"Naruto."
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, smiled kindly at the boy sitting before him."Today was your first day at the academy. How did it go?"
"It was amazing!" Naruto Uzumaki beamed, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "Especially Kitazawa-sensei! He's super, ultra awesome!"
To prove it, Naruto proudly raised a small paper bag of snacks and shook it with a grin.
"Oh? Are those snacks something you bought yourself?"Hiruzen asked with an amused smile, delighted to see him so happy.
"Nope! Kitazawa-sensei gave them to me as a reward!"Naruto tore open the bag and gasped dramatically.
Inside was a treasure trove: lollipops, chocolates, cream biscuits, potato sticks—more snacks than he'd ever dreamed of.
Hiruzen glanced inside and gave an approving nod.Kitazawa… not bad. A teacher worth keeping around.
He also remembered hearing how Kitazawa had stepped in several times today to defuse tense moments for Naruto. Yes—this year's "Teacher of the Year" might already be decided.Sure, it might look a bit biased… but who was going to question the Hokage?
"Here, Old Man Third!"Naruto held out a lollipop.
"I'm a little past the age for sweets," Hiruzen chuckled, gently ruffling the boy's messy hair. "You enjoy it."
Naruto hesitated for a moment, then pulled the lollipop back with a grin. "Okay!"
"Besides your teacher, how about your classmates?" Hiruzen asked as they stepped into the living room. "Did you make any friends?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head."Well… I think Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Ino are all pretty nice to me. But… I dunno if that means we're friends yet."
"Maybe not now," Hiruzen said softly, "but one day you will be."
He wasn't surprised. Those names all came from ninja clans—families who understood the truth behind the whispers of "monster." Their parents had either fought alongside Minato Namikaze or had once been helped by him.
"That's good to hear," Hiruzen smiled.
Naruto pumped his fist in excitement."Heh! That means I, Naruto Uzumaki, am finally gonna have real friends!"
A pang of guilt twisted in Hiruzen's chest.
The way the boy had been treated all these years—it was far too cruel for a child.But… it was a necessary cruelty.
The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki was the Leaf Village's most vital trump card. He had to be protected… carefully, quietly.
"Hey, Old Man Third," Naruto said between bites of a cream biscuit, "do you know much about the Fourth Hokage?"
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why do you ask?"
"Well," Naruto began, "Kitazawa-sensei said that if I want everyone to acknowledge me, I should learn from the Hokage!"
"Oh?" The old man chuckled. "Then why didn't you come to me? Some people still say I was the strongest Hokage, you know."
Naruto puffed up his chest proudly. "I'm gonna learn from all four Hokage! That way, I can totally surpass every single one of them!"
He grinned wide. "Pretty smart, huh?"
Hiruzen blinked—then burst into laughter."Wh-what's so funny?" Naruto asked, confused. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Not at all," the Third Hokage said, stroking his white beard. "If you can truly master what all four Hokage were best at… then yes, you could surpass them all."
"Alright!" Naruto cheered, brimming with energy.
Hiruzen smiled but said nothing more.All four Hokage? Even I couldn't manage that, he thought. No one in the entire ninja world could.
"The Fourth Hokage's name was Minato Namikaze," Hiruzen said at last, his tone softening with memory."He was perfect—gentle, brilliant, and incredibly powerful. They called him the Yellow Flash."
"Why 'Yellow Flash'?" Naruto tilted his head curiously.
"Because his hair—just like yours—was bright gold," Hiruzen explained. "And his speed was unmatched. So fast, enemies never even saw his face before they fell."
"How fast are we talking?" Naruto asked, eyes wide.
Hiruzen thought for a moment. "Faster than light itself. Before anyone realized it… the battle was already over."
"Whoa! That's awesome!" Naruto exclaimed. "I wanna be that fast too!"
"One day, you might," Hiruzen said warmly.
Then Naruto's expression shifted. His voice dropped. "Then… how did he die?"
The question froze Hiruzen in place.His smile faltered. His eyes clouded over as the memories came rushing back——the chaos, the fire, the roar of the Nine-Tails on that terrible night.
Meanwhile, back at the academy…
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Hinata."
When the last of the students had left, Kitazawa approached the shy girl standing by the doorway.
"I… I didn't wait long," Hinata said softly.
"Here," Kitazawa said, producing two small bags of snacks.
"I-I already have one," Hinata stammered, shaking her head quickly.
"One bag isn't nearly enough."He couldn't help but recall that in the original timeline, Hinata had once eaten forty-six bowls of ramen during a food contest.
"I-I can manage with one…" she murmured, her cheeks pink.
"No, you can't," Kitazawa said, smiling as he pressed both bags into her hands. "Don't be shy with your teacher."
"T-thank you, Kitazawa-sensei," she whispered, clutching the bags close to her chest. Her long lashes trembled as she looked up at him—like a startled little white rabbit caught in the light.
"Alright, now for the real reason I asked you to stay."He gently patted her head. "I found the three boys you mentioned."
Hinata's shoulders tensed; the memory of what they'd done flickered behind her pale eyes.
"Hinata," Kitazawa said seriously, "I've arranged to meet them after class tomorrow. I'll make sure they understand what they did was wrong."
Hinata hesitated, then met his calm, reassuring gaze.Somehow, her fear melted away. "O-okay…"
"Good. Then I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodbye, Kitazawa-sensei," she said, her voice tinged with quiet reluctance.
Clutching her snacks, Hinata turned and began to walk home.A few steps later, she glanced back—Kitazawa was still standing there, waiting for someone.
Her heart warmed, and she looked down at the snacks in her arms with a small, secret smile.
"Lady Hinata."
A voice suddenly called out.A young man with pale eyes—the mark of the Hyuga—appeared before her.
"Tokuma," Hinata said, quickly straightening her posture, remembering her father's lessons.As a daughter of the Hyuga main family, she always had a branch house escort assigned to her.
A short distance away, Kurenai Yuhi appeared, stepping into Kitazawa's view.
"Now that I'm a teacher myself," she sighed, "I finally understand just how impressive you are."
Kitazawa chuckled and handed her a scroll."Trade secret," he said with a grin. "My own special method."