Konohamaru screamed for his parents as he fled, his short little legs pumping wildly, tears and snot smeared all over his face.
He had dared to get right in Miki Yūya's face and taunt him when he was in a wheelchair. Now that his legs had healed, Konohamaru was genuinely terrified.
Howling the whole way, Konohamaru scrambled out of the village without daring to glance back, afraid Miki Yūya would catch him and give him the full massage treatment.
The alley fell completely silent.
Miki Yūya dusted off his hands with a look of disgust, not interested in stooping to a brat's level.
It couldn't be helped. Whenever he yelled at Konohamaru, he told him to get out of the village. After a few beatings, Konohamaru had learned to run outside. Once he was out, Miki Yūya couldn't very well chase him any farther.
At the steps of the Hokage Building.
Naruto and Shikamaru stood rooted to the spot like a pair of wooden posts, their heads lowered and their faces twisted with conflicted frustration. They dawdled, not daring to go upstairs.
Miki Yūya walked back, glanced at them, and snapped impatiently:
"What are you standing here for, sunbathing? Get upstairs!"
Naruto clutched his blond hair, looking thoroughly intimidated.
"Yūya... honestly."
"Granny Tsunade is the Fifth Hokage."
"I'm only a genin right now. Can I really get that far? Can I really replace her as Hokage?"
Miki Yūya hadn't been joking when he said he supported Naruto and Shikamaru becoming Hokage. As soon as they returned, he had dragged them here.
"What the fuck are you scared of?"
Miki Yūya immediately tore into him. Even now, he was still chickening out.
"Who was it shouting slogans every day, swearing he'd become a Hokage the whole village acknowledged?"
"Now you meet