Konohamaru stood under the eaves of the Ninja Academy, watching the sudden downpour with a sense of disappointment. As the grandson of the Third Hokage, he was naturally immensely proud, yet at the same time, he couldn't escape the shadow of his influential grandfather.
Ever since his parents passed away, the Third Hokage had doted on Konohamaru even more. But it was precisely this that frustrated him. After much deliberation, he had decided to challenge his grandfather. Only by defeating him would the people around him stop treating him with kid gloves just because he was the Hokage's grandson.
However, things didn't go as planned. During one of his sneak attacks on his grandfather, he met someone who changed his way of thinking: Naruto Uzumaki. Although Konohamaru was bitter about the failure, he knew his "big bro" Naruto was right—there were no shortcuts on the path to becoming Hokage.
Just yesterday, after pestering him for ages, his Uncle Asuma had finally agreed to teach him a new ninjutsu. Today, Konohamaru had waited excitedly for school to end, but the weather had turned against him, unleashing a torrential downpour.
"Konohamaru, aren't you going home yet?" His classmates were leaving one by one. A small, sniffling boy with thick glasses looked over at Konohamaru, who was staring blankly into the rain, and asked.
"Oh, it's you, Udon. I'm waiting for my grandpa," Konohamaru said glumly. Ever since his grandpa had stepped down as Hokage, he almost always came to pick him up. For some reason, though, he was late today.
"Oh, okay. I'm heading out then, Konohamaru," Udon said, opening his umbrella.
"Yeah, yeah. See ya," Konohamaru said, waving his hand impatiently.
The minutes ticked by. Soon, all the other students had left, but Konohamaru was still waiting for his grandfather.
Just then, a passing ninja saw Konohamaru standing by the gate. "Hey, Konohamaru, what are you doing here? Haven't you gone home yet?"
"Oh, Iruka-sensei." Konohamaru glanced up at him listlessly. "My grandpa hasn't come to get me yet."
"Oh? Lord Third?" Iruka stroked his chin. "Maybe something important came up that he had to take care of."
"Y-yeah... Even though Grandpa isn't Hokage anymore... he still seems really busy all the time..." Konohamaru's voice trailed off, his spirits low.
Seeing Konohamaru's dejected expression, Iruka thought for a moment and then smiled. "Haha, well, in that case, how about I walk you home? As it happens, there's something I wanted to ask Lord Third about anyway."
Iruka didn't really have anything to ask, but it had been a while since he'd seen the Third Hokage. This was a good opportunity to pay him a visit.
"Well... okay, then." Though he still looked unhappy, Konohamaru accepted Iruka's offer.
And so, the two of them, sharing an umbrella, started walking toward the Third Hokage's home. Perhaps because of the rain, the village streets were deserted. Even many of the shops along the main road were closed. A heavy, oppressive atmosphere seemed to hang over all of Konoha.
But when Iruka and Konohamaru arrived at the Third's residence, they were shocked to find it surrounded by people. They were all ninja; even some of the village's Jounin had gathered there.
Iruka's heart began to pound. Looking closer, he saw that every face was etched with a look of bewildered grief. This was absolutely not normal.
"Iruka..." A ninja approached, his eyes flicking from Iruka to Konohamaru, hesitating as if he didn't know what to say.
"Huh? What are you two doing here?" Iruka recognized them as Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, who usually guarded the main gate. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Well... it's..." Kotetsu glanced at Konohamaru, the words dying on his lips. He finally let out a sigh, his expression sorrowful. "You should... just go inside and see for yourselves."
Iruka watched the two of them stammer, their gazes fixed on Konohamaru, and the terrible premonition in his gut intensified. He turned to the boy. "You wait here for me. I'm going to go see what's happening."
"No, I'm going in, too! My grandpa's in there!" Konohamaru might not have understood the full gravity of the situation, but he could feel that something was deeply wrong. He insisted on going inside.
Iruka looked at Konohamaru's determined face and fell silent for a moment. "Alright," he said finally. "You can come with me." He'll find out sooner or later, he thought. Trying to stop him now won't make much of a difference.
So, one after the other, they made their way toward the Third Hokage's private courtyard. The deeper they went, the more ninja they saw. It wasn't just Jounin anymore; the heads of various clans were gathered here as well.
This terrified Iruka even more. His worst fears were likely coming true. Finally, he and Konohamaru reached the heart of the crowd.
Ahead of them, Tsunade, in her green haori, was speaking with someone. To the side, under a hastily erected canopy, the Third Hokage lay on a pristine white medical bed. Though there was equipment next to the bed, not a single medical-nin was attempting to treat him.
Iruka froze on the spot. A figure beside him shot forward like a blur, and a heart-wrenching cry tore through the air.
"Grand... Grandpa!!!"
Iruka watched Konohamaru run, his own lips moving but no words coming out. He slowly walked toward the Fifth Hokage. As he got closer, he saw that the person Tsunade had been speaking to was Sakura.
"Lady Fifth... what... what happened? What's wrong with Lord Third?" Iruka asked Tsunade.
"It's you, Iruka." Tsunade turned, her exhausted eyes meeting his. "The Third Hokage passed away this afternoon."
"..." The news struck Iruka with such force that his ears rang. He stood there, stunned into silence. Since the Third's retirement, Iruka had rarely seen him. He'd always been too busy with work to find time to visit. He never imagined that their next meeting would be like this, separated by death.
Iruka walked mechanically toward the sobbing Konohamaru. The only thing he could do now was say his final goodbye to the Third Hokage.
Tsunade watched Iruka's blank expression and sighed, turning her attention back to Sakura. When she had first received the news, the area was already swarming with Anbu. The sight of Sakura, covered in blood, next to the lifeless body of the Third Hokage had created a tense, volatile atmosphere.
But no one had made a move. Sakura had just stood there, vacant. When Tsunade arrived, her first order was for the Anbu to stand down. Then, she had moved forward to examine the Third herself.
But the Third was already gone. Tsunade's medical ninjutsu was unparalleled, but she could only heal the living. Against death, no jutsu was effective.
Soon after, the medical team arrived with their equipment. Then the news began to spread, and more and more ninja arrived, until the courtyard was filled with people.
During that time, Tsunade had questioned Sakura, but her student remained silent. Not for a moment did Tsunade entertain the thought that Sakura was responsible for the Third's death. It made no sense, emotionally or logically. Besides, Tsunade knew that the Third had been suffering from internal injuries ever since he stepped down—lingering damage from Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha.
Tsunade had noticed it during her last conversation with him. She had planned to give him a full check-up when she had a free moment, but too many things had come up, and she had ultimately forgotten. And then, he had been injured again during the attempt to capture Sakura.
Perhaps the cumulative damage from both injuries had finally taken its toll. The thought filled Tsunade with immense self-reproach. If only she had examined him after she returned, maybe he wouldn't be dead right now.
She couldn't have restored him to his prime, but she could have bought him more time. He had worked himself to the bone for this village for far too long; he deserved a few years of rest. Honestly, she thought bitterly, only an idiot would want to be Hokage...