(Thank you, Lord Seventh Hokage.)

Hokage Office.

Naruto let Chitose sit anywhere, and he sat down on the sofa in the office. Then, Naruto seemed to casually wave his hand, and Chitose, who was looking at him, saw a flash in his eyes.

After pouring two cups of water, Naruto turned around and saw Chitose's vague gaze towards the place where the Anbu members had been hiding before. He smiled, "As expected of you."

Chitose was stunned, he didn't even notice when Naruto put the cup in front of him.

Except for his mother, this was the first time someone praised him like this. It wasn't "as expected of Minako/Itachi's son", but "as expected of you".

Even though he respected and yearned for his unknown father, what Chitose's heart desired more was the recognition from others, not to mention that this person was one of the most respected by him.

And Naruto looked at Chitose gently, but in his mind he was thinking of the scene that touched him deeply.

The scene in the memory that Chitose's mother passed on to him before her death.

The little black-haired boy was lying on the ground, drawing a huge circular complex pattern with chalk that was many times bigger than him. His face was smeared with mud, making his focused side face look a little naughty. Golden sunlight shone through the dense canopy in strands, enveloping the boy. With exquisite features, he looked like a cute little angel under the sunlight.

Finally, the boy finished drawing, carefully stepped out of the circle, took one last look at his work, then looked up and gave a big smile towards "himself".

His skin was fair, and even more lustrous under the sunlight. The short black hair was a little messy but looked very soft. His big eyes curved happily like a cat, extremely cute.

The owner of the perspective - Chitose's mother, reached out and rubbed the child's head, praising him aloud, her voice full of pride and affection.

[As expected of you, Chitose.]

As his thoughts gradually returned, Naruto looked at the expressionless, seemingly cold child before him, and secretly sighed.

The great mother gave him her own memories, hoping that he would take better care of her child. He didn't know how the memory transfer was done, but he believed that a person who loved her child so much would not have any malice.

Moreover, while those memories did allow him to fully appreciate the love of Chitose's mother towards Chitose, and regarded Chitose as his own child as she wished, he did not have the affinity from receiving the boy's mother's memories like him. Therefore, in a certain sense, he was actually the one who understood this child the best. And from now on, although the four years of cruel life did not make the boy lose his kind nature, it did give him many qualities that even his mother did not know.

——Like the obsession he was showing now towards the truth of the Uchiha clan's massacre, wasn't that a kind of strong desire to grasp all the unknown factors that might get out of control? Including his firm attitude just now towards Sarada who was trying to understand his past, he was afraid of her view of him - the strong and reliable elder brother - changing; he wanted to know Naruto's attitude in order to prepare in advance for possible situations.

He hated being controlled by others and didn't want his weaknesses exposed. He was used to - or rather, morbidly craved - having control over everything.

Of course, Naruto was also deeply saddened by another quality Chitose showed in this matter at the same time.

That was anxiety. Because of the sudden selfless love from his relatives, the feeling of fearing to lose them; because of the sudden departure from the hellish environment and entering the peaceful Konoha Village, unable to adapt; because he was afraid that once his blood-stained self was exposed, he would be met with cold and disgusted eyes; because he was afraid that he would indulge in comfort and forget about revenge.

Except for Sarada, he still had not truly accepted and trusted the family he suddenly had, let alone his classmates, teachers, and villagers. He still had not integrated into Konoha. The happy smile he showed just now that he had never revealed except to Sarada was the best proof.

But Naruto firmly believed that Chitose would gradually change. He was the son of that man who loved the village and peace and his younger brother more than the clan. The child's family was here, his companions were here, his hometown was here. In the future, his growth and life would also be here. Naruto deeply believed from the bottom of his heart that Chitose would come to love Konoha.

And he was willing to treat Chitose like his own son so that he could truly trust them and regard Konoha as home.

Thinking of this, Naruto hooked the corners of his lips slightly. He did not answer Chitose's previous question, but leaned forward directly, patting the boy's shoulder, and looked at Chitose with a smile that could melt ice and made people instinctively trust him.

"It doesn't matter what the answer to this question is. Chitose, you just need to know that your father, Uchiha Itachi, is an admirable and great shinobi!"

Chitose looked up at Naruto's reassuring smile in a daze.

He was certain that Naruto had seen through his childish attempt at probing, as well as all his careful thoughts. But he... this man, forgave him so easily? Even... answered and trusted him?

He still clearly remembered that in the sea of flames that almost took his life, when he fell into the abyss of despair, it was this man with the same reassuring smile, with an acceptance and understanding he had never seen before, who gave him hope again and the courage to believe in the future.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Uzumaki Naruto, this man he respected, was the sun in his life, injecting light into his already dark heart, and was someone he respected and admired very much. The one who gave Chitose hope, occupied the most special position in Chitose's life - beyond the status of idol, an almost religious existence that no one could desecrate.

Seeing that smile, Chitose felt Naruto's unconditional goodwill and trust towards him, even affection. It was as reliable as a mountain, making one want to rely on him instinctively.

It gave him a feeling like that of a father... Even for someone as unworthy as him, could he still have such unconditional trust? Regardless of what happened to his son, could he still believe in him - as a father would?

Chitose sighed deeply.

He wanted to become that kind of person. Someone warm, yet strong, with unrelenting reliability that made people want to follow him and gather by his side to assist him.

Most importantly, he also had such a pure heart that he could trust without hesitation. And he had the absolute strength to protect the people important to him.

He gripped the cup so tightly that he almost crushed it. He thought of those dead people. No matter what price he had to pay, he also wanted to become the kind of person the Seventh Hokage was.

Powerful enough to give hope to others.

And what did such unhesitating trust represent?

