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

Over the next few days, Uchiha Mine conducted his final disguise training in this underground lair.

He would practice showing the purest, most unguarded smile in front of a pool of water.

"wrong."

Black Zetsu's voice rang out coldly, "Your smile is too perfect, like an aristocrat. A homeless child's smile should carry a hint of inferiority, a touch of ingratiation, and a foolish longing for the future. Tighten the curve of your lips a little more, yes, your eyes, your eyes should light up, like a starving dog seeing a meat bun!"

Feng adjusted his facial muscles expressionlessly, again and again.

He would practice how to express just the right amount of shock and envy from the countryside when he first saw skyscrapers.

"That's an exaggeration!"

Black Zetsu criticized mercilessly, "You're just inexperienced, not mentally challenged. Shock should be tempered with longing, and longing should be tinged with a hint of self-consciousness. Think about it, what was Yahiko's expression when he first saw the Hokage Building? Go imitate him! That pure, undisguised 'Wow, that' feeling!"

He was even practicing how to recount his fabricated past.

"The speech is too fast and the logic is too clear. It doesn't sound like a recollection, it sounds like reciting a memorized text."

Black Zetsu floated around him like the most demanding theater director: "When you speak, you have to pause, occasionally stop talking because of sadness, your eyes have to be dim, and your hands have to be unconsciously clenched... These are all useless but necessary little details that can evoke sympathy."

Finally, after Black Zetsu believed his performance was flawless and enough to fool the entire ninja world, the day of departure arrived.

Black Zetsu had prepared a worn but clean traveler's outfit for him, along with a simple backpack.

Finally, it handed something out of the shadows.

It was a wooden headband carved from ordinary wood. The carving was rough, but you could see the maker's care.

"A homeless child naturally can't afford a real headband," Black Zetsu explained hoarsely. "This is a dream you carved out yourself, based on your mother's description."

Ubo Feng took the wooden headband and tied it around his waist.

"Go."

Black Zetsu's voice sounded like a sigh, yet also like a curse.

"All obstacles in the road have been cleared. The sandstorm will cover your tracks until the moment you step into the Land of Fire."

After saying that, its half-human-sized body, like melting wax, silently sank into the shadows of the ground and disappeared.

Only Uchiha Mine remained in the stone chamber.

He took one last look at the darkness that had imprisoned and reshaped him, then turned and headed toward the lair's only exit.

The blinding sunlight and scorching sandstorm hit us in the face.

He emerged from the cave and stepped onto the boundless desert.

The strong wind whipped up sand and gravel, which stung my face.

A conspiracy targeting the heart of Konoha, targeting that era of peace, has quietly begun.

Uchiha Mine did not turn back. Facing the swirling sandstorm, he walked step by step resolutely toward the Land of Fire.

The wind grew stronger and stronger, and the sandstorm instantly engulfed the sky and the earth.

His figure gradually blurred and eventually disappeared completely into the dim yellow sand.

Only the rough wooden headband tied around his waist swayed gently in the wind, like a silent mockery.

The vast expanse of yellow sand was kept out by the dense forests along the border of the Land of Fire.

The main gate of Konoha Village.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly.

Two gatekeeper ninjas wearing dark green Chunin vests were leaning against the gatepost chatting idly.

"Did you manage to snag the discounted Konoha porcupine meat at the farm's directly operated store last night?"

The ninja on the left, named Songfan, flipped through the entry and exit register and nudged his companion, Shenyue, with his elbow.

"Don't even mention it."

Shingetsu rolled his eyes, pulled a mint from his pocket, and popped it into his mouth. "Those fat bastards from the Akimichi family are inhuman. They used their Expansion Jutsu to hold their own in line, each of them holding the space of five people. I didn't even see a single pig hair. In the end, I only managed to buy the tomatoes that Kakashi grew."

Song Fan was overjoyed: "You should be content. I heard that Lord White Fang is currently researching using lightning release to stimulate plant growth. Maybe next time you'll be able to buy an electrified cucumber. The kind that makes your whole body go numb after one bite."

"I get a headache just looking at the vegetables from the farm now. Lord Shikanobu sent out a notice yesterday that next month they'll be promoting a balanced nutrition plan for the whole village, forcibly reducing the proportion of barbecued meat supplied. Lord Akimichi Torifu almost ripped the roof off the Hokage Building."

Shingetsu chewed on a mint and mumbled a complaint.

"Harmful,"

Song Fan closed the register and brushed off the dust.

"The Hokage is truly visionary. Those civilians from other countries who come to Konoha to work are green with envy."

Just as Shen Yue was about to speak, she caught a glimpse of a figure walking towards her on the main road ahead.

The newcomer was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old.

He had black hair, wore a faded, frayed coarse cloth outfit, rolled up to his knees, and his straw sandals were worn down to the point of breaking half of the strap. He carried a shrunken gray cloth bundle on his back.

He stopped ten steps away from the gate of Konoha.

Head held high.

His gaze swept across the wide asphalt road, past the newly built three-story brick buildings on both sides, and stared intently at the towering wooden farm that seemed to pierce the clouds behind him, and the Fire Shadow Rock in the distance.

Lips open and close.

His fingers gripped the backpack straps tightly, his knuckles turning an unnatural bluish-white.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down a few times, but no sound came out.

A mixture of timidity, pilgrimage, and an unbelievable sense of unease was vividly displayed on his gaunt body.