Naruto: Naruto Hosted by the System

The moment this bombshell news was released, the crowd went wild.

"Quiet!" Jiraiya, to Hiruzen Sarutobi's left, roared, silencing everyone.

Standing here now is not that lecherous sage, but one of the three ninjas who fought their way out of the battlefield.

Seeing Jiraiya like this, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a little relieved.

Naruto still has supporters in the village.

He then smiled and said, "That's true. Naruto is no longer the annoying fox spirit he used to be. He is the Fifth Hokage who has completed numerous missions, helped many villagers, and saved Konoha."

"Everyone else, please leave first. I need to discuss some things with the Fifth Boss."

Led by Jiraiya, the group, though still full of questions, had no choice but to leave.

The dying Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Naruto: "Naruto, am I a good Hokage?"

"No."

Seeing Naruto's bluntness, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a wry smile: "So what kind of person do you think is a good Hokage, or what do you plan to do in the future?"

Naruto's eyes flickered.

"First, I will detain Gaara to suppress the Land of Wind, take advantage of the complicated situation in the Land of Water to fish in troubled waters, and then deal with the radicals in the Land of Lightning. Onoki is not stupid, and he will definitely take the initiative to make good at that time. In a few years, the Land of Earth can also be taken over."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned by these words, and after a long pause, he managed to stammer, "Naruto, did you come up with all of this yourself?"

Naruto remained silent for a while, then gently shook his head after asking the system.

"Is that so... Never mind, I trust you have your own judgment." Hiruzen Sarutobi felt uneasy, but there was nothing he could do.

"Before I die, can you tell me who your friend living inside you is—I'm not talking about the Nine-Tails—?"

To this, Naruto simply replied, "He was my best friend during the darkest time of my life."

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to ask something more, but his time was running out.

In his final moments, he suddenly wanted to chat like an ordinary old man.

"Naruto, being Hokage isn't easy. You have to do so much paperwork, which can take all day long. You have no time to spend with your family, especially someone like you..."

At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped talking and chuckled.

Naruto didn't catch the implication and dismissed it, saying, "No one in the entire ninja world can compare to my friend in this regard."

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to ask, "Do you still want your friend to interfere in the Hokage's political affairs?"

But what came out of his mouth was: "Naruto, I'm sorry, because of my negligence, you were often hungry when you were little."

Naruto said seriously, "From now on, I will have all the ninjas go to farm and produce lots and lots of food to share with everyone, so that everyone can have enough to eat."

"Haha, if we use teleportation techniques to farm, the efficiency will definitely be very high."

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't even reprimand him for wasting precious troops.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared intently at Naruto.

"Minato, I'm sorry I'm late. If only I had been the one to use the Reaper Death Seal back then..."

Finally, he turned his gaze to the Hokage Rock, his eyes filled with countless complex emotions.

Then, he died.

Naruto watched the old man who had been with him since childhood pass away in silence.

They had been fighting Orochimaru all day, and now it was sunrise. The sun was just rising, but because Hiruzen Sarutobi was facing away from the sun, his face was not bathed in any light, and his gloomy expression made him look so lonely.

And Naruto, standing opposite Hiruzen Sarutobi—all the light shone on him.

"May the third generation of grandfathers rest in peace."

Chapter 45: Making Noodles for the Girls

Nighttime, at Naruto's house.

Naruto was busy in the kitchen, with Karin helping him, while Sakura and Ino sat in the living room waiting for dinner.

The story begins a few hours ago.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi appointed Naruto as the Fifth Hokage before his death, Naruto himself knew that there were still people in Konoha who did not want to see him become Hokage, such as the two advisors and Danzo Shimura hiding in the shadows.

Therefore, on the system's advice, Naruto decided to gather trusted people at his home to discuss the next steps.

For some reason, apart from Karin, Ino, and Sakura Haruno, no one else had arrived yet, even though it was past dinner time.

Feeling bad that the girls were going hungry, Naruto offered to cook them noodles.

