Dreams

(Chapter 3: Dreams)

The class was quickly sorted, and Uchiha Mirai took his seat according to the teacher's arrangement. He spotted several familiar faces in the classroom—children he used to play with—and Hyuga Hiben was among them.

The classroom was slightly noisy, filled with children happily chatting upon seeing their friends. Naturally, everyone was a bit excited for their first day of school, and Uchiha Mirai took this opportunity to size up his classmates.

Before long, a man walked onto the podium. He looked to be about thirty years old, and the students quieted down. "Ahem! Everyone, settle down. Let me introduce myself. My name is Nakamura Hino, and I will be your homeroom teacher. I will be responsible for your studies for the next few years. Although I have much more to say, I must first invite the Fourth Hokage to address you all. Let's give him a warm welcome!" With that, he took the lead in applauding.

Upon hearing that the Fourth Hokage was going to speak, all the students followed their teacher's lead and clapped. In Konohagakure, the Hokage was the leader and the most respected person in the entire village, a concept they had been taught by their parents since they were small.

Uchiha Mirai was slightly stunned to hear the Fourth Hokage mentioned. He knew the Fourth Hokage—arguably the coolest man in the Naruto series—but he had died before the story even began, perishing during the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha. This meant the Nine-Tails had not yet attacked the village.

Soon, a handsome man with golden hair and a sunny face walked through the classroom door. He wore a white coat with flame patterns along the hem, and the words "Fourth Hokage" were embroidered on the back.

The figure gradually overlapped with the Fourth Hokage Uchiha Mirai had seen in the anime, radiating a gentle aura. Uchiha Mirai had once been a fan of the Fourth, and now that he was seeing him in person, he couldn't quite describe the feeling.

Namikaze Minato scratched his head and smiled as he introduced himself: "Hello everyone! My name is Namikaze Minato, and I am currently the Fourth Hokage of this village. All the children here are the future hope of the village. You must study hard here; after graduation, you will become Genin and true ninjas, protecting the village and your families. If you work hard and persevere, perhaps the next generation of Hokage will come from among you."

The classroom went quiet for a moment, and Namikaze Minato said with some embarrassment: "Oh my! Did I kill the mood? My dream when I was your age was to become Hokage."

"No! Lord Hokage! We also have the dream of becoming Hokage!"

"Yeah! That's right! Becoming Hokage is my dream!"

"I will definitely become Hokage!"

The scene suddenly became lively. Uchiha Mirai sat in his place without moving, a smile on his lips. Watching these energetic children freely talk about their dreams, he felt a bit envious.

Although he had a cheat, there were so many powerful monsters in the future; once he stepped into the world of ninjas, his life and death would be uncertain. Besides, he didn't feel he was cut out to be Hokage; he was a bit lazy by nature.

Namikaze Minato took in the expressions on all the students' faces and smiled. "It seems many of you share the same dream as I did. I believe that as long as you work hard, one day you will realize your dreams. Now, why don't you all introduce yourselves? I want to know everyone's names. As Hokage, I must remember every child in the village. I want to get to know you all, and you can take this opportunity to get to know each other as well. Ninjas need to cooperate; you never know who might be your partner for life. Let's start from this side."

As soon as Minato finished speaking, the first boy in the front row, sitting against the wall, spoke up: "My name is Yamazaki Kawa, I'm four years old, and in the future, I want to become Hokage and protect the village."

"Very good, but you must strive hard for your dream."

The next girl stood up and said: "My name is Fukuda Yumiko, I'm four years old, and in the future, I want to become a great female ninja like Lady Tsunade."

"Lady Tsunade, huh? That is a very strong female ninja indeed." Namikaze Minato thought of Tsunade's image, mostly recalling scenes where his teacher, Jiraiya, was sent flying by her, and the smile on his face turned a bit strange.

Then, one by one, they began to introduce themselves. Aside from becoming Hokage, the boys mostly wanted to become great ninjas, while the girls mostly aimed to be like Tsunade.

Soon it was Uchiha Mirai's turn. Uchiha Mirai stood up and said: "Uchiha Mirai, age 4. My dream? To live a good life." After finishing, Uchiha Mirai sat back down.

Many children whispered among themselves upon hearing his surname. The Uchiha clan was one of the two great families of Konoha and was incredibly powerful.

Namikaze Minato was slightly taken aback by Uchiha Mirai's words, clearly not expecting a child to have such a dream. The homeroom teacher, Nakamura Hino, whispered to Namikaze Minato from the side: "Mirai's parents sacrificed themselves in the war; he is all alone now."

Namikaze Minato nodded upon hearing this. There were many children like him whose parents had died in the war; he himself was an orphan. "I will do my utmost to ensure that every villager lives a happy life," Namikaze Minato said with a serious expression, looking at Uchiha Mirai with encouraging eyes, as if trying to give him the courage to live well.

Uchiha Mirai rolled his eyes. He just wanted to live a good life in this dangerous world; why was the Fourth Hokage trying to resonate with him?