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

The next morning, as the whistle of the "Will of Fire" pierced the tranquil morning mist of the Land of Hot Springs, Obito and Asuma, with large dark circles under their eyes, were listlessly leaning on the deck railing.

Last night's game clearly cost them.

"Ugh... I'm so bored..."

Obito groaned weakly, "How much longer until we get there? My bones are going to rust on this ship."

"It's just an endless ocean, the ocean is still the ocean."

"(ᗜ ˰ ᗜ) Sigh"

Asuma chimed in, his voice hoarse, "I'd rather go back and spar with my father's shadow clones than take a boat again."

Kakashi leaned against the mast, holding a simply-covered book in his hands. Without even lifting his eyelids, he casually remarked, "Three more hours. If you save your energy for complaining and take a nap, you might feel better."

"Tch, you're so boring."

Obito pursed his lips.

Just then, Shinnosuke, who had been standing at the bow of the ship observing the distant horizon with his binoculars, put them down.

"Father,"

He turned around and reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had just stepped out of the cabin, his voice as flat as ever, "We have entered the waters near the Land of Lightning. The route is clear and no abnormalities have been detected."

Hiruzen Sarutobi held a cup of hot tea, blew on it gently, and nodded.

He knew that the real anomaly would only be visible once they reached the shore.

Three hours later, as the massive steel fleet slowly entered the newly built port of Kumogakure, not only Obito and Asuma, but even the usually calm Kakashi, subconsciously straightened up.

The scene before them completely overturned everything they had learned about the Land of Lightning from the textbooks at the ninja academy.

In my memory, the Land of Lightning was a rugged, treacherous country covered by endless, towering mountains. The Hidden Cloud Village was built on a mountaintop above the clouds, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, but this also made it isolated and extremely difficult to transport supplies.

But what they saw now was a large-scale, well-planned, modern deep-water port. Huge cranes were methodically hoisting containers, and the smooth, reflective gray pavement stretched into the distance on the wide quay.

It was a color and texture that Hiruzen Sarutobi was all too familiar with.

Chakra concrete.

"Wow... here..."

Obito's goggles had almost slipped down to the tip of his nose. He pointed into the distance and asked, "What's that? A railway track?"

Following the direction of his finger, dark railway tracks stretched out from the depths of the port, winding their way into the distant valleys, alongside a wider and flatter highway.

"It seems Danzo is doing a good job here."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a sip of tea, his tone calm, but a hint of surprise, which he himself did not notice, flashed deep in his eyes.

He had anticipated that Danzo would cause some trouble, but he never expected that in just a few months, this former warmonger would actually transform a barren and rugged mountainous country into this state.

This is no longer a renovation; it's a complete rebuild.

"Lord Hokage!"

A loud and energetic voice came from the dock.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw two figures walking quickly toward the flagship.

The one walking in front was wearing a set of dark blue overalls covered in dust, with all sorts of strange tools hanging from his waist, and his face was filled with a kind of fanatical excitement.

Who else could it be but Danzo Shimura?

Beside him stood Uchiha Kagami, still wearing the traditional Uchiha high-necked dark shirt, with a gentle and refined demeanor and a warm smile on his face.

One was a construction foreman who was full of energy, and the other was an elegant young nobleman who came to inspect the site.

The two of them standing together create a striking contrast in style that seems to tear the air apart, yet they are strangely harmonious.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his two right-hand men and felt a wave of helpless frustration.

"Hiruzen! You've finally arrived!"

Before the gangway was fully lowered, Danzo used a Body Flicker Technique to leap directly onto the deck. His movements were so swift and agile that they didn't seem like those of an elder over fifty years old.

He grabbed Hiruzen Sarutobi's arm with astonishing strength, his face full of pride as if he were showing off a treasure.

"Come on! Hurry up! I'll show you something amazing! You'll be absolutely blown away!"

"...I just got off the ship, Danzo, at least let me catch my breath."

Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to break free.

