After changing into the new winter clothes, Naruto felt warmth seep back into every inch of his body. The chill that had clung to him all evening was gone in an instant, replaced by a snug, comfortable heat that made him want to sigh.
He looked up at the Third Hokage with an open, satisfied smile. "Thank you, Grandpa Third. These new clothes are really warm. I like them a lot!"
Hearing that, the Third Hokage looked at the child's bright, unguarded smile, then thought back to the tight, ill-fitting thermal layer he'd glimpsed underneath Naruto's old coat. His lips twitched faintly. He forced a smile of his own, but there was guilt in it that he couldn't hide.
"It's good that you like them. Good... good."
As if trying to make up for something, he picked up the kraft-paper envelope on the table. It already held Naruto's usual living expenses, but he drew several brand-new thousand-ryo notes from his pocket and carefully tucked them inside before handing it over.
"This is next month's allowance," he said, his tone gentler than before.
"Naruto is at the age where he can start making friends now. Grandpa is giving you a little extra this time. Be more generous when you go out with your friends. Treat them to ramen, or something like that."
"Wow! Thank you, Grandpa Third!"
Naruto accepted the thick envelope with both hands, his eyes lighting up at once. Just from the weight of it, he could tell there was more than usual inside.
That was real money. Tangible profit. Tonight's biggest gain had landed exactly where it mattered most.
He cheered inwardly, but on the surface, he showed only the eager delight of a child who had just been favored by his elder.
Then, as though he had suddenly remembered something important and couldn't wait to share it with the person closest to him, Naruto lifted his head again. His tone carried a trace of pride.
"Oh, right, Grandpa Third. I met a girl today..."
He recounted everything from the beginning.
How he had run into three kids bullying someone in the snow. How he had driven them off. How he had protected the girl they were picking on. How the two of them had gone to Ichiraku Ramen afterward and shared a hot meal.
At the very end, he looked up with gleaming blue eyes and declared, "I made another friend! Her name is Hinata Hyuga! Her dad looks kind of strict, but I think he's actually a pretty nice person!"
The Third Hokage quietly took in every word.
So that was how it had gone. Hiashi Hyuga had managed to leave Naruto with a favorable first impression after only one meeting.
He gave a small inward nod.
Hiashi, you may be old-fashioned, but when it comes to handling children, you're more capable than I gave you credit for.
That first impression was important. Very important. In a village like Konoha, especially where the jinchuriki and the major clans were concerned, even a small beginning like this could help preserve future stability.
The Third Hokage chatted with Naruto a little longer about ordinary things. He told him to keep training hard, to take care of himself, and not to stay up too late.
At last, he stood and patted Naruto gently on the shoulder.
"It's getting late. Grandpa should be going. Naruto ought to rest too. This is the age when children grow the fastest."
"Okay!"
Naruto responded brightly and walked him to the door.
Soon, the Third Hokage's figure vanished into the snowy night outside the apartment building. Not long after, he returned to the brightly lit office in the Hokage Tower.
By then, Konoha beyond the window had fallen completely silent.
The village rested under its blanket of snow. The last traces of noise had long since faded, leaving only the deep stillness of winter night pressing softly against the glass.
The Third Hokage sat down behind his desk again. He refilled his pipe with fresh tobacco, tamped it down out of habit, and had only just picked up a match—
Bang!
The office door was shoved open so hard it struck the wall.
A thin, gloomy old man strode in without ceremony.
His right eye and half his body were wrapped in thick bandages. One hand gripped a cane, and every step he took carried a heavy, oppressive force that made the room seem to darken around him.
Shimura Danzo.
He didn't waste time on greeting or pretense. He came straight to the desk, his single exposed eye locking onto the Third Hokage like a blade. When he spoke, his hoarse voice cut straight to the heart of the matter.
"Hiruzen. I've received a report that Hiashi Hyuga made private contact with the jinchuriki. How can that be allowed?"
His voice rose with restrained agitation.
"What exactly is the Hyuga clan head trying to do by secretly approaching the Nine-Tails jinchuriki?"
The Third Hokage did not answer at once.
Instead, he struck the match, lit the tobacco in his pipe, and took two slow draws. Only after the smoke swirled through his lungs did he speak, as though trying to smooth over the sharpness in the room.
