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

Chapter 88: The Will of Fire of Youth

"Well……"

Matt Day's consciousness rose from the chaos, and he slowly opened his eyes.

What comes into view is the familiar bamboo forest and the bright, full moon.

He moved his body, and a strange sensation came over him. The excruciating pain that had spread throughout his body after the heavy blow had completely disappeared.

I... was "attacked".

Moreover, they suffered a complete and utter defeat.

Where is that mysterious powerful figure?

Matt Day struggled, using his arms to prop himself up.

Just as he looked around, filled with confusion, a voice so calm it seemed to blend into the night came from beside him.

"woke up?"

Matt Day's body stiffened abruptly, and he turned his head sharply.

A person was sitting on a rock not far away.

Dressed in a sharp black outfit, his silhouette appeared composed and upright under the moonlight.

That face...

"H...Hokage...Lord?!"

Matt Dai's mouth dropped open, his face filled with shock.

He simply couldn't reconcile the man before him with the mysterious powerhouse who had utterly crushed him with a single punch and kick in the darkness.

That is...

The pinnacle of Konoha Village, the Third Hokage—Hiruzen Sarutobi!

"You...how did you get here?"

Matt Day's voice was incredibly dry, his tongue was tied in knots, and his brain was paralyzed from the shock.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer. He jumped down from the rock and slowly walked to Might Guy.

He crouched down and gently patted Matt Dai's chest.

"Does it still hurt?"

"No...it doesn't hurt anymore, Hokage-sama."

The young man answered instinctively, his entire body tense like a rigid rock.

Seeing his nervous expression, so much so that he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet, Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips curled into a very faint smile.

"Your physical skills foundation is very strong."

"You could even say it's very solid."

"but……"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shifted his gaze, his eyes sharpening.

"Your fighting style is too crude."

"You're like an unpolished hammer, only knowing how to smash with brute force, but not how to use skill. Every attack you make is full of power, but it's also full of weaknesses."

"True martial arts are not simply a matter of unleashing physical strength."

"It is the ultimate control over every muscle and every bit of strength in the body. It is about discerning the enemy's weakness in the smallest of moments, and then delivering the most fatal blow with the least cost."

Hiruzen Sarutobi analyzed one by one the fatal flaws that Might Guy had exposed during the battle.

From the timing of exerting force, to the shift of the center of gravity, and then to the choice of angle when attacking.

Every detail is analyzed incisively and incisively.

Matt Day listened with rapt attention.

These were areas he had never considered before, nor had anyone ever pointed them out to him.

He always believed that as long as he was strong enough and fast enough, he could overcome anything.

But today, the Hokage used a crushing victory in a real battle to open a door to a whole new world for him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around, his back to him, and looked up at the cold, clear moon.

"I've been watching you for a long time, Matt Day."

"I get up before dawn every day and run laps around the village, rain or shine."

"Do thousands of push-ups and squats every day until you are exhausted."

With each word Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, Might Guy's heart trembled.

He never imagined that his quiet, even ridiculous, persistence had been noticed by the Hokage all along.

"The people in the village all say you're a weirdo, a mediocre genin."

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around and stared at him calmly.

"They don't understand why you would waste your precious time on these boring physical training exercises."

"They think that you'll never become a powerful ninja if you continue like this."

These words, like dull knives, once again cut open Matt Day's defenses.

Matt Day's head gradually lowered, a look of sadness flashing in his eyes.

Yes, in those people's eyes, I'm just a joke.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi's next words made Dai suddenly raise his head.

"But I know."

"What you have persisted in is an extremely difficult, yet absolutely correct, path."

"Behind the seemingly laughable persistence of others burns a fire-will more intense than any ninjutsu, a will of fire called 'youth'!"

"You have never lied to your sweat, and your sweat will eventually reward you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked up to him, reached out, and patted him heavily on the shoulder.

"Mattday".

"Your youth was not wasted."

boom!

This heartfelt acknowledgment struck him like a thunderbolt, piercing the depths of his soul.

Might Guy stared blankly at the Hokage before him, at those gentle yet profound eyes.

A surge of bitterness rushed straight into my nasal cavity without warning.

His eyes instantly reddened.

He has always been an oddball.

He was ostracized by his peers, ridiculed by the villagers, and made a laughingstock by the children.

Everyone thought he was an idiot, a hopeless loser.

He never asked for understanding; he simply silently and solitarily upheld his ninja way, burning with the passion of his youth.

until today.

until now.

Everything he had done and everything he had persisted in had actually received recognition from the highest authority in the village.

The feeling of happiness and the deep-seated resentment instantly overwhelmed all his psychological defenses.

"Hokage... Master..."

Matt Dai's lips trembled violently, and two streams of hot tears, which he could no longer hold back, flowed down his resolute face.

He wanted to say something, to say thank you, and to say that he would definitely work harder.

But all the words he wanted to say came out as he could only choke back a sob.

A grown man in his early twenties, standing at seven feet tall, was crying like a child who had finally found his home.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't comfort him; he simply watched quietly as he released all the emotions he had accumulated over the years.

He knew that this man needed such a complete release.

After a long while, Matt Day's crying gradually subsided. He used the sleeve of his green bodysuit to wipe the tears and snot from his face haphazardly.

"Thank you... Lord Hokage!"

"keep it up."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him with a relieved smile on his face.

"Konoha needs power like yours."

"I believe that one day, your perseverance will shine as brightly as ninjutsu and genjutsu."

After saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi said no more, and with a flash, he disappeared silently into the depths of the bamboo forest.

Only Matt Day was left, sitting there blankly.

After a long while, he slowly raised his hand, wiped away the tears on his face, and revealed a smile that was even brighter than the sunshine.

Dai clenched his fists tightly, facing the bright full moon, the bamboo forest that had witnessed his sweat and tears, and the whole world, and with all his might, he shouted:

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

"This is... youth!!!"

The shouts echoed through the night sky and reverberated in the bamboo forest, startling a flock of birds that were resting there.

Under the moonlight, the young man in the green bodysuit seemed to have undergone a complete transformation and been reborn from the ashes at that moment.