke with some hesitation.

"Can you tell me what a Hokage is?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly sat down on the ground, his somewhat clouded eyes gazing over the village he had protected his entire life.

He had thought his life would pass this way. If he could raise one more pillar for Konoha in his final years, he would be able to retire with his work complete.

But Haruno Sakura's graduation answer sheet today had stirred the quiet, dutiful heart within him.

Once upon a time, he too had been known as the Ninja Hero.

As time passed, the Ninja Hero had long become a thing of the past, while the baffling title of Ninjutsu Doctor had been placed upon his head.

That also meant the Ninja Hero who had once dominated battlefields had vanished from everyone's sight.

A Ninjutsu Doctor who had stayed in the village for decades had been born...

"A Hokage..."

Following Hiruzen Sarutobi's example, Haruno Sakura sat beside him. Looking at the scene before her, one she had only seen in anime, she slowly said,

"A Hokage is the father of a family."

"The teacher of a class."

"The director of a neighborhood."

"The mayor of a village."

"The leader of a nation."

"But I prefer to describe one as the father of a family."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression shifted as he said,

"I remember that Sakura's goal is to become the first female Hokage. Why describe one as a father rather than a mother?"

Her pink hair fluttered gently as Haruno Sakura looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and replied,

"Because compared to a mother, a father is more rational and can make more effective judgments at certain times, even if that choice may, in the immediate sense, harm some of the family's interests."

"But from a long-term perspective, from the perspective of overall interests..."

"That decision is undoubtedly the more correct one."

Haruno Sakura's words left Hiruzen Sarutobi silent.

He could not help thinking of how he had made the Hyuga compromise back then.

Kumogakure had used the peace treaty as a pretext to plot for the Byakugan. Hyuga Hiashi had caught them on the spot, but in the end, Hizashi Hyuga's corpse had been exchanged for peace.

The village's higher-ups had secretly criticized that matter.

But... what could he have done?

It had been the final stage of the Third Shinobi World War. Konoha's capable shinobi had nearly all been exhausted.

The Fourth Hokage had only recently died, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was merely three years old, the Uchiha were heavily criticized because of the Nine-Tails' Rampage, Danzo was watching hungrily, and Kakashi and the other shinobi of his generation were still too young.

If Kakashi's generation had been wiped out too, Konoha truly would have had no future.

"So this is how Sakura understands the Hokage."

"Well said. A Hokage is indeed unable to act freely in many matters."

"A Hokage may appear to stand above all others, but there are also many unspoken hardships..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help reaching out to stroke Sakura's soft pink hair.

He liked this child very much, but precisely because he liked her so much, he had made this special trip.

"Is there more?"

"Sakura's understanding of the Hokage?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked kindly at the little girl before him and continued.

Haruno Sakura blinked, and her brows relaxed slightly.

There's a chance.

"It is not that becoming Hokage earns everyone's acknowledgment."

"It is only after earning everyone's acknowledgment that one can become Hokage."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes brightened slightly at those words.

"Then here is the question: how does one earn everyone's acknowledgment?"

"Is it enough to merely talk about it?"

"Obviously not."

Haruno Sakura stood and faced the mountain wind blowing across the cliff, a trace of excitement showing in her eyes.

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a bad premonition.

"In this world, everyone speaks the same language, writes the same script, and uses the same currency."

"Hokage, don't you think there are too many countries in this world?"

!!!

Sure enough, this girl was not one to quietly follow the rules.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared blankly at Haruno Sakura, his heart filled with complicated emotions as he temporarily did not know what to say.

Sakura asked, "If someone could let everyone in Konoha live good lives and ensure that everyone in the Land of Fire had enough to eat..."

"Could such a person be called Hokage?"

The Third Hokage answered, "Yes."

Sakura continued, "If someone could bring peace to Konoha for the first time and end the suffering of war..."

"Could such a person be called Hokage?"

The Third Hokage answered again, "Yes."

Sakura went on, "If everyone could travel all over the world without worrying about their safety, freely visiting mountains and seas, icy snows and desolate deserts..."

"Could such a person be called Hokage?"

The Third Hokage answered, "Yes."

"Hokage Grandpa, I want to become Hokage."

"A Hokage who makes all of those things a reality."

"My essay, 'Will of Fire,' is the starting point and beginning of everything."

Haruno Sakura turned to look at the village beneath her feet, her tone light yet heavy.

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