Chapter 30: "So Grandpa, did you carve that statue?"
Regarding the unspeakable events that occurred between Katsuragi and Hinata in the secluded room, they will not be described in detail here. Suffice to say, Katsuragi went to bed with a smile on his face that night!
Hinata, on the other hand, returned home with her face flushed red and hid in her room, barely touching her dinner. This led Hiashi to nearly think she was ill. After a thorough check revealed nothing was amiss, he finally relaxed.
Due to the academy schedule, Neji could no longer accompany Katsuragi and Hinata for training almost every day, managing only to visit occasionally during holidays.
Katsuragi was quite pleased with this arrangement, as it left him alone with Hinata more often, accelerating the growth of their relationship.
It's worth mentioning that since the grilled fish incident, Naruto seemed to have latched onto Katsuragi, and with the mysterious help of Uncle Ichiraku, he had even found Katsuragi's address, irritating Katsuragi to the point where he wanted to sneak out one night and smash Ichiraku Ramen's glass.
One afternoon, as Katsuragi returned from the Hyuga residence, he found a figure crouched at his doorstep counting ants, causing him a headache. He genuinely did not want to interact too much with Naruto.
He knew that aside from the Third Hokage, the village was under the clandestine influence of Danzo, a man who could be considered the shadow leader and was far from virtuous. In some ways, calling him a pervert wouldn't be an exaggeration. If Danzo noticed him, Katsuragi feared he might be ambushed and taken away one day.
"Naruto, haven't I told you not to come looking for me if it's not important?"
Approaching Naruto, Katsuragi spoke with resignation. This wasn't the first or second time this had happened. Ever since Naruto found out where he lived, he had been visiting almost daily. If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't enter the Hyuga compound, Katsuragi figured he would have followed him there too.
"Heh heh!"
Naruto scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly. Despite Katsuragi's repeated refusals, he never harshly turned him away, which is why Naruto kept coming back. He could feel that Katsuragi didn't dislike him, which wasn't the reason he was turned away.
"Katsuragi, were you training with Hinata again today?"
Watching Katsuragi sigh and invite him inside, Naruto eagerly followed up: "Are you both so strong because you always train?"
"Yes!"
Katsuragi nodded, made two cups of tea in the kitchen, then returned and explained, "If you don't train hard, how can you become stronger?"
Suddenly, Katsuragi paused, then turned the conversation towards dreams. "By the way, Naruto, do you have a dream?"
"A dream!?" Naruto was taken aback, then looked down at the clear green tea in his cup and said despondently, "I hope people will stop disliking me."
"Mm!" Observing Naruto's sadness, Katsuragi smiled and suggested, "Then become Hokage. You know the statues outside? Those are the Hokage of the past generations, each deeply respected and adored by the village."
"Especially the current Third Hokage! He's called the strongest Hokage!"
Though internally scoffing at this claim, Katsuragi put on a look of admiration, thinking he could be nominated for an Oscar in another life.
"Hokage!" Naruto muttered, considering something he had never thought possible. "If I become Hokage, will that make everyone stop disliking me, accept me?"
"Slam!" Naruto suddenly hit the table, startling Katsuragi enough that he almost spilled his tea, much like Naruto, whose own cup was now sloshing.
"I want to be Hokage..."
"Get a grip!" Katsuragi smacked Naruto on the head, annoyed. "Tea leaves are expensive, okay? Don't waste them like that!"
"Ow!" Rubbing his head, Naruto apologized, "Sorry, Katsuragi! Next time Grandpa gives me money, I'll pay you back!"
"Never mind that!" Katsuragi waved it off, not really concerned about the money. He then asked, "What were you trying to say?"
"I want to be Hokage! That's my dream!" Naruto declared, looking earnestly at Katsuragi, hoping for his approval.
After sensing that the intrusive feeling had vanished, Katsuragi finally relaxed and dismissively waved, "Well then, good luck!"
He then went to fetch a cloth to clean the table, feeling a bit used by having to play into such a staged dialogue just because the Third Hokage might have been watching.
"Eh!" Seeing Katsuragi suddenly deflate, Naruto was taken aback but didn't dwell on it. For him, Katsuragi was the first person to acknowledge his dream, which was enough to make him happy.
Now filled with an urgency to share his newfound dream, Naruto shouted as he ran out of Katsuragi's house, "I'll come see you again tomorrow!"
"Hold on, actually you don't..." Katsuragi started to respond, but it was too late. He sighed as he finished cleaning, "You don't have to come back tomorrow."
"Ah!" Katsuragi sighed as he tidied up, pondering, "After that performance, the Third should keep me safe from being taken by Danzo. After all, that was also a display of the Will of Fire, wasn't it?"
As Naruto excitedly ran through the village, Katsuragi's words had given him a glimpse of hope in a world that seemed overwhelmingly dark, a light he was desperate to turn into a blazing sun to dispel the surrounding shadows.
When Naruto reached the village's highest point, ready to shout "I want to be Hokage!" to everyone, a large hand landed on his shoulder, startling him.
"Grandpa!"
Turning around, Naruto joyfully greeted the man who had always cared for him, "What are you doing here?"
"Why are you not in bed at this hour? What are you doing up here?" The Third Hokage asked kindly, thinking to himself how long it had been since he'd seen Naruto smile like this, and felt a pang of regret for Minato.
"Grandpa, Grandpa!" Ignoring the Third Hokage's question, Naruto tugged at his sleeve, excitedly proclaiming, "I've found my dream!"
Though he had already seen everything through the crystal ball, the Third Hokage asked warmly, "Oh? What is it, Naruto?"
"I want to be Hokage! I want everyone to acknowledge me!"
Naruto shouted proudly, as if proclaiming a great achievement, "And I want to be the strongest Hokage, like the Third!"
"So you know who the Third Hokage is?" The Third continued, still smiling gently, playing along.
"Uh..." Naruto paused, scratching his head and sheepishly admitting, "I don't know!"
The Third pointed at the giant rock faces of the Hokages, "Look at the third one from the left, now look at me."
Naruto, confused, followed the Third's instructions and then slowly began to connect the dots.
"Could it be... could it be..."
"That's right, I am..." the Third began to confirm, but Naruto interrupted, "Did you carve that statue, Grandpa!?"
"Pfft!"
The Third almost spit out his tea, realizing that Naruto probably inherited more of Kushina's genes than Minato's, as there was no way Minato's genes could produce such a clueless child!
End of Chapter 30