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

Chapter 451 I'm Going to Become Hokage!

By the time they returned to their temporary camp, it was already dark.

The campsite was brightly lit, with bonfires burning brightly, dispelling the chill and dampness of the forest.

Just as Dingzuo had said, the air was filled with a rich aroma of meat. It wasn't the smell of military canned food, but rather the sizzling sound and enticing aroma of real meat being grilled on a wire mesh, with its fat dripping onto the charcoal fire.

"It's barbecue! It's real barbecue!"

Ding let out a happy shout, and his whole body turned into a visible afterimage as he rushed towards the largest bonfire.

"Hey, Choza, wait for me!" Yahiko's eyes lit up as he ran after him.

In Konoha, no one can resist the allure of Akimichi yakiniku (grilled meat); that's common knowledge.

Everyone dispersed and found their familiar groups to sit around the campfire.

Class 7, Xiao's team, and the Pig-Deer-Butterfly team naturally came together.

The ninja in charge of logistics brought over plates of sliced ​​meat, piles of rice balls, and steaming bowls of miso soup.

"Wow! It really is Konoha's Number One Pork!" Choza picked up a sizzling piece of pork belly, so delicious he almost fainted from happiness. "Look at that perfect fat-to-lean ratio, that delicate marbling! Ah... Lord Sakumo is truly a genius!"

As he spoke, he reverently dipped the grilled meat in the secret sauce, paired it with a rice ball, and stuffed it into his mouth.

He closed his eyes, and even his chewing motions had a sacred rhythm.

"Mmm—" Ding let out a satisfied groan, "The meat is firm and chewy, the fat is rich but not greasy, melting in my mouth like a hymn to life! It's wonderful!"

Seeing his exaggerated expression, everyone couldn't help but laugh.

"Is it really that delicious?" Obito picked up a piece with a skeptical look and took a bite, imitating Choza's manner.

The next second, his eyes widened suddenly.

"So...so delicious!"

The delicious meat juices explode on your taste buds, and all the fatigue and frustration of the day seem to be cured in that moment.

"Hmph, making a fuss over nothing." Kakashi said this, but he didn't slow down his meat-clamping speed at all.

Soon, a silent war over barbecue broke out between the teenagers.

When only the last piece of pork belly remained on the plate, which was also the largest and fattest piece, the two pairs of chopsticks met precisely in mid-air.

It's Obito and Kakashi.

"I saw it first!" Obito stared at Kakashi with his dark eyes behind his goggles.

"My chopsticks arrived first."

Beneath Kakashi's mask, only a pair of calm yet undeniable eyes were visible.

"I'm wounded! I need to replenish my nutrition!"

Obito was perfectly justified.

"Is your injury on your mouth? You seem quite energetic." Kakashi stood his ground.

The two began to subtly compete with their chopsticks, the tips of which shimmered with the faint light of chakra, as if a "Ninja Art: Chopstick Duel" was about to unfold in the next second.

"Really..."

A slender hand reached out and easily snatched the piece of meat from between their intertwined chopsticks.

It's Lin.

She put the meat in her bowl and then neatly cut it in half with chopsticks.

Half of it was given to Obito, and the other half to Kakashi.

"Alright, half for each of you, no more fighting over it." Lin had a helpless yet amused expression on her face. "You two are such immature brats."

Obito and Kakashi looked at the half-eaten piece of grilled meat in their bowls and simultaneously snorted again, but they both obediently started eating.

Sitting opposite them, Nagato watched this scene quietly, a slight upward twitch at the corner of his mouth. Konan handed him a bowl of soup, and he whispered, "Thank you."

While Yahiko ate meat heartily, he and Choza had a lively discussion about whether to grill the tenderloin or the pork belly first. Their common ground seemed exceptionally rich when it came to food.

Lu Jiu leaned against a tree, eating slowly, occasionally complaining, "This is so troublesome," but the rice balls in his hands kept disappearing one after another.

Minato Namikaze didn't participate in the students' scramble for food; he simply held a bowl of soup and quietly watched them.

The firelight flickered, reflecting on every young face.

There were bickering, laughter, sharing, and companionship.

After eating and drinking their fill, the noisy campsite gradually quieted down.

Some people were wiping their ninja tools, some were talking in hushed tones, and some had already fallen asleep leaning against the tree trunk.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan sat side by side on a clean rock, looking up at the night sky.

The night sky over the Land of Lightning is exceptionally clear, without the perpetual dark clouds that haunt the Village of Rain, and one can see a sky full of stars.

"So beautiful..."

Yahiko sighed sincerely, "If only Amegakure could have a sky like this."

Nagato didn't speak, but just watched silently, her deep pupils reflecting the entire galaxy.

Xiao Nan took out a piece of colored paper from her bosom, and with nimble fingers, a delicate paper butterfly quickly took shape in her hand. She gently blew on it, and the paper butterfly fluttered its wings, disappearing into the night.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the camp.

Obito was alone in an open space, practicing throwing the trident kunai that Minato had given him over and over again.

He didn't try to understand the Flying Thunder God technique; he simply wanted to familiarize himself with the weight and feel of the kunai, as well as the trajectory it took as it sliced ​​through the air.

Every throw and every retrieval was performed with focused concentration and seriousness.

It was as if they were fulfilling a silent agreement.

Kakashi sat on a thick tree branch not far away, holding his short sword in his arms, watching quietly.

The moonlight shone on his silver hair, making him blend into the cool night.

He didn't make a sound to disturb them, nor did he go up to complain.

Just watching that former bottom-of-the-class student, under the moonlight, clumsily yet stubbornly, take his first step.

Just then, Rin walked over carrying two steaming cups. She first looked up at Kakashi in the tree, and then walked to Obito's side.

"Here, have some hot tea."

Obito stopped what he was doing, took the cup, and felt the warmth of the tea coming from his palm.

"Thank you, Lin."

"Don't push yourself too hard, Obito," Rin said softly, looking at the fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

Obito looked down at the kunai in his hand, then looked up at Rin's gentle smiling face.

He suddenly grinned, revealing his signature, somewhat silly, bright smile.

"Of course! I'm going to become Hokage, a man who surpasses Minato and Kakashi! What's a little practice like this!"

He announced loudly in his usual energetic tone, as if to shout out all his resentment and determination.

Kakashi clearly heard those words from the tree branch.

He leaned against the tree trunk, tilted his head slightly, and looked at the bright moon in the night sky.

No one could see his expression behind the mask.

But those dark eyes, which always seemed somewhat lazy, curved into a beautiful arc at this moment.

He shook his head silently and let out a barely audible sigh.

"Fool."