"Hey... should I go talk to the teacher? Maybe we can just call it off and cancel for today," Tsunade suggested quietly from the side, eyeing the restless crowd with a frown.
"No need," Rei replied, throwing his hands casually behind his head. "I really don't care."
Besides, sooner or later, his abilities were bound to get exposed anyway. Keeping everything a secret in a world like this was a hassle. If anything, showing off a bit of real power now might actually help him impress a few gorgeous big sisters around the village later.
Sure, Tsunade was undeniably beautiful—a top-tier beauty by any standard—but now that he had reincarnated into an actual 2D anime world, how could he possibly be satisfied with just her? Life was meant to be enjoyed to the absolute fullest! If you aren't living it up after getting dropped into a fantasy world, what's even the point?
At that exact moment, a familiar, raspy voice sounded from right behind them. "Don't worry, Tsunade. We can't disappoint this many people today. I'll explain the whole situation to everyone later."
Hiruzen stepped forward, a warm, benevolent smile plastered across his face. But internally? The Third Hokage was cursing Shimura Danzo ten thousand times over.
This kind of passive-aggressive, shadow-fanning rumor mill was classic Danzo behavior. It was entirely impossible to prove who started it, and even if Hiruzen somehow managed to track down concrete evidence, spreading a harmless rumor about the Hokage wasn't even considered a major offense—in fact, it was practically nothing at all. It was just petty, subtle, and thoroughly disgusting. Danzo himself was as wretched as the tactics he used.
Watching the old man smile through his teeth, Rei couldn't help but laugh internally.
Speaking of Danzo, Hiruzen really needed to make time to visit Mia soon—Danzo's neglected wife. Danzo never paid a single shred of attention to her anyway; the old mummy was way too busy obsessing over how to get stronger and usurp the Hokage seat. Because of that, Hiruzen and Mia actually had a great relationship. A very, very good relationship.
Sure, she wasn't some world-class beauty, but hey—a free option is a free option. You don't complain about free stuff.
Shaking off all those distracting thoughts, Hiruzen formed a simple hand seal and used a basic Body Replacement Ninjutsu, vanishing in a subtle blur and reappearing directly in the center of Training Ground 2.
He cleared his throat loudly, the sound echoing across the arena and instantly hushing the riled-up, gossiping crowd.
"I am aware there may be some... misunderstandings regarding today's gathering," Hiruzen announced, his voice carrying clearly to every corner of the field. "I will address and explain the full situation at a later time. However, today I have indeed come here to personally evaluate a newly awakened bloodline ability from one of our village's young geniuses."
Hiruzen turned slightly, gesturing toward the edge of the field. "Rei, come on over."
Upon hearing the Hokage's call, hundreds of heads swiveled toward the entrance, people straining their necks to catch a glimpse of the prodigy child.
One minute passed.
Nothing.
Two minutes passed.
The crowd began to rustle and whisper, looking around in complete confusion.
Hiruzen's lip twitched violently beneath his graying beard. Did that little brat seriously run away?! He scanned the perimeter of the field, his eyes darting back and forth across the crowd.
Before Hiruzen could send an ANBU operative to drag the kid out, a massive, light-blocking shadow suddenly cast itself over the entire training ground. The bright morning sunlight was instantly cut off, plunging the field into a deep, cool gloom.
Subconsciously, every single person on the field looked straight up into the sky.
Gasps echoed through the arena as everyone froze in sheer disbelief.
Floating directly above the training ground was a terrifying, gargantuan shadow-bird. Its wingspan was broad enough to eclipse the sun, its sheer scale easily comparable to that of a small Tailed Beast.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Is it an enemy attack?!"
Several chunin and jonin ninjas instantly panicked, their hands flying to their weapon pouches while others rapidly formed hand seals, preparing offensive ninjutsu on pure instinct.
Watching the entire arena erupt into mild chaos, Tsunade's mouth twitched uncontrollably. She buried her face in her hand, letting out a long, heavy sigh.
Does this damn kid have to be so dramatic?!
She clearly remembered what had happened just two minutes ago. The second Sarutobi had walked out onto the field to give his speech, Rei had immediately snuck away into the treeline, declaring with absolute seriousness: "This is my official debut entrance into the shinobi world, Tsunade-nee. It has to be epic as fuck."
Just as a group of nervous ninjas was about to launch a volley of ninjutsu at the sky, the gigantic bird suddenly vanished into thin air, fading away almost like an illusion.
The ninjas froze mid-cast, staring blankly at the empty sky.
Before anyone could process what was happening, a dark shadow detached itself from the clouds, falling toward the ground at high speed.
The crowd stood thoroughly confused. Was this some kind of strange enemy attack? But seeing that Hiruzen still hadn't given an order to strike, everyone decided to hold their breath and keep watching.
The falling shadow grew larger and larger, rapidly taking the distinct shape of a human... or rather, a small boy.
BOOM!
A cloud of dust exploded into the air as the child landed squarely on the dirt, executing a perfect, dramatic landing right in front of the Hokage.
As the dust settled, it revealed a five-year-old kid casually dusting off his shirt.
"Is... is that Rei?" someone in the crowd whispered.
"Should be, right?" another replied, sounding totally deadpan.
Looking at the dramatic scene, Hiruzen's mouth twitched so hard his pipe almost slipped from his grip. It wasn't just Hiruzen, either—the lips of every single spectator present were twitching wildly in collective irritation. Everyone in the crowd had been a kid at some point; how could they fail to notice that this brat was literally just showboating to look cool?
However, before anyone could vocalize their exasperation, another massive object crashed down directly behind the boy with violent force!
BOOOOOOM!
An explosion of earth and dust shot into the air, creating an even larger cloud than before. A split second later, a sudden gust of wind rushed outward from above, blowing away the thick dust and revealing a towering, ten-meter figure standing directly behind the kid.
It was a monstrous, unnatural entity. Four wing-like appendages protruded from its face, and a long, tail-like cord extended from the back of its head. Attached to its right arm was a massive, lethal blade, and hovering silently above its head was a heavy wooden wheel.
The entire crowd went completely dead silent.
Only one single word remained in the hearts of everyone watching:
Cool...
Before the crowd could express their awe aloud, the boy's childish, calm voice cut through the silence.
"Mr. Hokage... this is the strongest shadow in my possession. Please be careful."
And before Hiruzen could even formulate a response, the massive white figure behind Rei directly leaped high into mid-air!
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