Another person who wants to be Hokage, Naruto thought, studying Boruto's determined expression.
He'd noticed that in this ninja world, the Kage of each village represented the absolute pinnacle of shinobi achievement. Naturally, almost every ninja harbored dreams of reaching that summit.
The specific title varied by village, of course. In Konoha it was Hokage, in Kirigakure it was Mizukage, in Sunagakure it was Kazekage, in Iwagakure it was Tsuchikage, and in Kumogakure it was Raikage.
Not many villages, but plenty of ambitious dreamers.
Boruto stood before him now, declaring his own Hokage dream with absolute conviction.
But Naruto found himself oddly unmoved by the declaration. The Hokage title had come too easily for him, after all. He'd never harbored that particular dream as a child. His goal had always been simpler and vastly more ambitious: make friends with everyone in the ninja world. After that? Leave this world entirely and make friends across other dimensions.
Being Hokage had just seemed... nice. His father had been Hokage, so he should probably be Hokage too. At least that way he wouldn't be worse than his dad.
Looking at Boruto's earnest face, Naruto patted the boy's head gently. Dreams were dreams, no matter how common. You couldn't mock someone for having one.
"Boruto," he said warmly, "let's have another friendly discussion."
"Huh?" Boruto's eyes widened in alarm.
"Didn't you just say you want to become Hokage? That dream isn't easy to achieve. Friendly exchanges will help you grow stronger, and your combat experience will become much richer." Naruto's tone was patient, almost professorial.
"But I can't beat you, Dad." Boruto's voice carried helpless resignation.
My face hurts too much already. I really don't want to fight again.
"If you can't beat someone, does that mean you shouldn't fight them?" Naruto's expression turned serious. "How can you become a ninja with that attitude? How can you become Hokage?"
He crouched down to meet Boruto's eyes.
"What is a Hokage, Boruto? It's a guardian. A protector of Konoha and everyone in it. If someone stronger than you invades the village, are you going to refuse to fight just because you can't win? Are you going to stand aside and let them hurt the villagers?"
The rapid-fire questions made shame flood Boruto's face. He hung his head. "Stop, Dad. You're right. I was wrong. Let's spar again."
Seeing Boruto's acceptance, Naruto smiled and patted the boy's shoulder. "That's the right attitude! You have to remember, Dad is doing this for your own good."
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
Ten minutes later, Boruto trudged home behind Naruto, his head now swollen to roughly the size of a bucket.
Inside the house, Himawari had been playing when she heard sounds at the entrance. She immediately trotted over, excited to greet the young father's return.
Then she saw Boruto.
Her small body froze.
Boruto looked at his sister with resentment. Why am I so scary?
"Brother, you..." Himawari stared at Boruto's pig-like face, her mouth falling open. She covered her eyes with both hands. "I can't look!"
The sight was too shocking! (ノ⊙ω⊙)ノ
At his sister's dramatic reaction, Boruto shook his fist at her threateningly.
"Boruto, don't scare your sister," Naruto said, stopping the childish behavior.
"Boruto, you're back! Hurry and wash your hands—dinner's ready!" Hinata's voice called from deeper in the house.
Naruto took Himawari's hand and led her to the dining table. The Seventh Hokage had already returned from work, having followed young Naruto's advice to come home immediately after his shift ended.
When he saw Boruto's condition, the Seventh Hokage froze for a moment. Then relief washed over his features. At least he wasn't alone in getting beaten up. And more importantly, he could see that despite the violence, Naruto and Boruto's relationship had grown noticeably closer. Boruto showed no resistance or resentment.
Could beating really be that effective at bringing father and son closer? the Seventh Hokage wondered. Maybe I should try it myself sometime...
Having made that mental note, he greeted his son warmly. "Boruto, go wash your hands and sit down. Let's eat."
Boruto nodded and followed Naruto to wash up.
When they returned, Hinata had served all the dishes. Her reaction to Boruto's face mirrored her husband's—initial shock followed by acceptance.
"Come on, everyone sit. Let's eat!"
As soon as Naruto sat down, the Seventh Hokage leaned close and spoke quietly. "Naruto, your method really works. I categorized all my tasks, prioritized them, and delegated what could be delegated. My subordinates are handling things well."
His voice carried genuine gratitude. "Otherwise, I'd be working through the night again with no sleep. Being able to come home this early—I have you to thank for that."
"We're both me," Naruto said with a slight smile. "Don't thank yourself."
After dinner, the family took a walk through the garden to aid digestion. They strolled along the gravel paths as twilight deepened.
In front, Naruto held Himawari's hand with Boruto walking beside him.
Behind them, the Seventh Hokage and Hinata walked hand-in-hand, enjoying the peaceful evening.
The older Naruto glanced at his wife's contented expression and sighed. "It's been so long since we had time like this."
Hinata felt warmth ripple through her chest. It really had been ages since the family walked together like this. The afterglow of sunset painted everything in warm colors, and the feeling of simple happiness was almost overwhelming.
"Yes, thanks to Naruto," she said softly. Then her tone turned slightly accusing. "Ever since you became Hokage, you've been working overtime at the building all day. Some nights you don't even come home to sleep."
She shot him a meaningful look. "Last night you really made up for lost time."
The Seventh Hokage's face reddened—a rare sight. "It had been too long. But don't worry, that won't happen again. I mean the not coming home part."
They settled on the grass in a small park, watching the sky darken gradually as the moon climbed overhead. The Seventh Hokage and Hinata joined Boruto and Himawari's circle, playing simple games together as a family.
The older Naruto was pleasantly surprised to find that while Boruto still showed some initial resistance to his presence, that resistance slowly melted away. Eventually, Boruto became quietly accepting of his father joining their activities.
It was a breakthrough. The Seventh Hokage felt deeply satisfied.
Family time always passed too quickly. With school tomorrow and Himawari already dozing off, they headed home as the moon reached its zenith.
After both children were tucked into bed and fast asleep, the Seventh Hokage prepared to follow Hinata to their bedroom. But Naruto stopped him in the hallway.
"Is something wrong?" the Seventh Hokage asked.
"I told you to spend time with your family, and you did great," Naruto said. "But I'm also your family. How about spending an hour having a friendly exchange with me?"
The Seventh Hokage's face fell. "It's pretty late already, maybe we could—"
"Come on." Naruto's smile was pleasant but utterly inflexible.
Whoever had the bigger fists made the decisions.
On the back mountain, after a full hour of "friendly sparring," the Seventh Hokage's face had swollen again to match its previous state. When Naruto finally stopped, the older man tried to leave immediately—he still had "exercise" planned with Hinata, and the beating had drained too much energy already.
"Wait," Naruto said, stopping him. "I want to meet the Nine-Tails in this world. See what his strength and temperament are like."
Hearing it was about the Nine-Tails and not himself, the Seventh Hokage breathed a sigh of relief. Immediately, he focused inward and summoned Kurama.
Orange chakra swirled, and a massive fox head materialized in the air, nine tails spreading behind it like a fan of flames. Unlike young Naruto's miniaturized, dress-wearing Kurama, this Nine-Tails appeared in full demonic glory—or at least, the manifestation of his consciousness did.
"Naruto from another world," Kurama's voice rumbled with barely concealed irritation, "I heard you wanted to see this old man. Speak quickly. After you finish talking, I need to rest!"
The tone was dismissive, almost rude. This Nine-Tails clearly had an attitude problem.
Naruto studied the great fox with interest, comparing him to his own well-trained, cooking-proficient Kurama back home.
A smile slowly spread across Naruto's face.
This Nine-Tails has a terrible attitude, he thought. He definitely needs to be taught properly.