Konoha, Sarutobi clan mansion.
It was a typical Japanese-style courtyard, with the main house and side rooms standing apart amid an elegantly maintained garden. The owner of the house was usually almost never home at this hour, his workload comparable to that of a brutal sweatshop, leaving him able to drag his exhausted body back only at bedtime.
Yet at this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, had taken off his Hokage ceremonial robe and changed into comfortable casual clothes. He was in his bedroom.
With his back to the sliding door, he sat on the tatami mats and stared intently at a crystal ball before him that gave off a faint glow.
An unnatural flush colored his face, and his gaze was fixed. Light and shadows flowed through the image reflected in the crystal ball, and it did not appear to be any sort of proper ninjutsu surveillance scene...
"Grandpa! Are you in there?! Just how much have you been hiding from me?!"
His grandson's clearly dissatisfied shout suddenly rang out from the hallway beyond the door, piercing his ears.
Hiruzen Sarutobi jolted, hurriedly dispelled the crystal ball with ninjutsu, stuffed it beneath the bedding, and swiftly adjusted his sitting posture.
"Konohamaru, haven't I already told you?" He cleared his throat and spoke toward the sliding door in as steady a tone as possible. "There are many things that you'll naturally understa—"
The sliding door was yanked open with a rough swish. Konohamaru's puffed-up little face appeared first, with Uzumaki Naruto standing behind him, looking helpless.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze passed over his grandson and landed on Naruto. The sternness on his face instantly turned into an easy smile.
"Oh, Naruto's here too." He beckoned him in. "How is it? Are you adjusting to the new identity and treatment Jiraiya