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

Mei Terumi's breath almost stopped. In her emerald eyes, half-hidden by her slightly curly long hair, was reflected the man standing behind Yagura, one hand on the boy's head, the other pointing towards the tailed beast.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression remained unchanged, as calm as if he were admiring the bonsai in the courtyard.

But it is precisely this extreme tranquility that brings about extreme terror.

In the center of the battlefield.

Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed the change in his mental world, and a satisfied smile finally appeared on his gentle face.

He withdrew the hand that was pointing at the Three-Tails from afar, and began to form hand seals.

However, it was not any kind of forceful sealing technique aimed at suppression, restraint, or deprivation.

His hand seals were not fast, but each seal was crystal clear, as if he were performing a sacred ritual.

As he finished the last seal, he uttered a completely different word.

"bridge."

This time, there were no painful screams or resistance.

A warm, sun-like chakra extended from Hiruzen Sarutobi's palm, transforming into a solid bridge. One end connected to Yagura, while the other gently rested on the massive head of the Three-Tails, Isobu.

That was a warm invitation.

Isobu Mitsuo voluntarily gave up all resistance.

It even followed the bridge's guidance and actively cooperated, injecting its vast chakra, as boundless as the ocean, into Yagura's body for the first time without any hostility.

A huge vortex formed with Yagura at its center.

But at the core of that vortex is not destruction, but fusion and rebirth.

The seawater was dyed golden, and the warm light enveloped the entire island.

The moment the seal was completed, Yagura suddenly opened his eyes.

Below his left eye, next to the hideous scar left from the battle, a mysterious purple closed eye pattern, extremely similar to the Three-Tailed Fox's single eye, quietly appeared.

He felt the power within him, as calm and unfathomable as the deep sea, no longer something borrowed, but something like an arm he was born with.

At the same time, a brand new consciousness, in tune with his own mind, quietly awakened in his mind, like a somewhat clumsy giant who had just woken up.

My heart feels a peace and fulfillment I've never experienced before.

"How does it feel?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi withdrew his hand and asked gently.

Yagura opened his mouth, about to utter the words he had prepared beforehand to express his loyalty and gratitude.

However, an ancient, hoarse voice, tinged with a hint of clumsiness and curiosity, rang out in his mind for the first time with unparalleled clarity:

"Feed...kid..."

Yagura was taken aback.

The voice paused, as if organizing its thoughts, before continuing, "The guy in the black robe was talking about... roasted meat..."

"..."

"...What does it taste like?"

Time seemed to be subjected to some kind of forbidden spell that slowed it down at this moment.

Yagura's brain, that precise instrument that could maintain high-speed operation even in the most brutal political struggles in the Blood Mist Village and when facing the Kaguya clan's fearless charge, completely shut down at this moment.

What does barbecue taste like?

What did he just go through?

A miraculous fusion based on a resonance of souls.

He felt the eternal loneliness of a tailed beast abandoned by the world for thousands of years, and with his own small warmth, he pried open a corner of the iceberg that sealed away hatred and tyranny.

They obtained the immense power they had always dreamed of, power enough to change the fate of the village, and forged a true partnership with this legendary creature.

This should have been the beginning of an epic, the prelude to a legend.

Then, his legendary companion asked him his first question, which was about food.

Moreover, the question was asked in such a simple and honest way.

So...pure.

A sense of disorientation, enough to overturn his worldview over the years, swept over him like a tsunami, leaving this precocious young upstart in the Mist Village at a loss for how to respond.

How should I describe him?

Is it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with an irresistible aroma of oil? Is it paired with the Akimichi clan's secret sauce and sprinkled with a pinch of cumin from the Land of Wind, a bite that can elevate your soul?

Discuss culinary science and flavor chemistry with a giant turtle/shrimp hybrid made of pure chakra that has lived for thousands of years?

Yagura's facial muscles began to twitch slightly and uncontrollably.

For the first time, a crack appeared on his face, which had been taut and deliberately serious for years, mimicking the elders.

"Hey? Kid? Why aren't you saying anything?"

In his mind, the ancient and clumsy voice of the Three-Tailed Isobu rang out again, tinged with a hint of confusion and urging, "Is it hard to describe? Is it like the tingling sensation of being hit by Lightning Release? Or is it like the burning sensation of being burned by Fire Release?"

Yagura's lips twitched even more violently.

No, those two sensations usually occur when the food is burnt or undercooked.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and tried to organize his thoughts.

"That's a kind of..."

"A...complex..."

"...taste experience."

He finally managed to utter this incredibly precise, yet utterly meaningless, nonsense.

"Oh……"

Isona's voice sounded somewhat disappointed; it seemed she couldn't quite grasp the concept of complexity and taste experience.

In the realm of the mind, that desolate black ocean began to churn once more, seemingly representing its emotional fluctuations.

Yagura's heart tightened.

No way? Just because I didn't explain the taste of the barbecue clearly, is this newly established revolutionary friendship going to sink?

"The Hokage prefers to eat sashimi, and it has to be alive."

Just then, a clear and earnest voice came from the shore, breaking the silence of the island.

It's Ghost Dengxi.

She was squatting on the ground, her small chin resting on her knees, holding a notebook that was almost full of drawings in her hand. She was observing the situation around her while writing furiously, muttering to herself.

"Hmm... this big guy looks like it has firm flesh and very few bones. I wonder how it would be steamed... but the Hokage said it had to be alive, so it'll have to be sashimi, with his special wasabi sauce and soy sauce..."

Yagura: "..."

He could sense that the disappointment in the image of Isō after hearing the new words "sashimi" and "steamed" was instantly replaced by intense curiosity.

"What is sashimi? What about steamed sashimi? Which tastes better, sashimi or grilled meat?"

A barrage of questions bombarded Yagura's already fragile nerves, like a barrage of water cannon fire.

He stood frozen in place, feeling a slight sense of uncertainty about his future for the first time.