Naruto's caged bird

Konoha Village, Hokage Office.

In the room, processed and unprocessed documents piled up in front of him. In front of the only flat desk, there was a person sitting quietly.

He looked at the fire armband opened in the wooden box in front of him, and the eyes of Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was wearing the same Hokage robe, were focused and trembling. The setting sun shines through the cracks in the fire shadow rock outside the house behind him through the glass and is reflected here. The large white areas in the red and white fabric are printed with flame red at this moment, as if the flames at the front of the red flame are flickering between the textures. Along with the wind brought by the clouds outside Hokage Rock, Shinobu's ape eyes seemed to be a little rough...

Black, white, and red, the colors in his pupils are as intertwined as the battle situations recorded in the documents in front of him. When the war in the Fire Country was in a state of turmoil, was he, who was silent at this time, thinking: What would have happened if it was Konoha White Fang who went out to fight?

It seems that the other party at that time clearly said that: "I hope... to end this war as soon as possible."

"dong dong"

The sound of knocking on the door passed through the pile of documents in front of him, causing the occasionally sentimental Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen to once again deal with official duties...

He immediately put the red flame armband on white background that he had grasped in his hand into the box, laid it out neatly, put it in the drawer and closed it. Then he said to the door in the gap between the documents in front of him:

"Come in."

It seems that the old door of "Karma" is about to be replaced again...

After the sound of pushing the door, there was the sound of metal "dinging and pinging". In this era, except for Sarutobi Hiruzen himself, it seems that no one can wear the metal armor of the Warring States Period anymore, and at this time the only one who can make such a sound...

"I'm home"

He said something casually, even without looking up, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was correcting the document again, seemed to have recognized the sound of pots and pans on the ten thousand-year-old genin Kosuke that he had heard for countless years...

Genin Kosuke, who stood a little tired and still hadn't taken off the pots and pans he wore for survival in the wild, replied teasingly:

"Yes, I'm back alive, the Third Hokage"

Ever since the former Kosuke acted impulsively and did not take his own life seriously during the mission, he has never received a mission above the genin level in these years. This rare exception to the task of guarding the border was arranged by the Third Hokage himself due to lack of manpower during the war and some other reason. This result seems to be the first D-level or higher mission for Genin Kosuke after the third generation of Hiruzen Sarutobi came to power for ten thousand years...

Looking at the middle-aged Kosuke who seemed to have changed a little after being gone for more than a month, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who seemed to be in a good mood, lit up the cooled pipe in front of the case. After taking a sip, he swallowed the cloud and said:

"What about that kid?"

Kosuke, who had just switched from the front line, looked at the Third Hokage in front of him, "Child". He thought about Hinata Hizashi, whom he had been in contact with for more than a month, and suddenly thought: "For our age, maybe the other person is a child at this time. ". He then said with some emotion that time was passing by:

"Much better than me."

This is a fair evaluation, because no matter how good a ninja is, he seems to be better than a ten thousand year genin.

"You should know that what I'm asking about is the ninja's will and heart." Looking at Kosuke, who was still unsure of himself, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately added. Of course he knew that at his age Hinata Hizashi was better than Kosuke and many others at the same time, but in his current position, these things were not what he was interested in...

As the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't have much time to observe a ninja who was just a genin. Even if the other person mentioned the children of the Hyuga clan to him many times before Hatake Sakumo's death, several times during the chunin exams During the contact, he saw many unstable factors.

Kosuke then began to recall Yue Yu's contact with Hinata Hizashi. After feeling and judging, he looked at the Third Hokage and said seriously:

"He still cares about Konoha White Fang, and he seems to value many things more than us."

a lot of things

Looking at the middle-aged genin Kosuke who commented like this, the third generation Sarutobi's brows instantly lowered a little:

"Really?" He immediately began to think about it. He had a problem with Konoha because of his teacher's affairs... "Konoha White Fang." The guilt over the death of Konoha White Fang instantly made Sarutobi Hiruzen sigh. After thinking of that man, He then asked clearly:

"Then do you think he has the will of fire?"

Will of Fire

In the smoke, Gu Jie, who was still unknown in his middle age, was silent for a long time. Then he smiled indifferently and looked at the Hokage in front of him who had asked him the same question before. Even I can't seem to figure out the issue of "The Will of Fire" at this time, so how can I clearly see the young man named Hinata Hizashi?

He then said simply:

"I am not sure."

The ten thousand year genin in front of him still seemed to be looking at him so straightly after all these years. Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed helplessly:

"Really? It seems that you still need to practice."

Immediately, he plucked at the pile of documents that were a little skewed. At this time, it seems that I have no time to observe them, and it seems that I can only let time judge everything. He then said to Kosuke, who was still a genin after so many years in front of him:

"Inform him to take part in this batch of Chuunin exams."

Gently stunned, Genin Kosuke glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen who had made such a decision. Time flies, and the person in front of him seems to be no longer ready to let the ninja continue to wander among the genin and observe. He shook his body, and then replied affirmatively:

"I will convey it to him"

After the report was completed, he immediately turned around and prepared to leave. And the pot covering his back was reflected in front of the Third Sarutobi the moment he turned around. This time, it seems that there are a few new knife marks and dents...

Looking at the genin who were about to leave, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had made up his mind, suddenly opened his mouth subconsciously. He looked at Gusuke, a genin who had been a genin for decades, and said with determination:

"Do you need to be promoted to chuunin?" he said in a casual and relaxed manner...

His steps stopped for a moment, and he turned his back for a moment, but still answered the same sentence:

"No"

"Ding, pong..."

The sound of metal scraping extended immediately, and it has remained the same for many years. The pot seems to have been used for many years, and the hatchet has also been used for many years...

"When can I let it go?" Listening to the familiar voice in the distance, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and pulled out a roster from the pile of documents on the table. He glanced at it again and seemed to still be able to remember the surname in front of the name:

Aburzuka... Akimichi... Yamanaka... Nara... Uzumaki... Namikaze..., he immediately wrote a new name at the end of the list of candidates.

Hyuga...Hizashi