"But Asuma... Asuma probably wouldn't work."
The Third Hokage sighed. "You all know that Asuma was a delinquent in his youth. He even went on to become one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire. Although our village relies on the feudal lord, we are ultimately two separate powers. For the Hokage's son to serve as the feudal lord's guard—wouldn't that throw everything into chaos?"
"Asuma's way of thinking cannot rise to the level of the village."
"So he won't do."
"Then what about Naruto—" Koharu suddenly brought him up. "You know Naruto is the Fourth Hokage's son..."
"Naruto won't do either."
"Although everyone in the village rejects him, that is why I grew close to him, and he grew close to me. But... in the end, I owe him too much."
"Besides... he has ultimately stood against the village... It is simply impossible for him to gain everyone's approval, not to mention that he is also the Nine-Tails..."
The Third Hokage shook his head.
But these words instantly set the little group chat ablaze.
Hashirama Senju: Tobirama, your disciple really does love beating around the bush.
Hashirama Senju: Everyone hates Naruto, then Hiruzen treats Naruto well. That's the only reason he dared to do it.
Tobirama Senju: ...I don't want to acknowledge Hiruzen anymore.
Minato Namikaze: I really want a body right now.
Minato Namikaze: Teacher Minato, calm down.
Minato Namikaze: How am I supposed to calm down? Even if he keeps making excuses for himself, the Third Hokage said it himself... That means...
He did it on purpose!
Minato Namikaze: On one hand, he exposed my Naruto-chan's identity as the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. On the other, he deliberately led the village's resentment toward Naruto-chan and let them bully Naruto-chan. Then, by contrast, he became the one who treated Naruto-chan well... He just... wanted Naruto-chan to feel grateful to him.
Minato Namikaze: This is going too far!
Might Guy: Huh?
Might Guy: Huh? Naruto is the Fourth Hokage's son!?
Might Guy only realized it now.
Kakashi hurriedly explained it to him.
Might Guy: Damn... Nobody told me... How could something like this be kept hidden... The Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself for the village, but Naruto... He was not even given his proper identity.
Minato Namikaze: Guy, calm down too.
At that moment, a report came from outside the door.
"Third Hokage, the Kazekage of Sunagakure has arrived."
"I'll go over at once."
The Third Hokage said.
"Sunagakure... They're rather troublesome too," the Third Hokage said.
"Let's go take a look."
Koharu said, "After all, they are Hidden Leaf Village's ally."
"Everyone has been peaceful for too long and can no longer accept war. So maintaining peace between the Five Great Nations and Five Great Shinobi Villages like this is best," Mitokado Homura said.
"That's true."
Thus, the Third Hokage and the other two left the office.
Everyone in the group silently watched this scene.
Their emotions had exploded because the Third Hokage had just admitted his attitude toward Naruto.
But they were also dissatisfied with the Third Hokage's current mindset of seeking stability and peace.
Tobirama Senju: I once thought Hiruzen had a very decisive personality. Only now do I realize... he is this stubbornly old-fashioned.
Tobirama Senju: Sigh. So I really did choose the wrong person.
Tobirama Senju shut down emotionally.
Minato Namikaze: But isn't our little group supposed to be observing Kitahara Kaede? Why is the view still lingering in the office?
The moment Minato said that, everyone saw it happen with a bang.
The folder Kitahara Kaede had previously returned to the Third Hokage changed shape, turning into Kitahara Kaede.
Hashirama Senju: Ah, so he never left.
Tobirama Senju: Hmph, I knew it. That brat is actually quite slippery.
Tobirama Senju: But that makes me a little worried.
Minato Namikaze: Second Hokage, what are you worried about?
Tobirama Senju: I think... Kitahara Kaede might not want to take over Hidden Leaf Village.
Hashirama Senju, Minato Namikaze, Minato Namikaze: ...
That made a lot of sense.
Because... under the Third Hokage's mindset of refusing war and merely seeking to survive... this Hidden Leaf Village was rotten beyond belief.
It was a complete mess. No one would want it.
