At the academy.
"Yes, you can publish it." Souji said.
"Thank you, Souji-sama." Then, Honda said, "With the profits..."
He took out a contract scroll and gave it to Souji.
"..."
Souji read the contract and looked at its contents.
"..."
"70:30?" Souji asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Ah? If you're not satisfied with that, you can change it to 80:20." Honda said. He didn't want to appear too greedy, especially with a Hokage's student. Making a good impression was much better than some little profits.
"..."
'Isn't he afraid of losing? Or is that even more than enough?' Souji thought.
"..."
Souji shook his head. "No, 70:30 is enough for me." After reading the entire contract and seeing nothing strange, Souji signed it.
He gave his contract scroll to Honda, who gave him his in return. "It's a pleasure to work with you."
"It's a pleasure to work with you, too." Souji said.
"Oh, one more thing, Souji-sama. I will create a bank account for you when you receive the profits. Don't worry, I won't touch even one ryo of your money." Honda said, bowing his head.
"..."
'Are there banks in this world?' Souji thought.
He had completely forgotten about that. He thought he would get cash, but it was fine either way.
"All right, I trust you. Don't break my trust, okay?" Souji said.
"Yes! Leave it to me!" Honda replied confidently and enthusiastically.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
After school, Souji's group walked toward the training location. Along the way, they talked about many things.
"..."
After walking for a long time, they finally arrived at the training ground, which was now essentially exclusive to Souji.
"All right, the first thing is chakra control. Do any of you know how to walk on trees?"
"I can!" Naruto said.
"Me too." Ino said, and Shikamaru nodding in agreement.
"I...sometimes still fall." Choji said.
"..."
'Have they really gotten ahead?' Souji thought. 'This is strange.'
Considering they were from a clan, however, he wasn't too surprised.
'That means Team 7 in the canon is really lagging behind, huh?' But even with that, they can learn quickly and become one of the strongest teams among the Rookie 9.
'Of course, except for Sakura before Shippuden.' Souji thought.
"..."
Souji then saw Ino and Shikamaru walking steadily, followed by Naruto and Choji.
"..."
Souji nodded as he saw them at the top of the tree. Choji had fallen several times, but Souji had caught him each time. Souji had also taught Choji to use his hands to grip the tree if he felt he was going to fall. After that, Choji didn't fall again and managed to reach the top of the tree. He cried with pride.
The others congratulated him.
"..."
Clap Clap Clap
"All right, congratulations to you all. I can clearly see your abilities now." Souji added, "Now, I want Ino and Shikamaru to run while Naruto and Choji walk steadily."
"Okay!" They all said.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
In the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen watched what Souji and his friends were doing with the Telescope Jutsu. He felt that his peeping activities, that watching the hot springs, had decreased.
'I was right to make him my student.' Hiruzen thought.
To him, Souji truly reflected a leader. He had a bond with them, he protected, educated, and led them.
It was as if Souji had been sent by heaven for his village.
"..."
'The man who walks the path of heaven and will rule over everything...' Hiruzen thought. 'Tendou Souji.'
"..."
'That really suits him.' Hiruzen thought. Hiruzen thought.
"..."
Knock Knock Knock
Shortly after, he heard someone knock on his door.
"Come in." he said.
The person knocking on the door was Inoichi. "Sandaime-sama." Inoichi greeted him.
"Inoichi, what is it? Is there a problem on the front lines?" Hiruzen asked.
Inoichi shook his head. "It's not like that, Sandaime-sama." He continued, "I want to ask if I can invite Naruto and Souji to dinner."
"Oh?" Hiruzen raised his eyebrows.
"I don't mind. You can invite them without my permission." He added, "But I'm curious. Why do you want to invite them?"
Inoichi nodded. "This is because Ino wants to invite them, and as her father, I find it difficult to refuse her request."
Not only that, but Inoichi also wanted to see for himself the person who had taken his daughter from him.
Forget about Inoichi's silly reason.
"Hm, it seems the future of the Yamanaka clan is really bright." Hiruzen said, stroking his chin.
Twitch
Inoichi's face twitched at Hiruzen's words.
'Bright, you say? Bright your ass!' Inoichi thought, 'As long as I haven't admitted that he's worthy of it, I won't let him take Ino from me!'
"..."
"Is there anything else?" Hiruzen asked.
"Nothing, Sandaime-sama." Inoichi replied.
"If that's the case, I'll take my leave." Inoichi said.
"Of course." Hiruzen replied.
"..."
'The possibility of the Yamanaka clan supporting Souji is quite high now.' Hiruzen thought, looking at the village from his window. 'I look forward to that day, Souji.'
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
Somewhere in the Land of Grass, at the main camp of Iwagakure.
"Did Kumo take the bait?" Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, asked.
"No, Tsuchikage-sama. They placed their troops right on the border between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Frost."
"Of course, if they enter the Land of Frost or the Land of Hot Springs, Konoha will consider it an attack by Kumo." Onoki added, "The new Raikage is a coward. Even I have to admit that his father was much better than him."
"And that, of course, is beneficial for us." Onoki said.
"Keep an eye on Kumo's movements. If the Raikage joins the attack on Konoha and leaves a Jinchuriki in the village, Kumogakure will feel our retaliation."
"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama."
"..."
"..."
On the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers was the main camp of Suna.
"How is the situation with Iwagakure and Konohagakure?" asked Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure.
"Konoha can still withstand the combined attacks of Iwa, Kusa, and Taki."
