Seeing the two walk in, Sakura sat up straight. "Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke."
"Sakura, how is your recovery going?" Kakashi asked.
"I'm fine now, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said.
"That's good. For the next month, I will take Sasuke for special training..."
—
After leaving the medical room, Naruto was in no hurry to return to his apartment.
He walked along the streets of Konoha. In his mind, he planned his training for the next month.
Flying Thunder God Second Stage had already been put into practical combat, but it still needed further polishing. There was room for improvement in both teleportation precision and consecutive switching speed.
Now that he had fully mastered the Kurama Chakra Mode, he could try practicing disaster-level moves like the Tailed Beast Ball.
While prioritizing in his mind, Naruto turned a corner into an alleyway, looking up to see the Hokage Rock. He looked up at the four giant stone-carved faces, suddenly wanting a change of perspective.
With that thought, he bent his knees slightly and sprang from the ground, landing on the nearest rooftop. He then leaped rapidly along rooftops, the wind whistling past his ears and making the hem of his haori flutter loudly.
With every leap and landing, the Hokage Rock drew closer and closer.
When Naruto stood on top of Minato, the entire Konoha unfolded beneath his feet.
Negative Emotions Sensing!
Instantly, the entire Konoha was transformed into tens of thousands of light points within his range of perception.
There were dango vendors packing up their stalls, housewives carrying their children home, Genin still putting in extra practice on the training grounds, and Anbu crouching in the archives of the Hokage Building, flipping through documents.
Looking at the sea of lights, Naruto murmured, "One day, I will leave my face on this cliffside too."
Just then, two waves of Chakra rapidly approached from directly below the Hokage Rock. He sensed that the two Chakras showed absolutely no hostility.
Naruto withdrew Negative Emotions Sensing and prepared to adjust his facial expression to one of surprise.
"Naruto, what are you doing here all by yourself?"
Just then, an old voice came from behind him.
Naruto turned around to see Hiruzen standing at the edge of the stone steps at the top of the Hokage Rock, a smile on his lips.
Behind him followed a guard wearing an Anbu mask, who, upon seeing Naruto, silently retreated into the shadows of the distant cliffside.
"Grandpa Hokage? Why are you here?" Naruto's eyes widened slightly, his tone carrying a hint of genuine surprise.
He hadn't expected Hiruzen to make a trip to the Hokage Rock in person. During this period, he should have been overwhelmed with handling various diplomatic affairs for the Chunin Exams, and the unusual movements from Sunagakure also required his personal attention.
For him to suddenly pull himself away and come to the Hokage Rock could only mean one thing: he had come specifically to see him.
"Ever since you became a ninja, I haven't had a good look at you for a long time."
Hiruzen walked over to Naruto's side, looking down together at the village below, which was dyed red by the sunset.
"How does it feel to become a ninja?"
Naruto turned his gaze back to Konoha beneath his feet, his tone thoughtful. "I've seen a lot of things since becoming a ninja. Back when I was at the Ninja Academy, I thought that once I graduated, I'd be an adult who could take on missions, earn money, and eat ramen whenever I wanted."
"But after returning from the Land of Waves mission, I realized that the world is completely different from school, and I am still very weak."
Hiruzen said with a chuckle, "So that's why you changed your outfit and changed your hairstyle?"
Naruto raised his right hand into a fist, his gaze shifting to the distance. "Because I don't want to be my former weak self anymore. I am going to become the Hokage."
Hiruzen placed his hands behind his back, and spoke as he faced the entire Konoha, "The First Hokage, Hashirama-sama, once said that the will of fire is not the will of a single person, but a light passed down from generation to generation."
"When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew."
"Naruto."
After finishing his speech about the will of fire, Hiruzen turned around. He pulled two Kunai from his robes, and handed them to Naruto.
The handles of the two Kunai were longer than standard, the blades widened, and their pitch-black metal surfaces reflected the unique luster of chakra conductive metal under the setting sun.
Naruto recognized them at a glance as the two Flying Thunder God Technique-specific Kunai he had customized at Tenten's family's ninja tool shop, matching the exact specifications of the order he had given to Tenten.
"Grandpa Hokage, aren't these the Kunai I customized? How did they end up with you?" Naruto took the Kunai, turning them over to inspect them, his brow furrowing slightly.
"I learned that someone had customized Kunai of the same model as the Fourth Hokage using chakra conductive metal, so I brought them over for you. The final payment has already been settled." Hiruzen's eyes watched every subtle expression on Naruto's face without blinking.
"What do you plan to do by customizing this kind of Kunai?"