Knock, knock, knock—
While Yagyu was letting his imagination run wild, a knock on the door suddenly came from the entryway, pulling him back to reality.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had only left three hours ago; as the Hokage, he couldn't possibly be that idle.
Yagyu didn't know anyone else here. Without much thought, the person knocking had to be the teacher Sarutobi Hiruzen found for him.
He got up and opened the door. Standing before Yagyu was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old. She was smiling as she looked him over, bending down to speak softly, "Are you Yagyu? I am Konoha Chunin Yūhi Kurenai. I have accepted the Hokage's mission to teach you how to read."
Black long hair, beautiful red eyes, and a lovely face that had just shed its childishness—she perfectly matched the image in Yagyu's memory.
A trace of surprise quickly flashed through his deep black eyes. While Yagyu hadn't expected Sarutobi Hiruzen to hire Yūhi Kurenai, he also felt a slight sense of realization.
That made sense. Ninjas in this world were wage earners. They handled everything from assassinations and participating in wars to picking up trash and babysitting children. They were truly all-purpose tools.
Arranging for a ninja to teach him was the correct move.
Tsk... having a worldview stuck in my previous life is really annoying.
I hope I can integrate into this interesting world sooner.
Thinking this, Yagyu bowed slightly to Yūhi Kurenai and said politely, "I'll be in your care, Kurenai-sensei."
"So well-behaved. Yagyu is so cute."
Yagyu's behavior instantly garnered Yūhi Kurenai's favor. She reached out and pinched Yagyu's cute, baby-fat cheeks, then patted the textbook in her other hand. "Let's go in. We're starting the lesson."
"Okay."
The teaching proceeded smoothly. Yagyu, who had already mastered Japanese, deliberately displayed an astonishing learning ability, shocking Yūhi Kurenai as she taught him.
In just one afternoon, Yagyu learned all the words in the textbook Yūhi Kurenai brought and could understand the text.
Yūhi Kurenai, who had thought this would be a long-term job, was left with a deep impression of Yagyu.
A genius!
No wonder the Hokage designated her to teach him; it turned out he was a genius valued by the Hokage.
Yūhi Kurenai arrived quickly and left just as quickly.
After agreeing on the time for tomorrow, she walked out of Yagyu's house.
In the evening, Sarutobi Hiruzen came again.
Yagyu understood that until Sarutobi Hiruzen believed the "Seed of the Will of Fire" was planted, or until Yagyu reached a level of satisfaction for him, these visits would be frequent for a while.
Sarutobi Hiruzen brought dinner and stayed to eat with him.
During the meal, Sarutobi Hiruzen asked about his learning progress.
Yagyu deliberately showed excitement and pride, telling Sarutobi Hiruzen about his amazing learning ability and revealing that he had learned the Chakra Extraction Method and the Wood Release Three Basic Techniques.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was greatly surprised and asked Yagyu to perform them in front of him.
Playing the role of a child showing off to a parent, Yagyu used all of the Wood Release Three Basic Techniques.
Seeing the Wood Clone after so many years, a look of nostalgia appeared in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, and he valued Yagyu even more.
"Yagyu, did you have fun with that big sister today?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen called Yagyu over. Just like he treated Naruto when he was little, he patted Yagyu's head and asked with a gentle smile.
Although Naruto was currently an infant and Konohamaru wasn't even born yet, Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed his grandfatherly image in front of Yagyu.
"Yes, she is very gentle."
Yagyu instantly understood that Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to instill the concept of camaraderie in him, so he nodded cooperatively.
"Then do you want to make friends with more people like that?"
"Mhm, mhm..."
Yagyu nodded repeatedly.
"Then next year, I will arrange for you to enter the Ninja Academy to study, okay?" Sarutobi Hiruzen said in a tempting tone, "That way, you can play with many people and won't be alone like before, staying in that dark place."
"Okay."
Yagyu narrowed his eyes obediently and smiled.
Internally, however, his stomach was churning, and he felt a wave of shame.
For the sake of development, he was really acting with his life on the line!
If he had known, he should have pursued an acting career in his previous life; he might have snatched a few Best Actor trophies.
A child's clear eyes, combined with micro-expression control, made Yagyu's acting flawless. Sarutobi Hiruzen completely failed to see that beneath this child's skin lay a mature mind and a self-serving egoist with many plans.
After witnessing Yagyu's talent, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt as if he saw a future where Konoha was restored to its prime.
The wives of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had all given birth to sons and daughters this year. The Inuzuka clan, the Aburame clan, and the Uchiha clan leader all had sons this year. There was also the orphan of the Fourth and Kushina... and the wife of the Hyuga clan leader was about to give birth soon. These were all the future new generation, the inheritors of the Will of Fire!
Now, with Yagyu, the inheritor of Wood Release, the future Konoha would definitely be incredibly powerful.
Thinking of the future Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't stop smiling.
After saying goodbye to Yagyu, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't go home but planned to visit Naruto.
After seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen off at the door and watching him leave, Yagyu returned to the living room and tirelessly ground his Wood Release proficiency.
After the Wood Release Three Basic Techniques reached Level 1, the proficiency required to level up skyrocketed more than tenfold.
Yagyu performed them three times in a row, only to increase proficiency by [0.1%].
The difference between the experience needed for Level 0 and Level 1 was like the gap between 50 and 1000.
However, Yagyu continued to grind diligently. After exhausting his chakra, he refined it, and after refining, he continued to grind... repeating the cycle until late at night when he finally went to sleep.
The next morning, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't come, but Yūhi Kurenai arrived early.
Seemingly having received information from Sarutobi Hiruzen, Yūhi Kurenai specially brought breakfast.
After eating breakfast, Yagyu began his studies.
Just after Yūhi Kurenai left at noon, Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived, taking Yagyu to yesterday's training ground to start teaching elemental ninjutsu.
Yagyu's chakra was immense, far beyond what peers could compare to.
Even at only 7 years old, he was capable of learning elemental ninjutsu.
Sarutobi Hiruzen mainly taught Water Release and Earth Release because Yagyu possessed Wood Release, giving him a stronger affinity for Water and Earth than other nature transformations.
It just so happened that the Second Hokage's Water Release was unrivaled in the ninja world. Yagyu might be able to inherit the power of both the First and the Second generations simultaneously.
In this way, more than a month passed.