At the same moment Team 7 was returning, deep within Mount Myoboku, inside the temple-
On a stone seat carved with the character for 'Sage', the Great Toad Sage… a wrinkled, ancient toad wearing a scholar's hat, suddenly awoke from his doze.
By his side, the two sages, Fukasaku and Shima, immediately noticed and approached him.
Before they could even ask, the Great Toad Sage spoke.
"...I dreamed... the future... will change..."
"...the end of Ninja..."
"...the Five Great Nations..."
After muttering these words in a daze, the Great Toad Sage suddenly snapped his eyes open and looked at Shima.
"Go... inform Jiraiya-chan... to stop it... find... the Child of Prophecy..."
After saying this, the Great Toad Sage fell into a deep sleep again.
Only Fukasaku and Shima were left looking at each other in bewilderment.
…
Due to Naruto's 'disappearance' and the group's leisurely pace on the way back, their arrival in Konoha was slightly delayed.
"Still, we're not too late."
After nodding to the two guards at the village gates, Kakashi turned to the other three.
"Alright, I'll go submit the mission report first. You're free to disperse."
As he spoke, his gaze lingered on Naruto, who was walking at the back, as if he wanted to say something but ultimately held back.
Watching Kakashi's figure disappear, Sakura finally turned to Sasuke and Naruto with a hint of fatigue on her face.
"Well, Sasuke, Naruto, I'm heading home. See you tomorrow."
She felt a little homesick.
As an ordinary girl who had always lived a peaceful life in the village, this dangerous mission in the Land of Waves had given her some growth, but she was still inexperienced.
She didn't even have the energy to ask Sasuke out for a walk. After saying this, she left straight away.
Then, Naruto clasped his hands behind his head and looked at Sasuke.
"What about you? Going home too?"
Sasuke just shook his head when he heard that, and then asked Naruto in return, "Are you free later?"
Hearing this, Naruto chuckled helplessly.
"You're way too impatient. Proper rest is just as important for training, you know."
It seemed that the visible results of their recent training had only made Sasuke's obsession grow stronger.
In his eyes, every second counted if it brought him closer to his goal of revenge.
Seeing Sasuke's insistence, Naruto raised a finger.
"Tell you what, I've got some things to take care of first. How about tomorrow morning?"
After hearing this, Sasuke fell silent for a moment, then left without saying a word.
"Man, this brat..."
He sighed, and the next second, Naruto's face darkened slightly.
There were too many unfamiliar presences.
The village was filled with strangers he had never sensed before, and their forehead protectors were engraved with symbols different from Konoha's… clearly not locals.
This odd situation made Naruto slow his steps as he headed toward the Hokage's office.
Just not far in front of him, a team of Konoha's Genin were clashing with another team of three Genin from other village.
He recognized the Konoha's Genin here, namely Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Hyuga Hinata.
Unlike when he first returned, during the days after Team 7's formation, he had taken the time to re-familiarize himself with the faces of people he once knew or had merely seen around.
As for the ones opposing them... judging by their forehead protectors, they were from Sunagakure.
However, Naruto had no intention of stepping in to help, as their team leader, Yuhi Kurenai, had already intervened, and the opposing side was about to leave.
However, that kid with the gourd on his back gave Naruto an inexplicably familiar yet ominous feeling.
It was as if he had encountered something similar somewhere before.
Since he wasn't particularly guarded, this unconscious fragment of thought was also picked up by Kurama, who had been observing the whole scene.
For some reason, Kurama instinctively withdrew his consciousness.
'Wait, why should I be wary of him?'
'That damn brat, I'm the strongest Tailed Beast. Even if you were stronger in another world, you're no match for me now...'
Not knowing about Kurama's internal monologue, Naruto looked at Hinata, who in his impression was 'a strange girl who blushes at everything'. She seemed to sense something and suddenly looked his way.
Then, the other party's face turned bright red instantly, her head lowering shyly before she occasionally peeked up at him again.
After smiling and nodding at the other party, Naruto walked away. Right now, he had more important things to do.
Seeing Naruto's smile, Hinata's face burned even redder, steam practically rising from her head like Luffy in Gear Second.
Her thoughts spiraled, her body swaying unsteadily before she suddenly teetered backward, about to faint.
Luckily, Kurenai reacted quickly and caught her in time.
"Hinata! Hinata, what's wrong? Wake up…"
…
Inside the Hokage Building, Hiruzen set aside the documents in his hand before finally looking up with a warm smile at Naruto.
"Oh… Naruto, you're back. Are you here for more ramen coupons?"
But to his surprise and unease, Naruto didn't respond with his usual cheerful 'old man third' greeting.
Instead, he stood there silently before slowly removing the forehead protector from his arm and placing it gently on Hiruzen's desk.
"Hokage-sama, what do you think is the meaning of a Ninja's existence?"
The unfamiliar form of address made Hiruzen's heart sink, his smile freezing in place.
He was the Hokage no matter what, so he quickly regained his composure.
First, he silently walked to the door, signaling the two guards outside to leave temporarily, then closed it and returned to his seat.
That small movement alone seemed to drain a surprising amount of energy from him, as his hands trembled slightly when he pulled out his smoking pipe.
"Naruto..."
"Has someone… told you something?"
Hiruzen's first suspect was Orochimaru, followed by Kakashi. But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
Naruto didn't answer directly. Instead, he walked slowly to the window, gazing down at the thriving village below.
"My parents sacrificed themselves to save this village. As the Fourth Hokage, I believe they did so without hesitation."
As he spoke, he turned around and looked directly at Hiruzen, his tone uncharacteristically aggressive.
"But if they knew what would happen to their son afterward… would they still have felt the same?"
As soon as these words were spoken, it seemed to instantly pierce through Hiruzen's inner defenses, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
His back hunched slightly, as if weighed down by guilt.
'It seemed Naruto had learned the truth about his origins.'
"I'm sorry, Naruto… but I am the Hokage."
This time, he spoke not as Hiruzen the man, but as Hiruzen the Hokage.
Yet the emotion behind it was entirely different from when he had said the same thing to Danzo.
When he said it to Danzo, it had been an assertion of authority. But at this moment, Hiruzen seemed to be expressing his own powerlessness.
It's as if the title of [Hokage] itself had shackled him.