Only Hagoromo remained in the classroom now. Even at this point, he still hadn't figured out whose subordinate he had become.
For some reason, it almost felt like someone was playing dramatic background music on a pipa somewhere…
Cough cough.
Wrong metaphor.
What he meant was that he still had no idea who his new team leader was.
If there was any difference between what he was wearing today and yesterday, it was that something was now hanging from his forehead.
At first glance, it almost looked like a dog tag.
…No, wait.
The professional term for it was a forehead protector.
As for its usefulness in actual combat, that was hard to say. Its most obvious purpose seemed to be identifying which village a Ninja belonged to.
Normally, according to typical protagonist settings, Hagoromo should at least be wearing some flashy white Hokage-style robe right now.
But Hagoromo didn't have that kind of awareness as a transmigrator.
To put it simply, if you stripped the flak jacket off an average Chunin, that was basically what he looked like.
Completely ordinary.
Black Ninja boots.White leg wrappings.Black pants.A slightly loose long-sleeved shirt.
The sleeves were even a little too long, so he had to roll them up past his elbows.
In short—he dressed in the most ordinary way possible.
Just as Hagoromo was beginning to lose patience from waiting, the person he had been expecting finally arrived.
"Ninja registration number 009887. Who is Kamishiraishi Hagoromo?"
The newcomer wore a standard Ninja uniform.
She had a pretty face and a loud, energetic voice.
But the most eye-catching feature was her bright red hair.
And hair like that revealed her identity.
A descendant of the Uzumaki clan.A Konoha Jonin.The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
Uzumaki Kushina.
What did Hagoromo see?
He saw a walking library of sealing techniques walk into the classroom.
"There's only one person left in the classroom, you know," Hagoromo complained as he stood up from his seat.
Of course he knew who Kushina was.
Even without memories from his previous life, he would still know her name.
Although her identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki was kept secret from ordinary Ninja and civilians, her chaotic personality—very similar to Naruto's—made her extremely famous in Konoha.
At this moment, Hagoromo naturally realized that Kushina was probably going to be his teacher.
To be honest, he didn't know much about her.
He only knew that she was an Uzumaki descendant, the future wife of the Fourth Hokage, Naruto's mother, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, and someone highly skilled in sealing techniques.
But if someone asked whether he was satisfied with Kushina as his teacher—
He was extremely satisfied.
Right now, even if someone asked him to switch places with Obito, he wouldn't agree.
Because Hagoromo was extremely interested in sealing techniques.
Kushina completely ignored Hagoromo's complaint.
"Of course I know you're the only one left. I was just confirming it. Come with me."
When Hagoromo walked up beside her, she casually slapped his back twice in a friendly manner.
The only problem was—
She used too much force.
Hagoromo staggered forward a step.
Conclusion reached instantly.
"This person is reckless and full of energy. Her behavior carries a certain degree of danger."
Kushina walked in front while Hagoromo followed behind.
At this moment, the Third Hokage had no idea that putting these two together would become a decision he would regret deeply.
The only decision he would regret more in the future would be letting Orochimaru escape.
————————————
A short while later.
"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Uzumaki Kushina, Jonin. From now on, I'll be your teacher."
They were currently standing in a small training field.
To clarify something—
Originally there had been another Ninja training here.
But when Kushina arrived, that Ninja very wisely and voluntarily gave up the place.
At this moment, our cunning protagonist was already thinking about how to persuade Kushina to teach him various sealing techniques.
"Teacher Kushina, you already know my name. I'm Kamishiro Hagoromo, eleven years old, Genin."
Kushina nodded.
Of course she already knew Hagoromo's identity.
In fact, she even knew quite a bit about him.
Without Hagoromo realizing it, she had already conducted many tests on him.
Those tests had all been written exams, secretly mixed into the various tests given at the Ninja Academy.
And the difficulty level had been extremely high.
Yet Hagoromo had never been stumped by any of them.
This was the main reason Kushina chose him.
Compared to the current combat ability of the academy's students, she valued intelligence more.
A Ninja's intelligence often determined how far they could grow.
And the way she taught her students required them to possess intelligence above the average level.
Moreover, Hagoromo's actual combat ability was also quite impressive.
Kushina had already learned about the Lightning Release techniques Hagoromo displayed during the graduation exam the day before.
"Well then, Hagoromo," Kushina said, "we should get to know each other a bit. Do you have any life goals or plans for the future?"
Hagoromo immediately felt a headache coming on.
Seriously… if you're not good at heart-to-heart conversations, we don't actually have to do this.
"Life goals…"
"I guess I'd like to live a peaceful life. Just be an ordinary Ninja and earn a little money."
"After turning twenty, I'd marry a woman who's neither particularly pretty nor ugly."
"Then we'd have two children—the first a girl, the second a boy."
"Once my daughter gets married and my son grows up and becomes independent, I'd retire from being a Ninja."
"After that I'd spend my days playing shogi or go while living a quiet retired life…"
"And eventually I'd die of old age before my wife."
Before Hagoromo could finish copying someone else's famous speech, he received a light knock on the forehead.
"Say something else," Kushina said. "Are you some middle-aged man going through a midlife crisis? Try something more positive."
Hagoromo finally understood.
Kushina might not be very good at this kind of conversation, but she wasn't easy to fool either.
This discussion was probably meant to determine whether a newly graduated Genin like Hagoromo had any anti-village or anti-Ninja tendencies.
"Life goals…"
"There's actually something I've always wanted."
"But that kind of thing can't be forced. It's the kind of thing you can only encounter by chance."
"So I just hope I'll be lucky enough to come across it someday."
When Hagoromo said this, there was an unexpectedly lonely tone in his voice.
That wasn't really the kind of emotion someone his age should have.
Fortunately, Kushina didn't press further about what that thing was.
She probably felt that asking more would start invading his privacy.
Hagoromo's background was completely clear.
Both of his parents were Ninja who had died in the early stages of the current war.
He had grown up in Konoha since childhood, had never left the village, and had never interacted with anyone from outside.
So this questioning was mostly just routine procedure.
"Alright, the conversation is over."
"Now let me see your real strength."
As she spoke, Kushina reached into her Ninja pouch and took out a small bell.
Fortunately for Hagoromo, he wasn't very familiar with the Naruto storyline.
Otherwise he definitely would have complained at this moment.
Because in the Naruto world, this bell had probably appeared more often than half the characters in the story.
"Uh?"
"Let's do a test," Kushina said.
"Can you take this bell from my hand?"