"Hahaha, Naruto! You're up early again today, huh~"
After the northern war came to an end, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had taken on the Hokage's mantle once more during a crisis, could finally—truly—breathe a sigh of relief.
Just look at Konoha's situation back then.
It was a complete mess—beset by internal and external crises.
The damage from the Third Great Ninja War hadn't even begun to heal when the Fourth Hokage and his wife sacrificed themselves. They left behind what should have been Konoha's ultimate weapon — the Nine-Tails — sealed inside a helpless infant. With large parts of the village still in ruins from the Nine-Tails' rampage, Konoha was barely holding together… and then war broke out again, both in the north and along the coastal borders.
And during that time...
His three excellent disciples had all disappeared—run off, escaped, all gone. To stop his old comrades from getting the wrong idea again, Hiruzen had no choice but to drag his aging body back into the fray, once again sheltering Konoha from the storm.
He looked at the small, lonely child curled up in the corner of his bed.
The orphan of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage—Naruto Uzumaki.
A gentle, grandfatherly smile appeared on Hiruzen's face as he shook the ornate paper bag in his hand.
"What's with that gloomy look? Come on, see what Grandpa brought you."
"Chicken sauce~!"
Naruto looked up at the only person in the entire village who was kind to him. His face instantly lit up with a joyful, innocent smile—but just moments later, he lowered his head again, looking disheartened.
"What's wrong?" Hiruzen walked to the bed, sat down beside him, and placed the gift in front of Naruto. He gently ruffled the boy's spiky blond hair. "This isn't something you can find in the village. Grandpa had someone bring it all the way from outside just for you. I thought you'd like it. Are you... upset even when you see Grandpa?"
But—
"Chicken sauce…"
Naruto still didn't lift his head. He just huddled into himself, voice low and dejected.
"Why does no one want to play with Naruto? Everyone hates Naruto. They say I'm a monster. When I try to buy things, the shopkeepers would rather throw it into the trash or smash it than sell it to me. Why won't the grown-ups let their kids play with me? When I walk down the street, people glare at me, throw eggs, rocks, trash—they all hate me. Why do they hate Naruto?"
"…"
Hiruzen's heart trembled as he heard Naruto's words. He fumbled with his pipe, suddenly unsure what to say.
He looked at the boy before him, eyes red with tears.
After a moment of silence, Hiruzen reached out and gently stroked Naruto's head, still wearing that warm, grandfatherly smile.
"Does Naruto want to play with them?"
"Yeah!" Naruto nodded eagerly, wide blue eyes staring up at Grandpa Chicken Sauce.
"In that case…" Hiruzen seemed quite pleased with Naruto's answer and expression. Still smiling, he said while patting Naruto's head, "Then you have to work hard—earn everyone's recognition. Only then will they like Naruto."
"Everyone's recognition?" Naruto tilted his little head, confused. "How do I do that?"
"Hahaha, everyone earns recognition in their own way. You just have to follow your heart and be true to yourself."
"Is that why Grandpa Chicken Sauce got everyone's recognition? Because you became Hokage?"
"Well… more or less. Do you want to become Hokage too, Naruto?"
"Uh-huh! I wanna be Hokage too!"
"Becoming Hokage isn't easy. You have to be acknowledged by everyone to become Hokage."
"???"
"Hahaha, no need to rush." Hiruzen chuckled and reached for the paper bag beside him. "Let's check out the gift Grandpa brought. It's something very few people in the village have, and you'll need to build it yourself. How about Grandpa helps you assemble it today?"
"Okay~!"
"Good boy."
Hiruzen pulled out the box from the bag. On it were the bold characters: 'Cyclone Magnum', along with a cool blue-and-white design. Seeing Naruto's eyes immediately light up, completely drawn in by the box, filled Hiruzen's heart with a deep sense of comfort.
Minato… don't worry. I'll take good care of Naruto.
...
"Clan Head."
"Mm~."
Uchiha Fugaku nodded at the clan member greeting him, hands behind his back, continuing his walk through the compound.
Ever since the Nine-Tails incident, the Uchiha clan's position in the village had steadily deteriorated.
That mysterious eye that appeared back then… had made the rest of the village suspicious of them—rightfully or not.
And no matter how they tried to defend themselves, the response was always the same:
"If it wasn't an Uchiha, then who was it? Why aren't you naming the enemy? Are you trying to cover for the culprit?"
It was unreasonable.
They genuinely didn't know who it was—so how could they provide a name?
The Uchiha Military Police Force had been relocated and rebuilt in this remote corner of the village, a clear sign the higher-ups no longer trusted them.
And if the leadership didn't trust them, how could the average villager?
Though Fugaku kept a stoic face, inwardly, he was deeply worried about the clan's future. Ever since the Second Hokage, the Uchiha had been tasked with maintaining law and order in Konoha—rooting out corruption and uncovering darkness. Naturally, they'd made many enemies and offended plenty of clans. After the Nine-Tails incident, their situation… wasn't much better than that of Minato's orphaned son.
Suddenly—
He stopped in his tracks, frowning as he looked toward a group of noisy clan children up ahead.
They were all hunched over, chasing something, yelling loudly:
"Go! Go! Cyclone Sonic Blaster!!"
Fugaku looked even more puzzled.
"…What is that?"
...
Time flew by.
With Sunagakure sparing no expense on advertising and White Zetsu spreading stealthy propaganda all across the shinobi world, the only slightly modern toy available—mini 4WD cars—was making a surprising splash.
According to the toy factory, version 2.0 of the 4WD cars was already in a critical phase of development. In a few days, Rasa might even get to see it.
When that time came...
He had already made up his mind to host the First Shinobi World Mini 4WD Grand Prix.
He could already imagine the scene—crowds screaming "Charge! Cyclone Sonic Tornado!"—and with the surging popularity of the mini 4WD, Sunagakure was also raking in huge profits from selling upgrade parts and modifications.
If they didn't take advantage of the post-war period to keep this fire burning, leave a lasting impression, and promote Sunagakure's unique culture—how else were they supposed to "enrich the spiritual life" of the shinobi world's people?
This first event had to be grand—a real spectacle to draw in people from all over.
Of course, pulling it off would take time to prepare.
But for now, he had something even more important to handle.
And that was—
Shimura Danzo was coming!
When he heard a masked Konoha ANBU agent report that Danzo would be visiting Sunagakure, Rasa finally, truly, let out a sigh of relief.
He'd been sending gifts over for years without getting a single response. He'd nearly thought Konoha's "Darkness of the Shinobi World"—Shimura Danzo—was actually an honest man! Upright, incorruptible, so rich he didn't even need bribes!
Honestly…
Rasa didn't fear Danzo saying no—what he feared was Danzo never showing up at all.