Back at Naruto's home, the two of them sprawled lazily after eating their fill, perfectly at ease.
"Oh, right, Naruto, when does your exam start?"
"Ah, that? It starts in five days. Genin from the other villages and the ninja leading them have been arriving in Konoha lately."
"Naruto, do you want to get stronger?"
"Huh? What kind of question is that, Su Yu! Getting stronger is every ninja's goal in life! I'm the man who's going to become Hokage, so I've got to be stronger than anyone else!"
As Naruto spoke, he gave a forceful swing of his fist.
Su Yu chuckled softly, suddenly feeling that Naruto and Luffy were quite alike. The difference was that Luffy had a very clear goal, and honestly, Luffy was much happier than Naruto. He knew exactly what he truly wanted: adventure. What really mattered to him was the process of searching for Laugh Tale. What he actually found at the end wasn't important. Naruto was different, though. His childhood could be summed up in one word: miserable. In two words: so miserable. In three... Ahem, forget it, no more padding the word count. Yes, Naruto had spent his entire childhood being bullied. What was loneliness? Naruto had no friends at all. That was also why he later became so fixated on Sasuke-because Sasuke was his friend! Ah, even Wushui couldn't help feeling a sting in his nose while writing this. This little brat had suffered too much.
So Naruto wanted to become Hokage simply because he saw how popular the Hokage was with the villagers. But he had gotten one thing wrong: the Hokage could take that position because the villagers acknowledged them, rather than automatically gaining the villagers' love after becoming Hokage. Deep down, Naruto had always longed for recognition!
"Hey!