At 2:30 in the afternoon, Sarutobi Hiruzen personally sat in front of Haruno Sakura to supervise her graduation exam.
Sakura completed the Clone Technique, Transformation Technique, and Substitution Technique perfectly, all in one go.
When Haruno Sakura received the forehead protector from Sarutobi Hiruzen himself, there was not much of a smile on his face.
Instead, he looked at her with a serious expression.
"Sakura, come with me."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Haruno Sakura remained calm, already anticipating this moment.
She had graduated, but there was still something she couldn't obtain—the Yin Seal.
During the past year, Sarutobi Hiruzen had granted her Super Strength and Teleportation abilities.
However, the so-called Yin Seal had not appeared, not even a trace of it.
Clearly, in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, it was enough for an eight-year-old child to master super strength and the teleportation technique, and she could take her time to learn more from then on.
And he was right.
For an eight-year-old Genin to have extraordinary strength and the ability to teleport instantly was already a remarkable achievement. This was the best possible configuration for her.
But Haruno Sakura was impatient. There were only two people who could teach the Yin Seal—Sarutobi Hiruzen and Tsunade.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was nearby, but Tsunade was probably running around the world, hiding from her creditors.
So, where could Haruno Sakura find her?
How could an eight-year-old Genin acquire the S-level secret technique, the Yin Seal, within a year under normal circumstances?
It seemed impossible to even consider. In this situation, Haruno Sakura had no choice but to take a risky move and catch her teachers by surprise.
Clearly, Sarutobi Hiruzen's actions were proof that Haruno Sakura's thoughts had been correct.
She just didn't know whether it was good or bad.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Haruno Sakura walked side by side in silence. The absence of conversation made Haruno Sakura's calm heart start to feel uneasy.
Eventually, they arrived at the highest point of Konoha, above the Hokage Rock.
The wind from the sky blew Sarutobi Hiruzen's cloak and fluttered the ends of Haruno Sakura's pink hair.
"Sakura..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice carried a note of helplessness.
From today's ambitious "Haruno Sakura's Will of Fire," it was clear that this cute little pink-haired girl was not as simple as she appeared.
"I'm here, Grandpa Hokage."
Haruno Sakura spoke, her tone laced with a hint of entanglement.
"Can you tell me what Hokage is?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly sat down on the ground, his tired, cloudy eyes gazing out at the land he had protected for so long.
A village for a lifetime. He had thought his life would simply pass by like this.
If he could train a pillar for Konoha in his final years, he could retire with honor.
But today, Haruno Sakura's graduation answer sheet had shaken his usually law-abiding heart.
Once, he had been known as a hero ninja.
But time had passed, and the title of "Ninja Hero" was now a thing of the past. The meaningless title of "Ninjutsu Doctor" had been bestowed upon him.
This meant the heroic ninja who once roamed the battlefield had disappeared from everyone's sight.
Now he was just a Ninjutsu Doctor who had spent decades in the village...
"Hokage..."
Haruno Sakura sat beside him, copying his posture, and looked at the view in front of her that she had only seen in anime. She began speaking softly:
"The Hokage is the father of the family."
"The teacher in class."
"The director of the street."
"The village chief."
"The head of state."
"But I prefer to describe him as the father of the family."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression shifted, and he responded:
"I remember Sakura's goal was to become the first female Hokage. Why, then, are you describing the Hokage as a father rather than a mother?"
The pink hair fluttered gently in the wind as Haruno Sakura met Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze and said:
"Because, compared to mothers, fathers are more rational. They can sometimes make more effective decisions, even if those decisions hurt the family's interests in the short term."
"But from a long-term perspective, from the overall interests, that decision is undoubtedly the correct one."
Her words left Sarutobi Hiruzen in silence.
He couldn't help but think back to the time he had made Hinata compromise.
Back then, the Hidden Cloud Village had planned to use a peace treaty as an excuse to attack the Byakugan, but they were caught in the act by Hyuga Hiashi, who eventually sacrificed himself to buy peace.
The village's senior officials secretly criticized him for it.
But... what could he do?
That was the end of the Third Great Ninja War. Almost all the capable ninjas in Konoha had been killed. The Fourth Hokage had just died, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was only three years old, and the Uchiha were still angry because of the Nine-Tails Rebellion. Danzo had begun eyeing them, and Kakashi's generation was still too young.
If Kakashi's generation was wiped out, Konoha would have no future.
"Ah," Sarutobi Hiruzen thought to himself, "so this is how Sakura sees the Hokage."
"You're right. The Hokage is indeed helpless in many ways," Sarutobi Hiruzen admitted.
"The Hokage, who seems so high and mighty, actually carries many unspeakable secrets..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but gently touch Sakura's soft pink hair.
He liked this child very much, but because he cared for her, he felt the need to have this conversation.
"Anything else?" he asked softly.
"Sakura's understanding of Naruto?"
Haruno Sakura blinked and relaxed her furrowed brows.
She felt the drama coming.
"You don't have to become a Hokage to earn everyone's approval."
"You can only become a Hokage if you gain everyone's approval."
When Sarutobi Hiruzen heard this, his eyes lit up slightly.
"Then the question is, how can you gain everyone's approval?"
"Is it enough to just talk about it?"
"Obviously, no," Haruno Sakura replied, standing up.
She faced the mountain breeze on the cliff, excitement evident in her eyes.
Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen had an uneasy feeling.
"In this world, everyone speaks the same language, writes the same characters, and uses the same coin."
"Hokage-sama, don't you think there are too many countries in this world?"
Sure enough, Haruno Sakura was no obedient child.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at her in shock, feeling a swirl of emotions as he struggled to find words.
Sakura continued, "If we can make all the people in Konoha live good lives and ensure that everyone in the Land of Fire has enough to eat..."
"Can such a person be called Hokage?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, "Yes."
Sakura then asked, "What if Konoha had peace for the first time and ended the suffering of war?"
"Can such a person be called Hokage?"
He answered again, "Yes."
Sakura's eyes glinted, and she asked one last question: "What if everyone could travel the world without worrying about their lives? Mountains, rivers, seas, ice, snow, deserts, and wander freely?"
"Can such a person be called Hokage?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen answered again, "Yes."
"Grandpa Hokage, I want to be the Hokage," Haruno Sakura said.
"The Hokage who makes all of this happen."
"My 'Will of Fire' is the starting point and the beginning of everything."
Haruno Sakura turned her gaze towards the village below her feet, her tone both light and heavy.