Sarutobi Hiruzen: I, the Third! The Strongest Hokage!

"I'm sorry. I apologize for what Naruto did, and I hope you can forgive him."

"Also, any losses Naruto causes in the future will be covered by the village."

Hearing this, the Mask Shop Owner froze.

But he quickly thanked him.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage!"

"I was in the wrong first. I absolutely won't do it again!"

"As for compensation, they're just a few worthless masks. There wasn't any real loss."

A wise man knew when to yield. He was already feeling guilty, so how would he dare accept compensation?

But soon, he came to his senses.

What?

The losses caused by that Fox Demon would be borne by the village?

Didn't that mean that if he found out no one would intervene, he could cause trouble everywhere and rack up massive property damage...?

"That's not how it works. One thing is one thing. You'll still be given what you're owed."

Sarutobi Hiruzen wore a kindly smile, looking as though he were acting entirely in the man's best interests.

"All right... Thank you, Lord Hokage. I... I'll be going now."

The Mask Shop Owner sighed inwardly. He would have to go back and tell everyone about this.

After the owner left, Sarutobi Hiruzen waved a hand, sending the Anbu Ninja back to continue watching Naruto.

He tapped the desk, his brows tightly furrowed.

"He's already made his move... Faster than I imagined."

"That makes sense. He's still just a child and can't keep his cool... It's time to meet him."

Almost everyone in the village hated him.

This was when he was at his most helpless.

The timing for an appearance was just right.

As he pondered this, the door to the Hokage's Office was pushed open.

"Hiruzen!"

"Look at what that Jinchuriki has done!"

"I said long ago that if the Jinchuriki wasn't handed over to Root, an accident was bound to happen."

"He's already showing signs of going berserk. He even attacked the people of the village..."

Before Shimura Danzō could finish, Sarutobi Hiruzen interrupted his spiel.

"Danzo, I told you before. You don't need to interfere in this matter."

"I'm the one sitting here."

"Hiruzen, you will regret this!"

Well then, he'd gone straight for the ultimate move. What else could he do?

Meanwhile, Naruto took out his fishing gear and began fishing for the first time.

Besides that, he searched for wild vegetables by the river.

He wasn't worried about the Anbu Ninja seeing any of this.

After all, he had been to the market before.

His excuse was solid, and such a trivial matter wouldn't draw too much attention from Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He wasn't a fishing fanatic, so there was no way he could wait patiently forever.

After propping his fishing rod to one side, he rolled up his pant legs and waded into the water to feel around for snails.

At the same time, the instant his feet stepped on the sand beneath the water, the soles of his feet underwent Elemental Transformation.

With the sound of the current and the water concealing it, he wouldn't be exposed.

"Let's test the Woods-Woods Fruit's ability to absorb nutrients."

With a thought, roots resembling Tree Roots sprouted from the soles of his feet and plunged into the mud.

They quickly spread beneath the Big Tree on the riverbank.

Naruto tried connecting those roots to the Big Tree's roots.

Yet his hands never stopped moving, as though he were genuinely focused on searching for river clams and the like.

"Connected!"

"Absorb!"

Buzz—

The next instant, Naruto felt the soles of his feet grow hot.

A warm current flowed into his limbs and bones.

But after absorbing for only a few seconds, he stopped.

He had been secretly watching for changes in the Big Tree, and in just those few seconds, several withered leaves had appeared on it.

"What an overbearing absorption ability!"

"Even the hunger in my stomach is completely gone."

"Hmm... Am I imagining things? Why do I feel like that Big Tree is asking me to absorb a little more?"

Shaking his head, Naruto withdrew the roots that were Absorbing nutrients.

He continued slowly walking through the river.

One tree after another, the nutrients he absorbed made Naruto feel warm all over, and his body brimmed with strength.

The bruises on his face had faded as well.

With his identity as a Jinchuriki, such powerful recovery ability wasn't surprising.

"Did I get a bite?"

Naruto, who was ostensibly picking wild vegetables and feeling for snails while secretly absorbing nutrients from the forest, looked up.

Not far away, his fishing rod was bobbing.

"It's a big fish."

"I caught something on my first try. Looks like I'm still under beginner protection."

Naruto hurried over and pulled up the rod.

Splash—

A fish weighing over a pound was pulled from the water.

Crap!

I'm way too strong!

It should be fine, right...?

Though Naruto didn't fish often, he still knew that a fish weighing over a pound had quite a bit of strength in the water.

