After touring the exam site, Sakura returned home to review her notes, leaving Naruto and Sasuke behind. The two academic failures weren't the least bit worried about the upcoming written test, so they headed back to the training grounds to continue their daily practice.
By dusk, Naruto had shown off his "Door Technique" to Konohamaru, who was absolutely ecstatic, jumping up and down in excitement. As he headed home, the kid mimicked Naruto's fluid movements with the door, eerily reminiscent of how Sasuke had once been obsessed with mastering the Executioner's Blade. This new, novel taijutsu style had opened the door—quite literally—to a whole new world for the eight-year-old.
That night, after a long day's work, the Third Hokage, bent with age, rubbed his sore back as he made his way home. He thought about how well-behaved Naruto had been lately, and a warm sense of relief washed over him.
Sigh... It's about time.
It seemed like that mission outside the village, where Naruto had faced off against the Mist rogue ninja, had finally helped him mature. Perhaps it was time to stop viewing Naruto through the lens of his past mischief. Even Jiraiya, after causing so many headaches in his youth, had turned into someone reliable once he'd grown up.
As the Third Hokage thought of Jiraiya, another disciple's image came to mind. His most promising student had, unfortunately, defected from the village. He looked up at the moon, its light casting long shadows over his wrinkled face, and sighed.
"I'm really getting old..."
Standing there, melancholy in the breeze, he eventually gathered himself and walked through the gate of his home. But the moment he stepped inside, he froze, quickly taking a step back.
The gate to his home was gone. Only the frame remained.
The Third rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"What in the world...? Where's my gate?!"
Standing in place, utterly stunned, he tried to process what he was seeing. Who on earth had the audacity to steal from the Hokage? Could it be... an outsider?
The upcoming Chūnin Exams had brought many foreign ninjas into Konoha. It wasn't impossible that some reckless ninja had dared to pull a stunt like this.
And then... Naruto had mentioned something about spies from the Sand Village...
Could he have been right?
With that thought, the Third pulled out a kunai and stepped cautiously through the gateframe. But as he ventured further inside, his anxiety only grew.
Not only had the front gate been stolen—every door in the house was gone, leaving just the doorframes. Panicked, he searched every room, but it seemed... nothing else had been taken.
"Just what in the world happened?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he heard familiar noises coming from the backyard—a series of loud "heave-ho" grunts.
Following the sounds, he walked over to his training grounds, where he was met with a scene that nearly made him black out on the spot.
His grandson, Konohamaru, was wielding a large wooden door, swinging it wildly as though it were a weapon. Several other doors lay neatly stacked beside him.
At that moment, the Third Hokage finally understood what had happened to his house's doors.
It was his grandson.
There's no defense against a thief in your own home.
Konohamaru noticed his grandfather and grinned widely. Gripping the door with both hands, he charged toward the Third, shouting:
"Grandpa! Let's duel! Today, I'm finally going to defeat you!"
"I'm going to be the Fifth Hokage!"
THUD
Because the door blocked his vision, Konohamaru promptly tripped over his own feet and face-planted, taking the door down with him.
"Curses! Grandpa, you're so sneaky, setting traps ahead of time!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: …
The Third Hokage was struck speechless by his grandson's antics.
Usually, Konohamaru would pull out kunai or shuriken to charge at him. But today... something was different.
This... this feels suspiciously like... Naruto's influence.
The Third looked at Konohamaru, then at the neatly stacked doors, an increasing sense of dread rising within him.
No... it can't be...
He's not hanging out with Naruto, is he?
The thought alone made him gulp down a wave of nausea. Finally, after a long pause, he managed to ask Konohamaru, his voice hoarse with dread:
"You... Who taught you to use a door as a weapon?"
Please don't say his name... please don't say it...
Konohamaru, who had been nursing his scraped knees, immediately perked up and excitedly answered:
"It was Big Bro Naruto! I'm going to be just like him when I grow up!"
Thud—
The world went dark for the Third Hokage as he nearly passed out. Gasping, he clutched his chest with one hand and fumbled for his heart medicine with the other.
It's over!
I tried so hard to prevent this, but it wasn't enough!
Leaning against the wall, the elderly Hokage slowly sank down, his breathing growing labored.
Seeing his grandfather's sudden change in demeanor, Konohamaru's face paled in fear. He rushed over, his voice trembling with concern.
"Grandpa, are you okay?"
Hearing his grandson's worried voice brought a bit of relief to the old man. At least the boy still had a sense of care and family...
"I'll... I'll be fine... Just give Grandpa a moment to catch his breath."
Konohamaru grinned and, as if nothing had happened, proudly continued:
"By the way, Grandpa, what do you think of my Konoha Door Technique? Pretty awesome, right?"
The Third Hokage barely kept himself from fainting again.
We have all these ninjutsu scrolls at home... and you chose to master... a door?
What on earth is a 'Konoha Door Technique,' anyway?!
He felt like his blood pressure pills weren't enough anymore. Tomorrow, he might need to ask the hospital for something even stronger.
"Where's your teacher, Ebisu?"
"Oh... Uh... Haha, who knows?" Konohamaru replied, his eyes shifting evasively as he whistled innocently.
"Damn it, Naruto! Corrupting the Hokage's grandson!"
At the Team 7 training grounds, Ebisu hung upside down from a tree, hands and feet tied in an embarrassingly awkward position. He was fuming with anger, shouting uselessly into the void.
Worst of all was the ridiculous way he had been bound. Even if Kakashi passed by, he would probably just whistle and walk away.
Naruto slurped up some noodles, ignoring the bound man.
This guy wouldn't stop yapping as soon as he saw Naruto, always going on about the "evil" Uzumaki kid or how Naruto was "ruining" Konoha.
And that... Uzumaki Naruto could not tolerate.
Wasn't it enough that he had bled for this village countless times? And now this middle-aged man had the nerve to slander him like this?
So, in response, Naruto had tied him up and hung him in the tree for a little "time out."
Frankly, if Naruto had found a gag, he would've used it.
As for worrying about the Third Hokage giving him grief over this... Naruto couldn't care less.
That bespectacled guy had no business teaching Konohamaru. Naruto was convinced that he could train the kid much better. And soon, all of Konoha would see just how strong Konohamaru could become under his guidance.
Yeah... I'll talk to the Third after tomorrow's exam about taking over.
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