The door to the hospital room opened once again.
This time, however, it wasn’t just the nurse responsible for Naruto’s care.
A whole group entered.
Surrounded by several Konoha shinobi and a number of ANBU, an elderly man stepped into the room.
Following behind him was the nurse who had fainted earlier.
Naruto had already heard them approaching.
Even so, he kept his eyes tightly shut, pretending to be asleep.
In fact, while practicing his sensory ability moments ago, he had already “seen” them coming.
He also knew that the elderly man leading the group was none other than the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen was known as both the Professor and The Strongest Hokage .
He had reportedly mastered all five basic chakra natures from a young age and could even combine techniques of different elemental affinities.
Not only that, he was said to have mastered over a thousand jutsu.
The five nature transformations, secret techniques, taijutsu, genjutsu.
He had trained extensively in all of them.
He had also thoroughly studied nearly every technique within Konoha.
That was why he earned the title of The Professor.
At one point, he had even been hailed as the strongest Hokage.
Although later developments in the series had quietly walked that claim back.
Even though Naruto knew it was the Third Hokage and even though Hiruzen was one of the few people in the original story who genuinely cared about Naruto.
He had no intention of exposing himself.
He wasn’t stupid.
How many politicians were ever simple people?
Take Hyūga Hizashi, for example.
Who had ultimately been sacrificed?
Everyone knew Kumogakure had come to steal the Byakugan.
Yet in the end, in order to minimize political losses.
Hizashi had been forced to die in place of his twin brother.
Looking deeper into that incident, Kumogakure had originally demanded Hyūga Hiashi himself.
The head of the Hyūga Clan.
Was that ever truly possible?
Perhaps the entire affair had also served to remind the Hyūga that even one of Konoha’s greatest clans ultimately depended upon the village’s protection.
Instead Hizashi had died.
In any case Naruto had no interest in getting involved in political games.
Even counting his previous life’s age, he was no match for an old fox like Hiruzen.
So he decisively continued pretending to sleep.
Silently listening.
“So.”
The aged Third Hokage finally spoke.
“What’s going on here?”
“You claim this child is the reincarnation of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.”
“What exactly happened?”
“Lord Third!”
The nurse spoke so nervously that her words became jumbled.
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“This baby.
he’s only two days old!”
“He actually sat up by himself, reached onto the bedside cabinet, picked up the bottle, and drank from it himself!”
“He has to be the Demon Fox reincarnated!”
At least she wasn’t lying.
Naruto could personally testify to that.
Suppressing the urge to curl his lips in annoyance, he thought bitterly,
And whose fault was it that I had to feed myself?
Now you actually have the nerve to complain?
Sure enough the Third Hokage immediately noticed something else in her statement.
His brows knitted tightly together.
“So you’re telling me.”
“You expected a newborn baby to feed himself?”
There was already a trace of anger in his voice.
The nurse stiffened.
Her mind went blank.
She had come intending to report something alarming.
Only to expose her own negligence instead.
She had truly dropped a stone on her own foot.
The Third glanced at the flustered nurse.
Then he silently signaled one of the ANBU beside him.
Without a word, the ANBU escorted her out of the room.
“What Demon Fox reincarnation?
That’s complete nonsense!”
A broad-shouldered, powerfully built man with striking red hair stepped forward angrily.
Across his chest was the familiar armor plate bearing the character “Food.”
It was or rather, the rather large middle-aged man was.
Akimichi Chōza.
“This is clearly Lord Fourth’s so—”
“Enough, Chōza.”
The Third interrupted him before he could finish.
Akimichi Chōza was the current head of the Akimichi Clan.
As one of the elite jōnin of Minato’s generation, he had already become one of Konoha’s indispensable fighting forces.
His relationship with the Fourth Hokage had also been quite good.
The two had carried out missions together in the past.
Furthermore the Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka Clans all maintained close ties with the Sarutobi Clan.
The relationships between them were deeply intertwined.
Among the people accompanying the Third today were the current heads of all three great clans.
Akimichi Chōza.
Yamanaka Inoichi.
Together, they formed the legendary Ino-Shika-Chō formation.
When working in perfect coordination, the trio could overwhelm opponents even in battles against numerically superior enemies.
Naturally, the three clan heads already knew Naruto’s identity.
After all, there were almost no people with the surname Uzumaki left in Konoha.
Moreover, Naruto had been born with faint blond hair and bright blue eyes.
Combined with where he had been found it wasn’t difficult to guess whose child he was.
Not to mention many people had witnessed the sealing ceremony.
Although the Third, the ANBU, and the assembled jōnin had remained outside Kushina’s barrier.
They had all seen what happened.
In fact they were the very people who had rushed Naruto to Konoha Hospital afterward.
“Lord Third.”
Unlike the impulsive Chōza, Nara Shikaku remained calm.
Renowned for his intelligence, he asked thoughtfully,
“Who do you intend to raise this child with?”
“He’s only just been born.”
“He’s far too young.”
“If you trust me he could grow up alongside my own son.”
That son was, naturally Nara Shikamaru.
One of Konoha’s future Rookie Nine.
The village’s greatest strategist.
And eventually Naruto’s right-hand man after he became the Seventh Hokage.
Shikamaru was born in September.
A full month earlier than Naruto, who had been born in October.
However the Third slowly shook his head.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Shikaku.”
“But no one can give him special treatment everyone here knows his identity.”
“He is the Fourth Hokage’s orphan.”
“The son of a hero and also the Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki.”
“You all witnessed what happened that night.”
“I don’t need to explain it again if his identity becomes public he’ll be in great danger.”
Danger Shikaku’s expression grew thoughtful.
The Third sighed softly.
“The Fourth Hokage shone too brightly.”
“And the brighter his reputation the greater the hatred directed toward him.”
“The war hasn’t even ended yet other than his own parents no one can truly protect this child at every moment.”
“Not to mention if people learn he’s the Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki.”
“Even other nations would send assassins after him.”
If things truly reached that point the danger would indeed be very real.
The Third wasn’t exaggerating.
After all, in the original story, even Hinata Hyūga, the eldest daughter of the Hyūga Clan, had nearly been kidnapped by Kumogakure shinobi despite being inside her own home.
Naruto’s mother, Kushina, had also once been abducted from the village.
And the culprits then had likewise been shinobi from Kumogakure.