Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 291: Work Summary Report During the Acting Hokage Period

Nara Shikaku yawned, put his hands in his pockets, and leaned lazily to one side.

He spoke softly, a helpless yet amused expression on his face.

"Ding Zuo, you certainly have enough of that aura."

"It's just about accuracy; you need more practice."

He casually picked up a shuriken, and with a light flick, the shuriken accurately struck the bullseye.

"trouble."

Shikaku complained, as if completing this task had taken a great deal of his energy.

Yamanaka Inoichi stood aside, not making a move like Shikaku, but quietly observing.

His fingers rested lightly on his chin, his eyes gleaming with thoughtful analysis as he examined the patterns of the target shooting booths and the psychology of those around him.

"Lu Jiu, the angle from which you made your move just now seemed to take into account the wind direction and the deviance point deliberately set by the stall owner."

"Is there some deeper motive behind this?"

He looked at Lu Jiu with a hint of curiosity on his face.

Lu Jiu rolled his eyes, waved his hand, and said in a tone full of speechlessness.

"It's not that complicated, Haiyi."

"I just feel that the sooner I get rid of all this trouble, the sooner I can go eat barbecue."

He glanced to the side and saw that Ding Za had thrown his shuriken again, but this time he didn't even hit the target.

"Cheng, I think you should go to the barbecue restaurant and wait for orders."

Shikaku made the suggestion, his face serious.

"They might need you more there."

Ding scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"Well... okay."

Haiyi looked at them, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He discovered that his two companions had very different personalities.

Choza's pure strength, Shikaku's wisdom and laziness, form the foundation for their future cooperation.

The fireworks gradually faded, but a long-lost sense of relaxation and contentment filled the air, and moonlight shone softly through the clouds.

Yahiko turned around and looked at Konan, Kushina, and Nagato. The excitement on his face had faded, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness.

He stretched out his right hand, his small palm facing upwards.

"We made a promise."

Yahiko's voice was no longer loud, but it carried an undeniable firmness.

"We'll go to school together and grow stronger together."

Without hesitation, Konan was the first to reach out, her slender fingertips gently resting on the back of Yahiko's hand, her movements gentle yet full of trust.

Kushina looked at Yahiko, then at Konan, and a smile appeared on her lips as she sensed the sincerity in Yahiko's words and his longing for the future.

"Um!"

She took a deep breath, then quickly folded her small hands together, her expression warm, as if she wanted to share her enthusiasm with everyone.

Four pairs of small hands, intertwined and stacked together.

Under the bright moonlight, they held each other tightly, like an invisible yet unbreakable bridge connecting their shared future.

The laughter and cheers on Hokage Avenue gradually thinned out as night deepened. Occasionally, a few sparks would burst from the embers of the bonfire, a final, gentle burst of light from the celebration.

Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Choza, and Yamanaka Inoichi disappeared in the direction of the yakiniku restaurant.

Only a few hearty laughs remained, drifting away on the wind.

Nagato, Yahiko, Konan, Kushina, and the other children had already drifted off to sleep in their temporary lodgings, filled with longing for Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to the Hokage's office, where only the lamp on his desk flickered in the light.

He sat down and rubbed his tired temples. No matter how lively the celebration was, it was still just noise.

True peace comes when everything is back on track.

Just then, a familiar yet heavy footstep sounded outside the door.

Nara Shikazumi pushed open the door and entered, carrying an astonishingly thick file in his arms.

The file was tightly bound with hemp rope and stacked up to the height of a brick. Its surface was covered with a little dust, as if it had been read and moved countless times.

Shikazumi slammed the dossier down on the desk in front of Hiruzen with a thud.

His body seemed to have all his strength drained away; he leaned wearily against the door frame, struggling even to move a single step.

"Work Summary Report During the Acting Hokage Period"

The deer spoke, its voice carrying an indescribable weariness. "Lord Hokage, please take a look."

Hiruzen picked up the report, and as he lightly weighed it in his fingers, its weight made his heart sink.

I knew that Deer Antlers were always reliable, but this brick was still beyond my expectations.

He wanted to jump directly to the key parts and quickly browse through them.

Shikanobu rushed forward, his large hand pressing down on Hiruzen's fingers as he was about to open the report. "Hokage-sama, I painstakingly compiled this word by word, staying up all night!"

Those eyes, which usually carried a lazy and weary look, were now filled with a certain determination.

"You can't just brush me off."

The deer's voice sounded like it was choked with sobs. "Every page, every detail, embodies my hard work and sweat as an agent, and... endless troubles."

He emphasized the word "trouble," as if it were some kind of heavy curse.

Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled inwardly. "O antlers, even when you're complaining, you can do it with such self-righteousness."

He withdrew his hand, signaling for the deer antlers to begin.

"In that case, I will listen to your report carefully, word by word."

Hiruzen said, leaning back in his chair, looking like he was listening attentively.

Deer Antlers took a deep breath and then opened the file.

He began by talking about the budget the Uchiha clan had for ordering new formal wear for the celebration.

"The Uchiha clan..."

"You know, the Uchiha clan has high standards and high requirements," Shika grumbled. "The uniform fabric has to be the best, and the style has to be the most exquisite. I spent three days negotiating a single celebration dress, almost turning my hair white from worry, before I managed to keep the budget within a reasonable range."

He paused, seemingly waiting for Hiruzen's reaction, but Hiruzen simply smiled and didn't interrupt.

The deer had no choice but to continue.

"And the Hyuga clan."

Deer Antlers turned a page and began talking about new troubles. "They said their eyes are almost ruined because they used the Byakugan so intensively for engineering quality inspections. They said they want to apply for an eye care subsidy and even made a list of things like special eye drops and chakra recovery drugs."

"I approved it, and even allocated an extra sum of money to allow them to collaborate with the medical department on the research."

Deer antlers rubbed his temples, as if the pain from the strain on his white eye had transferred to him.

Hiruzen listened, his smile remaining unchanged, yet a warm feeling welled up inside him.

Although Deer Antlers complained, he handled every matter in the village in an orderly manner, even exceeding expectations.

These so-called troubles actually reflect his consideration for the details of the village and his care for the villagers.

"And that kid, Choza Akimichi!"

Suddenly, Deer Horn raised his voice, much louder than before. He closed the report and slammed his hand heavily on the file. "That guy almost tore down his own barbecue restaurant's signboard just to get his hands on the limited-edition barbecue! It took me the entire afternoon to persuade him to leave the restaurant."

"He continued, holding a skewer of meat thicker than his arm, staring wide-eyed and saying, 'This limited-edition kebab is our honor, and I cannot let that honor be tarnished!'"

"It took me a lot of effort to make him understand that honor is not about how much barbecue there is, but about how much fun you have eating it."

As he spoke, the deer antlers shook their heads repeatedly.

When he brought these things up, his tone was full of complaints, but there was a hint of amusement on his face.

Hiruzen finally couldn't help but laugh out loud. He waved his hand. "Alright, alright, Shikanobu, you handled these troubles very well."

The antlers immediately retorted, seemingly quite dissatisfied with the word "good".

He reopened the report, seemingly intending to continue his venting.

"I even handled the ninja school's application for the children's celebration parade and the budget for the celebration snacks."