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

Chapter 83 The leaves of the old locust tree have begun to turn yellow.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi returned home, the sky was already ablaze with fiery red light.

He habitually changed his shoes in the entryway, took off his Hokage robe, and casually hung it on the coat rack next to him.

A familiar aroma of food wafted from the kitchen, instantly dispelling the chill from my clothes.

Sarutobi Biwako, wearing an apron, was busy in the kitchen humming a tune, with sizzling sounds coming from the pot.

"You're back."

Hearing the noise, she peeked out from the kitchen with a gentle smile on her face. "Why are you up so early today? I thought you were going to be reviewing documents until late at night again."

"I've almost finished dealing with what I needed to do, so I came back early."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled as he walked to the kitchen doorway, leaned against the doorframe, and watched his wife's busy profile, feeling a wave of tenderness wash over him.

"Father!"

A childish, slightly indistinct voice called out from the direction of the living room.

Immediately afterwards, a small figure wobbled out of the living room.

He was wearing a small ninja outfit, his short black hair was a bit messy, and his big, dark eyes lit up the moment he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Sarutobi Asuma.

They are at their most active and clingy age right now.

"Father~ Hug~"

Asuma stretched out his short arms and pounced, crashing headfirst into Hiruzen Sarutobi's calf.

"Ouch."

Hiruzen Sarutobi feigned a cry of pain, then bent down and easily picked up the little guy with one hand.

As soon as little Asma entered her father's arms, she immediately clung to him like a koala, using both her arms and legs to rub her head against his chest, while letting out satisfied laughter.

"Were you a good girl at home today? Did you make Mommy angry?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi pinched his son's chubby little face and asked with a smile.

"Asuma, you're the best!"

The little guy puffed out his chest and answered with a proud look on his face.

"Yeah?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow and looked at his wife in the kitchen.

Seeing the father and son's affectionate appearance, Biwako smiled helplessly and said, "Yes, he was the best behaved today. It's just that this afternoon, he insisted on imitating the Inuzuka boy and tried to do something like 'dragon spine' at home, and ended up breaking a flowerpot."

"hey-hey……"

Asma, whose "glorious deeds" had been exposed, buried her face in her father's arms in embarrassment, revealing only her big, bright eyes.

"You little rascal."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was amused and didn't scold him. He simply hugged his son and kissed him on the cheek.

He didn't put Asma down immediately, but instead tossed him upwards and placed the little guy steadily on his neck.

"Alas--!!"

Asma instantly became excited, gently grabbing her father's hair with her little hands and letting out a clear laugh.

Hiruzen Sarutobi carried his son and slowly walked to the eaves of the courtyard.

The evening breeze carried a slight chill, and it felt very comfortable on my face.

In the courtyard, the leaves of the old locust tree had begun to turn yellow, and several unknown birds chirped and twittered on the branches.

Under the eaves hangs a wooden windmill with somewhat rough workmanship.

It was a windmill made of bamboo strips and colored paper, and the workmanship was a bit rough, with some burrs on the edges, obviously made by a novice.

When the wind blows, the windmill spins with a whooshing sound, looking quite beautiful in the afterglow of the setting sun.

I made this for my son a few days ago, after finally managing to squeeze out a little time from a mountain of documents.

Hiruzen Sarutobi remembered very clearly that in his previous life, he had a windmill like this when he was a child.

Although it was far less exquisite than what a craftsman could make, Asuma treasured it terribly and looked at it several times a day.

"Father, the windmill is turning."

Asma pointed her little finger at the windmill and shouted excitedly.

"Yes, it's the wind," Hiruzen Sarutobi replied patiently.

"Was it blown by the wind?"

"Yes... the wind... you can't see it, but it can make windmills turn, make leaves dance, and in the summer it can make you feel cool."

"Oh……"

Asma nodded, seemingly understanding.

For children of this age, the world is full of all sorts of novel questions.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also enjoyed this time of being "interrogated" by his son.

This was much more relaxing and enjoyable than being bombarded in the office by Danzo and Sakumo, those two "kings of the hill" with all sorts of reports on "naming reservoirs" and "sow KPIs".

Looking at the pure smile on his son's face, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart was filled with warmth and contentment.

Suddenly, I felt that everything I had done had meaning.

When I was transported to this perilous world, I was given a critical mission and had to dance on the edge of a knife every day.

He used simulators to predict the future, used political maneuvering to balance the forces of all sides, and used an iron fist to promote reforms... In the final analysis, wasn't everything he did just to protect the ordinary happiness in front of him?

In order to allow her son to grow up carefree in an environment free of hatred.

So that he could laugh heartily at a rough windmill, instead of bearing the hatred of his family or the burden of the village at such a young age.

"Live on, live on with Konoha."

The goal he set at the beginning of his journey became even clearer at this moment.

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was filled with mixed emotions, Asuma, who was riding on his neck, suddenly made a new discovery.

"There's a bird! Father, look!"

The little guy twisted his body excitedly, his little hand pointing excitedly to a thick branch of the old locust tree in the yard.

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P.S.: Sarutobi Shinnosuke - the eldest son sacrificed himself in a mission. There was almost no plot about him in the original work, and Kishimoto left very little space for him, so he was not described. Konohamaru was left in the timeline as normal, just like in the original work. He exists as a person, but he does not have a plot. (The author apologizes here. If this character were to be described, it would be like creating an original character, which would be quite brain-intensive. Please forgive me.)