Naruto, born from the world of his parents.

While talking with the Third Hokage and the advisors, Minato suddenly paused and looked in the direction of the Hokage Building.

"Watergate?"

Noticing Minato's unusual behavior, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly spoke up to remind him.

Although Minato has completely won over the Konoha elders led by him over the years, it is precisely for this reason that Hiruzen Sarutobi does not want any twists and turns to occur.

After all, his old friends were all restless ninjas.

Minato turned his head and bowed slightly to the group: "Sorry, I suddenly thought of something just now."

"I see. We should be mindful of etiquette when interacting with the elders."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, and after offering a mild criticism of Minato from the elders' perspective, he was about to speak up for Minato again when Koharu Utatane interrupted him.

"Hey, Hiruzen, Minato, as Hokage, must have many things to deal with. We're just his assistants, old folks who serve him with our meager experience. How can you talk to him like that?"

Koharu Utatane's words startled Hiruzen Sarutobi. He looked at his old friend, who was still clinging to the place, with some surprise. His lips moved as if he was about to say something, but Homura Mitokado, who was standing next to him, chimed in.

"Koharu is right. As a retired old man, Hiruzen, you went a bit too far with your words."

"Hmph, always harboring such a weak mentality. If we hadn't chosen such an excellent successor as Minato, someone like you would have made a complete mess of the village."

On the other side, Danzo Shimura also delivered a scathing critique.

With just one sentence, Hiruzen Sarutobi became the target of everyone in the room except Minato.

This unexpected scene even made Hiruzen Sarutobi almost lose control of his expression.

He slightly opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but was forcefully interrupted by Koharu Utatane: "Stop with your nonchalant attitude. Konoha only needs one voice right now!"

These words completely broke Hiruzen Sarutobi's composure. He pursed his lips, looking at Koharu Utatane and Danzo and Enma, who were standing to the side with expressions of agreement, as if they were monsters, feeling an indescribable sense of frustration.

No, she was using all my words!

You should know that Hiruzen had said these words to Koharu Utatane more than once. He never expected that one day he would hear these words from Koharu Utatane's mouth, especially from her.

This reality, beyond comprehension, left Hiruzen feeling an indescribable sense of absurdity.

"alright."

Minato Namikaze intervened, stopping this farce that had been incredibly embarrassing for Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He nodded to Hiruzen and then looked at the Hokage who were assisting him.

"The Third Generation Lord is right. It was indeed my fault just now. I apologize to everyone for my rudeness."

Upon hearing this, the group's expressions changed, and Koharu Utatane quickly waved her hands and said, "Oh dear, Hiruzen is just talking nonsense, it's not that serious."

"Yes."

Mitomon agreed.

"Minato, you deserve immense credit for making the village so glorious. We also believe that you wouldn't suddenly be distracted unless something particularly important happened."

"Yes."

"So, more important than any attitude is the next goal, don't you think, Minato?"

"Yes……"

Mitomon Homura was interrupted by Danzo halfway through his sentence, who said, "I have something else to say."

"Please speak, Danzo advisor."

"Lord Hokage, I believe that there cannot be two suns in the sky, just as there cannot be two Hokage on earth. Since Hiruzen has retired, it is no longer appropriate for him to be called Hokage. I think this matter is very important."

Danzo's sudden attack shifted the focus of fire back to Hiruzen Sarutobi, but Hiruzen remained unmoved, even somewhat pleased.

Over the years, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been caught in the middle between his old friends and Minato, and he had long been fed up with it. Although he didn't know why his old friends were behaving this way today, this was definitely what he wanted to see. So he immediately stated, "Danzo is right. Konoha only needs one direction, and that is Minato's direction. I have been saying this all along, but I overlooked this point. This was my oversight."

As he spoke, he looked at the water gate, his cloudy, aged eyes brimming with satisfaction.

"I will keep everyone in check, so Minato, please stop calling me the Third Generation. I'm just a retired old man."

"But……"

Seeing that Minato still seemed hesitant, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly changed the subject: "Minato, do you find the Kazekage's words credible?"

……

Inside the office, after seeing off several of the Hokage's assistants, Itachi's mood remained unsettled.

Just after sending Izumi home, he immediately returned to the place where the Kazekage was being held captive, where he happened to run into Minato and the Hokage's assistants who had come out.

He watched the entire play, which he considered somewhat absurd.

Are you surprised?

The sound of Minato reached Itachi's ears along with the rising steam from the tea.

Upon hearing Minato's words, Itachi immediately straightened up.

Before Itachi could answer, Minato continued, "That's actually quite normal."

"People have needs. Although they may seem strange and varied, they all boil down to fame and fortune. Since they have benefited from the village's development over the years, they naturally pursue fame now."

Itachi certainly understood who they were referring to, but he was still incredibly confused.

Minato, who had his back to him, seemed to see through his confusion and said gently, "Sit down and have a cup of tea with me."

Itachi sat opposite Minato, respectfully accepting the teacup Minato offered. Looking at the face that was gradually losing its childishness through the mist, Minato smiled.

"Before we knew it, Itachi had grown up."

Itachi didn't know how to answer for a moment, and could only stare silently at the tea in front of him.

"In the past, I could only bring them profit, but they didn't believe, or dared not believe, that I could bring them fame. But today, they are certain of it."

Minato picked up his teacup and slowly sipped the tea. Perhaps it was out of a teacher-student relationship without any formal title, perhaps it was so that this Uchiha successor could better control the Uchiha clan, or perhaps it was because this child had helped him teach Naruto ninjutsu today.

Shuimen started talking more.

"Over the years, I have indeed done some things, such as repelling the Raikage brothers, forcibly keeping the Three-Tails at the Five Kage Summit, and making the village more prosperous. However, these are all things that the First Hokage did, or even did better. Even the First Hokage only maintained the structure of the ninja village. Therefore, in the eyes of the Hokage's assistants, I am just a slightly better Hokage. They are willing to obey me, but this is just obedience, not conquest."

"But today, after witnessing the Kazekage's submission, they realized that the world has changed. This change has shown them new possibilities, and their actions today are simply to leave their mark on these new possibilities."

"Lord Hokage."

This was the first time Itachi had spoken since entering the house.

Upon hearing Itachi's voice, Minato Namikaze smiled and gestured for him to continue.

Itachi hesitated for a moment before asking, "Is it just because of one possibility?"

Minato smiled but didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in the office, which was as big as an entire wall, and quietly looked down at the village bathed in the glow of the setting sun.

He gazed at the crowd laughing and joking under the warm, orange sunlight for an unknown amount of time before softly saying, "Of course not."

He turned his head and smiled at Itachi sitting at the table: "Because this is the possibility I created."