"Is that Naruto?"
Koharu Utatane watched a tall figure walk into the classroom carrying a pink schoolbag on his back. She couldn't help but voice her disapproval. "Such terrible taste. That pink schoolbag doesn't match him at all."
"Cough, cough!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been peacefully smoking his pipe, suddenly coughed violently upon hearing Koharu's ruthless critique. His expression turned distinctly uncomfortable. "We don't need to pay attention to such trivial matters," he said with forced casualness.
"This child shows no signs of possessing the Will of Fire," Koharu continued, shifting topics seamlessly. "Moreover, he constantly hides in corners and never communicates with his peers. I'm concerned he might develop extreme tendencies."
"He hasn't done anything extreme yet," Homura Mitokado pointed out, adjusting his glasses thoughtfully.
"Hmph. Just because he hasn't acted out now doesn't mean he won't in the future," Shimura Danzo interjected, his cane striking the floor with a sharp thud. His single visible eye gleamed with cold calculation. "I said this from the very beginning—the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki should have been entrusted to Root. With proper brainwashing from childhood, reinforced by various sealing techniques and conditioning protocols, we could have molded him into an excellent Jinchūriki. Instead, look at what we have—a boy with well-developed limbs but a simple mind, wandering around the village doing as he pleases."
Danzo's voice grew sharper with each word. "Furthermore, I heard that you, Hiruzen, actually granted him land rights to the back mountain for some kind of livestock breeding operation. A child his age should be focused on ninja training, not playing farmer. His priorities are completely backwards. Why don't you hand him over to me while he's still young enough to correct these fundamental mistakes?"
"That's enough!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice cut through Danzo's lecture like a blade. He exhaled a long stream of white smoke from his pipe, his expression hardening. "Don't forget, Danzo—if you hadn't taken unnecessary action and deliberately leaked Naruto's identity as the Jinchūriki, he wouldn't be suffering such cold treatment from the villagers in the first place."
He paused, his tone becoming even more firm. "Also, never forget—he is Minato's child. The Fourth Hokage's son."
"As long as Naruto doesn't destroy village property or harm the villagers, even if he never develops the Will of Fire, I will allow him to live out his life as an ordinary person if that's what he chooses. I owe this much to Minato at the very least."
"Hmph. Hiruzen, you're always too soft-hearted. You'll regret this decision someday." Danzo snorted with disdain. Internally, bitter thoughts churned through his mind. If it had been me who became Hokage instead of Hiruzen all those years ago, would Konoha's development have been superior? Would we be stronger now?
Regarding the dispute between the two old rivals, Koharu and Homura exchanged meaningful glances but remained silent, choosing not to intervene.
They knew better than to get between Hiruzen and Danzo when they clashed. Besides, despite Hiruzen's surface appearance of indecisiveness, he was actually more ruthless and decisive than anyone gave him credit for when circumstances demanded it. The upcoming major event—the handling of that certain family—would prove that well enough.
An uncomfortable silence settled over the office, heavy with unspoken tensions.
In the classroom below, Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei walked in side by side, making their way to the podium together.
Iruka spoke first, his voice carrying authority mixed with encouragement. "All right, everyone! I'm sure you all understand that today's assessment is very important. The Third Hokage himself is paying close attention to your performance. He's watching to see the outstanding potential of all you students, so please give it your absolute best effort!"
"You can do it, everyone!" Mizuki-sensei added his own encouragement with a friendly smile.
"Yes, Iruka-sensei! Yes, Mizuki-sensei!" the students replied in perfect unison, their voices filled with determination.
Seeing the confident expressions on his students' faces, Iruka felt deep satisfaction. He nodded approvingly, then continued. "Excellent. Now then—when I call your name, please stand up and come forward for your evaluation."
Iruka glanced at his friend Mizuki. Mizuki gave him an encouraging smile and a small gesture, signaling him to proceed however he saw fit.
"Nara Shikamaru."
Iruka called out the name of the first student to be assessed.
Nara Shikamaru stood up from his seat with his characteristic lazy expression firmly in place. He shuffled to the open space in front of the podium and gave a casual bow to both instructors.
"Go ahead and begin, Shikamaru. Perform the Substitution Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, and Transformation Jutsu—all three basic techniques," Iruka instructed.
