Hiruzen's funeral had been a long time ago, yet the scenes from that day continued to replay in many people's minds.
The grief of an entire village. The end of an era.
As for those who were his contemporaries, only two historical remnants remained—elders who had stepped down from their former high positions.
The death of Hiruzen left them suddenly without support. For them, this was also a blow—but unlike Danzo's death, Hiruzen's passing was the final straw that crushed them completely.
Originally, when Hiruzen was still alive, they had enough courage to talk with Minato. But now, all they could do was fulfill their duties quietly—retirement.
...
After finishing a full day's work, Minato tiredly raised his hand and rubbed his eyes several times.
"Shikaku, you almost done?"
He asked.
"Almost. Why don't you go ahead first?"
Without looking up, Shikaku kept flipping through documents.
"All right then, I'll head out first. You should watch the time."
Minato nodded slightly before tidying up his desk, carefully arranging everything before standing up to leave.
Instead of using the main entrance, he leapt directly from the balcony, his figure flashing like a bolt of yellow lightning, dashing across rooftops.
But he didn't choose to return home directly—it was still early. At his speed, he would reach the Ninja Academy just as classes ended.
He wanted to pick up Naruto, that little troublemaker. Despite everything that had happened, life must go on, and certain traditions needed to be maintained, like father-son bonding moments.
...
"Naruto, it's settled then. See you this weekend—no excuses!"
A chubby boy wearing strange facial markings and something strapped upside-down on his face said to Naruto Uzumaki with obvious reluctance.
"Yeah, yeah. This time I'll bring the meat, you handle snacks, and Shikamaru can bring drinks."
Naruto waved him off, smiling widely.
"Right! Same place as usual—don't be late. I really love Kushina Mom's grilled meat. Bring lots—I can finish it all!"
Choji Akimichi, that chubby boy, nodded enthusiastically, clearly excited and patting his chest while making promises to Naruto.
"No problem!"
Hearing someone praise his mom's marinated barbecue filled Naruto with pride, and he stood up straighter, visibly proud.
"Oh, by the way, should we invite that moody guy too?"
Naruto shifted his gaze toward a black-haired kid standing at the school entrance, seemingly waiting for someone. A ping pong paddle was strapped to his back.
This kid crossed both arms in front of him, appearing cold and aloof, deliberately avoiding interaction with others.
But if you looked closely, you'd realize this so-called cool kid was eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Uh… You mean Sasuke? Do you think he'd come? Last time during the picnic, we invited him, but he refused, saying it wasn't as good as his older brother's cooking…"
Choji's eyes flickered uncertainly, his face slightly reddening as memories of the last encounter surfaced.
"Well then, I'll go ask him later. That tsundere kid always acts like he's the coolest guy around, and he doesn't have a single friend at school. It's kind of pitiful..."
"Who's pitiful?!"
Before Naruto could finish speaking, a furious roar exploded by his ear. Startled, he instinctively leaned closer to Choji.
"Oh, Sasuke! I was just talking about you!"
Naruto wasn't the least bit embarrassed and was actually quite surprised to see that Sasuke had come over from that direction.
Naruto greeted him directly, pretending not to feel awkward at all.
"Hmph!"
Sasuke turned his head sideways, clearly showing how upset he felt about Naruto's previous words.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those bad things about you."
Looking at Sasuke and exchanging a glance with Choji, who stayed quiet but kept smiling apologetically, Naruto placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.
"By the way, are you free this weekend? Let's go on a picnic — we can have barbecue!"
Sasuke briefly glanced at the hand resting on his shoulder but didn't pull away, secretly feeling a little pleased inside.
As the second son of the Uchiha clan head, and with an older brother who was a genius famed throughout the entire village, Sasuke always felt immense pressure.
These pressures had gradually made him seem aloof and cold by nature.
Because of this demeanor, he barely had any friends at school — except for those love-struck girls who couldn't stop giggling and hovering around him.
Of course, there was also Naruto, who always looked careless and completely unaware of others' feelings, continuing to seek him out and play with him despite constantly being insulted by Sasuke. No other boys wanted to get close to him.
Seeing how popular Naruto was in class, having many friends his own age, Sasuke had wanted more than once to join in their group.
Initially, others would still invite him to join their small group activities, but due to his pride, he often said something inappropriate or arrogant.
