["Now, let us welcome the leader whom everyone loves and respects—the Third Hokage, Lord Hokage, to speak~!"]
["Hehehe, children, hello~"]
["Where the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire will burn forever."]
["..."]
[Young Naruto wore a bright smile, but in truth his thoughts had already drifted far away.]
[Shikamaru picked at his ear, glanced at Chōji who was secretly snacking, then stepped in front of him, leaned back, half-closed his eyes, and began dozing off.]
[Ino pulled Sakura and Hinata over, whispering to them on the side.]
[That nuisance named Sasuke was still striking a tsundere pose. As a result, when he arrived late, the few of them tacitly ignored him completely.]
[On stage, once Sarutobi Hiruzen took the microphone, his mouth didn't stop moving.]
[His favorite thing was preaching the Will of Fire.]
[And since he was also the principal of the Ninja Academy, this stage suited him perfectly.]
[The Will of Fire.]
[The Strongest Hokage — the Third Hokage.]
[These things had been drilled into them since childhood, and with the speaker being the so-called Strongest Hokage,]
[one by one, their eyes continuously burst with fervent light.]
[Young Naruto blended in seamlessly with them.]
[The five kids were already used to it.]
["Naruto-kun… you're amazing~" Hinata stole a glance at young Naruto, the corners of her lips lifting unconsciously.]
["That's the eighth time, Hinata." Ino knocked lightly on Hinata's head.]
["We're having a serious discussion. Stop staring at Naruto!"]
["Mm-hm!" Sakura nodded vigorously in agreement.]
[Then she immediately received an "you too" from Ino.]
[In the blink of an eye, ten minutes passed.]
[And these kids were still listening patiently!]
[Seeing this,]
[the smile on Sarutobi Hiruzen's old face deepened even further.]
[He hurriedly took a tactical sip of water, brewing his emotions and wording.]
[In the end, aside from starting every paragraph with "Where the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire burns forever" for forced rhyme, the rest of his wording was utter garbage.]
[Whether others felt that way or not, young Naruto didn't know—but that was exactly how he felt.]
[This old thing could only fool these stupid villagers, constrained by lifelong indoctrination and internalized ideological conditioning.]
[Otherwise, with his mouth alone, he really wasn't capable of deceiving anyone—at best, he was just a senile parrot.]
Orochimaru: "That metaphor is very vivid."
Orochimaru: "Teacher Sarutobi really only ever repeats those few lines."
Danzō Shimura: "Hmph! Damn jinchūriki—who knew he'd say something so reasonable… but the Strongest Hokage isn't strong because of his mouth! Right, Hiruzen?!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Danzō, shut up!!!"
Danzō Shimura: "Lord Tobirama, look—this is the Hokage you chose. Tsk tsk tsk~"
Senju Tobirama: Danzō!!!
Danzō Shimura: "Truly a perfect inheritance! My apologies for interrupting—go ahead and enjoy being Hokage!"
Temari: "A beast in human skin."
["Children, remember everything I said today, alright?"]
[Sarutobi Hiruzen asked kindly, his gaze sweeping across young Naruto, who looked equally absorbed.]
[His expression was full of benevolence.]
[Unaware that in young Naruto's eyes, his current appearance was utterly nauseating.]
[And along with him, this entire group of people disgusted young Naruto as well.]
[As if not a single normal person existed among them.]
[As for whether he had truly comprehended the so-called Will of Fire, young Naruto didn't know.]
[But if he were to place a blade against the throats of those children who cursed and insulted him, they would immediately parrot the Will of Fire again and call everyone in the village "one big family."]
[No—this actually proved that they truly had comprehended the Will of Fire.]
[It was simply a version belonging exclusively to the Third Hokage.]
Uzumaki Kushina: "Well said!"
Uzumaki Kushina: "That really is exactly how these people are—how did I not think of that earlier?!"
Uzumaki Kushina: "As expected of my son—he hit the core in one sentence. These people are just like that old monkey: hypocritical, sinister, and profit-driven!"
Uchiha Izuna: That's just the Senju temperament.
Senju Tobirama: That's the Sarutobi clan, damn it! If you want to curse someone, curse me—don't drag the Senju into it!
Uchiha Izuna: "..."
["You must always remember the Will of Fire."]
["The future belongs to you."]
["You are Konoha's tender shoots—its hope."]
[After saying a few final words with a smile, Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped down amid thunderous applause.]
[After that, class assignments began.]
[Not much time was wasted.]
[Iruka excitedly led the children to their classroom.]
[After letting them choose their seats freely, he told them they could leave. Classes would officially begin tomorrow.]
["Alright, kids—be careful on your way home~"]
[As a first-time homeroom teacher, Iruka was very nervous.]
["Yes! Goodbye, teacher~!"]
[The children greeted him one after another.]
[Iruka smiled and responded to each of them.]
[But at the very end, his smile froze for several seconds.]
[He then forced himself to hold on until everyone left.]
[After that, he hurriedly locked the classroom door and rushed toward the office.]
[However, Sarutobi Hiruzen was already nowhere to be found.]
[Iruka could only lower his head and sit helplessly under a large tree on campus, waiting.]
["That child… yes, that child."]
["The one who's been causing such a stir these past two years—I couldn't possibly be mistaken."]
["Why did he have to be assigned to my class?"]
[Despite trying hard to restrain himself, intense disgust still appeared on Iruka's face.]
Naruto saw this scene and fell silent.
Many times, he actually understood a lot.
But most of the time, he preferred using fake bravado and thoughtless behavior to cover up cruel truths.
'Iruka-sensei really was like this at the beginning.'
'But Iruka-sensei is different from the others!'
Mei Terumī: "I think Black-Frame Naruto probably won't interact much with this Iruka teacher."
Mei Terumī: "Black-Frame Naruto can easily sense others' goodwill and malice toward him."
Mei Terumī: "Besides, in the earlier golden-frame screen, Iruka was already fond of constantly talking about the Third Hokage and the Will of Fire."
Temari: "Given how much Black-Frame Naruto despises the Will of Fire, this Iruka teacher has even less chance of becoming another white moonlight in his life."
Senju Tobirama: Hmph.
Senju Tobirama: That monkey deliberately arranged this. Just keep watching.
Iruka Umino: "That's not it, Lord Tobirama… you also saw the child in the golden-frame screen. It was more because of my own problems…"
Senju Tobirama: I'm not saying you're bad. On the contrary, you're a good teacher—your ability is average, but your heart is sincere.
Senju Tobirama: Unfortunately, you don't understand what all of this represents.
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