On the night of the Nine-Tails, I shattered the Tailed Beast Ball with a single punch.

Basically, it's just some small villages and ninja organizations causing trouble.

Yongze was just complaining about the slow promotion, so a big mission came his way, and he was promoted directly to squad leader. Wouldn't that be great?

Nagasawa instructed the three to hand over the fake Iwa ninja to the interrogation department.

Even though we know they're not from Iwagakure, we still need to confirm which side they belong to.

The Konoha Torture Department can extract something from the dead, let alone the living. They're not kidding when it comes to all those secret techniques.

Nagasawa went to see Minato to share his thoughts.

He wanted Minato to maintain a tough stance on this incident, so that the Third Hokage wouldn't downplay it again.

While rest and recuperation are good, we still need to be firm when necessary, otherwise even the most insignificant people will dare to bully Konoha.

If that's the case, what does the title of the number one ninja village mean? Wouldn't all those wars have been fought for nothing?

Chapter 41 Parents Will Be Unhappy If I Eat Too Many Desserts

Inside the Hokage's office in the Hokage Building.

"Should we be a little tougher..." Minato Namikaze tapped his fingers on the table as he considered Nagasawa's suggestion.

Nagasawa has already told Minato his thoughts; he feels that Konoha can take a tougher stance towards the outside world.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Actually, the Third Hokage didn’t always compromise; he just wanted peace in Konoha.” Minato thought for a moment and finally agreed with Nagasawa’s idea.

He still had a good impression of the Third Hokage, which far outweighed his dislike for the Third Hokage's actions.

In this era, who else became Hokage at such a young age as Minato Namikaze? He didn't become Hokage because of the Third Hokage's unexpected death; it was Sarutobi who voluntarily stepped down.

In every village, whether small or large, the leader always held onto power until death or near death before passing on the throne.

It's worth noting that Hiruzen Sarutobi is only in his fifties this year. He's far from dying of old age; he'll live for at least another ten or twenty years.

Based on this alone, Minato held the Third Hokage in the highest esteem, which required considerable courage.

Although the Third Hokage did not give all the power to Minato, but still held onto some important powers, Minato could understand. After all, he was too young, and it was normal for the Third Hokage to be worried about him.

He believed that as long as he demonstrated the abilities expected of an excellent Hokage, the Third Hokage would naturally entrust everything to him.

"I didn't say the Third Hokage wanted to do anything bad to Konoha. I just don't quite like his current political stance," Nagasawa said, shrugging.

The third generation cannot be judged simply as good or bad; he was a complex person.

Initially, the Second Hokage was ambushed and killed by the Hidden Cloud Village. He was appointed to the position of Third Hokage in a time of crisis.

Under such dire circumstances, the Third Hokage, relying on his exceptional abilities, defeated the nations that challenged Konoha, once again demonstrating to the ninja world Konoha's strength and proving what it truly meant to be the number one ninja village.

Can we call someone like that a bad person? No, at least not to the people of Konoha.

But if you're asking whether the Third Generation was a good person, Nagasawa can only laugh.

In the original timeline, Minato entrusted Naruto to Hiruzen Sarutobi before his death, demonstrating his extreme trust in him.

But what did the third generation do? They ignored the rumors spreading in the village.

Although he probably didn't spread the rumors; it was probably Danzo who did it.

However, he chose to do nothing, even though he could have revealed Naruto's true identity—that he wasn't the Nine-Tailed Fox, but the son of the Fourth Hokage.

However, he did not do so, because if he revealed Naruto's identity as the Fourth Hokage's son, Naruto would be exposed to a wider audience, which might cause more trouble.

So he chose to keep it a secret, only visiting Naruto from time to time, offering him a bit of warmth like a grandfather.

Nagasawa didn't know if the Third Generation felt guilty or had other motives; perhaps it was both.

The Third Hokage's actions really annoyed Nagasawa. It's only because Naruto is cheerful and strong-willed that he could turn evil so easily.

Therefore, it's impossible to expect Nagasawa to have a good attitude towards the Third Generation.

He respected the Third Hokage's contributions to Konoha, but he didn't have a good impression of the Third Hokage as a person.

Perhaps, people are more prone to illness as they get older?

Yongze doesn't believe that this operation is anything but serious; he has no idea it's not due to some serious illness.

“Actually, the Third Hokage…” Minato wanted to say something more.

But Nagasawa didn't give him a chance, waving his hand and saying, "Alright, let's not talk about him anymore. My birthday is coming soon. Minato, you've become Hokage now, you have to give me a big gift."

Yongze's birthday is November 16th, and today is November 8th, so there are only eight days left until his birthday.

Minato chuckled twice. He really wanted to know why Nagasawa always seemed to dislike the Third Hokage, even though Nagasawa shouldn't have had much contact with him.

"What kind of big gift do you want?" Minato asked, smiling at Nagasawa.

Nagasawa stroked his chin and casually said, "How about giving me a few of the Sage of Six Paths' ninja tools?"

“I don’t have that, but I do have a special Flying Thunder God kunai that the Fourth Hokage kept close to him. Do you want it?” Minato joked when he saw that Nagasawa couldn’t get it.

Nagasawa gave Minato a mocking look and teased, "I didn't expect you to know you're popular among female ninjas. Looks like I need to have a chat with Kushina to prevent you from making a mistake."

