"Third Hokage, here are the Class One roster and the new students' exam papers. Please review them."
Inside the Hokage's office, a shadow from the ANBU suddenly appeared, placing a stack of papers and admission letters on the desk. Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, quickly scanning the top of the list. His brow furrowed.
"Tenten Ichigo didn't make it into Class One? Now Danzo will probably come running to accuse me of favoring against the Shimura clan again."
The ANBU responded, "It seems two exceptionally talented children pushed him out of the rankings."
"Is that so?"
Hiruzen's gaze raced across the list. He recognized nearly every name—after all, as the Third Hokage, he considered it his responsibility to watch over the younger generation of Konoha.
Most names bore the surnames of Konoha's ninja clans, or were children of high-ranking village shinobi, so he quickly spotted two unusual names.
"Sakamoto Tatsuma… Minato Namikaze. They seem familiar. Could they be the two children who have been running past the Hokage building every day lately?"
"Yes, Third Hokage," the ANBU confirmed.
The ANBU had indeed investigated these two children over the past month. As part of their duty, any unusual behavior near the Hokage's office required scrutiny.
It turned out the children were completely innocent—they were only running past to train, so no further investigation was needed. After all, they weren't the only ones. Another Genin in Konoha had been doing this daily for years, not once but dozens of times a day.
The ANBU reminisced about that Genin who would always shout about youth while running. Meanwhile, Hiruzen had already opened Tatsuma and Minato's admission letters and exam papers.
Seeing the top two tests marked at the highest level, Hiruzen was slightly surprised. As head of the Sarutobi clan, he knew well the advantages ninja clans held.
Shinobi backed by clans had resources that civilian ninjas lacked—from material resources to guidance from experienced family members. They could surpass civilian ninjas even before enrollment.
For a civilian to stand out, their talent and effort had to exceed that of a clan ninja by several times. For war orphans, the difficulty was even greater.
A civilian family could scrape together funds for basic ninja books and practice tools. War orphans, however, lived off stipends that barely covered necessities. Extraneous expenses were nearly impossible.
Historically, exceptional talent among civilians did appear—Hiruzen's two apprentices, Orochimaru and Jiraiya, were prime examples. But in all these years, such prodigies among civilians were rare. Now, suddenly, two more had emerged. Hiruzen was astonished.
He quickly examined their exam papers. Children this gifted could easily stray down a dark path; the village had indeed treated them "unfairly."
Yet when he read their essays on the Will of Fire, his frown gradually softened. After a moment, he looked at the ANBU.
"Where are the two children now?"
"They should still be at the Third Training Field."
"Good. Calm and humble—fine children."
Hiruzen set down the papers and stood. "Go change your clothes. Let's go see them ourselves. Better to avoid having Danzo come running to question me later."
"Yes, Third Hokage," the ANBU said, nodding and leaving quickly.
Hiruzen tidied himself and exited the Hokage building. Outside, a white-haired young ninja approached him.
Seeing the serious expression, Hiruzen chuckled. "How many times have I told you? Take off your ANBU gear—you're Hatake Sakumo, not some grim shadow."
Sakumo's face brightened. "Hokage-sama, please don't use words like 'take off your clothes,' especially since we are in a superior-subordinate relationship."
"The one I find indecent is you, not the clothes," Hiruzen replied, shaking his head.
Sakumo was a top-tier ninja of the Hatake clan. In ANBU gear with his mask, he was ruthless, a killing machine. Out of it, he became… something Hiruzen struggled to describe politely. Shaking his head, he led the way to the Third Training Field.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Good afternoon, Hokage-sama!"
"Third Hokage-sama!"
Along the way, Hiruzen greeted numerous Konoha shinobi and civilians. At the Third Training Field, he spotted two children in the corner practicing throws using discarded targets.
Hiruzen immediately assessed their skill. The blue-and-white curly-haired boy's ninja tool projection already matched graduating levels. The blond boy wasn't far behind, surpassing some current students.
"Geniuses, as expected," Hiruzen murmured, stepping forward.
"Minato, you're improving fast, but I'm still a step ahead this round!"
As Hiruzen approached, he overheard their conversation, which stopped immediately—they realized who was coming. Hiruzen's presence was unmistakable.
"Third Hokage-sama!"
"Third Hokage-sama!"
Tatsuma and Minato saluted quickly. Tatsuma observed Hiruzen and Sakumo, wondering why they were here. Their performance was good, but not extraordinary enough to summon the Hokage.
Even as a time-traveler, Tatsuma likely didn't anticipate that his sudden emergence had displaced a child from the Shimura clan, prompting Hiruzen to preemptively intervene.
Hiruzen noticed Tatsuma watching him and secretly observed him back. His first impression was positive, perhaps because of the boy's smile.
"Are you students of the Ninja Academy?"
Although he knew their identities, Hiruzen asked deliberately. Tatsuma and Minato nodded. Minato replied,
"Yes, Third Hokage-sama. We just enrolled today. I'm Minato Namikaze, and this is my friend, Sakamoto Tatsuma."
"Already displaying such ninja tool skill on your first day—remarkable. I wasn't nearly this talented at your age."
Minato's eyes brightened. Hiruzen continued, "But targets are inanimate. A ninja's enemies are never still. Can you strike a moving target with confidence?"
"What do you mean?" Tatsuma asked.
Hiruzen looked at Sakumo, who was observing the distant female ninja trainees. "This is my finest guard. Want to test yourselves against him? If you impress him, he might even reward you."
"Me?" Sakumo blinked, realizing he had daydreamed too long. He refocused on the two small children in front of him. "One minute. If you're still standing after a minute…"
He glanced at their worn ninja tools. "I'll give each of you a brand-new set. Deal?"
Minato's eyes lit up, but he looked to Tatsuma for agreement. Minato wasn't after the tools—he wanted the chance to spar with the Hokage's guard. It was rare.
Though they'd only been friends a day, Tatsuma understood Minato's intention. He nodded. "Really? Uncle, if you're a Hokage's guard, your skills must be strong. But if it's just one minute, I'll hold my ground."
"One minute? Such an ungraceful child," Sakumo muttered. Only twenty-something, and already called "uncle"?
Hiruzen's lips twitched in amusement. Sakumo, out of ANBU gear, was unreliable as ever.
Still, Hiruzen let the mini-test continue. Sakumo's motivation was a good thing; otherwise, he'd likely have just gone through the motions for a minute and handed them the tools.
"Then let's begin!"
With that, Tatsuma and Minato quickly moved to their respective sides.