Outside Konoha Village, the wide Naka River meanders from the edge of the village, through the dense forest, and finally merges into the distant sea.
In this forest, there are several trickling streams dotted in it, adding a bit of agility to the greenery.
Menma, Naruto and Hinata ran all the way and stopped by a small river.
"This is my secret base!" Naruto excitedly introduced to Menma and Hinata.
Menma Looking around, this open space the size of a basketball court is surrounded by lush forests, overgrown with weeds, and in the center is a fire that has long been extinguished.
There were some hollow logs hanging from the tree trunks around, and gravels the size of little fingers were scattered on the ground.
It seems that Naruto often practices here.
Naruto dug through a dead tree hole and found three simple fishing rods.
This is a small hook that Naruto made by tying branches with fishing line and iron nails.
"Brother Menma, Hinata, you pick one." Naruto enthusiastically handed over three simple fishing rods.
"Then I'll choose this one." Menma took the one closest to him.
The same goes for Hinata, I chose one at random.
The three of them did not rush to go fishing, but started looking for earthworms under the dead trees.
"Byakugan!" Hinata shouted softly, veins popped up around his eyes, his sight penetrated the soil, and he accurately pointed out the location of the earthworm.
Menma and Naruto followed her guidance and dug through a section of dead wood. Sure enough, they found several small holes, and then started digging with branches.
"Wow! There are so many earthworms!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise.
When he was looking for earthworms alone, he couldn't find a few for a long time. Later, after searching for a long time, he realized that earthworms like the soft soil under dead trees.
Menma also gave Hinata a thumbs up.
The three of them came to the river, one of them chose a place to sit down, and began to hang the earthworms on the hook made of a small iron nail, and then threw the pole.
Under the shade of the trees, the clear river flowed slowly, and the three children were fishing and chatting.
Menma deliberately told Naruto and Hinata the fairy tales they learned when they were children in previous lives. The two were so fascinated that they almost didn't notice the fish biting the hooks on the fishing rod in their hands.
Naruto hurriedly pulled up the fishing rod and found that it was only a palm-sized fish. He put it angrily in a small pond piled up by the river, then hung an earthworm on it. After throwing the rod, he continued to listen to Brother Menma's story.
"In the old war-torn times, there was a country with a law that provided that anyone who could redeem a citizen who had become a slave abroad could be compensated by the country. One day, a man named Zigong redeemed a citizen, but he He gave up the compensation. When Confucius, a teacher, found out, he criticized him instead." Menma told Naruto the story of Zigong's redemption.
"Why?" Naruto had some confusion on his little face.
Even if the person is redeemed, Zigong doesn't need any compensation. It saves money for the country. Isn't it true that one kills two birds with one stone?
Menma explained patiently, "Because Zigong's behavior belongs to personal morality, he does not want compensation, which has achieved his small righteousness, but it has invisibly increased the cost and standard of doing good. If Zigong does not accept compensation from the state, if other people redeem their compatriots in the future and seek compensation from the state, they will be accused by others of being "not selfless enough." This is called moral kidnapping."
Menma analyzed it bit by bit for Naruto: "You can't use your own standards to ask others to do the same as you. That will only raise moral standards to the point where only a few people can afford it, thus dampening ordinary people's enthusiasm for doing good."
"In this way, doing good deeds becomes a burden. Who would be willing to do it?"
"Morality is used to restrain oneself, not to kidnap others." Menma concluded. "If good deeds become a burden, it will only make fewer and fewer people willing to do good deeds."
Little Naruto nodded somewhat understandingly.
Menma didn't force him to do anything, he just hoped that he would remember this story.
Then, Menma told Naruto some other fables.
Time passed quietly, and the three of them caught several fish one after another and started to make a fire to grill them.
Naruto volunteered to treat Menma and Hinata to a grilled fish dinner cooked by him, but was slapped in the face by the tail of a fish, making Menma and Hinata laugh.
Naruto was not annoyed, scratched his head and started laughing.
Naruto cherishes this kind of leisurely time spent playing together with peers.
On a big tree not far away, Ko Hyuga was silently protecting Hinata in the dark. When he saw the three of them eating grilled fish, he took out the dry food he carried with him from his pocket and started chewing it.
Suddenly, there was a slight noise next to Ko Hyuga.
He turned his head and found that at some point, there was a little old man wearing regular clothes, with spiky hair and a goatee on his right.
Ko Hyuga immediately put down the rice ball and his whole body tensed up.
"Relax." Hiruzen Sarutobi showed a kind smile to Ko Hyuga, just like an ordinary grandpa next door.
"Sir Third Hokage!" Ko Hyuga recognized Third Hokage, who was also the principal of the Ninja Academy. Although he was surprised, he still remained respectful.
I just don't understand why Third Hokage Lord Hokage appears here.
"I'm going to check on the children. You should also take a rest." After saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi jumped down from the tree trunk.
"Yes, Lord Third Hokage!" Ko Hyuga bowed slightly, but did not dare to relax at all.
Standing quietly on the tree trunk, watching Hiruzen Sarutobi walking towards the three children over there.
Big Sister Hinata was keenly aware of the movement and raised his head to look at the old man walking over.
In fact, Menma had already noticed the arrival of Hiruzen Sarutobi, but he just pretended not to know and continued eating grilled fish. It was not until Hinata looked up that he looked over.
Naruto, who was immersed in eating fish, also noticed something unusual and followed Hinata's line of sight.
"Eh? Grandpa, who are you?" Naruto has never met anyone else in this secret base.
"Ah, I'm just an old man passing by." Third Hokage walked over slowly with a smile, slightly surprised by Hinata Hyuga's vigilance and sensitivity.
The child named Menma reacted a little slower than Hinata, but he was still a good candidate.
Hiruzen Sarutobi deliberately did not wear Hokage Cloak and Hokage hats today because he wanted to approach these three children as an ordinary old man.
But he obviously doesn't know much about Hinata.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi walked up to the fire in front of the three children, he was about to approach them.
Hinata curled his lips and said shockingly, "Isn't this Third Hokage Lao Deng?"
Poof--
Hiruzen Sarutobi almost choked with a mouthful of old blood.
"No, I remember that the girl from the Hyuga Clan was a very introverted child?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was confused.
Ko Hyuga on the tree raised its forehead and sighed.
"Well, let me introduce to you, Lord Third Hokage of our village." Hinata shook the grilled fish in his hand and introduced to Menma and Naruto.
"Hokage!!!" Little Naruto's eyes instantly lit up, full of longing and admiration.
In his opinion, Hokage is the strongest person!
Menma ate the grilled fish slowly, picked up a branch with grilled fish on it and handed it over. "Grandpa, do you want to eat?"
Looking at the sincere eyes of the child in front of him and the grilled fish being handed over, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly felt that these three little guys were extremely interesting.
He laughed, took the grilled fish, and sat down by the fire.