Hiruzen and Naruto's First Meeting

Pure Land

After seeing the Konoha junior Naruto, Hashirama Senju right now also said with matchless fury, "It turns out I've been way too naive all along."

"As expected, Madara was right. What kind of peace is this?"

"Such a massive village can't even accommodate a single child."

"Even back in the Warring States period, I couldn't have imagined that this child would suffer even more bitterly than the kids born in the Warring States."

Tobirama Senju, standing beside him and watching his older brother fly into such a rage, could only remain silent.

He asked himself with inner bewilderment, Could it really have been a mistake when I chose Monkey to succeed me as Hokage?

Or did that former Monkey change because I left too early?

In the end, Tobirama Senju still couldn't help uttering, "Monkey, and my other three disciples."

"It seems the lot of you have utterly disappointed me now."

Such a shrewd Tobirama Senju had long since deduced that his four disciples were all likely to have changed completely.

Tobirama Senju swore inwardly, You'd all better pray to the heavens that old me never gets a chance to return to the Shinobi World.

The Light Screen in the sky

The video switched once again.

The mournful music also shifted to: "Warm a Cup of Milk Tea" (tear-jerking version).

This tear-inducing melody drifted over bit by bit.

I'll warm a cup of tea for you.

Don't forget to head home after dark.

The blurry, dark road surface once again revealed little Naruto, now covered in wounds.

The exhausted little Naruto took yet another step forward.

Luminous water surfaces floated up once again on the pitch-black road.

Drip, drop...

The imagery in the sky underwent a new change once more.

Because little Naruto had suffered through the apathy and loathing of Konoha's commoners,

he no longer had the courage to step out of this silent forest.

The figure of little Naruto appeared within this silent forest.

Right now, because his stomach was extremely empty, little Naruto kept trying hard to explore,

searching for food within this silent forest.

After searching for a long time, little Naruto still didn't find any food.

By this point, little Naruto was long since starving and exhausted.

Little Naruto suddenly felt a weakness wash over his entire body, and a momentary pitch-black darkness rushed across his vision.

Little Naruto simply collapsed limply into the patch of grass.

Fainting for a short while, little Naruto woke up from hunger once again.

He could only look at the wild grass before his eyes.

This time, little Naruto no longer had the strength to look for food.

He could only raise his hand with great difficulty to pull at the wild grass in front of him.

After expending a great deal of effort, little Naruto finally succeeded in pulling up the grass.

Without a shred of hesitation, he stuffed it into his mouth and devoured it voraciously.

The moment the wild grass entered his mouth, little Naruto instantly felt it.

It was so bitter and astringent, coupled with the sharpness brought by the blades of grass.

Right now, because he was far too hungry, little Naruto could only keep trying hard to chew.

Finally, he swallowed it down with difficulty.

From daytime all the way to the dark of night.

Little Naruto, all alone like this, laboriously chewed on the wild grass before him.

Having finished the wild grass, little Naruto finally recovered a bit of physical strength.

He managed to stand up with great effort amidst the clumps of grass.

Then, having taken just a few steps, little Naruto felt pain rack his entire body.

His injuries had yet to recover from the villagers' beatings days ago.

Added to that was his body's long-term lack of proper nourishment.

Resolute little Naruto simply endured the pain,

forcing his feet to drag themselves forward step by step until he reached the riverside.

He drank the river water in huge, gulping mouthfuls.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, little Naruto lay down comfortably in the grass.

His youthful face and those two blue eyes

looked quietly up at the moon in the sky and muttered to himself, "What a pretty moon."

Just as little Naruto was about to say something more, he discovered that he was all alone by his side.

Little Naruto could only lower his gaze in sorrow once more.

Then he walked over to the riverside again.

It was right at this moment that little Naruto suddenly noticed many fish in the river.

Little Naruto finally broke into a full smile.

At this moment, little Naruto's joy truly came from the bottom of his heart.

Little Naruto jumped right into the river and began trying to catch the fish.

After failure after failure, and refusing to give up time and again,

little Naruto finally caught a fish.

Little Naruto was extremely happy upon catching the fish, and the pain in his body vanished like mist at that very moment.

He bounced up and down right where he stood.

Little Naruto placed the small fish he had managed to catch

carefully onto the grass, then jumped back down into the river to catch more.

Because of little Naruto's arrival,

this silent forest was no longer quiet; the entire forest was filled with the joyful sounds of little Naruto.

Just like that, several hours passed.

Little Naruto caught six fish, and then lit a campfire.

Using tree branches, little Naruto strung the fish up one by one and propped them up beside the fire to smoke and roast them slowly.

Naruto took off his river-soaked clothes and wrung them out with great effort.

Once he finished wringing them out, little Naruto came over to the campfire to warm himself.

A moment passed...

Little Naruto discovered that the fish were finally thoroughly roasted.

And then,

little Naruto directly picked up a roasted fish without being able to wait a second longer,

taking large, ravenous bites.

Just as little Naruto was eating the roasted fish,

an old man with white hair suddenly appeared before his eyes.

This white-haired old man was none other than Konoha's Third Hokage.

Little Naruto, who had been eating so happily,

was also given a fright by this abruptly appearing old man.

Then, little Naruto cautiously asked, "Um... who are you?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi offered a gentle reassurance, "Don't panic, I'm just a passing-old-man, that's all."

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to have noticed something.

With a somewhat dazed expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the roasted fish beside the campfire.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself, In the middle of the night, why would Naruto run off to a place like this to catch fish and eat them?

Naruto stared blankly at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was lost in thought right before him.

The mournful music in the video kept swelling.

Naruto suddenly seemed to understand this old man before him.

Little Naruto thought in his mind that the old man must be just like him—

with no money for food and a hungry stomach, leaving him with no choice but to come to the river to catch fish.

Having figured out the reason, little Naruto didn't hesitate for a single second.

He directly picked up a freshly roasted fish from beside the campfire

and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi in front of him.

Little Naruto asked cautiously, "Old man, do you want to eat some fish?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly responded, "Ah, for me?"

Without replying, little Naruto pushed the fish straight toward Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.

Taking the fish, Hiruzen Sarutobi said to little Naruto, "Haha, thank you so much."

Looking at the roasted fish in his hands, Hiruzen Sarutobi praised, "Wow, this fish looks delicious."

Little Naruto replied sheepishly, "Of course, I just caught all of these myself, you know."

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi was holding the roasted fish without moving his hands, little Naruto reminded him, "Old man, eat it while it's hot. It won't taste good once it gets cold."

Looking at such an understanding little Naruto before him, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes were filled with guilt.

Catching sight of the innocent and kind-hearted little Naruto right now, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only forcefully banish these thoughts to the back of his mind.

Wearing a look of astonishment, he accepted the fish from little Naruto's hands.

Then both little Naruto and Hiruzen Sarutobi began to chuckle foolishly just like that.

Hahaha...

The two of them laughed and ate the roasted fish side by side.