Chapter 21: Three Questions, Three Answers
At precisely 2:30 in the afternoon, Hiruzen Sarutobi personally sat before Sakura Haruno to supervise her graduation exam.
Clone Technique. Transformation Technique. Substitution Technique.
All three were completed flawlessly on the first try.
When Sakura accepted the forehead protector handed to her by Hiruzen himself, there was not much of a smile on his face.
Instead, his expression was stern as he looked at her and spoke:
"Sakura, come with me."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Sakura's heart remained calm. She had long anticipated this moment.
She had no choice. She was already graduating, and yet she still hadn't obtained the Yin Seal.
Over the past year, Hiruzen had only taught her the Strength of a Hundred technique and the Body Flicker Technique.
As for the famed Yin Seal? There wasn't even a shadow of it.
Clearly, in Hiruzen's eyes, for an eight-year-old child, mastering superhuman strength and high-speed movement was already more than enough. The rest could wait.
And in fairness, that was true.
An eight-year-old genin with monstrous strength and the Body Flicker Technique—this was already an outrageously high configuration.
But Sakura was in a hurry. She was desperate.
Right now, there were only two people in the world who had access to the method of learning the Yin Seal:
One was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The other—Tsunade.
Hiruzen was right here. As for Tsunade, at this point in time, she was probably dodging debts all over the continent.
Where on earth was Sakura supposed to find her?
"On How an Eight-Year-Old Genin Can Obtain an S-Class Secret Technique Like the Yin Seal in One Year Under Normal Circumstances"
Just thinking about it made the whole idea sound absurd.
And under such impossible circumstances, Sakura had only one choice: to take a bold gamble and outmaneuver the system.
And now, judging by Hiruzen's actions, it seemed her plan had worked.
Though whether that was good or bad… she wasn't sure yet.
Hiruzen walked silently with Sakura by his side, not uttering a single word.
This silence made Sakura, who had maintained her inner calm until now, start to feel a creeping sense of unease.
Step by step, they climbed to the highest point of the Hidden Leaf Village—above the Hokage Rock.
The high-altitude wind rustled Hiruzen's robes and brushed against Sakura's hair.
"…Sakura."
Hiruzen's voice carried a tinge of helplessness.
Just from the bold and ambitious essay "The Will of Fire According to Sakura Haruno" she had submitted today, he could already see that this seemingly obedient pink-haired girl was anything but innocent.
"I'm here, Grandpa Hokage."
Sakura turned to look at him, sensing his hesitation as he spoke.
"Can you tell me… what is a Hokage?"
Hiruzen slowly sat down on the ground, his clouded eyes gazing at the village he had protected for a lifetime.
He had once thought that his life was coming to a peaceful close.
That if he could just raise one more pillar to support Konoha before the end, he would retire without regrets.
But today, Sakura's graduation essay had stirred something inside him.
Once upon a time, he had been known as the "God of Shinobi."
But as the years passed, that title faded. In its place, people now called him "The Professor of Ninjutsu."
The warrior who once stormed battlefields had vanished from memory.
In his place was a ninjutsu scholar who had spent decades within the village walls.
"Hokage…"
Sakura mimicked Hiruzen, sitting beside him. She looked out at the familiar view—one she had only seen in the anime before—and slowly began to speak:
"A Hokage is the father of the household.
The teacher of the classroom.
The head of the street.
The mayor of the village.
The leader of the nation.
But above all, I prefer to describe the Hokage as the father of the family."
Hiruzen's expression shifted slightly as he asked:
"I remember your goal was to become the first female Hokage. So why use 'father' instead of 'mother' to describe the role?"
The wind stirred her soft pink hair as Sakura looked at him and replied:
"Because compared to mothers, fathers are more rational.
They can make difficult decisions when necessary—
even if, in the short term, those choices may harm the interests of the family.
But in the long run, from a broader perspective—
Those decisions are undoubtedly the right ones."
Sakura's words silenced Hiruzen.
He couldn't help but recall the time he had forced the Hyuga clan to compromise.
When the Hidden Cloud had tried to steal the Byakugan under the pretense of a peace treaty, Hiashi Hyuga had exposed them.
In the end, they traded Hizashi's life for peace.
That decision had earned him quiet criticism from the village elders.
But what else could he have done?
It was the tail end of the Third Great Ninja War.
Konoha's forces were nearly exhausted.
The Fourth Hokage had only just perished.
The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki was barely three years old.
The Uchiha were under heavy suspicion after the Nine-Tails' rampage.
Danzo was eyeing the Hokage seat.
Kakashi and the rest of the younger generation were still too green.
If even Kakashi's generation had been lost in battle, Konoha would've had no future left at all.
"So that's your understanding of what a Hokage is, Sakura…"
"You're right. A Hokage often has no choice."
"They may look noble, perched high above.
But in truth, they carry countless burdens and secrets they can never share…"
Hiruzen gently reached out and patted Sakura's soft, pink hair.
He truly liked this child.
And it was precisely because he liked her so much…
That he had made this special trip today.
"Anything more?" he asked, smiling kindly.
"Any more thoughts on what it means to be Hokage?"
Sakura blinked, her brows lifting slightly.
There's hope.
She stood up, wind brushing her face, and her voice rang clear:
"You don't become Hokage and then gain everyone's recognition."
"You gain everyone's recognition—and then you become Hokage."
A spark flashed in Hiruzen's gaze as he heard that.
"In that case," he asked, "how does one gain everyone's recognition?"
"Just by saying the right words?"
"Obviously not."
Sakura stood up straighter, her expression bright with intensity.
Seeing this, Hiruzen felt a bad premonition rise in his chest.
"This world…" Sakura began, voice firm. "Everyone speaks the same language, writes the same script, uses the same currency."
"Don't you think there are too many countries in this world, Lord Hokage?"
!!!
As expected, this girl is not someone who'll play by the rules.
Hiruzen stared at Sakura in stunned silence. His thoughts were a whirlwind of mixed emotions.
Then Sakura asked:
"If someone could ensure that everyone in the Hidden Leaf lived well—that all the people of the Land of Fire had enough to eat…"
"Could such a person be called Hokage?"
Hiruzen answered, "Yes."
Sakura continued:
"If someone could bring peace to Konoha for the first time in history—put an end to war and suffering…"
"Could that person be called Hokage?"
Hiruzen replied again, "Yes."
Sakura asked one final question:
"If someone could make it so that people could roam the entire world freely—without fearing for their lives—travel the mountains, rivers, oceans, and deserts at will…"
"Could that person be called Hokage?"
Hiruzen nodded. "Yes."
Sakura turned to him, eyes calm and resolute.
"Grandpa Hokage," she said, "I want to be Hokage."
"The kind of Hokage who can make all those things come true."
"My essay, 'The Will of Fire According to Sakura Haruno', is the beginning. The first step of it all."
As she looked down at the village below—so familiar and yet so vast—her tone carried both a lightness and a heavy responsibility.
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(End of Chapter)
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