So his grandfather could never return to being Hokage.
That meant he would devote all his time and energy to watching over Konohamaru's training.
It meant he could no longer live as freely as he had before.
Complaining as he spoke, Konohamaru said, "Grandpa, Brother Naruto and Brother Sasuke are fighting. Shouldn't we go take a look?"
"The commotion is so huge. What if someone gets killed?"
Though he said that, Konohamaru knew perfectly well that with Sasuke's strength, he could completely control the scale of the battle and even ensure Naruto's safety.
He just wanted to slack off for a while and see how exciting that battle was.
It was the result of more than three years of Brother Naruto's training, as well as a chance to see just how powerful Sasuke, whom he had always admired, really was.
But Hiruzen calmly said, "This has nothing to do with you. Focus on your training. I only hope that you can master the Sarutobi clan's ninjutsu. Their battle is beyond what you can touch right now."
Konohamaru gave a bitter smile. "Grandpa, but I feel that even if I master all the Sarutobi clan's ninjutsu, I still might not be a match for Brother Sasuke."
Hiruzen looked at Konohamaru, somewhat speechless. "I never expected you to possess strength comparable to Sasuke's."
"You only need to reach your father's level. That will be enough."
Before Konohamaru's father died in battle, he had been an Elite Jonin.
Had he lived, he might have eventually reached Kage-level. That much had been foreseeable.
Hiruzen's expectations for Konohamaru had always been simple: that he could one day become a powerhouse like his father.
He had never imagined that Konohamaru could reach Sasuke's level.
Sasuke's power had already far surpassed that of an ordinary human.
He