Passing Through

The position of Hokage is, at the end of the day, a matter of lineage; it is impossible for this seat to fall into the hands of an outsider.

Starting from the First Hokage, the Second Hokage was his own younger brother, the Third Hokage was his disciple, and so it continued down to the Fourth Hokage and the Fifth Hokage.

From the implication of Tsunade's words, it was clear that if nothing unexpected happened, Naruto Uzumaki would be the next Hokage.

Everyone present understood this point.

They were somewhat surprised in their hearts, not understanding why Tsunade thought so highly of Naruto Uzumaki.

Meanwhile, on Naruto Uzumaki's side.

Having already tested Naruto Uzumaki's strength, Kakashi did not want to risk his life any further.

Therefore, he deliberately dropped the bells onto the ground.

Naruto Uzumaki naturally saw it.

With a flick of his hand, the bells on the ground flew into his grasp.

This scene left the others feeling completely bewildered.

"Well done, Naruto Uzumaki. Now, who will you choose to let stay?"

Kakashi walked out at a leisurely pace.

Hinata looked at Naruto Uzumaki with eager eyes; at this moment, even as kind-hearted as she was, she chose to be selfish. She hoped Naruto Uzumaki would choose her.

As for Sasuke, he merely let out a cold snort.

But his heart was not at peace. If his brother found out he hadn't even passed the test, would he mock him?

Naruto Uzumaki said nothing and casually tossed the bells to the two of them.

The two caught them instinctively.

"Hey! You bastard, what is the meaning of this? Are you looking down on me?" Although he desperately wanted the bell, being handed it so carelessly made Sasuke suddenly furious, feeling as though he had been humiliated.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Hinata was also confused.

"My strength is great; if I don't graduate this time, there will be a next time. Since you've got them, don't waste them."

Naruto Uzumaki said with complete indifference.

"No, I don't want it either. I want to be with you."

Before Sasuke could say anything, Hinata threw the bell directly to Sasuke.

"Damn it, are you two looking down on me?"

Sasuke's face flushed red with anger.

Standing to the side, Kakashi felt satisfied.

For Kakashi, as long as there was no infighting among the three, they were considered to have passed.

"Alright, I announce once again that you all pass."

Seeing the three about to start arguing, Kakashi stepped forward to announce the result.

"Nani???"

The two turned their heads to look at Kakashi in confusion.

"But Teacher, didn't you say...?"

Hinata asked, pleasantly surprised.

"That's right. This is the first lesson I wanted to teach you: in the ninja world, those who do not follow the rules are considered trash, but those who do not cherish their companions are even worse than trash."

This famous quote struck their hearts like a heavy hammer.

At this moment, both of them understood Kakashi's intentions.

"Companions, huh?" Sasuke looked at Naruto Uzumaki and frowned.

If it's this guy, I acknowledge you.

Sasuke thought of the words his brother had spoken.

Companions, huh? Naruto Uzumaki, I will definitely keep up with your pace.

Heh, companions? Only one's own strength is the true hard truth.

In his mind, Naruto Uzumaki could only think of one person: Hashirama Senju.

However, he did not refute anything.

"Alright, Teacher Kakashi, since the test is over, shouldn't we celebrate?"

Naruto Uzumaki was the first to react, his gaze fixed on Kakashi.

Kakashi was stunned, his face twitching.

Yet, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"Oh my! What a headache of a brat."

Kakashi did not object; one was the child of his teacher, the other the younger brother of a friend. Naturally, Kakashi was quite indulgent toward these three.

At present, Itachi Uchiha was still serving in the Anbu.

"Alright! Let's go get some barbecue."

A smile finally appeared on Naruto Uzumaki's face as he pulled Hinata along and headed toward the barbecue restaurant.

Kakashi helplessly scratched his mop of hair.

Sasuke let out another haughty cold snort.

For some reason, he always felt like he didn't quite fit in.

