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

Chapter 388 Phase

The flower buds on the flower shop's display stand in the mountains quietly bloomed at this moment.

Not just that one place.

The entire area surrounding the podium, all the decorative flowers, and all the nameless wildflowers on the lawn, unfurled their petals layer upon layer in this silently spreading warmth. The air was instantly filled with an intensely fragrant aroma, mingled with the fresh scent of earth, a truly invigorating experience.

The noisy voices disappeared.

A child, who had been crying incessantly in his mother's arms because of the crowd, slowly stopped crying. He opened his big, teary eyes and curiously reached out to grab a wisp of fragrant breeze that brushed against his cheek.

Throughout the venue, from the children in the front row to the ninjas at the back, everyone felt an indescribable warmth. This warmth did not originate from the nourishment of chakra, but rather arose directly from the depths of their hearts, soothing the souls of everyone present.

Standing on the platform, Hashirama Senju, bathed in the gaze of tens of thousands of people, wore a pure and satisfied smile.

He seemed completely unaware of the willpower he had unintentionally released just now; he only felt that he had spoken fluently and was in an exceptionally good mood.

In the crowd, Hatake Sakumo closed his notebook. He looked at the figure on the stage, then at the sincere smiles on the faces of the villagers around him, and something hard inside him began to solidify.

Akimichi Torifu, standing beside him, looked annoyed and muttered under his breath, "I was so busy listening that I forgot to ask the First Hokage if that newly sprouted bud was edible..."

Sakumo: "..."

Hashirama Senju clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

Before he finished speaking, he gently clasped his hands together and uttered a low shout.

"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!"

Bang!Bang!Bang!

Around the podium, dozens of wooden clones identical to Hashirama appeared instantly, each holding a lump of wood in their hands.

The children screamed with excitement.

Under their astonished gaze, the wooden clones moved nimbly, their hands flying as if kneading dough.

In just a short while, one by one, lifelike wooden animals were created.

There were puppies wagging their tails, rabbits with long ears standing up, and birds fluttering their wings.

Go!

With a wave of his hand, Hashirama's main body sent his wooden clones to become friendly gift distributors, handing out these exquisite wooden toys to the children in the front row.

"Wow! It's a puppy!"

A chubby-faced little boy hugged a wooden Akita dog.

Kushina Uzumaki also managed to snag one—a majestic nine-tailed fox with its nine tails proudly waving behind it. She held it high, showing it off to Minato Namikaze beside her, her radiance brighter than the sun in the sky.

A tiny wooden dragonfly wobbled up to Nagato and landed on his fingertip.

The dragonfly's wings are as thin as cicada wings, gleaming with a warm luster in the sunlight, as if it were about to take flight.

Nagato reached out his other hand and carefully touched it.

He watched quietly, a small miracle reflected in his dark eyes.

Standing on the platform, Hashirama looked at the children's innocent smiles, his joy almost overflowing. He cleared his throat and continued speaking in his infectious voice.

"As you just saw, a tree can provide us with shade, become a toy, and even turn into a house for us to live in!"

"But Konoha's land is limited, while our population is constantly increasing. What can we do? We can't just tear down all the houses to farm, can we?"

Hashirama Senju posed a practical question, and many villagers nodded in agreement.

"So! The Third Hokage, along with Manager Sakumo and the others, came up with a great idea!"

He pointed to the towering wooden building in the distance, which was already taking shape.

"This is it! Our Sky-Reaching Woodcraft Farm! We don't grow to the sides, we grow to the sky! We stack the land layer upon layer!"

"Each layer receives ample sunlight and water, allowing the cultivation of the freshest vegetables and fruits—this is vertical farming! Creating limitless vitality on limited land!"

Hashirama's words were simple and straightforward, yet they painted a vision of the future that would shock anyone.

When Hatake Sakumo, sitting in the audience, heard the First Hokage personally say the words "Sakumo, the head of the team" and put his name alongside the Third Hokage's, even with his composure, he couldn't help but straighten his back even more, a sense of unprecedented honor filling his chest.

"Of course, for land to become fertile, water and sunlight alone are not enough; it also needs nutrients!"

Hashirama got so caught up in his story that he didn't realize what kind of trouble his next words would cause.

"Speaking of which, I must give special praise to Sakumo-battlemaster!" He deliberately drew out his words, causing everyone to look in Sakumo-battlemaster's direction.

Shuo Mao's heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad feeling.

"To research how to make the soil more nutritious, the two of us often got together to study... um, the composition of feces!"

boom!

The entire audience erupted in thunderous laughter.

"This is serious science!"

Hashirama waved his arms, explaining earnestly, "Different things have different compositions! The nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content is all different! We need precise proportions to create the most suitable nutritional feast for plant growth!"

He patted his chest proudly and announced, "After our hard work day and night, Sakumo and I are now the top farmers in Konoha!"

"puff--"

Near a tea stall in the distance, Nara Shika, who was holding a teacup, spat out a mouthful of tea and coughed repeatedly, choking on it.

Uchiha Kagami's shoulders trembled as he struggled to suppress his laughter.

Sakumo Hatake, who was being watched by tens of thousands of people, had his usually icy and stern face completely flushed red.

He subconsciously tugged at his collar, wishing he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

That cold, precise image of white teeth shattered into nothingness at that moment.

Only Akimichi Torifu beside him was still muttering to himself earnestly, "So that's how it is. No wonder Sakumo's pigs have such firm and delicious meat. It turns out they've been scientifically managing them from the very beginning..."

The shadows behind the podium.

With a click, Tobirama Senju's pen left a long mark on the notebook.

He raised his head expressionlessly, looked at his smug older brother on the stage, and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

"That idiot..."

Madara Uchiha, standing beside him, kept his arms crossed and his eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to everything around him.

But at this moment, the taut lines on his rock-hard face seemed to loosen slightly; a slight curve appeared and then disappeared in an instant.

This noisy, silly, yet vibrant scene is indeed much more pleasant to hear.

The lecture finally came to an end amidst Hashirama's animated explanations and waves of good-natured laughter from the audience.

The small oak tree in Hashirama Senju's hand has grown into a robust sapling more than half a person's height.

Infected by this power, countless people seemed to witness firsthand the magnificent sight of a seed called Konoha taking root, sprouting, and growing into a towering tree.

Amidst thunderous and prolonged applause, Hashirama Senju's ecology lesson came to a perfect close.

However, just as everyone was still immersed in this warm and touching atmosphere, a completely different, calm to the point of being cold, voice suddenly rang out from the loudspeakers in the venue.

"Ninja Techniques and the Future Lecture at 1 PM."

It is Tobirama Senju.

"I will show you how chakra drives the future."

The entire hall fell silent instantly, and the applause abruptly stopped.

That emotionless voice continued to echo in everyone's ears.

Please bring your own paper and pen. The lecture will include the derivation of basic chakra formulas. Those with poor logical reasoning skills are not advised to attend.