After making Hinata promise that she would keep a close eye on Naruto, Iruka followed the shinobi who had a black bandana tied around his head and a thin bamboo toothpick perpetually hanging from his mouth to the Hokage’s Office.
Come to think of it, this was Iruka’s first time visiting the Hokage Building.
However, he had no interest in sightseeing.
His mind was occupied with one question: why had the Third Hokage summoned him?
It’s probably about the fact that I discovered the shinobi who was secretly watching me.
So what attitude is the Third Hokage going to take toward me?
Will he test me?
Reassure me?
Threaten me?
Or simply take action and bring me under his control?
As he silently considered every possible response, Iruka gently pushed open the door to the Hokage’s Office.
With an outwardly calm expression, he walked inside and went straight to the point, addressing the Third Hokage, who was seated behind his desk handling documents.
“Hokage-sama, what did you wish to see me about?”
“Oh, Iruka.
You’re here.”
The Third Hokage set down the document in his hand.
There was a trace of fatigue on his aged face.
At sixty-eight years old, remaining in the position of Hokage was undoubtedly a heavy burden.
Iruka couldn’t help wondering how much energy the old man still had left to shoulder the responsibilities of the village.
For some reason, Iruka knew that he should have been wary of the Third Hokage, who was also one of Konoha’s leaders.
From the perspective of someone in power, the Hokage might very well be suspicious of Iruka’s ability to manipulate force fields.
Yet when Iruka stood face-to-face with him, he found himself completely unable to summon even the slightest sense of vigilance.
Even the chakra he had discreetly gathered upon entering the room had naturally dispersed back into his body.
As if guided by instinct, he simply couldn’t show any hostility toward the Third Hokage.
A strange sense of reassurance welled up from deep within his heart, as though reminding him that the Third Hokage could never be his enemy.
So that’s it.
An instinct left behind by the original Iruka?
Just how deep was his bond with the Third Hokage?
Iruka sighed inwardly.
The instincts left behind by the original owner of this body made it impossible for him to feel hostility toward the Third Hokage.
All he could do now was hope that the Hokage had summoned him with no ill intentions.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to put up a fight.
In truth, Iruka should have been grateful that he didn’t feel hostile toward the Third Hokage.
After all, sensing hostile intent was one of the most fundamental skills of a shinobi.
For an expert like the Third Hokage, who had held the position of Hokage for decades, sensitivity to hostile intent was especially acute.
Even the slightest chakra directed against him could be detected immediately.
If Iruka had revealed any hostility toward him, he could forget about remaining in Konoha afterward.
In fact, the reason the Third Hokage hadn’t grown suspicious despite Iruka’s obvious change in personality was precisely because Iruka had never shown him any hostility.
The Third Hokage had watched Iruka grow up.
How could he possibly fail to notice that something was different?
Of course, Iruka knew nothing about any of this.
Seeing no reason to continue gathering chakra, he simply gave up.
At that moment, the Third Hokage suddenly pulled a sheet from among a stack of documents and handed it to him.
“This is the record sheet from Naruto and the others’ training yesterday, correct?”
Iruka took the sheet and gave it a cursory glance before nodding.
“Yes.
I was wondering why I couldn’t find it after searching everywhere.
So Hokage-sama was the one who found it.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
To Iruka’s surprise, the Third Hokage shook his head.
Seeing Iruka’s puzzled expression, he continued.
“A woman named Uchiha Gengetsu found it in the back hills.
She went to the Academy today specifically to return it to you, but you weren’t there.
She happened to run into me, so she asked me to pass it along.”
Uchiha Gengetsu?
Iruka thought about it, but the name stirred no memories whatsoever.
Apparently, she wasn’t someone the original Iruka had known.
Just as he was about to say as much, he suddenly remembered the black-haired girl he had encountered in the back hills the previous night.
“Could it have been her?”
“Oh?
You know her?”
