A group of several-year-old children were playing in the forest near Konoha Village, where there was a small stream. They could not only catch fish but also shrimp and small crabs.
Therefore, it was deeply loved by the Village's children, and every summer, they would come in groups to play and splash in the water.
Older and younger children, all naked, laughed and frolicked as they jumped from large rocks into the deeper parts of the stream.
Among them were Ninja Academy students and children from Shinobi Clans, especially the wild children of the Inuzuka Clan.
Children of the Aburame Clan, like the Uchiha, were not very well-regarded.
Therefore, they would not come to play together.
Moreover, within the Uchiha clan, there were many children of the same age, and they had started forming groups from a young age.
Unless they were orphans like Naori, who were particularly marginalized within the clan, it was rare for an Uchiha child to be alone when they were young.
The majority of these children were from commoner families in the Village.
Even when playing outside the Village, with Ninja Academy students and children from Shinobi Clans present, they were stronger than ordinary adults when something happened.
Therefore, they did not worry about the children's safety.
When children played together, it was a particularly pure world.
A world so pure that cruelty and gentleness could coexist contradictorily.
In the woods by the stream, a two-year-old blond child secretly watched this scene with envy.
Of the many children present, he was the only one dressed neatly.
But if he could, he also wanted to strip naked.
However, it was difficult for him to join in.
Although he was not clear about this matter.
In the Village, children from the Ninja Academy, Shinobi Clans, commoners, and orphans formed four distinct circles.
Among them, the first three had intersections because of the Ninja Academy, so they could always play together.
However, orphans, especially those who had not yet entered the Ninja Academy, found it difficult to interact with them.
Most orphans would only watch secretly, too timid and insecure to join in.
But some people are born different.
As if finally making up his mind, the two-year-old child took an important step.
With a sunny smile on his face, he openly walked to the stream and looked at the group of children.
The arrival of the unfamiliar child interrupted the frolicking, and the group of children quieted down, all tacitly looking towards the child king.
The seven or eight-year-old child had a wild look, with colorful paint on his face, and his expression was boisterous with a hint of naivety.
A small, pure black puppy lay on his head.
This guy was a natural child king.
But he was just a child king.
"What do you want, you fellow!?" the Inuzuka child king shouted.
His voice was deafening.
"Can I play with you all?" the blond child asked expectantly.
"What's your name? How old are you?"
The Inuzuka child king asked majestically.
"Minato Namikaze, two years old," the blond child said with a bright smile.
The Inuzuka child king stared at him.
He was a little unwilling.
This kid was too handsome.
He felt like some of his thunder would be stolen.
"You can, but you have to call me Boss!"
"What's a Boss?" Minato asked in confusion.
"A Boss is a Hokage!" the Inuzuka child king said, "A Hokage can order everyone in the Village to do whatever he wants!"
"So, if I become your Boss, you have to listen to me!"
Minato blinked his eyes, then said, "No!"
"Eh!? Don't you want to play with us?" the Inuzuka child king asked in surprise.
"Yes! But I can become Hokage! And order you all to play with me!" Little Minato smiled as brightly as the sun, appearing gentle and not like an assertive person.
Upon hearing this, the Inuzuka youth was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Become Hokage?"
"I'm the one who's going to be Hokage!"
"Inuzuka Mao!"
"Remember that name."
Saying that, he leaped down from the large rock and landed on the water's surface.
He stumbled, almost sinking into the water.
The child king, naked, wiped a cold sweat and said coldly to Minato, "But there can only be one Hokage in the Village! Since you want to become Hokage, then we are rivals."
"Then..."
"Let's settle it with a match!"
The child king looked at the child with small arms and legs.
He was sure to win!
There was no reason to lose!
First, he would teach him a lesson, and then make him his subordinate.
"Settle it with a match?" Minato tilted his head in confusion. He hadn't started school yet, so he hadn't read any books and didn't quite understand these idioms.
"You don't even understand that?" the Inuzuka child king said proudly, "Let's fight!"
"Oh oh oh oh." Minato nodded in understanding, not afraid of a fight, and walked into the stream.
Soon, he couldn't touch the bottom.
He couldn't swim either, struggling and flailing in the water, gurgling.
He gradually sank to the bottom.
Watching this scene, the Inuzuka child king's mouth twitched.
"Where did you get the confidence to fight me, you kid! Haven't you already lost!"
The surrounding children laughed.
There was no malice, they just found it funny.
After the Inuzuka child king finished speaking, he moved, then jumped and dived into the water like a fish.
He did a standard dog paddle underwater and quickly pulled Minato out, laboriously dragging him onto the smooth bluestone slab.
"You kid!"
After some not-so-gentle handling, Minato spat out the stream water from his stomach and sat up, coughing violently.
"Still going to be Hokage?" the Inuzuka child king asked.
"Yes!" Minato, with snot and tears streaming, affirmed with a nod.
"But you've already lost to me, so you'll be my subordinate."
"I don't want to be your subordinate," Minato said.
"Then don't play with us!" the child king said angrily.
"If I don't play, I don't play!" Minato said stubbornly.
He had found his goal: to become Hokage and make everyone happy playing together.
So, this guy would definitely play with him in the future.
He wasn't in a hurry for this moment.
"You fellow," the Inuzuka child king said, annoyed.
At this moment, Minato scrambled to his feet and wobbled as if to leave.
Looking at the child's back, the Inuzuka child king scratched his cheek.
"Hey! Minato Namikaze!"
Minato turned his head in confusion.
"I won't be your Boss anymore, come and play with us!"
The Inuzuka child king turned his face away, crossed his arms, and snorted.
The black puppy on his head barked twice.
Upon hearing this, Minato's face lit up with a brilliant, sunny smile.
As he ran, he quickly and deftly stripped off his clothes.
He plunged into the water with a splash like a rock.
He didn't resurface for a long time.
Is this guy a natural airhead?
Inuzuka Mao slapped himself on the face, regretting his momentary impulse a little.
"You really know how to cause trouble! You little brat!"
Saying that, the Inuzuka child king dove into the water again, resuming his dog paddle.
He pulled Minato out.
When they surfaced, Minato, who was prepared this time and didn't choke on water, gave Inuzuka a big, bright smile.
"Don't give me that silly grin, you little brat!"
"If you can't swim, stay put in the shallow end!"
"Are you stupid!!!"
Saying that, Inuzuka Mao sniffed, his expression changed, and he roared.
"Who!!! Peed in the water!!!"
At his words, a group of children screamed in panic.
"Quick! Get to shore!!!"
They all scrambled to escape and climbed onto the shore.
Minato, being pulled by his hair by Inuzuka Mao and floating on the water, grinned foolishly with a happy expression.
He shivered.
He felt comfortable.
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