Naruto, the strongest Uchiha from signing in.

Waking up from his thoughts, little Naruto looked at the strange old man who suddenly appeared and shook his head vigorously.

"Da-Mei, this is my dinner. If I give it to you, I'll be hungry."

Little Naruto refused outright, but was still wondering in his heart whether Huayue-ge would change his mind. The spiritual figure standing in mid-air narrowed his eyes slightly, full of sarcasm.

An important military commander of the Land of Fire, the Third Hokage of Konoha Village, and the legendary ninja professor.

Not only did he shamelessly try to get close to the child, but he also tried to take the opportunity to trick the child into buying dinner. If the long-lost group of people in the Shock Department knew about this, they would probably write a hundred shocking news articles with different viewpoints.

"What a pity, old man, I'm all alone. If I go home, there won't even be any food for me. Alas!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, and Kagetsu, who was standing in mid-air, twitched her mouth. I wanted to watch your performance quietly, but I didn't expect you to be so shameless.

As the Third Hokage, he could go anywhere to get a meal, but whenever he appeared in front of any store, every Konoha villager would warmly welcome him. At the very least, he could get a meal of stew from Maruboshi Kosuke.

Upon hearing this, the Nine-Tails, which had been silently paying attention to little Naruto, sneered. In that battle three years ago, you were very energetic, but now you have become a lonely old man?

After being stunned for a while, seeing that the strange old man in front of him was indeed pitiful, Naruto was about to hand over the grilled fish when he heard a familiar voice in his mind.

"Don't believe it, he's lying to you. Take a closer look, does this face look familiar to you..."

After Huayue's reminder, the usually nervous Naruto realized that the old man in front of him was very similar to the third Shadow Rock from the left to the right on the Hokage Rock he often visited.

"Really! Then this weird old man is the third Hokage. Why would the Hokage be without food? People in the village often say that the Hokage is the strongest and most respected person. How can a respectable person be without food?"

The young Naruto had no idea what expression management was, and subconsciously asked in his heart, Huayue silently

He froze the image just now and then explained.

"Because he is lying to you. As the village chief and the most respected person in Konoha Village, how could he be without food?"

"Remember I told you that once I am discovered by others, especially the Third Hokage in front of you, I will have no choice but to disappear from your life."

"In this way, I will have no choice but to leave the village alone, and it will be difficult for us to be friends like we are now."

In an instant, Naruto's pupils shrank, and the loneliness in his heart was barely dispelled. This strange old man in front of him was going to take away his friend?

No, absolutely not!

"Brother Huayue, what should I do?"

"Don't panic, follow my plan..."

Outside, the Third Hokage saw that little Naruto was a little hesitant, so he struck while the iron was hot again and pretended to be a pitiful old man.

"If you really don't want to, I won't force you..."

"Grandpa, wait here for a moment. I'll be back soon."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked puzzled, only to see little Naruto running deep into the woods with a few grilled fish, and soon he returned with a simple fishing rod.

"Look, Grandpa, you've done your fishing. I heard from the people in the village that only those who can earn their living are useful. Grandpa should strive to become a useful person."

At this moment, if Sarutobi Hiruzen was wearing a pipe and took a puff, he would definitely be choked to death.

Who is he? The pillar of Konoha Village, the head of this big family, if even he has become a useless person, who else is useful in Konoha Village?

But just in time, Sarutobi Hiruzen took the fishing rod and climbed down the pole.

"That makes sense. When you grow up, you have to be a self-reliant person who is useful to the village. As long as you have good intentions towards others and study hard in the future, you can become an excellent ninja..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke softly, unwinding his years-honored rhetoric about the Will of Fire, his cloudy old eyes flashing with a different brilliance.

He didn't notice at all that the child in front of him, who was listening to him attentively, had a distracted look in his eyes.

In his inner world, young Naruto looked at Kagetsu in confusion.

"By becoming a ninja, I can be recognized by others and have them become my friends. I always feel that this old Hokage is a little weird. Is being a ninja really that good?"

"No, only power can change people's opinion of you. Becoming a ninja is just a way to gain power..."

Seeing that little Naruto was concentrating, Huayue immediately spoke, her tone filled with infinite magic, enough to lure anyone into the abyss.

Huayue: "Then let me ask you, who is the person who rules this village now?"

Naruto: "Yeah, it's the Hokage."

Kagetsu: "What kind of person can become Hokage?"

Little Naruto: "The strongest person in the village, the one most trusted by the people in the village..."

Huayue: "That's right. Only the strongest person in the village can protect others when the village is in danger. It is because of this protection that the Hokage is the Hokage."

Little Naruto suddenly realized that without power he could not protect himself and others, so he could not be trusted by others and could not transform himself from 'that' into 'Uzumaki Naruto'.

"So, as long as I have the power to become Hokage, others will recognize me, right?"

Little Naruto looked at Huayue eagerly, and saw a pale and powerful hand under the demon fox mask, rubbing his hair hard.

"It's not that you can become Hokage just because you have the power to become Hokage. It's that you can be recognized by others only if you are trusted by others from the bottom of their hearts. And this requires..."

In the real world, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and asked little Naruto who was "thinking for a long time" beside him.

"Child, what kind of person do you want to be in the future?"

His eyes were full of anticipation. Even though little Naruto was still young, the personal guidance of the Third Hokage would surely arouse Naruto's interest in becoming Hokage.

"Why should I become a human? I have such complicated feelings. I have decided that I will become a nine-tailed demon fox from now on. Anyway, those guys say that I am 'that'. Becoming 'that' will gain recognition from others, right?"

Because others called Naruto the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, Naruto decided to become the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox to express his recognition of his identity as a demon fox...

This astonishing logical cycle left Sarutobi Hiruzen dumbfounded for a moment. After he came to his senses, he could only force a smile when he was about to get angry.

"Naruto-chan, there are some differences between recognition and approval. Regarding positive and negative approval..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was about to give a long speech, suddenly turned his head. The Anbu hiding in the shade of a tree held up an important document in his hand. The word "Top Secret" on it made Sarutobi's heart sink.