Chapter 9: Dream
"Full marks? That's amazing." Sakura sincerely praised. "Naruto seems… different from before."
Ino's face was full of shock, thinking to herself that today must have been some kind of ghostly encounter. How had that dead-last suddenly gotten so strong?
"Tch, that guy…" Kiba, with the white puppy perched on his head, turned and walked away.
As one of the trio notorious for skipping class, he'd always relied on Naruto being at the bottom to keep his own academic scores from looking too bad. Now… it was like fearing your buddy's doing poorly, but also dreading the day he drives off in a luxury car.
Sasuke stared for a while too before turning away, his eyes carrying their usual indifference as they reflected the lush trees at the end of the corridor.
"Sasuke-kun, once we graduate… would you like to have a meal together?" A girl who had just turned the corner gripped her forehead protector nervously. Clearly, she had just passed the exam as well.
"I'm busy. Ask someone else."
Uchiha Sasuke was a proud person. He would not allow himself to stagnate; he was already planning to double his training efforts.
The hatred of his clan's annihilation drove him to live. Beyond that, he had no interest in anything else, rejecting her without hesitation.
Among the crowd, Sakura witnessed the unknown girl's rejection at the corridor's far end, her heart a swirl of mixed emotions. Suddenly, a hand clapped down on her shoulder, making her jump.
"Ino, what are you doing?"
"Hehe, stop looking. Sasuke-kun won't go on a date with you either." Ino said smugly.
For some reason, Naruto's annoying face flashed across her mind, his irritating voice echoing in her ears.
"Sasuke doesn't like girls! Girls! Girls!"
"Argh!!! Damn it!" Ino inexplicably grabbed her head, squatting down as a pained expression took over her face.
The graduation exam had passed smoothly, and Naruto's life returned to its usual rhythm. During the three-day break, he spent two of them simply lazing at home.
Naturally, he didn't run into Konohamaru.
On the last day of vacation, as Naruto dozed in and out of sleep, sunlight filtered through the window lattice, warming his body like a gentle blanket.
Suddenly, a blinding light made him frown and snap his eyes open.
An Anbu member wearing an animal mask crouched on a tree branch outside his window. Cold eyes peered through the mask's holes as an emotionless voice spoke.
"Lord Hokage wants to see you."
Without giving Naruto a chance to respond, the Anbu vanished on the spot.
Naruto stared at the ceiling for several minutes before confirming that someone had indeed been there. But… where was he supposed to go again?
"To… hmm…"
"The sun's so warm… feels so nice… just like soaking in a hot spring…"
"Hot spring…"
His breathing soon evened out again, and Naruto drifted back to sleep.
When he woke, night had already fallen.
The room was dark, the lights still off. A figure sat at his desk, flipping through Naruto's training plans. The soft rustling of pages filled the silence until it suddenly stopped.
"Awake, Naruto?" A familiar, elderly voice carried a touch of warmth and kindness.
The light switched on, flooding the room with brightness.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, sat at the desk with a genial smile, turning to look at Naruto. On the table lay Naruto's brand-new forehead protector, journal, and recipe book.
"Lord Hokage," Naruto mumbled, rubbing his eyes groggily.
"Didn't you used to call me Grandpa Hokage?" Hiruzen paused, then laughed heartily. "What's this? You become a ninja and suddenly we're strangers?"
"Heh." Naruto scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. "I'm a proper ninja now. It doesn't feel right to call you that anymore."
Hiruzen chuckled softly and let it go, then asked,
"Did you forget something today?"
"Something?" Naruto blinked in confusion, thinking hard until he finally remembered that an Anbu had come earlier to summon him to the Hokage.
"Ah! I forgot!"
"You little rascal…" Hiruzen sighed helplessly. "Still, I suppose you deserved the rest."
"So… why did you want to see me, Lord Hokage?" Naruto asked.
"It's nothing urgent," Hiruzen replied. "I just wanted to ask about your dream for the future."
"My dream? To take it easy," Naruto answered without hesitation.
"Take it easy?" Hiruzen frowned slightly.
"Yeah. I want a stable, relaxed life," Naruto explained.
"Have young people all become like this now? Perhaps I really am behind the times," Hiruzen said with self-deprecation. "But didn't you used to dream of becoming Hokage?"
"What's life like for the Hokage? Is it happy?" Naruto asked.
"Well…" Hiruzen coughed lightly. "It's… busy most of the time. Sometimes Konohamaru even complains that I can't spend time with him. But to protect the village and its people—that responsibility drives me forward, even to risk my life for it. I suppose… in my own way, I am happy."
"Heh. That's the Hokage's life, huh? Sounds exhausting," Naruto said, sitting cross-legged on his bed. "But I don't want to live that way. I'm tired of being looked at differently."
"For someone like me, I even have to worry whether shopkeepers will sell me fresh food. Even if I became Hokage, that wouldn't really change."
"If you became Hokage, Naruto, the village would come to love and respect you," Hiruzen tried to encourage him.
"But Lord Hokage, I'm fine as I am," Naruto said, resting his head in his hands. "If I don't cause trouble, little by little, people will forget their hatred.
I don't know why so many people hate me, but now that I'm a ninja, maybe I won't have to face those looks anymore."
Hiruzen wanted to say more, but the words caught in his throat. He couldn't bring himself to speak. He knew this was his own failure—to let a child grow up like this.
Three feet of ice doesn't form overnight. Naruto was naturally optimistic, but to become like this… he had endured years of silent hostility.
Changing his mindset would take time.
"Naruto, if one day an enemy invades the village and threatens the people you care about… what will you do then?" Hiruzen asked.
Naruto thought for a moment, then looked at him seriously.
"Then… I'll fight."
Hiruzen left without further words.
Naruto sat at the desk where Hiruzen had been, running his fingers over his forehead protector, his gaze growing distant. This system might be called a "Take-It-Easy System," but in truth, it was one of relentless improvement.
He could take it easy, but his strength would keep growing. If there was an easier way to become strong, why not take it?
Take it easy himself, let others struggle.
In this terrifying world where power reigns supreme, without strength, you're nothing but prey.
Tomorrow was the day they'd be assigned their jōnin instructor. Kakashi… they would meet very soon.