Disclaimer: All characters and places belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The author does not gain any monetary benefit from this.
--
People asked him why he wanted to protect the village, why he had willingly come out of retirement to do so. He said. 'Everyone in this village is part of my family.' It was not his job that made him do so, but his nature as a human being and purpose as a Shinobi.
It had not begun that way. As a student of the Shodaime and Nidaime he had been proud and arrogant at times, frequently flaunting the fact that he was the future Hokage. That had nearly gotten him killed. Then the title of Hokage had morphed for him. It changed from a title of superiority to a role as the protector of his home.
When he ascended the seat during the inauguration, there was neither a sense of smugness nor a sense of dread. Where others might have thought, 'how many of these ninjas will be dead before the year is out', he had imagined the number of lives that these Shinobi would save during that period of war.
After the war, during the period of recuperation, he frequently encountered grieving families in his village – all but a handful of families suffered casualties. He mourned with them, organizing a mass commemoration ceremony for all of Konohagure. He could do so much for them and hope that the sacrifices of the dead were worth it.
Before there was a Hidden Village of the Leaf, his predecessors had fought long and hard at taming the land for their purposes. They had struggled continuously for their people, to give them a home. Now, his job was to ensure that the people could continue to return to this home where their hearts were. The Shodaime and Nidaime had left behind a huge legacy for him to maintain and maintain it he would, until the day he died.