Naruto: My Bedroom Connects to Rin Nohara 14 Years Ago

The next day, outside the Hokage Building.

"By the way, did Kakashi-sensei really say yesterday that we should gather at 8 o'clock? Did I hear it wrong?" Looking at the ninja teams coming and going, Taro Yamada couldn't help but start doubting himself.

Just as excited as he had been before, he now felt equally depressed and helpless...

"Sensei didn't oversleep again, did he? Is this really okay on such an important day? This is our team's first mission~~" Jiro muttered with a dark expression, turning his head away in embarrassment and frustration.

Shameful. Absolutely shameful!

In this short time, they had seen several teams from their graduating class go in and out to report and receive missions. On top of that, they'd been whispered about and pointed at, as if the three of them were some kind of joke...

Can a repeatedly late team leader really be trusted?

"Just be patient. He should be here soon." Ishikawa glanced at the sun—already high in the sky—and spoke calmly. He had mentally prepared himself for this.

"Huh? Taro, have you noticed Brother Ishikawa looks a little different today than yesterday?" Suddenly, Jiro pointed at Ishikawa in astonishment, as if he'd discovered a new thing.

"Really? He doesn't look that different… maybe he just hit puberty early?" Taro squinted at him, then rubbed his chin and pretended to ponder seriously.

"Puberty? I'm already a young man, thank you very much! What nonsense are you even spouting..." Ishikawa's face darkened in exasperation. Once again, he found himself looking down on the intelligence of his two younger teammates.

Only now did he realize how slow they were to grasp the mindset of a true ninja! That aside, Ishikawa couldn't help but sigh inwardly as he thought about last night...

He had originally assumed that the one-hour transdimensional link would let them cheat freely, but reality proved otherwise.

There wasn't a fixed number of times they could touch the door handle. Instead, after some trial and error, they realized that it was most effective to activate the body-tempering function only when physically exhausted.

If they were only focused on increasing physical strength or chakra, it wouldn't matter. But chakra existed to be used for ninjutsu, so blindly increasing it without using it was putting the cart before the horse.

After a long discussion, the two of them decided on a strategy: they would touch the door handle, recover and increase chakra, then immediately practice chakra-intensive ninjutsu until depleted. Once their energy was drained, they'd use the handle again, maximizing gains in both chakra and skill development.

But in doing so, they could only manage a few activations within the one-hour timespan.

Ugh… If my chakra recovery weren't so fast, and my base chakra so low, I wouldn't have to waste such precious time just practicing ninjutsu... Ishikawa's dazed eyes stared blankly as his thoughts wandered, leaving his two teammates puzzled.

Still, both were grateful to Ishikawa for promising to teach them tree climbing after today's mission.

Brother Ishikawa is definitely more reliable than Sensei!

"Well, sorry to keep you three waiting. This morning, I accidentally got lost… on the road of life."

Just as the two younger teammates were about to sing Ishikawa's praises, Kakashi's voice suddenly echoed faintly behind them.

"Liar!!"

"Liar…"

The two shouted in unison, faces full of righteous indignation.

Lost on the road of life? You were clearly lost in your warm, cozy bed! Even Ishikawa rolled his eyes at Kakashi, silently protesting.

"Alright, let's go. Time to meet Lord Hokage." Completely unfazed, Kakashi—already thick-skinned from years of experience—ignored them and strolled straight into the Hokage building.

Seeing this, the three Genin, who had been waiting impatiently, said nothing more and quickly followed behind.

The four of them walked down a long corridor, not toward the Hokage's office upstairs, but directly into a large operations hall.

"This is the Mission Assignment Center. It's where ninja teams come to accept or settle missions. Unless summoned by the Hokage directly, most team missions are issued here."

Kakashi explained casually as he walked, never looking back.

"Of course, today is an exception—because this is your first official mission as a newly graduated Genin. The Hokage himself will assign it."

"No wonder we're meeting the Hokage here."

Jiro and Taro looked at the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, seated behind the desk, and couldn't help but feel both excited and nervous.

Ishikawa, beside him, remained silent, but his eyes were the most complex...

He actually had a lot of thoughts about the Third Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen, a figure both praised and criticized throughout history.

If he were Naruto, he'd definitely go berserk with the Nine-Tails just once—to show Konoha what a Jinchūriki really was! Let those old geezers know what it meant to repay hatred with destruction...

If he were Sasuke, he'd cooperate with Orochimaru and Akatsuki to crush Konoha. It would be the vengeance the Uchiha clan deserved—and justice must be served!!

If he were Sakura… well, never mind that.

But Ishikawa wasn't any of them.

He wasn't the protagonist. He was just a background character—completely insignificant. He had no personal stake or grudge against the Third Hokage.

Since he couldn't inherit a bloodline or bask in a protagonist's halo, why should he, a side character, empathize with the main characters' suffering?

Who cared about Konoha's political conspiracies anyway? It wasn't like he'd ever be Hokage—so what did it matter?

He didn't care if the Third Hokage died two years from now. What he cared about was not dying himself!

"Kakashi, are these your team members?" Just as Ishikawa was lost in thought, the Third Hokage exhaled a puff of smoke and asked calmly.

His slightly clouded yet piercing eyes swept over the group. For a brief moment, Ishikawa and the others felt as though they'd been completely seen through.

But when they looked again, the Third Hokage's expression was gentle—calm and kind, a smile of reassurance on his lips...

As if that moment of pressure had been nothing more than an illusion.

"Yes, these are them," Kakashi replied, then turned to gesture for the three to introduce themselves.

"Hokage-sama! I'm Jiro, a Genin of Konoha!"

"I am Taro Yamada, also a Genin of Konoha, Hokage-sama!"

So this is the strength of a true shinobi? Ishikawa bitterly smiled inwardly. How careless of me to show off in front of a man like this...

But without a trace of emotion on his face, he calmly stepped forward. "My name is Mitarai Ishikawa, Third Hokage-sama."

He didn't try to stand out. Right now, his only goal was to survive, steadily improve, and learn the Rasengan as soon as possible.

"Haha, no need to be nervous, you three little ones!" The Third Hokage chuckled, seeing their tense expressions. Then he slowed his breathing and spoke with a warm, solemn tone:

"When I look at you, it's like I'm seeing Konoha's future."

"Where the leaves dance, the fire lives. The flames will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout."

"In my eyes, you are the seedlings that we, the older ones, would protect with our very lives. For that, we burn ourselves to light your path—and in turn, you will carry that light forward, guiding the next generation."

"This is the Will of Fire, passed down in Konoha for generations. So I ask you—are you willing to become the ones who inherit it?"

"We are willing!!" All three shouted in unison.

Ishikawa's voice rang out loud and clear—but deep down, he felt a strange kind of bitterness. Why does this all sound so familiar…?

I'm just a side character—and yet suddenly, I've been given the heavy task of inheriting the Will of Fire.

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