Naruto didn't think much of it, but he felt he had to gather everyone again tomorrow.

But the three people who shared the room with him thought differently.

Especially Karin, who helps Naruto cook.

"Karin, give me the seasonings."

"for you."

"Help me chop some greens."

"Ok."

"That's about it. Now, please help me arrange the plates."

"no problem."

"Wow, Karin, you arranged it so well! It looks even more appetizing."

"It's nothing."

On the surface, Karin remained calm and composed, always with a smile on her face, and did everything perfectly.

But what she truly felt was—

"Ahhh—I'm cooking with Naruto, isn't that just like a wife and husband who have been married for many years?"

"Ah! I touched Naruto's hand when I was handing him something. There was physical contact today, and I don't even want to think about what will happen tomorrow..."

"Naruto praised me! He's so kind, I want to cook with him for the rest of my life!"

On the other side, Sakura Haruno sat on the sofa, propping her head up with her hand.

She was very conflicted. Unlike Karin and the others, Sakura Haruno didn't have any feelings for Naruto; she could only say she felt a little guilty.

She was indeed very foolish in the past, saying many outrageous things that even Sasuke might find hard to tolerate, let alone Naruto, who was directly involved.

They said Naruto was a loser, but in the blink of an eye, he became Hokage, and they could never catch up with him no matter how hard they tried.

She had been wanting to apologize to Naruto, but couldn't find the right opportunity.

Speaking of which, why didn't anyone else come today? I was originally going to ask Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke for their advice.

Ino, who was also waiting in the living room, didn't seem as awkward as Haruno Sakura.

She was just thinking, "What excuse should I use to sit next to Naruto? Should I say that I'm serving everyone noodles and it would be more convenient to sit next to Naruto? Or should I say that I'm afraid of the cold and it would be warmer next to Naruto?"

Just as the two were lost in their own thoughts, Naruto's voice came from the kitchen.

"The noodles are ready, come and eat!"

Ino immediately rushed into the kitchen before Haruno Sakura, only to find Karin sitting to Naruto's left with a victorious smile on her face.

Damn it! I forgot about Karin, our biggest competitor.

"Naruto, can I sit to your right?" In the end, Ino chose to be direct.

"Oh, please make yourself at home."

success!

Ino glanced at Sakura Haruno, who was furthest from Naruto, and secretly rejoiced: no matter what, Sakura is at the bottom.

Sakura Haruno was so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn't even considered the importance of seating arrangements. She figured it probably didn't matter.

"I'll serve everyone the noodles." Ino hadn't forgotten this plan.

Karin pouted, regretting that she was a step too slow.

"Sakura, this is yours."

"Ah good."

"Karin, come here."

"Thank you."

"And Naruto, you too."

Naruto stared in surprise at the mountain of noodles piled up in front of him.

"Ino, you've hit too many, I can't eat them all."

"It's okay, Naruto, you must be tired after being busy for so long today."

"We really can't eat this much. Would any of you like to share some?"

"I want it!" ×2

Naruto was a little confused: "Why didn't you say Ino didn't hit enough earlier, but now you're saying you want more when it's in my bowl?"

"Haha, maybe we didn't notice it at first."

Naruto stopped thinking about it and realized he was really hungry.

After getting to know the system, it recorded a lot of relevant information according to the recipe, so Naruto can now completely replicate the dishes on the recipe, and his cooking skills are definitely much better than when he only ate instant noodles.

But it's not exactly great; it's just average.

However, Karin and the others ate with great relish, as if they had never eaten ramen before.

"So you guys love ramen so much! I'll treat you to my favorite Ichiraku Ramen sometime. It's the most delicious ramen in the world."

Naruto still didn't think about anything else; he was just happy that the three of them shared his ideals.

As for Ino and Karin's true thoughts—this is Naruto's noodles, so they must eat more!

Karin even had a second bowl because she heard that the "foodie persona"—someone who looks thin but loves food—is very popular.