Whatever. I'm a Jinchuriki, and I have the Uzumaki Clan's physique. My father was Konoha's Yellow Flash, so it's normal for me to be a little stronger.

Sometimes, one had to marvel at it.

Some people fished all day and didn't even see a single scale.

Others caught a whole bucketful of fish the very first time they went fishing.

Even the smallest were three fingers wide.

As his catch grew, Naruto gradually acted as though he were having a harder and harder time.

At one point, he even deliberately fell into the river.

Yep, perfectly reasonable.

Soon, the sun set.

Naruto took out some tools to start a fire and set up the fish he had cleaned and gutted.

Sizzle, sizzle—

Seasoning really did make all the difference. It smelled delicious.

Naruto put on the appearance of someone who had been hungry all day.

He first ladled out a bowl of wild vegetable soup and took a small sip. Not bad—it was sweet.

"Hoo, hoo."

He blew on the plump, golden grilled fish and took a bite.

Just then, an old face appeared behind him.

Naruto "jumped" in fright.

He fell flat onto the ground.

Looking at the old man with a goatee before him, he knew this was the famous Sarutobi Hiruzen of the Ninja World.

"Who are you?"

Naruto's eyes held a trace of wariness.

Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed a kind smile.

"Don't panic. I'm just an old man passing by."

As he spoke, he even stood up and spread his hands to show that he had no hostile intentions.

Suddenly, his nose twitched, and he looked toward the sizzling grilled fish and wild vegetable soup nearby.

"Impressive. Did you catch all these fish yourself?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen also noticed the water in the bucket beside them and couldn't help praising him.

Naruto turned the grilled fish over.

"There's more than just mine in here. There are other people's too."

In other words, he couldn't give any away.

He was still deeply wary. That was understandable, too. After everything he had gone through, such a reaction was only natural.

Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled and sat down.

"Ah, I haven't eaten grilled fish in a long time. Hmm, this soup smells wonderful."

Get lost. There's no share for you!

"Grandpa, you can have this~"

Naruto picked up the grilled fish, smiling with pure innocence.

"Hahaha, really? Thank you."

Sarutobi Hiruzen accepted the fish and didn't forget to praise him again.

"Ah, it really does look delicious."

Naruto's lips curled up. "I caught this fish, so of course it's delicious."

What kind of smile counted as a silly grin?

Naruto didn't know. He could only pretend to be extremely happy.

This step was very important. He had to get through it smoothly.

If nothing unexpected happened, this old man would reveal his identity soon.

Konoha's Pyramid Scheme Leader!

Sarutobi Hiruzen chatted with Naruto about everyday matters.

Throughout it all, Naruto acted especially cheerful and lively.

At the end, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up and patted his pants.

"I'm old. I'm getting a little sleepy, so let's leave it at that for today. Thank you for your hospitality."

"Grandpa, are you leaving?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen silently counted to three and looked down.

Sure enough, a disappointed expression appeared on the boy's face.

"Hahaha, you can't bear to part with this old grandpa?"

"All right, then I'll keep you company a little longer."

Naruto immediately beamed again.

He even said, "Grandpa, you're so nice~"

"No one has ever been willing to talk to me. Only Grandpa doesn't hate me."

Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled.

The time was ripe.

He sat beside Naruto and looked up at the stars in the sky.

"Look at those stars."

Naruto followed his pointing finger.

The sight stunned him.

He had forgotten how many years it had been since he had seen a night sky full of stars.

Sarutobi Hiruzen continued speaking to himself.

"Each and every one of those stars is the same as the sun we see."

"The sun... Is the sun that big, brightest thing in the daytime?"

"That's right. This world is very, very big—so big that it has no end."

"Wow, Grandpa, you know so much!"

When Sarutobi Hiruzen heard that, the corners of his mouth rose higher than an AK.

He turned to Naruto and said:

"Before this vast world, humanity's existence is far too insignificant."

"And the worries in the hearts of such insignificant people were insignificant too."

"Grandpa, looking at you like this, you feel so familiar. You look a lot like one of the people on the big stone."

Sarutobi Hiruzen followed his lead and said:

"Then do you know who's carved on that big stone?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nope."

"You're still young. It's normal not to know."

"Every person carved up there earned the recognition of everyone in the village. They're all heroes who protected Konoha."

"..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen began instilling the Will of Fire in him, but it went in Naruto's left ear and out his right.

"Grandpa, you're amazing~"

"Of course! I'm the strongest one out of those four!"