Shinichi, Would You Be Willing to Become Hokage?

"Obvious?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned deeply, the shock and suspicion in his heart growing stronger.

"The entire village—from children to adults—almost everyone insults Uzumaki Naruto behind his back, or even to his face, calling him a 'monster' and the 'incarnation of the demon fox.'"

"On top of that, Uzumaki Naruto's age perfectly lines up with the disaster caused by the 'demon fox' twelve years ago. After the disaster ended, the so-called 'demon fox' vanished, while the village gained a child shunned and hated by everyone, a child also called a 'demon fox.'"

"Isn't that practically pointing at him and telling everyone—'Uzumaki Naruto is the container of that monster from back then'?"

Tejima Shinichi tilted his head slightly, spread his hands, and asked in return,

"With such an obvious connection, wouldn't anyone who observed and thought about it for even a moment reach that conclusion?"

Having finally exposed this seemingly idiotic contradiction, Tejima Shinichi felt an indescribable sense of relief.

This so-called "top secret" had long become an open secret through the villagers' daily insults and rejection. Only the higher-ups were still deceiving themselves, desperately maintaining that ridiculous mask.

"So... can you tell me what there is to make such a fuss about?"

Tejima Shinichi's final question was like a slap across Sarutobi Hiruzen's face.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was completely stunned.

He opened his mouth, wanting to refute him, only to find himself speechless.

He had always believed Naruto's identity had been well concealed, yet he had never considered that amid the villagers' prejudice and rumors, this so-called "secret" had long been as fragile as a transparent sheet of paper before anyone with eyes.

Tejima Shinichi's simple, blunt reasoning shattered a long-held self-deception of his.

So... under the villagers' collective, unconscious rejection and the passage of time, this so-called secrecy had been so fragile.

Guilt welled up in Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart.

Not only had he failed to protect the child Minato and Kushina had entrusted to him, he had allowed Uzumaki Naruto to grow up in such a twisted and cruel environment, bearing malice that he should never have had to bear...

His stooped figure looked especially old and lonely beneath the sunlight, as though all life had been drained from him in an instant.

After a long while, Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly raised his head and looked toward the four faces carved into Hokage Rock. His gaze finally settled on his own "young" face as he murmured,

"Perhaps... perhaps I really... should retire."

Following his gaze, Tejima Shinichi saw the dejection and confusion on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face. Rather than comforting him, he nodded in firm agreement.

"On that point, I completely agree... Lord Hokage!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's breath caught. He turned his head and looked at Tejima Shinichi in disbelief. He had not expected him to agree on such a matter.

Tejima Shinichi met his gaze without avoiding it.

"The world belongs to the young, in the end!"

As he spoke, his eyes swept over the distant Hokage Rock before returning to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Just as you said... the Will of Fire. Where leaves dance, the fire burns without end. No matter how fiercely the older generation's flames burn, there will come a day when they are spent. Only when new leaves keep sprouting and growing can this forest remain forever full of life."

"If old leaves cling to the branches and refuse to leave, monopolizing the sunlight and rain, they will instead hinder new buds from breaking through the earth. Falling at the proper time and becoming nourishing spring soil may perhaps... be their greatest contribution to the tree."

"And aren't you choosing to become that 'spring soil' now, Lord Hokage?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned by those words.

He stared blankly at the black-haired boy before him, at the clarity and calm in his eyes that surpassed his age.

Those words did not merely agree with his thoughts of "retirement." They even carried an urge for him to step down.

Yet what Shinichi had invoked was the very Will of Fire Sarutobi Hiruzen had believed in and devoted his life to passing on!

Using his most fundamental belief to argue that he should relinquish his position...

For a moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no way to refute that logic. His heart was filled with mixed emotions.

There was the bitterness of being "lectured" by a junior, reflection on his years in office, and... a complicated sense of awe at seeing the sharp edge of a new era already emerging.

Tejima Shinichi said no more and merely stood there quietly.

Sarutobi Hiruzen gazed at him, as though he could see Konoha's future surging like a mighty tide through that young face.

The wheels of time would keep rolling forward in the end, and no one could stop them.

After a long silence, he finally let out a deep sigh.

"You're right, Shinichi."

"Perhaps... the time has come!"

The weariness and confusion in Sarutobi Hiruzen's weathered eyes gradually gave way to a strange light, as though he had made some kind of decision.

Hope... Konoha's future had apparently arrived quietly long ago, in such a shocking and unconventional form!!!

Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned forward slightly and threw out a question that shook the heavens.

"Shinichi, do you... want to become Hokage?"

"..."

The expression on Tejima Shinichi's face instantly froze.

Even with his composure and mental fortitude, his mind went blank for a moment upon hearing that question.

He suspected he had misheard.

Hokage?

Sarutobi Hiruzen was asking him—a Genin who had only recently graduated—so directly whether he wanted the position that stood at the pinnacle of Konoha's power and glory in countless people's eyes?

Has this old man been so shocked that he's started talking nonsense?

Tejima Shinichi looked into Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, burning with fervent conviction, and confirmed that he was not joking.

Absurd...

That was the first thought that arose in Tejima Shinichi's mind.

Seeing the fleeting shock and suspicion on Tejima Shinichi's face, Sarutobi Hiruzen not only did not take back his words, but became even more certain.

He straightened his previously stooped back, and the confidence of the Shinobi Hero seemed to return to him.

"Do not doubt my sincerity, Shinichi." Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze burned brightly. "I may be old, but I still know how to judge people."

"Your strength far surpasses those of your age. More importantly... you possess a calm mind and keen insight. You can see through truths that even I once overlooked, and you can bluntly point out long-standing problems... That clarity and courage are exactly what a future Hokage needs!"

The more Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke, the brighter his eyes became. It was as though he saw another possibility for Konoha's future in Tejima Shinichi—a possibility completely different from himself and Danzo.

"I will not be mistaken... I absolutely will not!" Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was firm and decisive, even carrying a trace of urgency. "As long as you are willing to say the word and walk this path... I will do everything in my power to pave the way for you and raise you to that position!"