An Encounter with the Third Hokage

It was the first time anyone had offered to walk him home. Naruto was afraid that if he didn't answer quickly, Teacher Qiushui might change his mind.

Qiushui and Naruto walked side by side along the road home, the setting sun stretching their shadows long behind them.

"Teacher Qiushui..." Naruto hesitated, then suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?" Qiushui turned to look at him.

"Why are you so nice to me?"

Ever since he was little, adults either avoided him, looked at him with disgust, or whispered about him. Only Qiushui had treated him like a normal person from the day they met. Today, he had even treated Naruto to ramen and walked him home.

Qiushui didn't answer right away. After a brief silence, he said, "Because you look a lot like someone who once saved my life."

Naruto blinked. "Who was he?"

"His name was Namikaze Minato. You probably don't know the name, but he was the Fourth Hokage."

Qiushui wasn't lying. Minato had indeed saved his life. In fact, on the battlefield during the Third Shinobi World War, he had saved most of the shinobi who fought there, either directly or indirectly.

Naruto pressed curiously, "What did he look like?"

Qiushui's gaze settled on Naruto's face. "He had blond hair, just like you, and his smile was warm, like the sun."

Naruto nodded, though he didn't quite understand.

Naruto lived on the top floor of an unremarkable apartment building in the Main District.

The light in the stairwell was dim and yellowed with age. Their footsteps echoed on the concrete steps. As Qiushui followed Naruto up the final flight, he saw a kindly-looking old man in a Hokage's cloak leaning against the railing. A pipe rested in his hand as he slowly exhaled wisps of white smoke.

"Grandpa Third, what are you doing here?" A glimmer of delight flashed in Naruto's eyes, and he hurried over in just a few strides.

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Naruto run over, a warm smile appearing on his face.

He lowered his pipe and gently patted Naruto on the shoulder. "I came to see you." Then he asked with a smile, "Did you pay attention in class today?"

Naruto nodded vigorously. "I did."

He had kept Teacher Qiushui's words firmly in mind.

Then Naruto seemed to remember something. He turned and pointed at Qiushui behind him, introducing him earnestly. "This is Teacher Qiushui. We haven't known each other long, but he's really nice to me! He didn't look at me strangely like everyone else, and he even treated me to ramen today!"

Qiushui stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Lord Third."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.

Naruto looked from Qiushui to Sarutobi Hiruzen, his face full of wonder. "Teacher Qiushui, do you know this old man too?"

He thought Teacher Qiushui was amazing. He knew everyone Naruto knew.

Seeing Naruto's manner and expression, Qiushui guessed that he probably didn't know Sarutobi Hiruzen's true identity. But he didn't expose why Sarutobi Hiruzen was hiding it. "Yes. This old man is a very strong and respected shinobi in the village."

Naruto stroked his chin and studied the old man for a moment. He found it hard to connect words like "powerful" and "respected" with this short, white-haired, wrinkled old man who showed up every month to bring him his living expenses and talk with him.

Tilting his head, he asked curiously, "Old man, are you strong? Are you as strong as Teacher Qiushui?"

Qiushui thought, You can say what you want, kid, but don't drag me into it. He may be over sixty, but he's still in his prime. One swing of his staff could knock me dead.

Hearing that, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help laughing, his wrinkles bunching up. He played along. "I'm just a little stronger than him."

Naruto rolled his eyes, clearly unconvinced.

He thought to himself, Just look at how short and scrawny you are, then look at how tall and broad Teacher Qiushui is. Three punches and you'd be flat on your back!

But he kept that thought to himself. Before Teacher Qiushui came along, this old man had been the only person willing to talk to him. He didn't want to hurt the old man's pride.

Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't offended. He smiled and said, "Naruto, hurry up and open the door. You can't leave me and your Teacher Qiushui out here in the cold forever!"

Only then did Naruto realize. He quickly fished out his key and stood on tiptoe to unlock the weathered wooden door.

As soon as the door opened, Qiushui instinctively covered his nose and mouth. The greasy smell of instant noodles, the sour stench of fermenting food scraps, and other musty odors he couldn't quite identify all hit him at once.

His gaze swept across the room. Empty instant noodle cups were piled haphazardly on the table. Snack wrappers and crumpled paper lay scattered across the floor, along with several pieces of clothing and trousers heaped in a bundle.

Qiushui furrowed his brow. He liked to keep things clean and couldn't imagine how anyone could live in such a filthy, messy place.

Wasn't it hard to breathe?

Could Naruto sleep at night?

Naruto didn't notice a thing. He was used to living like this. As soon as he stepped inside, he ran to the bed, crouched down, and opened a cupboard. He pulled out a box of instant noodles, then took two cartons of milk from the fridge and excitedly set everything on the table. "Teacher Qiushui, you treated me to ramen, so I'll treat you too! These are limited-edition noodles I've been saving."

Then he looked over at Sarutobi Hiruzen. "You can have some too."

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a strange pang of jealousy.

We've known each other for so long, and you've never treated me to anything. You've known him for just one day, and you're already sharing with him. And I'm only getting included as an afterthought.

Qiushui walked over and picked up the noodles and milk, turning them over to check the dates on the packaging. Just as he'd expected, they had expired more than three months ago.

He turned around, intending to sternly warn Naruto, but then remembered that Naruto had only meant well. So he said gently, "Naruto, these are expired."

Naruto scratched his head, looking confused. "Expired... what does that mean?"

Qiushui picked up the noodles, pointed to the production date and expiration date on the package, and patiently explained it all to him.

As Naruto listened, his smile slowly faded. His eyes filled with dismay. He had bought these while wearing a mask, sneaking into a convenience store, and usually he'd been too reluctant to eat them. He'd saved them for holidays, New Year's, or a day when he was in a really good mood. After keeping them for so long, he couldn't eat them after all?

Seeing how reluctant Naruto was to let them go, Qiushui worried he might eat them anyway. He said sternly, "Eating these could give you diarrhea. You don't want that to happen in the middle of class, do you?"

Naruto froze. The memory of clutching his stomach in class flashed through his mind, and he shuddered. As though he had made up his mind, he said firmly, "I won't eat them. I absolutely won't."