Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed into the crystal ball before him like a sorcerer studying omens. The semi-transparent sphere shifted and displayed a live image of Class 1-A.
Hiruzen had two sons. His eldest had already joined the ANBU and was an outstanding ninja. But his second son, Asuma Sarutobi, was at that rebellious age, constantly defying him and testing his patience.
Hiruzen studied the crystal ball for a moment, then chuckled.
Kids will be kids.
Yet competition breeds motivation.
Asuma, due to his status as the Hokage's son, had experienced smooth sailing at school. But now, with Hanekawa's arrival, perhaps this rebellious boy would finally have some challenge.
"Sei," Hiruzen said aloud. "I want all the data on Hanekawa from the past three days, right now."
"Yes," a voice replied quietly. It was ANBU ninja Sei.
Hiruzen had high hopes for Hanekawa. Otherwise, he wouldn't have retrieved him from Danzo Shimura's custody. Now, he had managed to spark a competitive fire in Asuma as well—a two-birds-one-stone situation.
"Lord Hokage,"
In less than three minutes, Sei appeared before him, wearing a frog mask that revealed only short hair.
Hiruzen took the files and began scanning them. Soon, his brow furrowed.
As expected, Danzo Shimura hadn't given up entirely—but fortunately, there had been no major incidents.
He continued reviewing and a smile appeared on his face.
A diligent, hardworking child.
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
Hiruzen casually set aside the files.
"Lord Hokage,"
A young blond man entered.
"Minato," Hiruzen's gaze sharpened. "What is it? Has Kushina caused a problem?"
Kushina Uzumaki was the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. Among the nine great tailed beasts, the Nine-Tails was the strongest. A Jinchuriki, sealing a tailed beast within their body, was the village's ultimate trump card.
But the tailed beasts were restless, and a Jinchuriki could easily lose control. And there was always the threat of enemy spies. For instance, not long ago, Kumogakure had kidnapped Kushina. If not for Minato Namikaze, Konoha might have permanently lost the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
"It's Kushina. She ran out of the barrier again today," Minato admitted sheepishly. "The two ANBU guarding her were sealed by her using a restraining jutsu."
"Minato, I understand your feelings for Kushina, but this is about the Nine-Tails. We can't allow such recklessness." Hiruzen inhaled smoke and cautioned him.
"I understand!" Minato's expression turned serious.
"Don't be so tense." Hiruzen's tone softened with a smile. "Now that you've mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, I doubt she'll be kidnapped again."
The Flying Thunder God Technique, a space-time ninjutsu, allowed the user to teleport instantly using marked locations. If Minato set the mark on Kushina, no distance was too great. Without exaggeration, from now on, he was the fastest man in the ninja world.
"Is Jiraiya still in the village?" Hiruzen asked suddenly.
"He is," Minato replied. "He's been helping me develop new ninjutsu recently."
"New ninjutsu?" Hiruzen's curiosity was piqued. "What kind of jutsu requires you and Jiraiya to work together?"
"It's not quite ready yet," Minato smiled. "Once it's complete, I'll demonstrate it to you."
"I'll look forward to it." Hiruzen shared a brief smile with him.
The Hokage's office instantly felt warm and lively.
…
Class 1-A.
Hanekawa twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Why do ninja still have to learn math?
There's a saying: push a person to the limit, and they can do anything—but not math.
The problem in front of him was calculating the parabolic trajectory of a thrown kunai. The logic made sense, but facing Susanoo, what use would it be? He couldn't very well stab Danzo Shimura with a kunai.
Suddenly, a commotion arose in the classroom.
Hanekawa looked up to see a group of students leaving. At the front were Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha.
"Obito's challenging Kakashi again," Shizune shook her head. "I've lost count of how many times since the semester started."
"Who wins?" Hanekawa asked casually.
"Always Kakashi. He's recognized as the village genius," Shizune said matter-of-factly.
Hanekawa nodded slightly. In just three days, he already felt Kakashi's immense popularity—like Sasuke Uchiha in the original series. Read more, obsess less over Uchiha, he thought.
In the brief moment he chatted with Shizune, Obito had already been defeated. Kakashi hadn't even moved a finger. Obito had performed the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique poorly, burning his own throat, coughing violently. He could have coughed his lungs out the next second.
But he suffered happily, because Rin Nohara was caring for him.
Her gentle attitude gave him illusions—maybe she liked him.
Unfortunately, fate had already set its price in secret.
Hanekawa, thinking of his own survival, continued studying. He didn't want to be optimized when Obito eventually reshaped the world.
After school, returning home and finishing dinner, Hanekawa began training with kunai and shuriken—this time, with Kurenai present.
A week passed quickly. Hanekawa smoothly integrated into the class and got to know everyone. Besides famous supporting characters like Kakashi and Asuma, there was a minor character, Mizuki. In the original story, he was the ninja school teacher who tempted the failed Naruto into stealing a forbidden scroll. His biggest contribution was providing the protagonist with an "external cheat"—the Multi Shadow Clone Technique.
Sunday morning.
Hanekawa casually threw a kunai—it hit the wooden post precisely. Text appeared before his eyes. He exhaled in relief.
[E-Rank Talent: Ninja Tool Throwing (Acquired)][Trigger: Shuriken and kunai thrown at beginner level.][Effect: Increases arm strength by 10%; guarantees hit on stationary targets within 100 meters.][Note: Has a synthesis path—combine seven E-rank ninja tools to synthesize the D-rank talent, Ninja Tool Mastery.]
Hanekawa instinctively clenched his fist. Power surged—not much, but he genuinely felt stronger. At beginner level, a 10% boost already—when fully mastered, he'd have "Kirin Arms." Basketball anyone? Iron elbows.
He shook off the chaotic thought and looked at his new skill panel.
[E-Rank Talent: Seven Ninja Tools (Not Acquired)][Trigger: Proficiency in seven types of ninja tools.][Current Progress: 10%]
Also an E-rank talent, but "Seven Ninja Tools" was harder than "Ninja Tool Throwing." To synthesize the D-rank talent, he had to master additional tools.
The progress bar confirmed shuriken and kunai counted—five more tools to learn.
Hanekawa gathered the scattered weapons and turned to leave. He had requested leave from Kurenai, claiming he needed to visit the orphanage.
In reality, he was heading to meet the Kumogakure spy.
Kushina, during her early Jinchuriki stage, was confined due to the Nine-Tails' uncontrollable power—a reference from the official "Minato Chronicles" manga, adapted here for the story's plot.