Over time, naturally, no one bothered inviting him anymore.
"Boring!"
After murmuring these two words, Sasuke tilted his head upward again, resuming his usual cool pose.
It was an involuntary reaction. Immediately afterward, he felt some regret deep down, but his pride wouldn't let him change his attitude, so he could only maintain that aloof facade.
"Naruto, if Sasuke isn't interested, maybe we shouldn't push it."
Choji looked toward Naruto. Last time he tried to be kind and invite Sasuke, Sasuke acted the same way — it had upset Choji so much that he barely ate three bowls of rice and went straight to bed.
"What kind of attitude is that!? This is the first time I've ever invited you, and you won't even give me a little face?"
Unfazed by the rejection, Naruto used the hand that had been on Sasuke's shoulder to grab his high collar and yanked him forward, pulling him face-to-face.
"If you keep acting like this, you'll never make any friends, you know?"
Looking into Sasuke's icy expression, Naruto spoke seriously in a scolding tone he usually reserved for himself — just like his dad used to do.
"We're classmates now, and someday we'll be teammates fighting together on the battlefield. Might as well start getting along early and build some real bonds while we're at it."
"Staying aloof like this will only make people dislike you. Got it?"
Naruto patted Sasuke's shoulder a few times, wearing a serious expression.
Now he got why his dad liked giving lectures so much—it actually kind of felt good.
His eyes crinkled with satisfaction as he soaked in the feeling of being the wise mentor.
Choji stood silently beside them, mouth slightly open, watching the unexpected side of Naruto.
Was this really the same Naruto who used to compete with him on who could eat more?
But he held his tongue and stayed quiet, curious about what would happen next.
"That's boring. Focusing only on eating, drinking, and fooling around won't make you a great ninja."
Sasuke shot back, gazing into Naruto's sparkling eyes.
Though deep down he longed to join their little group, his pride wouldn't let him simply accept Naruto's invitation.
He couldn't explain why, but somehow this felt like the right attitude for a proud ninja of the Uchiha clan.
"Tch, then don't come! I was gonna treat you to yakiniku my mom made specially. Guess you don't deserve that kind of luck!"
Meeting Sasuke's gaze, Naruto loosened his grip on the other boy's collar before grabbing Choji's arm and taking a few steps forward.
Let this stubborn Uchiha cool off alone!
"C'mon, Choji! Let's go wait outside!"
With that, Naruto dragged the chubby boy past Sasuke toward the school gate, clearly looking upset and unwilling to engage further.
After all, he was the Hokage's son—his honor was on the line. If people kept turning him down, how could he uphold his name?
"You…"
Caught off guard, Sasuke stared at Naruto's retreating figure, opened his mouth to speak—but nothing came out. He merely moved his lips silently before dropping the matter.
"You… why didn't you at least try a little harder? Others have been trying to get me to go out with them for ages—though I always say no…"
Sasuke thought to himself, his eyes darkening slightly as he looked downward.
Truthfully, he really wanted to go on a picnic with Naruto and the others. He'd never experienced something like that before.
"Sigh..."
He kicked a nearby pebble and looked away, his face clouded with disappointment.
"Sasuke! Sasuke!"
Still lost in thought, Sasuke suddenly heard a familiar voice calling.
He quickly raised his head and saw that familiar figure accompanied by a warm smile.
"Aniki!"
Excitedly, Sasuke started running toward him, joy clearly written across his face.
Indeed, compared to those classmates, his brother was definitely the one who truly cared for him the most!
"Careful—my injuries haven't fully healed yet."
Itachi crouched down slightly and affectionately tapped his brother's nose, speaking warmly.
"Yes."
In front of Itachi, Sasuke's usual cold demeanor completely disappeared—he was just a regular, loving younger brother.
Thinking about his brother's wounds reminded Sasuke of how badly injured Itachi had been when he returned not long ago.
That had been the first time ever since Sasuke could remember that the genius everyone praised had come home looking so terrible.
"Haven't you gone to play with your classmates?"
Standing up straight again, Itachi stroked Sasuke's head and glanced toward the two children still standing at the entrance.
If I'm not mistaken, one should be the child of Choza Akimichi, and the other the child of Fourth Hokage.