"Stop panting! After seeing my masterpiece, you'll know what it means to be truly thrilled!"

Without saying a word, Danzo pulled him off the ship, as if he were not going to greet the Hokage, but to show off his newly assembled limited edition Gundam model.

Uchiha Kagami slowly walked onto the ship, smiled at the bewildered young man and the expressionless Shinnosuke, and then followed the two.

"Hokage, Danzo... he's been in this state lately."

Jing's voice carried a hint of helpless laughter.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was half-dragged and half-pulled by Danzo until he arrived at a magnificent suspension bridge spanning two huge cliffs.

The bridge is made entirely of silver-white metal and chakra concrete, with smooth and powerful lines. It stands motionless in the strong winds of the canyon, like a rainbow forged from steel.

"How is it?"

Danzo stood with his hands on his hips, looking up at his masterpiece, his eyes gleaming with fervent light. "Kaminarimon Bridge! I designed it myself! Two-way road, with reserved railway track interfaces on both sides! It uses the latest wind-attribute chakra resonance damping technology, theoretically capable of withstanding an 8-magnitude earthquake and a super S-class wide-range wind escaping attack!"

He launched into a long, rambling explanation of all sorts of technical data and jargon, such as "tower anchoring system," "steel box girder segment splicing accuracy," and "concrete grade," leaving Asuma and Obito, who were following behind, completely bewildered. They felt it was even more painful than listening to Tobirama's logic lessons.

"This thing... just hearing about it sounds amazing..."

Obito murmured.

"yes,"

Asma nodded in deep agreement, "Although I couldn't understand it at all, every word seemed to exude an air of great value."

Looking at his fervent friend, Hiruzen Sarutobi was momentarily speechless.

He was certain that Danzo was truly deriving a greater sense of accomplishment and satisfaction from this bridge than he had from plotting to become Hokage.

"It's spectacular." That was the only comment he could give in the end.

"This is just the beginning!"

Danzo waved his hand, pointing to the village shrouded in mist in the distance, "Our goal is to connect the entire Land of Lightning with a network of railways and highways! To eliminate all transportation barriers in the ninja world!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him and suddenly asked, "Such a huge project, and those old fogies in Kumogakure just agreed to it so easily?"

Danzo's expression froze for a moment.

At this moment, Uchiha Kagami, who was standing to the side, spoke up with a smile: "The elders of Kumogakure did have some concerns at first, feeling that it would be too costly and would allow Konoha to interfere too much in their internal affairs. However, I spent some time talking to them privately."

He paused, then added, "Mainly, we reviewed the history of the naval battle in the Land of Whirlpools, analyzed Konoha's current military strength and economic size, and looked forward to the bright prospects of future cooperation and mutual benefit between the two countries. The elders are all people of great understanding, and after the discussion, they all agreed."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eye twitched.

He knew all too well what Jing's style of heart-to-heart talks was like.

It was probably an in-depth exchange, both physical and spiritual, conducted in an absolutely quiet, secluded room, accompanied by the slow rotation of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Just then, a tall and robust figure, accompanied by two guards, strode in from the direction of the village.

It is none other than the current Fourth Raikage, A.

After several years, he still had the same muscular and explosive appearance, but the naivety and impulsiveness of those years had faded from his face, replaced by a sense of composure and authority befitting a shadow.

He walked up to Hiruzen Sarutobi, his sharp eyes staring directly at him.

Everyone present subconsciously tensed up, especially Asuma and Obito, who both remembered how fierce the Raikage had been on the battlefield back then.

However, the deep-seated hatred and resentment that once filled Ai's eyes had been replaced by a more complex emotion.

He remained silent for a moment, and then, to everyone's surprise, he extended his hand.

"Welcome to the new Cloud Village, Hokage."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the hand in front of him, then at Ai's eyes.

He knew that an era had truly passed.

He reached out and shook hands tightly with Ai.

"It's been a long time, Lord Raikage."