Outside the gate of the Senju Old House, the sound of a boy running wildly, shouting and yelling, shook the fallen leaves on the street.
"Make way! Make way! I am Uncle Senju Hands's number one disciple!"
"Bang!"
The half-closed vermilion gate was kicked open.
Naruto Uzumaki, wearing a tattered tracksuit, rushed into the yard, panting heavily.
As soon as Naruto stepped through the gate, he froze on the spot.
The Senju Courtyard was originally overgrown with weeds and dilapidated.
It has completely changed its appearance at this moment!
Dozens of burly bodyguards, dressed in sharp black suits and wearing sunglasses, were patrolling the area in perfect unison.
Some carried tons of Black Iron Wood with one hand to repair the roof beams.
Some were doing weighted squats in the spacious open space.
Zabuza Momochi, clutching the massive black iron sword as large as a door, roared fiercely at his newly recruited guards on the training ground.
The air was filled with the rich aroma of earth and the savory scent of grilled meat fat.
Wow! That's so cool!
Naruto's eyes instantly erupted with a feverish golden light, like two searchlights.
He leaned against a pillar in the courtyard, drooling as he looked at the burly, muscular men in black.
"Uncle, that's amazing! This spectacle is a hundred times more impressive than the Third Hokage Building!"
Meanwhile, a dozen steps behind Naruto, in the shadows of the courtyard gate.
With his hands in his pockets and wisps of hair fluttering in the breeze, Sasuke Uchiha silently stopped in his tracks.
Sasuke pursed his lips, his eyes filled with an extremely complex expression.
As Sasuke gazed upon this new territory, both desolate and vibrant, his heart pounded wildly.
At this moment, Ino-Shika-Cho had just seen off the three clan leaders Senju Kenya.
He was comfortably reclining in a rosewood rocking chair in the center of the courtyard, basking in the sun.
He was shirtless, and his floral shorts were warm from the sun.
He held a Black Iron Wood toothpick in his hand, slowly picking his teeth, while a white jade pipe dangled from his lips.
"Uncle! Uncle Kenya!"
Naruto, like a little yellow cannonball, ran all the way to the rocking chair.
He squatted beside the rocking chair, his hands supporting his chin, his two azure eyes blinking rapidly, his face full of adoration.
"The whole village is buzzing about it!"
"Everyone's saying you smashed the Hokage Building, including the main entrance, with a single punch yesterday!"
"You even roasted and ate Orochimaru, that terrifying monster, like Orochimaru!"
Naruto became more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing wildly:
"Uncle! The Third Hokage has already taken off his hat, so aren't you the Fifth Hokage of Konoha now?!"
"Am I about to become the Hokage's top disciple and roam the village like a Lord Hokage?!"
Naruto's mind was filled with wonderful fantasies of becoming Hokage's apprentice and receiving the envious glances of the entire village.
However.
Before his beautiful dream could fully unfold in his mind...
Thump!
A crisp, melodious slam slammed into the air.
With a flick Kenya his wrist, Kenmi slammed the white jade pipe that was in his mouth directly onto Naruto's forehead!
"Ouch--!!!"
Naruto clutched his head tightly with both hands, tears streaming down his face from the pain, and jumped around frantically on the ground.
A large, pink bump, about the size of a ping-pong ball, was visibly bulging on his forehead!
"Uncle! Why did you hit me again?!"
Naruto rubbed the large lump in his hand, his eyes brimming with tears as he protested:
"Isn't being Hokage prestigious?! It's the pinnacle of every ninja's dream in the entire village!"
Kenya put the white jade pipe back into his mouth and took a deep drag.
Then, he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, letting out a cold laugh from his nostrils with a look of disgust:
" Hokage? Pshaw!"
"A lousy job I wouldn't even do as a dog!"
That crisp and decisive "I wouldn't even be a dog."
Like a bolt of divine lightning from the heavens, it shattered Naruto's lofty dream, which he had held onto for twelve long years, leaving it charred and cracked!
Naruto's mouth gaped open, and he froze on the spot, even forgetting the pain in his forehead.
"B-Uncle, what did you say? The Hokage is something even a dog wouldn't do?!"
"Nonsense."
Kenya crossed his legs and began to give this boy, who had been brainwashed by the Will of Fire, a down-to-earth life lesson:
"You think being Hokage is cool?"
"I'm stuck in that tiny, dark office Tenten, having to get up before dawn to review official documents!"
"Today the widow's cat went missing in the east and she needs your signature; tomorrow the sewer at the west village entrance is clogged and she needs your money!"
Kenya scoffed, his eyes filled with disdain for the lives of those working-class people.
"I get up earlier than the chickens and go to bed later than the dogs, and I sit for the entire day!"
"Over the years, I've developed lumbar muscle strain, cervical spondylosis, and declining eyesight—a whole host of occupational diseases!"
"They have to beg for food from the whims of that fat daimyo of the Land of Fire, and they're constantly being bossed around by two street-sweeping advisors!"
"You work so hard for the whole village, toiling away like a slave, and now that something's happened, everyone in the village is criticizing you behind your back!"
Kenya slapped his thigh and asked in return:
"I have countless riches overseas, I eat top-quality seafood and lobsters every day, isn't it great to just lie around enjoying the sea breeze?!"
"Does he really have to be the sucker, cleaning up the mess for these ungrateful wretches?!"
A barrage of harsh, realistic, yet flawless criticisms.
Naruto's head was buzzing.
Throughout his life, everyone he heard told him that " the Hokage is a noble guardian" and that "one can only become Hokage by gaining the approval of the entire village."
No one has ever torn this false halo to shreds so shredded!
"Then... what do you want to be, uncle?" Naruto stammered.
Kenya stretched out his large hand and ruffled Naruto's blond hair, a wild and domineering grin spreading across his lips:
"What I want to do is become the mastermind behind Konoha!"
"I'll settle big matters with a single punch; for small matters, others will run errands for me!"
"Anyone who dares to act tough in front of me, I'll physically send them to their doom on the spot!"
"I don't have to work for anyone, and I don't have to be at anyone's beck and call!"
"This is what real freedom is!"
Naruto sat on the ground, stunned, his young mind reeling from an unprecedented shock.
And in the shade of a large tree a few meters away.
Sasuke Uchiha, who had been standing there silently, was trembling all over.
What's so special about Hokage?
What do rules matter?
So there's another way to live in this world!
Anyone who possesses absolute power that can crush everything can rise above all hypocrisy and rules!
There's no need to carry any so-called burdens, and no need to compromise with anyone!
Sasuke stared intently at Kenya, a strong resolve forming in his heart.