At the same moment, Team 7 was returning, deep within the temple of Mount Myoboku.
On a stone chair carved with the character "Sage," the Great Toad Sage, wearing a scholar's cap with wrinkled skin, suddenly awakened from his slumber.
The two sages, Fukasaku and Shima, immediately reacted and came to the Great Toad Sage's side.
Before they could ask questions, the Great Toad Sage spoke.
"...I dreamed... the future will... change..."
"...The end of ninjas..."
"...The Five Great Nations..."
After drowsily saying these words, the Great Toad Sage suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked at Sage Shima beside him.
"Go... notify little Jiraiya... go stop... find... the Child of Destiny..."
After speaking, the Great Toad Sage fell back into slumber.
Leaving the two sages looking at each other in bewilderment.
Due to Naruto's "disappearance" and the group's frequent stops along the way, their arrival at Konoha was somewhat later than expected.
"But it's fine, not too late."
After nodding to the two ninja guards at the gate, Kakashi turned to the other three.
"Well then, I'll go submit the mission report first. You're dismissed."
As he spoke, he made eye contact with Naruto, who was walking at the back, seeming to want to say something but holding back.
Seeing Kakashi's figure disappear, Sakura turned to face Sasuke and Naruto, her face showing traces of fatigue.
"Well then, Sasuke, Naruto, I'm going home first. See you tomorrow."
She was homesick.
As an ordinary girl who had lived in the village her whole life with a comfortable upbringing, although she had grown considerably after the dangerous journey to the Land of Waves, she was still naive.
She didn't even have the mood to invite Sasuke for a walk together. After saying this, she left directly.
Then, Naruto put his hands behind his head and looked at Sasuke.
"What about you? Going home too?"
Sasuke just shook his head and asked Naruto in return.
"Are you free next?"
Hearing this, Naruto smiled helplessly.
"You're too impatient. Proper rest is more beneficial for training, you know."
It seemed that because of the visible results from this period of training, Sasuke's obsession had become even more urgent.
In his view, every minute and second could bring him closer to achieving his goal of revenge.
Seeing Sasuke's persistence, Naruto held up one finger.
"How about this—I have some things to handle. How about tomorrow morning?"
After hearing this, Sasuke was silent for a moment, then left without saying a word.
"Really, this kid..."
Sighing, Naruto's expression darkened slightly the next second.
So many unfamiliar presences.
Many strangers he had never seen before had appeared in the village. These people wore headbands with symbols different from Konoha's—clearly not locals.
This strange situation made Naruto slow his pace toward the Hokage Building slightly.
Just ahead of him, a team of Konoha Genin was having a conflict with three Genin from another village.
He recognized the three on this side: Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuga.
Unlike when he first returned, after Team 7 was formed, he had basically remembered all the people he used to know or was familiar with.
The ones facing them, judging by their headbands, should be ninja from Sunagakure.
However, Naruto didn't plan to help, as Kurenai Yuhi, their team leader, had already come out to stop the conflict, and the other side was about to leave.
But that kid carrying the gourd... always gave Naruto a somewhat familiar, ominous feeling.
As if he had encountered something similar somewhere before.
Since he wasn't particularly guarded, these unconscious thought fragments were also received by Kurama, who had been watching the entire time.
For some unknown psychological reason, Kurama actually instinctively withdrew his consciousness.
No, why am I afraid of him?
This damn brat, I'm the most powerful Tailed Beast. Even if you were stronger in that other world than you are now, you definitely wouldn't be my match...
Ignoring Kurama's internal monologue, Naruto noticed that Hinata Hyuga—the "strange girl who blushes all the time" in his memory—seemed to sense something and suddenly looked at him.
Then her face instantly turned red, her head lowered, and she would occasionally steal glances at him.
After smiling and nodding at her, Naruto also left the area. He had more important matters to attend to.
Seeing Naruto's smile, Hinata's face turned even redder, and she even began to emit "steam" like Luffy in Gear Second.
Lost in thought, she suddenly swayed on the spot and was about to faint backward.
Fortunately, Kurenai reacted quickly and caught her in time.
"Hinata! Hinata, what's wrong? Wake up..."
In the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the documents in his hand, then looked up at Naruto with a smile.
"Oh—Naruto, you're back. Do you want me to buy you ramen tickets again?"
But what made him feel somewhat unexpected and uneasy was that Naruto didn't call him "Grandpa Third" with a smile as usual.
He just stood there silently, then suddenly reached out, slowly removed the headband from his arm, and gently placed it on Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk.
"Lord Hokage, what do you think is the meaning of a ninja's existence?"
This unfamiliar form of address made Hiruzen Sarutobi's mood plummet instantly, and the smile on his face froze.
Being the Hokage, he quickly regained his composure.
First, he silently walked to the door and signaled the two ninjas outside to leave temporarily, then closed the door and returned to his seat.
Just these movements seemed to have consumed considerable energy from Hiruzen Sarutobi, as his hand trembled slightly when he took out his pipe.
"Naruto..."
"Did someone tell you something?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's first suspect was Orochimaru, followed by Kakashi, but now wasn't the time to pursue this matter.
Naruto didn't answer his question directly, but slowly walked to the window, looking down at the thriving village from above.
"My parents sacrificed themselves to save this village. I believe that as the Fourth Hokage, they must have acted without hesitation at that time."
As he spoke, he turned to face Hiruzen Sarutobi directly, his tone uncharacteristically aggressive.
"But if they knew what happened to their son afterward, would they still maintain such thoughts?"
These words seemed to instantly pierce through Hiruzen Sarutobi's inner defenses. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
His spine also bent helplessly.
It seemed Naruto had learned about his own background.
"I'm sorry, Naruto... but I am the Hokage."
This sentence was spoken by him as Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The emotion was completely different from when he said this to Danzo.
If at that time he was emphasizing the authority of the Hokage, then at this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to be expressing his own powerlessness.
As if he were constrained by the title of "Hokage."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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