After Iruka left, the Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe. Before Shin Uchiha could speak, he explained, "That boy is Umino Iruka. He isn't particularly strong, but he has a gentle temperament that makes him well suited to teaching, so I transferred him out of his old squad and assigned him to the Academy."
"Naruto Uzumaki has reached school age, too, so I asked Iruka to look after him. After all, given Naruto's identity, he'll inevitably face isolation and rejection once he starts school."
"Although Iruka knows Naruto's identity, he's kindhearted by nature. He would never hurt a child, so you can rest easy about that."
Of course Shin Uchiha trusted Iruka. After hearing the Third Hokage's explanation, he nodded in acknowledgment.
Once he finished explaining, the Third Hokage asked curiously, "What brings you here today?" As far as he knew, ever since Shin Uchiha brought Kōrei Uzumaki back from Kusagakure, he had spent every day going on dates with Uzuki Yugao and wandering all over town. They had practically explored every inch of Konoha's famous Shopping Street and Snack Street.
Shin Uchiha didn't stand on ceremony with the Third Hokage. He slapped both hands onto the desk, leaned on it, and said, "Old man, it's time you retired!"
The Third Hokage froze at Shin Uchiha's words, assuming he wanted to become Hokage. After taking a puff of his pipe, he said, "Shin, you're being too impatient. Although I could announce my resignation and let you take over the Hokage position right away, the other clans in the village wouldn't agree. If you want to become Hokage, you should first select some elites from the Uchiha Clan and place them in Konoha's key departments. Then gradually promote them until they control those departments. Of course, I'll do everything