The announcement made personally by the Third Hokage was never meant to be hidden from the world.
News of Naruto's true identity, the son of the Fourth Hokage, spread like wildfire throughout the entire ninja world.
Far away in the Land of Earth, within the village of Iwagakure, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, sat frowning deeply as he read through the latest intelligence report.
"The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze… he actually left behind a son? Hmph. I wonder if that boy has inherited his father's terrifying talent."
There was no denying it. The Third Great Ninja War had ended largely because of Minato. That man alone had shifted the tide of countless battles. With his Flying Thunder God Technique, he could cut down dozens of shinobi in an instant. It did not matter if they were genin or jonin before Minato, there was no difference.
No hidden village could endure Minato's slaughter for long.
Onoki's expression darkened. If Naruto had truly inherited that same talent, then once he learned the Flying Thunder God, years later he would become a nightmare to every nation all over again.
"Put Uzumaki Naruto at the very top of the assassination list," Onoki ordered in a grave voice. "Rank him first priority. Not only that place his name in the bounty hall. Anyone who kills him will receive twenty million ryo."
"Eh? Father, isn't that overestimating the boy?" his son, Kitsuchi, scratched his head in confusion. "According to intelligence, he's nothing but a newly graduated genin. Do we really need to spend so much money on someone like him?"
Onoki let out a snort of disappointment, staring at his son with sharp, weary eyes. Kitsuchi was strong, already with the power of an elite jonin, but his political instincts were far too dull. Such shortsightedness made him unfit to ever become Tsuchikage.
Not just his son Onoki could not see a single candidate in all of Iwagakure capable of carrying the title of Tsuchikage. That was why, despite being nearly as old as Hiruzen Sarutobi, he still sat on the seat of power.
"Shortsighted fool," Onoki scolded. "If this boy truly carries Minato's bloodline talent, and he grows unchecked, then in the future he will become a disaster to our village. Twenty million ryo is nothing compared to the loss of dozens of jonin."
He leaned forward, his tone harsh but patient. "And if he has not inherited Minato's gifts, then he is still the son of the Fourth Hokage. Killing him will deal a massive blow to Konoha's prestige. Either way, whether he is genius or failure, his death benefits us. Two simple outcomes for a small price. Do you understand now?"
Kitsuchi finally grasped the logic, nodding quickly. "I understand, Father. I will give the order right away."
"Good." Onoki gave a slight nod, watching his son leave before lowering his gaze back to the intelligence scroll in his hands. His sharp eyes narrowed even further.
"Hiruzen, old fox… why would you openly reveal such a secret now?"
He muttered to himself, voice laced with suspicion. "Surely he knows what happens when Naruto's identity becomes public. Assassins from every land will come swarming. According to the intel, Naruto only just graduated from the Academy. He is still only twelve years old. Even Minato himself at that age could not have survived the combined assassination attempts of entire nations."
Onoki's instincts told him something was wrong. If it had been his decision, he would have taken that secret to the grave. Or, at the very least, he would have kept it hidden until Naruto was strong enough to face assassins without fear.
"But to expose him now… what is Hiruzen planning?"
Whatever the reason, Onoki could not see through it.
And it was not only the Stone. In the same span of time, both the Hidden Cloud of the Land of Lightning and the Hidden Sand of the Wind Country made the same decision: Naruto would be listed for assassination.
If Konoha dared to reveal the boy's identity, then they would dare to send blades after him, even if it meant sacrificing long-planted spies.
Back in the Leaf, Kakashi arrived at the familiar training grounds. As expected, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata were already there. Despite it being the official team assignment day, the three of them had not skipped their daily training.
Hinata was sparring with one of Naruto's shadow clones when her pale eyes caught sight of Kakashi approaching. Her Byakugan had grown stronger; her range of vision stretched further with each passing day.
"Naruto," she called softly, lowering her stance. "Kakashi-sensei is here."
Naruto gave her a nod. "Then let's hear what he has to say. We are official shinobi now, after all." His clone popped in a puff of smoke, carrying the message back to his true body.
Moments later, Naruto returned alongside Sasuke, both of them arriving just as Kakashi finally stepped into the field.
"Well, you're all gathered already," Kakashi said lazily, running a hand through his silver hair.
Naruto smiled knowingly. "So it really is you, Kakashi-sensei. Our jonin leader."
Kakashi gave a small shrug. "I suppose it was inevitable. I know you three better than anyone, and I've stepped down from the ANBU. Taking a squad suits me just fine."
"So what do we do now?" Sasuke asked with a hint of impatience. "Start taking missions already?"
"Not quite." Kakashi sat down on a large rock, eye curved in a lazy arc. "We follow procedure. Introduce yourselves. Name, dreams, hobbies… the usual."
Naruto was the first to speak, brimming with energy. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! My dream is to become Hokage. My interests? Testing myself against the strongest in the shinobi world. And one day… I'm going to reach the stars."
Sasuke's voice followed, cold and sharp. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha. My dream is to kill Itachi. And beyond that, to restore my clan. Hobbies don't matter. Everything is for that purpose."
Finally, Hinata's voice was soft, a touch hesitant. "I'm Hinata Hyuga. My dream is to grow stronger together with everyone. As for hobbies…" Her eyes flickered briefly toward Naruto, her cheeks tinged pink. "…flower arranging."
Kakashi nodded once, then pulled something from his pouch. Two small bells jingled softly in his hand.
"Very well. It's still early, so let's have a survival exercise. Different from what you did at the Academy. This time, the goal is simple: take these two bells from me."
Naruto frowned. "Wait. So the three of us have to fight you?"
Sasuke and Hinata both shared his look. After all, Naruto alone had sparred evenly with the Third Hokage. With all three of them together, they were already a match for a Kage. Did Kakashi really mean to fight them seriously?
Coughing into his fist, Kakashi waved off their doubts. "Don't give me that look. It's just procedure. Even if I know your abilities, the process is the process. Think of this as a formality."
Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata exchanged glances, then nodded together.
"Alright then," Kakashi said, tying the bells to his hip and pulling his headband down to cover his Sharingan. "The survival exercise begins now."
The instant he declared the start, Hinata's foot struck the ground. A green Eight Trigrams diagram flared outward, expanding rapidly until it enclosed Kakashi completely.
Her figure blurred from sight. In a heartbeat, she appeared behind him, hand snapping toward the bells at his waist.
At the same time, Naruto and Sasuke appeared from either side, fists and kicks driving fierce gusts of wind straight at Kakashi.
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