"Even Konoha, which hasn't fully recovered from the previous war, can withstand the attacks of three villages." Rasa said with admiration and envy for Konoha.
Here he is, a Kazekage of a village that very different from Konohagakure in terms of life, worthiness, and strength. Sunagakure is truly far behind Konohagakure and the other great villages. Now, as Kazekage, he has the opportunity to improve Sunagakure.
He doesn't hold a grudge against Konoha, he just needs to attack them for the good of his village.
"We will wait. When Konoha shows even a little weakness, we will move." Rasa said.
"Yes." came the response from his subordinates.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
"I'm so tired." Ino said. Then he sat under a tree with the others.
"Well, it's only the first day." Souji said to Ino, giving her a bottle of water.
"Ha, you're right." Ino replied.
"Even so, I can walk well and steadily now. Thank you, Souji." said Choji.
"It's not because of me, it's because of your own efforts. Even if you had been trained by someone else, you would still be able to do it." said Souji.
Ino and Shikamaru were still struggling to run, but Naruto and Choji had clearly improved.
"What will we do after this?" Shikamaru asked.
"Are we going to do taijutsu, Dad?" Naruto asked.
"Yes. After this, we will have a sparring match. You will fight my shadow clones." said Souji.
"Shadow clones?" Choji asked, confused.
"Wait, you mean the Shadow Clone Jutsu usually used by a jonin?" Shikamaru asked.
"Shadow Clone? Is that a jutsu from your clan, Shika?" Ino asked.
"..."
"Let me explain. The Shadow Clone Jutsu is an advanced variant of the Clone Jutsu."
"It would be much better if you saw it directly. Shadow Clone Jutsu." Souji said, using hand seals. He could have done it without them, but he chose to use them to deceive people.
A ninja fight isn't just about punches and kicks, it's also about information. His enemies already had false information about him, which gave him an advantage.
Poff Poff Poff
Three shadow clones identical to Souji appeared.
"Ino, try touching them." Souji said.
"Eh? Me? Alright." Ino stood up and approached Souji's shadow clone. She touched it.
"Huh? I can feel it. This is really not like the Clone Jutsu." Ino said, admiring or perhaps inspecting Souji's shadow clones.
"Not only that, but when my shadow clones dispel themselves, the memories and remaining chakra return to me." Souji said.
"That... is very useful..." Shikamaru said, amazed by the Shadow Clone Jutsu. He imagined what it would be like if his shadow clones went to school while he slept at home.
'No, no. If my mother finds out, my life is over. All I need is a place to relax and be lazy while my shadow clones do everything.' Shikamaru thought.
"Isn't that great? Can I learn it, Souji-kun?" Ino asked enthusiastically.
She imagined that if she had 100 clones and Souji had 100 clones, she could have a hundred times the experience with him.
[Thoughts: Ah... one hundred Soujis...]
Souji, who saw Ino's thoughts, was confused. 'What does she mean by a hundred of me? My clones? What are the clones for?'
"..."
Souji didn't want to think about it. Come on, they were still young. It was impossible for Ino to have strange thoughts.
"..."
Choji himself was silent. He fantasized that if he had many shadow clones, he could enjoy more food and potato chips at one time.
"..."
Meanwhile, Naruto, who already knew the usefulness of the Shadow Clone Technique, fantasized about ordering his clones to perform other activities while he read his father's books. Even Souji promised to teach him, if he can mastery the walk on water. That's why he was going to make that fantasy a reality. By trying his best.
"..."
"Of course, with the advantages of a jutsu, there are also disadvantages. First, when you create one shadow clone, your chakra is divided in two. If you create two, then your chakra will be divided into three, and so on." Souji added. "More precisely, you will die if you create too many shadow clones and run out of chakra."
"..."
"Second, mental fatigue. The more information your shadow clones receive and store, the greater the mental and emotional burden you bear."
"..."
Souji shattered their beautiful illusions with his words, bringing them back to reality.
"Chakra, huh?" Shikamaru muttered.
Ino sat down weakly and said, "My dreams are gone."
Choji and Naruto nodded in agreement. This was the first time Naruto knew the Shadow Clone Jutsu had such an effect, Souji had deliberately not told him. The effect of the Shadow Clone Jutsu didn't affect Naruto much, but Souji wanted him to be careful.
"..."
"Oh, yeah. My mom made us a lot of food to eat together." said Shikamaru, taking a large lunchbox out of his bag.
"So that's what you were carrying in your bag? I thought you were carrying something weird." Naruto said.
"Weird like what?" Shikamaru asked.
"Err...like a rock? Maybe?" Naruto replied, not having a definitive answer.
"..."
"Naruto, Does anyone carry a rock in their bag?" Shikamaru asked, unable to understand Naruto.
"Ahahaha..." Naruto just laughed at that.
Then, Shikamaru looked at Souji and said, "My mom was really grateful that you inviting me to training."
"Oh? Please also convey my thanks to your mother for the food." Souji said. Shikamaru nodded.
'Shikamaru's mother, huh?' Souji thought. 'Have I ever seen Ino and Shikamaru's mothers before?'
He had forgotten what some of the characters from the Naruto series looked like.
'Well, this isn't just an anime world anymore, but a real world.' he thought.
Ino looked at Shikamaru enviously. If Ino had also asked her mother to cook more food, then Souji would have thanked her and her mother too.
Shikamaru felt Ino's unpleasant gaze but pretended not to notice. He didn't know why she was angry with him.
'Women...' Shikamaru thought.
"..."
"..."