"If one becomes too obsessed with it and cannot extricate oneself, one will become extreme, paranoid, or even fall completely into darkness…"
Naruto slurped his ramen loudly and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a confused expression. "Does the Third Hokage know anyone like that?"
Hiruzen sighed and nodded. "Yes, and it's not just one. For example… my most valued disciple… Orochimaru."
"Orochimaru?" Naruto asked, his words slurring as he gulped down his ramen. He seemed to have vaguely heard that name before. He was once a very powerful ninja, but now he had defected from Konoha Village.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and nodded again. "Orochimaru was once my most outstanding disciple. He was extremely talented and gifted, and was originally the one who could best inherit my legacy. However… because of his parents' death, he became obsessed with the study of various dark, forbidden techniques, even resorting to human experiments, which caused public outrage. I should have been the one to stop him, to eliminate the threat he had become, but in the end, due to our years of mentorship, I was too soft-hearted and let him flee the village. If it weren't for that, maybe he could have become Hokage…"
Naruto had finished his bowl of ramen and let out a long sigh of satisfaction. "Did he give up becoming Hokage just to experiment with that forbidden techniques? How could he do that…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and said, "You think that becoming Hokage is your dream, but not everyone thinks so. For example, Orochimaru… and for example, Sasuke…"
Naruto couldn't help but ask curiously, "Sasuke… what happened to him?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer him. "Naruto, you are still too young. It is better for you not to know some things for the time being. Anyway, you and Sasuke are both rivals, which is fine, but you cannot kill each other like this in the future."
"…Oh, I see."
"Good."
After the two finished their dinner, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked around Naruto's room and found that there were indeed big changes.
"Naruto, I heard you want to be in the top ten in your class?"
"Well, that's my small goal!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled. "It's a good thing to have a goal. No wonder you're practicing so hard…"
[Detected that the host has eaten enough. Please begin your evening training immediately. Tonight's special training is to focus on two things at once: practicing chakra refining and the Transformation Technique at the same time!]
Naruto also wanted to chat with Hiruzen Sarutobi for a while longer, but it looked like that was now impossible. But…
"Jiji, I'm about to start my training. Do you want to watch?" He really wanted someone to guide him. Even if it was just by looking at him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and said, "What do you want to practice?"
Naruto shouted, "I'm going to continue my multitasking practice! I want to practice my chakra refining techniques and the Transformation Technique at the same time! Oh, by the way, my transformation skills are amazing! This is a super powerful ninjutsu that I invented myself. Would you like to see it, Third Hokage?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face changed drastically! He almost choked to death on a puff from his pipe! Of course, he understood what Naruto's "super transformation technique" was: the Sexy Jutsu! He didn't want to embarrass himself by getting a nosebleed in front of Naruto and those Anbu members! Did he still want to keep his old face?
"Ahem, Naruto, although I really want to stay and train with you, as the Hokage, I also have my own work to do. Thank you for the dinner."
"Oh, okay…" Although Naruto felt a little disappointed, he didn't try to keep him. After all, he was the Hokage of Konoha Village.
Hiruzen Sarutobi went downstairs and soon heard the sound of continuous transformations coming from upstairs. He breathed a sigh of relief, went outside, and looked at the crescent moon that was gradually getting bigger, his expression very complicated.
"Well…" Under the cover of night, a long sigh was heard.
…
At this moment, the previous scenes kept appearing in Sasuke's mind. If the Third Hokage hadn't arrived in time, he didn't know what the final outcome would have been.
Sasuke punched the wall angrily. With a loud bang, dirt and dust fell and flew everywhere. "What on earth am I doing…" He still had a sharp pain in his waist and abdomen. That's where Naruto's Konoha Whirlwind kick had landed.
"Naruto… how strong are you now?" Although Sasuke was afraid of the outcome of their previous battle, he was also very anxious and angry about Naruto's growing strength. To be precise, it was his own weakness. If this continued, let alone killing Uchiha Itachi, he might even be left behind by Naruto. Sasuke clenched his fists and returned to the training room.
*Bang—*
*Bang, bang, bang!*
He ignored the pain and fatigue in his body, gritted his teeth, and started practicing desperately again!
…
At the same time, in the Hyuga clan's headquarters, at the residence of the Hyuga clan leader, Hinata also hadn't fallen asleep. Hinata Hanabi, her younger sister, sneaked to the door, pushed it open just a crack, and looked inside. She saw her elder sister, still practicing hard. Her young heart was deeply touched.
"Sister…"
In their previous sisterly sparring match, Hinata Hanabi had shown a strength that had even surpassed her sister's. This had also led to their father, Hyuga Hiashi, choosing to focus on training Hanabi and even giving up on the idea of making Hinata, the eldest daughter, the heir to the main family. But in reality, Hanabi understood her sister's gentleness and strength best. That time in their sparring session, her sister's defeat wasn't due to a lack of strength… but kindness. Her sister had already seen her own flaw, but she had hesitated at the last moment and couldn't bear to take action, so she had been defeated.
But was this ending good or bad? Hanabi herself didn't know. She knew that although her sister worked hard, she was kind and gentle, and she didn't like fighting. She also didn't want to be the heir to the main family. She believed that the system of the main family and the branch family was a constraint, a cage… especially after seeing how her father treated Hyuga Neji. So… perhaps losing to her was also a way for her sister to escape her own fate.
But now… she was working harder than ever before. Why was this?
"Is that you, Hanabi?" Hinata sensed that someone was peeking at her, so she temporarily stopped practicing and asked while panting.
Hanabi no longer hid herself and pushed the door open, walking in. "Sister, why aren't you sleeping yet?"
Hinata smiled softly. "I want to practice for a while longer. What about you, Hanabi? Why aren't you sleeping yet?"
Hanabi shook her head. "I can't sleep."
"What's wrong?"
"Because, I can't figure it out…"
"Can you tell me what's on your mind?"
Hanabi looked at Hinata's training clothes, soaked with sweat, and asked with both heartache and confusion, "Sister, you were not happy practicing before because you were being forced so harshly by our father. Now, even though Father has almost given up on you, you've become much more hardworking. Why on earth is this happening?"
Hinata was stunned, looking at Hanabi's puzzled eyes, and for a moment, she didn't know how to explain it to her. She took out a towel and wiped the sweat from her face. Then, she patted the floor beside her and invited Hanabi to sit down with her.