The group walked toward the center of Konoha, chatting and laughing.

At the barbecue restaurant.

"Naruto."

As soon as Naruto Uzumaki walked in, someone greeted him.

He turned his head to see Choji and Shikamaru.

"Are you guys having a get-together too?"

Naruto Uzumaki was surprised.

"Want to join us?" Choji invited.

Asuma Sarutobi, standing nearby, immediately broke into a cold sweat.

Although he was the son of a former Hokage and a jonin, his money couldn't withstand this kind of spending. This barbecue restaurant was not a place ordinary people could afford; it was jointly developed by the Ino-Shika-Cho families. One side provided the meat, the other provided the medicinal herbs, and the Akimichi Clan was responsible for operations. Consumption here was very expensive, and generally, only ninjas frequented the place.

"Haha, no need. Today is the first time the teacher is treating us."

Naruto Uzumaki laughed and pointed to Kakashi, who was not far behind him.

Choji understood immediately.

Shikamaru looked at Kakashi with curiosity.

After the two sides exchanged a few polite words, Naruto Uzumaki and his group found a spot and sat down.

The barbecue arrived quickly.

Naruto Uzumaki began grilling meat for Hinata.

However, the group was soon captivated by Kakashi's way of eating.

"Teacher Kakashi, how do you do that?"

They couldn't see the act of eating at all; they could only see his mouth moving beneath his mask as he chewed continuously.

"Oh, don't talk, just eat."

Kakashi brushed them off casually, clearly not wanting to explain.

Naruto Uzumaki, on the other hand, wasn't very curious about it and continued grilling meat for Hinata.

Hinata's big-eater attribute hadn't vanished, though she no longer felt hungry now that she had sufficient chakra replenishment.

"Naruto, what was that move from earlier?"

Having eaten his fill, Kakashi finally found the time to ask about the technique Naruto Uzumaki had used.

"That's something I created myself when I had nothing better to do. It's a bit troublesome to explain."

Naruto Uzumaki scratched his head, unsure of how to explain Reverse Eight Directions.

"Just tell us."

Sasuke immediately stopped what he was doing.

"It's just using chakra to disrupt the magnetic field, forming a special kind of force."

Naruto Uzumaki explained it off the cuff, though he was, of course, making it up.

Sasuke looked thoughtful, though in reality, he hadn't understood a word.

Kakashi frowned as well; the explanation was incredibly vague.

Seeing that no one understood, Naruto Uzumaki could only spread his hands helplessly. I already explained it, anyway.

While the others were stunned, the barbecue on the table had already vanished.

"What's going on?"

Kakashi was startled. He looked at the group, his gaze finally landing on Hinata, who looked like a hamster.

He understood in his heart but didn't say it out loud.

Naruto Uzumaki, not surprised in the slightest, continued to put more meat on the grill.

By the time the meal was finished, Kakashi felt his hands trembling.

He hadn't expected that the most well-hidden one among them was actually that little girl.

If it hadn't been for the fact that Choji happened to be there and got them a discount, Kakashi would have definitely suffered a massive financial blow.

Even so, Kakashi still felt a pang of heartache.

"Meet at the mission hall tomorrow morning."

Kakashi said this and his body vanished.

Naruto couldn't help but feel that Kakashi was fleeing in a panic.

"As expected of little Hinata, she really is cute."

As a lady, Hinata's way of eating was adorable. This kept Naruto feeding her non-stop.

Sasuke turned and left, his heart already set on finding his brother the moment he got home; he had to learn some powerful ninjutsu.

Meanwhile, on the other side in the Land of Rain at the Akatsuki organization, Nagato's plan had entered its second phase.

The time to capture the Tailed Beast was drawing near, so he had specifically summoned Zetsu today.

In the dark space, Deva Path Pain stood waiting.

"From now on, we need to keep track of the movements of all the Tailed Beast."

"Rest assured, personnel have already been dispatched."