Shikamaru proceeded through the demonstrations with practiced competence, though his movements carried an air of "why is this so troublesome?"
After finishing, Iruka nodded but didn't offer detailed commentary. He simply said, "Good work. Keep it up." The purpose of this assessment, after all, was simply to allow the Third Hokage to observe Konoha's future generation of ninja.
Iruka continued calling names one by one.
Each student whose name was called would leave their seat and demonstrate everything they'd learned to the best of their ability.
"Sasuke Uchiha."
The Uchiha clan's prodigy rose with complete confidence radiating from every movement.
"Sasuke! Do your best! You're the greatest!" Sakura Haruno immediately transformed into an enthusiastic cheerleader.
"Sasuke, go get 'em! I know you've got this!" Ino Yamanaka naturally refused to be outdone.
The moment Sasuke stepped forward to perform, the four observers in the Hokage Building finally showed genuine interest. They all leaned in slightly, watching Sasuke's demonstration with serious attention.
Sasuke's performance was, naturally, flawless. He executed each technique with textbook precision and returned to his seat with quiet satisfaction.
Shimura Danzo's single visible eye fixed on the Uchiha boy with an unreadable expression, his thoughts hidden behind that calculating gaze.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
Iruka's voice calling the next name broke the concentration of all four observers. They immediately straightened, focusing intently on the crystal ball to watch Naruto's performance with utmost care.
However, Naruto's demonstration was... completely lacking in any substance whatsoever.
Substitution Jutsu? Didn't know it.
Transformation Jutsu? Couldn't do it.
Clone Jutsu? Not a chance.
He hadn't even successfully refined chakra in the past six months, despite regular attendance.
"Hmph. Look at that. Just as I said—he's a complete waste of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's potential." Shimura Danzo's cane struck the floor again with a resounding crack. "An absolute disgrace."
"Danzo, that's ENOUGH!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's fury finally erupted, his voice sharp with barely contained anger.
"Hmph..." Danzo snorted coldly, turned on his heel, and stalked out of the office without another word.
Koharu and Homura exchanged another glance. Today's observation session had clearly concluded. They too bid farewell to Hiruzen and departed from the Hokage Building, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Only Hiruzen remained, smoking his pipe in silence, expression inscrutable as smoke curled around his weathered features.
After the assessment concluded, students filed out of the classroom one by one. School was letting out early today as a small reward for participating in the evaluation.
Choji Akimichi walked along the path toward home, snacks clutched in both hands, munching contentedly as he went. His cheeks bulged like a chipmunk's as he chewed.
Suddenly, he walked straight into what felt like an iron wall.
Looking up in surprise, he discovered it wasn't a wall at all—it was Uzumaki Naruto, standing directly in his path.
"Oh, it's you, Naruto," Choji greeted with his mouth still half-full of food. He harbored no particular dislike for Uzumaki Naruto—the boy had never done anything to bother him.
"That's right, it's me. Choji, let's be friends!" Naruto went straight to the point without preamble.
"Do you have food?" Choji asked immediately, his priorities crystal clear.
"Food? Of course I have food," Naruto confirmed with a nod.
Choji's face lit up with pure happiness. "Then sure! If you give me food, we can definitely be good friends!"
"No, that won't work—there's a proper process!" Naruto waved his hands, directly rejecting Choji's straightforward proposal.
"What process?" Confusion filled Choji's round face.
"Simple! We have a match first. If you lose, then we become friends!" Naruto's excitement was palpable.
"A match? But... you can't beat me," Choji said, shaking his head vigorously like a rattle. He clearly remembered Naruto's performance during the assessment—the guy hadn't even refined chakra yet. How could someone like that possibly compete with a trained ninja?
Without warning, Naruto dropped into a fighting stance, his expression turning serious.
"..." Choji felt too lazy to actually fight, but seeing Naruto's genuine enthusiasm and earnest expression, he reluctantly decided to humor him. Fine, I'll just go through the motions...
Bam! Thud! Crack!
Several minutes later, Choji Akimichi lay sprawled on the ground with a thoroughly bruised and swollen face. His eyes held a bewildered, slightly betrayed expression.