"Obvious?"
Hiruzen's brows knitted tightly; the suspicion in his heart deepened.
"From children to adults, nearly everyone in the Village curses Uzumaki Naruto behind his back —or to his face—calling him a 'monster,' the 'incarnation of the Nine-Tails.'"
"On top of that, Naruto's age lines up perfectly with the Nine-Tails disaster twelve years ago. After the calamity the so-called 'Nine-Tails' vanished, and suddenly the Village had a child everyone shunned and loathed, labeled the 'Nine-Tails.'"
"Isn't that as good as pointing a finger and announcing to all— 'Uzumaki Naruto is the vessel of that monster'?"
Tejima Shinichi tilted his head and spread his hands. "Isn't the link obvious?"
"With a bit of observation and thought, anyone could reach that conclusion, right?"
Having finally ripped apart this farcical contradiction, Tejima Shinichi felt an indescribable exhilaration.
The so-called top-secret truth had long turned into an open secret under the villagers' daily curses and rejection —a mask only the higher-ups still farcically maintained.
"So… what exactly is there to be shocked about?"
Shinichi's final retort landed like a slap across Hiruzen's face.
Hiruzen was utterly stunned.
He opened his mouth to argue but found no words.
He had believed Naruto's identity was safely hidden, never realizing that in the villagers' prejudice and gossip the "secret" had become a sheet of transparent paper —utterly fragile to any discerning eye.
Shinichi's simple, direct logic shattered the self-deception he had clung to for so long.
So secrecy, fermented by collective rejection and the passage of time, was actually so fragile.
A surge of guilt welled up in Hiruzen's heart.
Not only had he failed to protect Minato and Kushina's child, he had let Naruto grow up in a twisted, cruel environment, bearing malice that should never have been his. The old man's stooped figure looked even older and lonelier in the sunlight, as though all vitality had been drained away.
After a long while Hiruzen slowly raised his head toward the distant Hokage Rock, his gaze settling on his own "younger" likeness, and murmured,
"Perhaps… it's really time I retired."
Following the voice, Shinichi looked at the dejection and confusion on Hiruzen's face. Instead of offering comfort, he nodded in full agreement:
"On that point, I completely agree… Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen's breath caught; he turned, hardly daring to believe that Tejima Shinichi dared agree with him on this.
Shinichi met his gaze without flinching.
"The world belongs to the young in the end."
His eyes swept across the distant Hokage Rock before returning to Hiruzen:
"As you say —the Will of Fire: where leaves dance, flame endures. However brightly the old leaves burn, they will one day turn to ash. Only new buds constantly sprouting and growing can keep this forest forever alive."
"Old leaves, clinging too long, block sunlight and rain, hindering new sprouts. Timely falling, turning into spring mud, may be the greatest gift to the great tree."
"And you, Hokage-sama, are choosing to become that very 'spring mud', aren't you?"
Hearing this, Hiruzen froze.
He stared at the black-haired youth, at the maturity and calm beyond his years shining in those eyes.
These words not only endorsed his wish to retire but even carried a note of urging.
Yet the boy cited the very "Will of Fire" Hiruzen had spent his life believing in and passing on.
Using his core tenet to argue he should step down… the logic left Hiruzen momentarily unable to reply, emotions tangled inside him —chagrin at being "schooled" by a junior, reflection on his reign, and amazement that the new era was already baring its edge.
Tejima Shinichi said no more; he simply stood quietly.
Hiruzen gazed at him, as though through the young face he could see the surging tides awaiting Konoha.
The wheel of time rolls on —no one can stop it.
After a long silence he merely sighed deeply.
"You're right, Shinichi."
"Perhaps… the time has come!"
In the old Hokage's weathered eyes, fatigue and bewilderment gradually gave way to a strange brightness, as though some resolve had been set.
Hope —Konoha's future —had already arrived in such a shocking manner!!
Hiruzen leaned forward slightly and hurled an earth-shattering question:
"Shinichi… would you like to become Hokage?"
"…"
Tejima Shinichi's expression instantly froze.
Even with his composure and intellect, his mind went blank for an instant.
He wondered if he had misheard.
Hokage?
The very summit of Konoha's power and glory —and Hiruzen asked it point-blank of a Genin who had graduated barely any time ago?
Was the old man so rattled he was talking nonsense?
Meeting the Hokage's blazing eyes, Shinichi confirmed it was no joke.
Absurd —that was his first thought.
Seeing Shinichi's flicker of disbelief, Hiruzen didn't retract a word; instead he grew more certain.
He straightened his previously stooped back, and the confidence of the "Shinobi Hero" seemed to return.
"Don't doubt my sincerity, Shinichi." His gaze burned. "I may be old, but I can still judge people."
"You possess strength far beyond your peers, and rarer still —a cool head and sharp insight. You saw the truth I once overlooked and dared voice long-ignored problems… that clarity and courage are exactly what the next Hokage needs!"
The more Hiruzen spoke, the brighter his eyes became, as though in Shinichi he glimpsed another future for Konoha —one utterly different from his own path or Danzo's.
"I won't misjudge… I absolutely won't!" His voice rang with absolute conviction, even urgency. "If you open your mouth and set foot on this path… I will spare no effort to pave the way and raise you to the seat!"