The Third Round of the Sun

Naruto, you will definitely surpass all the Hokages of the past... and now, you've already surpassed 'yourself'...

Jiraiya sat opposite Tsunade, smiling in silent satisfaction as he watched Naruto's back suddenly "flash" into existence behind her. At this moment, it was as if a figure clad in a golden robe of a deity overlapped with him...

"You learned the Flying Thunder God Technique?" Tsunade asked with a surprised expression. A kunai in her hand bore a black mark that resembled foxfire.

Naruto scratched his head, let out a cheerful laugh, and rubbed his nose. "Yeah... thanks to Dad's help. Can you come back to Konohagakure with us now, Grandma Tsunade?"

"..." Tsunade was speechless. After a moment, she casually tossed the kunai behind her and took a sip of the clear tea.

Naruto caught the kunai and put it into his ninja tool pouch.

Shizune refilled Tsunade and Jiraiya's cups.

"Stop messing around, Tsunade. The village needs you right now. Didn't Dan and Nawaki both dream of becoming Hokage? They're both gone now, and you're the only one who can fulfill their dream!" Jiraiya's tone became a little more serious. He understood Tsunade better than anyone, as he had been watching her for decades.

"Stop being so willful, Tsunade. Become the Fifth Hokage?"

He knew how much pain the deaths of Dan and Nawaki had caused her.

This pain had made her leave Konohagakure, and only these two could possibly bring her back.

Tsunade put down her teacup and closed her eyes. "..."

Tsunade had thought a lot these past few days.

Because Jiraiya had told her so much.

The future, the village, the ninja world, war, dreams, Hokage, hope...

These things... she had thought about them when she was 5, when she was 12, and she had also thought about them when she was 22.

At 32, at 42...

At different ages and different stages of life, thinking about the same questions always brought different feelings and conclusions.

Her conclusion more than a decade ago was to leave Konohagakure, to no longer involve herself in its affairs, and to stay away from the bloodshed. But now, at 52, after reconsidering the matter, her decision... had brought her back to the starting point.

"Big sister, I'm going to be Hokage! I'm going to be a great Hokage!"

"Tsunade, my ambition is to become Hokage and protect everyone..."

The voices and smiles of those two, their past words, appeared one by one before her eyes. Tsunade's body trembled, then calmed; her breathing went from rapid to steady; her brows furrowed, then relaxed...

Opening her eyes, she glared at Shizune beside her. "What are you spacing out for? The tea has gone cold!"

Shizune was startled at first, then quickly refilled the cups.

"So, you're agreeing to come back to the village with us, Grandma Tsunade?" Naruto asked joyfully, sitting down beside Tsunade.

"I'm not going back... Who's going to reattach this old pervert's arm?" Tsunade said expressionlessly.

"Haha..." Jiraiya burst into laughter.

Time rewinds a little.

Konohagakure.

Just a few days after Naruto and Jiraiya, the master and disciple, left, Kakashi was summoned to the Third Hokage's office.

"A C-rank mission?" Kakashi asked, a little surprised as he took the mission scroll from the Third Hokage.

Logically, newly graduated Genin should spend a considerable amount of time on D-rank missions first... This wasn't just because the rookie Genin were inexperienced, but also because there were only so many missions available. If these new Genin teams took the higher-ranked missions, how would the veteran Genin and more experienced teams manage?

Should they go pull weeds or pick up trash?

"...Kakashi, finish reading the documents." The Third Hokage sat behind his desk, smoking his pipe.

Kakashi, puzzled, lowered his head to continue reading. More? He flipped another page...

"Demon of the Bloody Mist, Zabuza?! How could a mere C-rank escort mission involve someone from the 'Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist'...?"

"Heh..." Since he hadn't provided Kakashi with detailed "memory intel," the Third Hokage wasn't surprised by his reaction. The old man chuckled. "Regardless... Kakashi, you can't just find sparring partners of this caliber whenever you want. So, I plan to have you lead a special Genin squad to complete this mission. Any problems?"

Kakashi put down the mission scroll. "I don't have a problem... but Zabuza is rumored to be a master of the 'Silent Killing Technique,' the 'Demon of the Mist.' Those rookie Genin could lose their lives if they're not careful."

The Third Hokage smiled. Just then, the door to the Hokage office was pushed open.

Sasuke, Hinata, Rock Lee, Sakura, and Shikamaru walked in.

"What a pain... What's this special mission?" Shikamaru's displeasure and impatience were written all over his face as he lazily scratched his head.

Sasuke had no expression, merely slightly annoyed that his training had been interrupted. However, upon hearing it was a special mission, he felt a little relieved that he wouldn't have to pull weeds, pick up trash, do farm work, or catch kittens.

Perhaps... he would get to experience real combat?

Sakura was still bothered by Rock Lee's previous "harassment"... the shape of his watermelon head, those thick eyebrows, his drooping eyelashes, she really couldn't stand it!

Hinata was a bit nervous. She had been doing fine with D-rank missions, so why the sudden special mission? It felt like it would be very difficult. Would she drag everyone down?

Kakashi looked back at the five Genin, understanding that the Third Hokage wanted to use this opportunity to train these five a bit and have him look after them.

The Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan, the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan, the Taijutsu taught by that crazy guy Might Guy, the Shadow Jutsu of a high-IQ clan... Even Zabuza might find them troublesome?

But... why is this little girl here?

Kakashi was a bit confused as to why Sakura, who seemed so ordinary, was standing there.

The Third Hokage saw through Kakashi's thoughts and said faintly, "I think that girl Sakura will be interested in her..."

Oh? Kakashi, who hadn't yet experienced Sakura's "love" iron fist, looked very confused.

While packing his bags, Jiraiya noticed Naruto was often lost in thought and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?" Suddenly remembering something, he walked over and patted Naruto's shoulder, comforting him, "Some things are lost to us, Naruto, and we can't stop them..."

He thought of Minato's chakra, which should have disappeared by now.

"Ah... I know," Naruto nodded, touching his abdomen, and squinted with a smile, "I won't be discouraged, don't worry, Pervy Sage! Inside me... there are three suns shining on me!"

"I'm very happy..." Naruto smiled, his expression warm.

※※※

"You are!?"

A blurry figure appeared in this space... This was inside Naruto, in Naruto's mental world. Besides Minato's chakra, the Nine-Tails' consciousness, and Naruto's own consciousness, who else could be here?

Someone else?

The figure became clearer and clearer.

Naruto remembered that after meeting his mother Kushina inside him, he had also felt like someone else was around... A guess suddenly flashed through his mind—

Could it be!?

The figure finally appeared.

He was a little over 1.7 meters tall, wearing a tattered black and orange outfit, as if he had just come out of a fierce battle. He had three whisker-like markings on each cheek, and he had... short, blonde hair. He wore the Konoha forehead protector.

"Naruto!?" Minato was extremely surprised, looking at the person who had inexplicably appeared, then at his son beside him.

The Nine-Tails silently watched the inexplicably tall Naruto, a look of realization flashing in its eyes.

"So it's you..." Naruto recovered from his surprise.

They all recognized the person who had appeared, but that person hadn't yet understood who he was.

His eyes were filled with confusion, and he muttered, "Me...? Who... am I? I..." He finally saw Minato, wearing the white Hokage robes, standing beside Naruto. Tears involuntarily welled up in his eyes, and he opened his mouth, "Dad..."

Gradually, his azure eyes regained their clarity, and hot tears rolled down his cheeks. He whispered, "I am Naruto Uzumaki."