"What is Seventh Hokage's dream?" He looked at Naruto and asked in return.

Naruto was startled for a moment, then smiled. Hoping to let some sunlight into the child's heart and more love for Konoha through talking about his own dream.

"That's right..." He looked out the window, a nostalgic smile on his face, "I've dreamed of becoming Hokage since I was very little."

Chitose was surprised for a moment, then faintly hooked the corners of his lips without saying anything, quietly listening.

"When I was little, I really was dead last - don't disbelieve me, I'm telling the truth - I couldn't do anything well and was always ranked last in every exam. My parents sacrificed themselves to protect the village when I was born, and the Nine Tails that attacked the village at that time - ah, I'll explain this to you later, anyway he was very powerful - was sealed inside me by my dad. Because of this, the villagers were not very friendly to me. I craved their recognition and hoped that everyone would see me, Uzumaki Naruto..."

When Chitose heard "see me, Uzumaki Naruto", his pupils shrank slightly. So Lord Seventh also longed to be recognized before, ah.

"So I decided to become the Hokage who exists as the strongest shinobi in the village. Haha, at first in order to get everyone's attention I did a lot of silly things, and I didn't understand the meaning and responsibility of being Hokage at all, I just stubbornly wanted everyone to see me and acknowledge me."

Speaking to this point, Naruto smiled slightly, as if seeing the naughty and mischievous self back then, "Later, my homeroom teacher in the academy was the first to acknowledge me, and prevent me from giving up on myself, and also gave me the courage to believe in myself every time I encountered difficulties in the future. And then, I, along with Sasuke and Sakura, as well as Kakashi-sensei - yes, the Sixth Hokage - formed Team 7 and went through a lot together..."

He paused slightly here and decided to skip over the part about Sasuke's defection. He didn't want Chitose to hear about this.

"...I gradually experienced failures and the pain of loss from being a worthless brat, and finally came to understand what it takes and what hardship one has to endure in order to become Hokage. And I did think about giving up before, but unknowingly I made a lot of comrades, and gained many precious friendships and bonds. It was they who encouraged and supported me to get through difficulties when I could persist no more. And there's Sasuke--"

Naruto glanced at Chitose's expression and saw that his attention was indeed more focused, so he smiled and continued, "My friend as well as rival, that's still the case even now. He's my only acknowledged rival, as well as my best friend. Very contradictory eh? But Chitose, I'm really glad to have a friend and rival like Sasuke."

Chitose lowered his eyes slightly and quietly asked, "...What about my father?"

Naruto gazed into the distance. "Yeah, Itachi... he was a great man." After saying this sentence, he turned his head to Chitose with a smile, "He was an extremely powerful shinobi. And also a good brother who loved to protect his younger brother. As for more details, why don't you ask Sasuke? They were brothers, he understands Itachi better than me."

Looking at Naruto, turmoil flashed across Chitose's black eyes, but eventually he still nodded.

Naruto secretly sighed. As smart as Itachi, he probably already sensed something about the Uchiha massacre. But the truth was still better revealed to him later.

Raising his head again, Naruto's tone was no different from before, "Later, many other things happened one after another. I lost the teacher I respected the most, important comrades..." Sadness and reminiscence flashed across his azure eyes, "...I understood that only with suffering can one continue to grow. I always kept their teachings in mind and kept working hard... Sometimes it really felt too difficult, but with my comrades by my side helping me, no difficulty was insurmountable in the end."

Upon hearing this, Chitose fell into deep thought. He could strongly empathize with the painful feeling of loss Naruto talked about. But Lord Seventh Hokage... still became the kind of person he is now –

——very different compared to him now. The kind of person he aspired to become.

The more it was so, the more he sincerely admired Seventh Hokage. To achieve this, one would need to have--

After a long time, Naruto's voice sounded again, "Chitose, I don't ask you to forget about the past."

Chitose raised his eyes to look at him standing by the window overlooking the whole village.

The fire-red Hokage haori with "Seventh Hokage" embroidered on looked so solemn and sacred in his eyes.

"But I hope that as you persistently move forward, you don't forget to take a look at everything around you and not overlook those wonderful things." Naruto said, turning around and walking to Chitose's side. Lowering his head to look at Chitose whose eyes were somewhat different now, his smile was warm.

"You've just come in contact with Konoha, and even shinobi-hood. I hope that before you embark on your own path recklessly, you can use your heart to feel something from the people around you."

Chitose's mouth moved. He contemplated briefly then asked, "What things?"

Naruto smiled brightly. "I don't know."

Chitose was surprised.

"This is an S-rank mission I'm giving you personally as Hokage. No rewards, deadline is two years. What to feel and who to interact with, you decide on your own. Be they good or bad things, as long as it's something about other people that you can feel, I want you to remember them carefully, reflect on them seriously, then absorb the beneficial ones and be wary of harmful ones. And determine what constitutes 'things' yourself."

Looking at the frowning boy listening and thinking hard, Naruto smiled slightly and patted his shoulder. "Understand?"

"Understood." Chitose's face was full of contemplation as he nodded.

"Well then, work hard! I believe you can do well!" Naruto raised his right fist, bright blue eyes full of expectation as he looked at the expressionless boy.

Chitose seemed to have something to say as he looked at Naruto, but in the end, only hooked the corners of his lips and bumped fists with him.

"Will complete the mission."

That day when night had already fallen, Chitose walked out of the Hokage building and saw Sakura smiling not far away with Sarada waving at him. A feeling he hadn't had for a long time welled up in his heart.

He looked back at the lit Hokage office. In his eyes towards it, there was already something besides indifference and wariness.

Seventh Hokage... thank you.