P.S.: Waaah... Please give me some flowers and rating votes. The rating votes haven't moved for two days. It's miserable.
My dears!
Neji Hyuga, the Brother-in-Law
Kitahara Kaede left the Third Hokage's office with a bang, using the Body Flicker Technique.
However, he did not go far. Instead, he circled around the village once.
According to the Third Hokage, he was probably being cultivated as a candidate for Hokage...
That sounded fairly acceptable.
But.
The current Hidden Leaf Village was unappetizing. It could even be called a complete mess.
According to the normal plot, the Third Hokage would die during the Chunin Ninja Exams.
Then came Danzo's fifty-fifty era.
Kitahara Kaede did not like Danzo, nor did he like the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage was too old-fashioned.
If he had to choose one, the Third Hokage would be slightly better than Danzo, but only slightly.
Kitahara Kaede was not afraid of changing the plot. Or rather, the plot had already changed when Naruto's Chakra system was restored.
So...
Mei Terumi's appearance, Zabuza's recruitment... and Yuki Haku possibly remaining hidden were all different from the original story.
But as long as things developed in a direction beneficial to him, there was no problem.
Kitahara Kaede continued walking around the village when he spotted the members of a small team running toward him.
They were the members of Team One, where last year's Ninja Academy top student, Neji Hyuga, was assigned.
Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and Tenten.
"Rock Lee... Slow down!"
The three of them seemed to be training hard.
"Let's rest for a bit," Tenten said to Rock Lee, who was leading the way.
"Tenten, resting is bad. It means your training is not enough."
Rock Lee immediately turned around and said this with a serious expression.
Judging from his tone and appearance, he was not particularly handsome, and his personality was the sort of straight-man personality.
It made people wonder how he got married in Boruto.
"Ha!"
As Rock Lee spoke, he suddenly stopped.
"Neji—" he called out to his companion.
The three had been doing special training, running thirty laps around the village. At the very front was Rock Lee's lifelong rival, Neji Hyuga.
Neji was a genius, but he was not.
However, Rock Lee believed that hard work could defeat genius.
That was why he had always wanted to surpass Neji.
But Neji's current target was not him.
"Kitahara Kaede." Neji stopped. "Wait a moment!"
"..." Kitahara Kaede.
The atmosphere seemed somewhat unpleasant.
Observing Kitahara Kaede (^_-)
Might Guy: Ah, Neji, how can you be so rash?
Might Guy: Sorry, these are the students of my first team.
Might Guy: The handsome guy with long black hair is Neji Hyuga, then there's the thick-browed Rock Lee, and then Tenten. Tenten is skilled in Space Ninjutsu.
Although Might Guy looked huge and constantly shouted about youth and such.
But... he was a very attentive person.
Though he had just joined the little group and did not understand much yet, but... hey, hey, hey... Even the previous Hokage were watching Kitahara Kaede together for three hours every day. On top of that, the Third Hokage had just said Kitahara Kaede might be a candidate for the next Hokage.
Then... wasn't Neji offending someone?
Unmarriageable Older Single Woman: Let me ask, is this Rock Lee your son?
Might Guy: Huh?
Might Guy: Although I care a lot about Rock Lee and admire him greatly, he isn't my son!
Minato Namikaze: Actually, I've always wondered about that too.
Might Guy: Why are you saying that too, Kakashi!? Don't you know perfectly well that I'm single?
Minato Namikaze: Because Rock Lee looks a lot like you.
Might Guy: Well... I feel rather proud of that. I'm very proud to have a disciple like Rock Lee.
Might Guy: Enough talking. Neji is rather stubborn, so I need to log off first.
The moment Might Guy said that, his profile picture went dark.
Then everyone noticed that, within the view observing Kitahara Kaede, a cloud of dust came racing over from afar.
It was none other than the Might Guy who had just logged off.
"Ah... The weather is great!"
"Alright..."
"Let's continue our youthful training." Might Guy began changing the subject.
And Neji had stopped Kitahara Kaede.
Before you continue