For some reason, the Third Hokage’s expression immediately darkened when he realized that Iruka might have had some connection with the woman.
“I wouldn’t say I know her.
We just happened to meet once, so I recognized the name.”
“Is that so?
Good.”
The Third Hokage inexplicably seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Finding his reaction rather strange, Iruka asked curiously,
“What is it, Hokage-sama?
Is there something wrong with her?”
Iruka didn’t have any particular feelings toward Uchiha Gengetsu.
In fact, he felt nothing at all.
He had only struck up a conversation with her on a whim because he had been bored.
But the Third Hokage’s reaction had now sparked a hint of curiosity about her.
“There’s nothing wrong with her, but…
sigh.
Never mind that, Iruka.”
The Third Hokage seemed deliberately intent on changing the subject.
Iruka wisely chose not to press the matter.
Seeing that the Hokage apparently had something important to tell him, Iruka immediately straightened his posture.
“Yes, Hokage-sama!”
Here it comes.
This must be the real reason the Third Hokage summoned me.
Otherwise, why send a shinobi specifically to fetch me just to return an insignificant training record?
It had to be about the shinobi who had been secretly monitoring him.
Damn it.
If I’d known I wouldn’t stand a chance against the Third Hokage, I should have pretended not to notice when I discovered that watcher.
Then I wouldn’t be in such a passive position now.
Iruka silently regretted his moment of impulsiveness.
After taking a couple of puffs from his pipe, the Third Hokage finally spoke.
“If possible, don’t have any contact with the woman named Uchiha Gengetsu.
Better yet, don’t get involved with the Uchiha clan at all.”
“Huh?”
Iruka stared blankly at the Third Hokage.
He had never expected the matter the Hokage wanted to discuss to have absolutely nothing to do with what he had imagined.
More confusing still, why was the Hokage of all people concerned about the personal relationships of an ordinary chūnin?
Did the Hokage really have that much free time?
At this point, it was impossible for Iruka not to be curious about Uchiha Gengetsu.
Even after leaving the Hokage Building, the confusion hadn’t left his face.
He couldn’t figure out what the Third Hokage had meant.
Had the Hokage failed to mention the mysterious watcher because he knew nothing about it, or had he deliberately avoided bringing it up?
Although his life hadn’t been affected in any obvious way so far, that didn’t mean he could simply ignore the matter.
And even setting that aside, the situation involving the Uchiha clan continued to trouble him.
It wasn’t that Iruka particularly cared about Uchiha Gengetsu herself.
What concerned him was the Third Hokage’s warning not to get involved with the Uchiha clan.
No matter how little Iruka knew about the shinobi world, he had still heard of the Uchiha clan, who had helped found Konoha alongside the Senju clan.
Uchiha Sasuke was also one of the students he paid special attention to.
How could he possibly know nothing at all about the clan?
What could make the Hokage of all people speak with such caution when mentioning one of Konoha’s great clans?
Iruka frowned as he pondered the question.
Before he knew it, he had returned to one of Konoha’s bustling streets.
Looking at the long row of clothing stores around him, he finally realized that he had wandered into Konoha’s famous fashion district, a place generally frequented by young people eager to keep up with the latest trends.
Iruka, however, had no interest in the place.
As a shinobi, there were only a handful of occasions each year when he took off his green flak jacket.
There was little point in buying clothes he would rarely have the opportunity to wear, especially since he had never been much of a fashion enthusiast.
It’s getting late.
I should head home, clean up, and get some sleep~
Iruka let out a long yawn and turned to leave in the opposite direction when—
“Huh?!
The scar-faced pervert who was peeking up girls’ skirts?!”
A familiar voice suddenly rang out in front of him.
Iruka raised his head in confusion and immediately saw a black-haired girl in a pink dress staring directly at him.
Apparently satisfied that she had found the right person, the girl visibly relaxed.
She casually brushed the hair beside her ear behind it and addressed Iruka.
“Fancy meeting you again, you damn pervert.”