Minato's expression changed, and a picture flashed through his mind.

Kushina unleashed her full power, her beautiful red hair billowing due to the immense, tangible chakra she exuded. She then grabbed his collar and asked him what was going on, whether he no longer loved her.

"You can't say things like that carelessly. You know Kushina's temper," Minato said seriously.

Yongze chuckled twice. "Serves you right for always showing off your love in front of me. Now you know you're scared, huh?"

Nagasawa thinks that when looking for a wife, one should choose someone with a gentle personality like Nono. If you were to marry someone like Tsunade or Kushina, there would be a risk to your life when you two argue.

The two chatted about everyday things for a while, and then, seeing that it was almost time, Yongze left.

After all, Minato was the Hokage, not a chat partner; the place they were in was the Hokage's office, not some entertainment venue.

Chatting for a while is fine, but chatting for too long would be a bit of a disturbance to Minato's work. Even Kushina didn't stick to Minato like that.

If he does that, Kushina will definitely start to suspect his relationship with Minato.

……

……

After leaving the Hokage's office, Nagasawa went to the dessert shop.

The dessert shop, as its name suggests, is a place that sells desserts. Unlike Watanabe's dango shop, it has a wide variety of desserts.

So when Nagasawa occasionally wants to try something lighter, he comes back here for a stroll.

After browsing around the store, Yongze bought a green bean-filled grass cake and three strawberry daifuku.

He had actually suggested to the dessert shop owner that they could make red bean and strawberry daifuku, which would be sweet enough, but unfortunately the owner didn't accept his suggestion.

As he was about to pay the bill, Yongze saw someone who surprised him.

A child, about four or five years old, with short black hair, delicate features, and tear troughs on his face, was wearing the Uchiha clan crest on his clothes.

At this moment, Itachi Uchiha was struggling with how many servings of dango to buy.

Desire told him that since he had so much pocket money, he could just buy three.

But reason told him that if he ate so many three-colored dumplings, he definitely wouldn't be able to eat dinner later. As the eldest son who was given great expectations, was it a bit inappropriate for him to do this?

Seeing Itachi's hesitation, Nagasawa said, "If you want to eat it, just buy it. If you don't have enough money, I'll lend you some."

Upon hearing Nagasawa's voice, Itachi looked at Nagasawa with some suspicion and wariness, as he did not recognize the stranger in front of him.

Chapter 42 Free things are often the most expensive.

"Don't worry, your brother also loves eating dumplings. People who like sweets are usually not bad," Yongze casually made up.

Looking at Nagasawa's handsome and confident face, Itachi lowered his guard a little and thought for a moment before saying, "It's not that I don't have enough money, I just want to buy a few more servings."

"That's easy, just buy as many portions as you want," Yongze laughed.

Itachi shook his head, his little face becoming somewhat serious, and said earnestly, "How can a person indulge their desires to do things? That's wrong."

Nagasawa looked at Itachi with some surprise. At such a young age, he spoke eloquently and fluently. He truly deserved to be called a genius of the Uchiha clan.

But Yongze, after all, was a seasoned online debater in his past life, and after thinking for a moment, he retorted:

"You're oversimplifying desires. It's desires that keep humanity moving forward; the desire to live a more comfortable life drives the continuous invention of various tools..."

Nagasawa's long-winded explanation left Itachi completely bewildered, leaving him momentarily at a loss for words.

He thought about it carefully, and it seemed that what Yongze said about those changes really was due to human desires.

'Could it be that Father is wrong? Is desire a good thing?' Itachi pondered to himself.

However, he always felt that something was off about what Yongze was saying, but with his limited experience, he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

Before Itachi could come up with a solution, he saw Nagasawa take two servings of the three-colored dumplings to pay the bill.

He gave one of the dumplings to Itachi and said with a smile, "If you don't understand, go back and think about it again. Consider this one my treat."

Itachi refused to accept it; his upbringing instilled in him a disregard for accepting gifts from others.

Seeing that Itachi didn't answer, Nagasawa raised an eyebrow and said, "Sometimes you don't need to overcomplicate things. Just ask him again next time and get your money back."

Finally, Nagasawa shoved the dumpling into Itachi's arms and then ran away at lightning speed before Itachi could even react.

He left behind only one sentence that didn't quite please the dessert shop owner.

"If you want dango, I recommend you try the dango shop on the west side of Konoha. Just tell me the name, and they'll definitely make you the sweetest dango."

Itachi looked at the dumpling in his arms with a confused expression. Why would someone force someone to give it to him?

However, he did remember what Yongze said and went to the west side of the village to see if the restaurant Yongze mentioned was good.

"You said you could give your name, but you didn't leave your name." Itachi sighed.

If he knew the name, he could ask his father, Uchiha Fugaku, if he knew him, and then return the money for the dumpling. Judging from the speed that Nagasawa showed, he shouldn't be an ordinary ninja, and his father would most likely know him.

In the end, Itachi still left the dessert shop with the dango that had been forcibly given to him.

Yongze's words gave him a different kind of inspiration. He had a vague feeling that Yongze was a different person from everyone he had ever met before, a very special person.

……

……

Having run away from the dessert shop, Nagasawa found a quiet grassy spot by a stream and prepared to eat dessert.