"Enough, Danzo. Calm down."
He exhaled a stream of smoke and said evenly, "I saw the entire thing myself. From beginning to end."
"It was nothing more than children having a meal together and a father coming to pick up his daughter. Don't turn every little thing into something dangerous."
"Hiruzen!"
Danzo's eye flashed even colder. He slammed the tip of his cane against the floor.
"You're too careless. Of Konoha's two great dojutsu clans, the Uchiha are already gone. Now only the Hyuga remain."
"In terms of size and internal cohesion, none of the other clans can compare to them. We must take precautions before they grow too powerful and threaten the balance of the village."
At that, the Third Hokage looked at him with a peculiar expression.
If we're talking about preventing one family from growing too strong, hasn't your Shimura faction expanded far faster than the Hyuga since you became the Hokage's advisor?
The thought passed through his mind, but he did not say it aloud.
Danzo took his silence for hesitation.
He struck the floor again with his cane, the dull sound echoing through the office, then pressed forward with the demand he had made more than once before.
"I've told you this many times. The jinchuriki is too important a strategic asset to be left wandering free. He should be handed over to Root for training."
His voice darkened with conviction.
"Hiruzen. Give the jinchuriki to me."
"Impossible."
The Third Hokage's refusal came immediately, cleanly, with no room for negotiation.
They had had this conversation too many times already. So many times, in fact, that he was sick of hearing it.
Danzo saw that the matter of Naruto would not budge. His tone shifted at once, as if he were stepping back—but the real fangs of the night were only now being revealed.
"If the jinchuriki is out of the question, then let's talk about the girl who came into contact with him today."
His single eye narrowed.
"That little girl was Hiashi Hyuga's eldest daughter. The future heir of the main family."
"Doesn't Hiashi have a second daughter as well? According to Hyuga custom, in another two years she'll receive the Caged Bird Seal and be assigned to the branch family."
Danzo leaned slightly on his cane and spoke with false calm, as though making a perfectly reasonable suggestion.
"Why not let that second daughter enter Root for training? Root can give her opportunities far beyond what the Hyuga can."
"Impossible!"
The Third Hokage slammed his palm onto the desk and rose to his feet in one swift motion.
The gentleness that usually cloaked his features vanished. In its place was unmistakable anger.
What exactly is Danzo trying to do?
Warning bells rang loudly in his mind.
First he wanted the jinchuriki. Now he was reaching toward the Hyuga main family's bloodline as well. Was he planning to use Root to gather the promising children of every major clan under his own influence?
What kind of grand scheme are you plotting, Danzo?
Are you trying to bypass me, the Hokage, and build a force that answers only to you?
"Hiruzen, you are too soft!"
Danzo did not retreat even in the face of his anger. His one eye remained fixed on the Third Hokage, dark obsession boiling inside it.
"You hesitate over everything. You worry about too much. If you followed my arrangements, none of this would become a problem."
He tightened his grip on the cane.
"If this continues, sooner or later, you'll regret your indecision."
"Enough, Danzo!"
The Third Hokage's voice exploded through the office like thunder, shaking the air with unyielding authority.
Then, staring directly into Danzo's eye, he declared each word with crushing force.
"I am the Hokage."
Danzo froze.
For an instant, the blood in his eye seemed to surge. Shock, fury, disbelief—everything twisted together in that fixed stare as he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing there with the full weight of the Hokage's authority bearing down on him.
That familiar posture.
That same lofty, unquestionable stance.
To Danzo, it was like a cluster of venomous thorns driven straight into the deepest wound in his heart.
I was the one who wanted to stay behind and cover the retreat too.
If you hadn't spoken first to the teacher—
The Hokage's seat...
That seat should have been mine.
Danzo clenched his jaw so hard it felt as if his molars might crack. A faint metallic taste spread into his mouth.
In the end, all that resentment, bitterness, jealousy, and humiliation compressed into a single sound squeezed from the depths of his throat.
"Hmph!"
He turned sharply and strode out without another word.
Bang!
The office door slammed shut behind him with a violent crash.
The echo rolled through the empty corridor outside like the lingering roar of a beast that had failed to get what it wanted, hanging in the silence for a long, long time.