"Nope. They're both lame. None of them are as cool or fun as my big brother."
Sasuke tilted his head up to speak to Itachi.
"Oh really..." Despite his youth, Itachi noticed a flicker of longing deep within his younger brother's eyes.
"You should make more friends at school. After all, you'll all grow up to be ninjas from the same village. Understand, Sasuke?"
Itachi took Sasuke by the hand and walked toward the exit.
As they walked, he spoke to Sasuke.
"Got it!"
A flicker of confusion flickered across Sasuke's face. Why did his brother's words sound so similar to what Naruto had just said?
Chatting casually, the two passed by the gate where Naruto and Choji stood waiting for someone.
"Wait, brother!"
After a long hesitation, as if finally steeling himself, Sasuke let go of Itachi's hand and, under his brother's puzzled gaze, hurried over to Naruto.
"Hey, Naruto, where was your picnic going to be?"
Stopping in front of Naruto, Sasuke asked while the others looked on in surprise.
He blushed faintly—this was the first time he'd ever started a conversation with classmates.
"You wanna come?"
Naruto didn't hold any grudges from Sasuke rejecting him twice before. He didn't hold grudges. Seeing that Sasuke now approached him willingly, he gave an identical grin to Minato's.
"Mm... I was just asking. If I have time, I might come."
Sasuke seemed bashful, avoiding direct eye contact with Naruto, his gaze drifting upward toward the strange forehead protector on Choji's head.
"Oh right, Sunday morning at ten. Behind Hokage Rock. Quite a few other classmates will be coming too!"
Naruto nodded and explained without minding Sasuke's attitude.
"And if you do come, you don't need to bring anything. Just show up early to help set up the grill!"
Finally, Naruto patted Sasuke on the chest.
"If I have time, I'll come."
Sasuke felt a bit awkward facing Naruto's sudden friendliness, although this kind of laid-back friendship was something he'd always kind of envied.
"Then I'll be off!"
He nodded to the two boys and quickly turned away.
"Let's go, brother!"
Sasuke called to Itachi.
"All right!"
Itachi glanced back at Naruto, feeling how much he resembled Fourth Hokage—not only in looks but also in possessing that natural likability.
Smiling at Naruto from afar, he then led Sasuke away.
Meanwhile, after this brief interaction, Sasuke appeared visibly brighter, his footsteps had become noticeably more cheerful.
It seemed like connecting with others wasn't such a difficult thing after all.
"Whoosh!"
Soon after Sasuke left, Naruto's eyes lit up as a familiar figure appeared before him.
"Whoa! Dad!"
Naruto acted like he'd spotted some strange creature, blurting out the word.
"Uncle Minato!"
Choji naturally recognized Minato. A sincere smile spread across his chubby face as he looked up at the figure carved into the Hokage Monument.
"Yeah, it's Choji! Long time no see!"
Minato greeted him with a smile that felt like an early spring sun—warm and gentle.
"Where's Mom?"
Naruto frowned a little. He was happy Dad came to pick him up, but if it had been his mom, she'd usually treat him to snacks on the way home.
"What? You're not happy 'cause Dad picked you up instead of Mom?"
Minato ruffled Naruto's hair with one big hand, messing it up until Naruto began squirming in protest.
"I'm happy..."
Under Minato's hand, Naruto kept rolling his eyes—how did someone who loved teasing kids end up being Hokage anyway? Did he buy the title?
"Choji, we'll be off first. Keep waiting, and don't forget about this weekend—no sleeping in!"
Naruto said goodbye to Choji while giving him one last reminder.
"Got it!"
Choji waved back. His mother would pick him up later; it might take some time.
"So, are you boys planning another outing this week?"
Minato also bade farewell to Choji before holding Naruto's hand and heading outside.
He'd overheard them before, so he already knew what they were planning. That was actually a good thing—it helped strengthen bonds. Minato was genuinely pleased by it.
"Yeah, we're having a picnic this weekend with Choji, Shikaku, and the others from class!"
"And today at school, they taught the 'Three Basic Jutsu'. I still don't understand a lot of it. Dad, you've got to explain it to me again tonight!"
Walking beside Minato, Naruto lifted his head and told him excitedly.
"Sure thing, no problem. After dinner, I'll go over everything with you!"
Minato patted Naruto's head, deeply touched.
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