Chapter 61: Are You Confident?

Higashino Yu interrupted Naruto and began to ask, “You talked a lot with your parents?”

“Yeah.” Naruto nodded.

“Now you have a lot you want to say, but you don’t know where to begin?”

“Yeah.” Naruto nodded again.

“Then there’s no need to say anything. Honestly, I’m not that interested in hearing it.”

“Huh?”

“You should decide your own matters.”

Naruto was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.”

“But I am curious about one thing,” Higashino Yu asked.

“What is it?”

“Do you still want to become Hokage?”

“Yes!” Naruto answered with firm resolve.

“Alright, go play somewhere else. I need to get back to writing. Thanks to your earlier interruptions, I’ve only managed a few dozen words so far.”

“Okay.” Naruto responded, then added in his usual tone, “It’s not my fault, Yu-nii, you’re just slow and easily distracted!”

It seemed as if something had changed in Naruto, but at the same time, nothing had changed at all. Higashino Yu couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it.

He gathered his thoughts and began to write his book.

With plenty of material in his mind, Higashino Yu wrote smoothly once he got serious, though Naruto kept disturbing him from time to time.

“Yu-nii, how do you know about my parents?”

“I told you before—I can see the future. I saw it there.”

“What? But these things happened in the past. How could you have seen them in the future?”

Higashino Yu glanced at Naruto, shook his head, and kept writing.

Naruto continued, “Yu-nii, you must be an amazing person. My dad said even he can’t figure you out.”

“He doesn’t have x-ray vision, how could he see through me?” Higashino Yu didn’t even look up.

“Well, you must be really incredible, Yu-nii.”

“So what if I am? So what if I’m not?”

“Yu-nii, could you teach me how to get stronger?”

Higashino Yu looked up, thought for a moment, then said, “Every day, do a hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, a hundred squats, and run ten kilometers. If you still have energy after that, keep going until you can’t move anymore.”

“Does that really work?” Naruto asked skeptically.

“Of course. I had a friend who trained like this, and he became unbelievably strong—he could finish any opponent with just one punch.”

“That strong?”

“Absolutely.”

“Should I try it? Yu-nii, are you sure you’re not tricking me?”

“I’ve given you the method. Whether or not you do it is up to you.” With that, Higashino Yu returned to his writing.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, then started trying push-ups, half-believing, half-doubting.

Higashino Yu watched him for a bit, then refocused on his work.

Naruto didn’t speak again. As he did his push-ups, he lost himself in thought.

Just now, in his mindspace, he’d talked to his parents about everything: his years of hardship, his grievances, his confusion. They’d spoken to him too—about their guilt, their reasons for doing what they did, their hopes for him.

He still remembered his father’s face, full of remorse, saying that sealing the Nine-Tails within him had been so he could have the power to protect himself, and maybe others too—never imagining it would bring Naruto such trouble.

His mother, meanwhile, was both heartbroken and furious, cursing the Third Hokage with abandon.

Naruto felt happy. Even though he’d suffered, at least his parents still loved him.

And after learning the truth, he found he didn’t hate anyone. He just... couldn’t quite describe the feeling.

He still wanted to be Hokage, but now his purpose seemed a bit clearer.

Before, he thought being Hokage would mean everyone accepted him. But Higashino Yu had told him that only by being accepted could one become Hokage, and that acceptance was rooted in shared interests. Yu had then asked, what kind of acceptance did he want, and what kind of Hokage did he wish to be?

He hadn’t been able to answer before, but now he could vaguely see the outline of one: he hoped there would be fewer people like him, fewer tragedies in the world.

To achieve that, he’d need great strength, no matter what.

When he finished his push-ups, Naruto moved on to sit-ups, then squats, then running, repeating the cycle. Even when sweat poured down his face and he was gasping for air, he never stopped.

His determination surprised Higashino Yu.

Towards evening, Higashino Yu put down his pen, deciding to stop for the day.

He glanced at Naruto, collapsed not far away, and after a moment’s thought, cast a healing spell on him.

At once, a holy light surged over Naruto.

Exhausted, Naruto leapt up from the ground, surprised as he looked over himself, then at Higashino Yu.

“Yu-nii, you can do even that?”

“Does that surprise you?”

“Not exactly... It’s just amazing!”

Higashino Yu didn’t answer, only said, “That’s enough training. Watch the shop for a while. I’m going to make dinner.”

“Alright.”

Higashino Yu started upstairs. Halfway up, he seemed to remember something, stopped, and turned to call down to Naruto, “Don’t talk about my affairs outside.”

“...Got it! Don’t worry, Yu-nii, I won’t say a word.”

Naruto answered. He didn’t plan to tell anyone about today, nor did he intend to question the Third Hokage. After all, even if he did, nothing would change.

So he’d act like nothing had happened. As long as he knew the truth and what he wanted to do, that was enough.

After spending time with Higashino Yu, Naruto seemed much calmer and more composed.

After dinner, Naruto didn’t go back to training—Higashino Yu had told him it was bad for the body to exercise right after eating.

So he rested for a while, then got ready to go home.

Higashino Yu prepared to close up shop. Though the streets were lively, he knew his business had nothing to do with the noise outside.

As he closed the door, he looked up into the sky. Night had deepened, and the stars shone beautifully.

...

Night had fallen, but some people were just gathering together.

“Shisui, are you planning to launch the impeachment tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“Are you confident?”

“I think so. Of all those who can attend the clan assembly, I’ve already won over nearly forty percent. Though that’s still far from the eighty percent needed to directly depose the clan head, with more than forty percent support, I can, according to the clan rules, challenge Fugaku to a duel. If I win, I’ll be clan head.”

He paused and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.

“With these eyes, my chances should be good. If I can’t even manage this, then everything that comes afterward will be even more impossible.”

“Any movement from Fugaku’s side?”

“He seems to know about it already, but he hasn’t shown any reaction.”