On the final day of the three-day celebration, Hiruzen Sarutobi officially passed the Hokage position to Minato Namikaze on the rooftop of the Hokage building, in front of the entire village.
Below, people stood shoulder to shoulder, celebrating joyously.
The first civilian ninja becoming Hokage was undoubtedly excellent news for the village's vast number of civilian ninja.
Moreover, Minato had achieved legendary feats in the Third Shinobi World War, earning the fearsome title of "Yellow Flash."
This undoubtedly added even more brilliance to his legendary status.
The ceremonial robes fluttered in the wind.
Rinjin and the other Hidden Rain Village members stood at the very back of the crowd, watching Minato on the high platform with great interest.
"Dog-bro, your son's made it big."
"What do you mean?" Sakumo asked, puzzled.
"Look, Hiruzen Sarutobi is a disciple of the First and Second Hokage, and Minato is Sarutobi's grand-disciple.
That makes KakashiSarutobi's great-grand-disciple, right?
By this logic, he's also part of the Hokage lineage. Maybe he'll get to be Hokage someday too."
Hearing this, Sakumo curled his lips disdainfully.
It wasn't that he didn't believe what Rinjin said—on the contrary, he had complete confidence in his son.
He just didn't want Kakashi to become Hokage.
What was so good about being Hokage? Power, status, or wealth?
Busy to death all day long, constantly scheming and plotting.
Wasn't retirement life in the Hidden Rain Village better?
Weren't the novels from Shueisha more entertaining?
After a profound and moving speech ended, Rinjin led his group and left Konoha.
They'd played and gathered—it was time to return to their own village.
Though Konoha had a good location and environment, their own den was still more comfortable.
Peaceful life always passed especially quickly. In the blink of an eye, Rinjin had aged another year.
Konoha Year 48 had arrived.
In Minato's house, Kushina Uzumaki wore maternity clothes, leaning leisurely against the sofa with her large belly.
She had been to the hospital today.
The doctor said these would be the days of her due date.
Stroking her belly, Kushina's face glowed with maternal radiance.
"Naruto, mommy can hardly wait—I want to see you so soon~"
From the kitchen, Hiruzen Sarutobi's wife Biwako Sarutobi poked her head out, spitting playfully with a face full of smiles.
"You girl are still the same as when you were little—no patience at all!
Wouldn't it be better to let the child stay in your belly a few more days to grow nice and chubby before coming out?!"
Hearing this, Kushina mischievously stuck out her tongue with a playful smile.
Pregnancy brain lasts three years—she hadn't even given birth yet but was already giggling foolishly all day.
Outside the door, the rustling sound of a key entering the lock could be heard.
With a soft creak, a handsome blonde man walked into the room.
The next second, Kushina sat up straight, staring directly at her husband at the door, acting coquettishly:
"Minato, your son kicked me twelve times today!
Come here quickly—I want revenge!"
Faced with his increasingly willful wife, Minato smiled and scratched his head, politely greeting Biwako Sarutobi before carefully walking to his wife's side.
"Alright, alright, I'll give you twelve kicks back for revenge, okay!" Minato said gently.
Hearing this, Kushina huffed and turned her head to the side, muttering:
"You didn't even ask me—how do you know the child is a boy~"
"My dear wife, how do you know our child is a boy?"
"..."
Watching this couple acting as if no one else was around, Biwako smiled warmly and quietly left this cozy little home.
On the other side of the village.
A man in a pitch-black robe and mask stood before a solemn gravestone.
As evening approached, golden twilight illuminated the earth, yet somehow couldn't reach the black-robed figure's shadow.
"Yellow Flash! Heh~"
With a bone-chillingly cold laugh, the black-robed man grabbed the fresh flowers from the vase on the gravestone and scattered them violently.
The living sat under bright lights, embracing their wives.
The dead lay in cold graves, hating the next life...
At the Hokage Rock, construction of the Fourth Hokage's giant portrait was underway.
Rinjin sat in a temporarily erected construction site tent, legs crossed leisurely, listening to an elderly man's complaints.
"Though I admire the Fourth Hokage, I absolutely detest his hairstyle!
Why can't this guy grow smooth, long hair like the First Hokage?!
Spiky hair—the Second had it, the Third had it, the Fourth has it too!
None of them know how to groom themselves properly, just causing me trouble!"
"Hehe~" Rinjin laughed.
"Don't worry, the Fifth Hokage definitely won't."
"Why not?" the old man asked irritably.
"Because the Fifth is my wife, and my wife has smooth, long hair."
Hearing this, the old man rolled his eyes disdainfully and asked irritably:
"Who's your wife?!"
"Tsunade. Know her?" Rinjin said matter-of-factly.
Upon hearing this, the old man was instantly stunned and immediately wanted to curse.
But after thinking it over, he immediately swallowed the words that had reached his lips.
It should be true.
In Konoha, no one dared joke about Princess Tsunade, nor would anyone joke about Princess Tsunade.
At this thought, the old man immediately nodded.
"If it's Princess-sama, that would save us a lot of work.
And if Princess-sama becomes the Fifth, I'd be the first to support her with both hands and feet."
Saying this, the old man paused slightly and glanced at this guy who called himself a contractor.
"But Princess Tsunade probably doesn't have a chance.
The Fourth is only twenty-three or twenty-four now. By the time he retires, Princess-sama will be sixty."
Hearing this, Rinjin's lips curved slightly upward as he smiled without speaking.
If he didn't intervene, Minato and Kushina would die in a few days, and Tsunade would become the Fifth Hokage.
But this time, Rinjin planned to intervene and slightly nudge fate.
If the Fourth lived, would Naruto's childhood still be so tragic?
This was something he really wanted to see.
Most importantly, the Nine-Tails—he really wanted to play with it.
Though increasing his physical strength another level might cause the Eight Gates to become useless, how would he know without trying?
After all, he'd endured so many years of the youth experience version—he wasn't lacking this bit of effort.
In the end, being rock-hard was a man's eternal dream.
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