Naruto turned his head and looked at Jiraiya, who was sitting on a nearby rock, leisurely sipping his homemade herbal tea.
"Shouldn't the Hokage be someone everyone admires?" Naruto sat up, his brow furrowed tightly. "Shouldn't everyone understand that the Hokage is so busy in order to protect the village and everyone else, and that he has to make some tough decisions? Why doesn't Boruto just understand? He's my future son!"
Jiraiya slowly set down the teacup, the bottom of the cup making a slight tapping sound as it met the rock.
Instead of answering immediately, he also tilted his head to look up at that helpless father on the Canopy Screen, and then looked back at this young disciple beside him, who was still full of naive fantasies about future father-son relations.
"Naruto," Jiraiya's voice was steady. "You've made a mistake that many people often make. You've imagined the identity of the 'Hokage' and the identity of the 'father' as things that can easily be compatible, or even mutually beneficial."
Naruto blinked, clearly not fully understanding.
Jiraiya continued: "You see, the logic you use for villagers, allies, and even enemies—whether it's 'mutual understanding,' 'never giving up,' or 'protecting bonds'—is mostly about the 'external,' about public principles on how to get along with others and the world."
"These principles are grand, correct, and full of power, and they can touch many people because they touch upon the parts of human nature that yearn for light and connection."
"But, Naruto," he shifted his tone, "a family, especially between a father and a son, usually runs on another set of rules that are much more intimate and much less concerned with 'reason.'"
"What Boruto might not understand or buy into in the future is probably not the grand principles represented by the