Sarutobi Hiruzen's stiff smile became even stiffer, and his face turned as rigid as old tree bark.
"Edward Newgate," Sarutobi Hiruzen said,
"Do you know what Naruto means to us in Konohagakure? Do you understand what your act of adopting Naruto as your son means in the eyes of Konohagakure?"
"Gurararara!" Why should I care? It's none of my business!" Whitebeard shrugged.
"I'll adopt whomever I want as my son, this is my style!"
"..." Sarutobi Hiruzen had never encountered such a vulgar person.
"Naruto's father is a hero of Konohagakure!" He emphasized,
"His father can't possibly be someone from an outside village."
As soon as these words left his mouth, tension filled the air.
"A hero?" Whitebeard looked peculiarly. "So, you mean Naruto is the son of a hero?"
"That's right! Both Naruto's father and mother were heroes of Konohagakure. They sacrificed everything for our village!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen stated. "I promised them that I would take good care of their child, and they would never allow Naruto to recognize someone else as his father."
"... Gurararararararara!"
Whitebeard couldn't help it and burst into laughter.
"Naruto is the son of Konohagakure's heroes, and he's treated like this?"
He continued his laughter.
"Is this what you call taking care of Naruto? Do you know what my idiot son has been through? Since he was a child, he's been ostracized by your village."
"Demon fox! You should be familiar with those words, right? As the Hokage of this village, I don't believe you're unaware of this. Since Naruto is the son of heroes, why is he ostracized by so many people? The bullying he endured was inflicted by everyone in this village. Even though I'm a pirate, I damn well know that this is wrong!!!"
Bang!!!
Whitebeard slapped the ground with a palm, without using any Devil Fruit ability or Haki. It was just pure physical strength.
The ground shook for a while as if an earthquake had occurred.
The gaze of the world's strongest man seemed like a fierce and ancient beast, staring at the Third Hokage of Konohagakure!
They stared at each other
Seemingly ready to break out in a fight at any moment.
"Naruto, you cannot recognize someone else as your father!" Sarutobi Hiruzen remained firm in his belief. He couldn't allow Naruto to form another bond. So that the Nine-Tails would be controlled by Konohagakure.
"Why, Grandpa Hokage?" Naruto's voice interjected, not very loud but audible to everyone. "I've never had parents since I was little... People in the village have always hated me."
"My Pops doesn't hate me, and he doesn't care that I'm a Demon Fox... Why can't I recognize him as my Pops? Why can't I have a family?"
As he said this, tears welled up in Naruto's eyes.
He realized that at this moment, the Third Hokage felt somewhat unfamiliar.
The Third Hokage he remembered wasn't like this.
"Naruto, you're still young," Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to maintain a smile. "When you grow up, you'll understand."
He was about to reach out and ruffle Naruto's hair, wanting to make a more affectionate gesture.
But his hand found nothing.
Instead, Whitebeard directly lifted Naruto.
"Foolish son, what's there to cry about Gurararara! You must always remember this, you're my family, and I'm your family. That's enough."
"Boss put the bill on this deadbeat guardian. Consider it his way of paying off a debt!" Whitebeard boldly enjoyed a hearty meal for all to see.
Right there, in front of everyone, he put Naruto on his shoulder.
He raised his naginata with one hand and he left immediately
*snap...*
The already damaged smoking pipe was directly crushed into two pieces by Sarutobi Hiruzen, and they fell to the ground.
He was trembling with anger,
and his hands couldn't help but form seals.
"Earth Release..."
"Hokage-sama," Kakashi suddenly spoke up, "It seems that Whitebeard doesn't know that Naruto is a Jinchuriki. His affection for Naruto as a father doesn't seem like an act. Also, Minato-sensei's son truly needs a family."
Sarutobi Hiruzen paused in his actions, turned back, and glanced at Kakashi. "Kakashi, as Minato's disciple, shouldn't you do more than just watch without my orders?"
Kakashi said flatly, "Without Hokage's orders, I don't know what to do."
He added, "When those Uchiha almost went after Whitebeard, the Nine-Tails' power inside Naruto nearly surfaced."
"What?" Sarutobi Hiruzen was suddenly surprised. "The seal loosened? Is it because it's been too long?"
Kakashi explained, "Naruto's emotions almost broke through the seal, indicating that he has established a very deep bond with Whitebeard."
"A bond strong enough to break the seal?" Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath,
Realizing that the situation was unfavorable for Konohagakure.
"That's indeed the case,"
Dammit!
How did this Whitebeard suddenly emerge?
In such a short time, how did he establish this bond with Naruto? Even he couldn't do it.
The Uchiha clan was becoming restless.
The unexpected situation with the Jinchuriki.
Two major issues weighed heavily on Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage.
Giving him a massive headache.
"Kakashi!" Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Kakashi.
"Now, I'm giving you a new order. From today onwards, you will be watching Naruto as the anbu instead. We absolutely cannot let Naruto's Will of Fire be influenced by other ideologies."
Sarutobi Hiruzen realized that even if they got rid of Whitebeard, it would be challenging to sever the bond between Naruto and him.
If Anbu were to assassinate Whitebeard,
Naruto would probably go berserk.
If the Nine-Tails Rampage were to occur in Konohagakure again, the village would undoubtedly suffer heavy losses, especially with no Sannin present to deal with the Nine-Tails.
As one of the great Shinobi of his generation in the Ninja World,
Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly considered an alternative plan.
He had to take Naruto back from Whitebeard and ensure that his bond with Naruto surpassed that of Whitebeard.
"Also," Sarutobi Hiruzen continued, "They must not leave the village. The Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki must not leave Konohagakure!"
"Understood," Kakashi responded with a calm demeanor.
He seemed to have seen through the intentions of the Third Hokage and the higher-ups in Konohagakure.
He had no further reactions to this.
Kakashi put away the dirty book before leaving. He said to Sarutobi Hiruzen,
"Hokage-sama, how about you help me settle the bill for that bowl of ramen?"
"Yeah" Sarutobi Hiruzen, his mind in disarray, could hardly focus.
He absentmindedly agreed.
After Kakashi left, he heaved a deep sigh. The expression on his face was even more unpleasant than before, resembling Danzo's expression.
"Uh, Hokage-sama," the owner timidly said, "Shouldn't you settle the bill first?"
Dammit! Naruto almost got taken away!
Now he had to pay for Whitebeard's meal too!
Sarutobi Hiruzen, his face dark, took out 300 ryo coins from his wallet and placed them on the table. "No need for change."
"Uh, Hokage-sama, 300 ryo isn't enough,"
the sage of six bowls said, rubbing his hands nervously. "Kakashi-san had one bowl of ramen, Naruto had two, and Whitebeard had 56 bowls."
"One bowl of ramen costs 80 ryo, and the total is 4,720 ryo. How about I round it down for Hokage-sama? 4,700 ryo should do."
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."
What??
Sarutobi Hiruzen almost cursed in his heart. He reluctantly emptied his wallet, and just as he was about to place the money on the table.
Suddenly.
His face changed dramatically.
The ground under his feet started shaking violently. Starting from Ichiraku Ramen cracks rapidly spread in all directions, with the ramen shop at the epicenter, the only building left unharmed.
"What is this?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's pupils constricted.
He fixed his gaze on the seal on the ground. "Is it that Whitebeard?"
The center of the massive cracks was precisely the seal!
"Edward Newgate... Who are you?"
The situation seemed to be getting more complicated.
.....
.....
====================================================
You can support me on Patreon and Read 25++ Chapters in advance
pat reon.com/GMadman
====================================================
Give me your power stone,
Add this novel to your Library,
And Give me your review of this novel