BOOM!
Uchiha training ground.
Amane's blazing fist crashed down, and the post before him shattered.
Shisui stepped forward as if to speak, but his foot landed on the broken scraps and he went face-first into the dirt.
"Fine form."
Brushing dust from his clothes, Shisui nodded in approval.
"You are so fake."
Sasuke scoffed, tearing the act apart.
Come on.
A blind man could not see a punch.
Until he got his eyes back, Sasuke had to be this guy's walking stick.
He was not thrilled.
"I cannot see, but do not underestimate a blind shinobi's sense for chakra."
Shisui said, "At your age you can focus chakra into your fists and even release it as Fire. I have never heard of a kid doing that."
"As pure taijutsu that channels chakra, there is only Lady Tsunade's monstrous strength. I am curious how you did it."
He truly admired Amane.
Not the scheming brain or tangled plots.
This level of strength alone far outstripped his peers.
Condense chakra, change its nature. The heat alone said it hit no lighter than a Great Fireball.
"There are plenty of taijutsu styles."
Amane took a handkerchief, wiped his hands, and steadied his frames that had trembled from the strike.
His first lineage was an odd one.
Not the big-open, big-close of Konoha-ryu, and unlike the Hyuga's soft fist that hunted tenketsu.
Kusanagi Kyo's style mixed ferocity with grace, every move chaining into the next.
In flow and coordination, it crushed Konoha-ryu outright.
He was honestly eager to spar with Guy someday.
When true masters of taijutsu crossed hands, both grew.
"I thought you were the type to hide behind the scenes and count beads, the brainy schemer."
Shisui shrugged.
"What strong man wastes time scheming?"
Amane sighed. "If I did, how would I differ from Sarutobi Hiruzen or Shimura Danzō."
"Remember our strongest Hokage, the Third? Aside from tailing the Second while young to learn on the job, he never set foot on a battlefield again."
"As for Danzō, sure, he popped up on battlefields, but never took the fire himself. He played plots."
"My biggest difference from them is a simple truth."
Light flashed in his eyes. His heel crushed the shattered post.
"To forge iron, your own steel must be hard."
That rang true.
Shisui nodded, impressed.
"Brother, I think you went too hard."
Sasuke analyzed coolly.
"I know you want to put on a show at the afternoon entrance test."
"But listen. If that fist lands on our classmates, they will not get up."
Right.
In a blink, a month of academy life had passed.
To gauge progress, the school needed to test and learn each student's talent.
The academy's resources were limited.
Even basic education was taught by chunin.
Konoha invested heavily in training and did not want that talent wasted.
On the other side lay the ordinary.
Being ordinary was not a sin.
Even so, the ordinary had to generate value for the village.
Teams of the ordinary would still live nameless as fodder.
The Twelve of Konoha were strong not in raw life force but in their unique gifts.
Allocating resources well was a deep craft.
Hiruzen excelled at it.
Amane always felt the old man had a little malice. Almost every team had two boys and one girl. With death stalking every mission, two would almost always fall for each other.
The third became a rival. Rivalry drove growth, but it also ramped up risk.
Put simply:
"In a trio, there is always a simp."
"No one wants to be a dog forever. Once a dog learns to bite, it is trouble."
What?
Shisui and Sasuke stared, baffled.
...
Afternoon.
The academy buzzed to life.
After a month of lessons, this batch of new students had grown a bit.
Soon they would be taken for a first assessment.
The outstanding would be marked for special attention.
Before the teacher arrived, the classroom was a mess, much like Amane's high school days in his past life.
He enjoyed it.
Yawning in Ino's arms, he was content with student life.
"Quiet."
At last, Iruka entered.
"This afternoon is your first entrance quiz."
"Three parts."
"First, hand seals and fundamentals."
"Second, shuriken throwing."
"Third, basic taijutsu."
"I will proctor the first two. The last will be handled by a special instructor who will spar with you and evaluate you."
Not group matches?
Amane lifted a brow, interest fading.
"Pardon the question. The taijutsu instructor is..."
A curious classmate spoke up.
He asked.
He really asked.
Iruka smiled, nodding with approval.
Sometimes a teacher had to carry out the Hokage's political homework.
For example.
A certain shinobi who had just returned today.
He needed a convenient chance to stock his presence.
"Sarutobi Asuma."
"Former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, who protected the Daimyo and the Fire Temple."
"The Hokage's son and one of Konoha's few exceptionally strong close-combat shinobi, freshly back from traveling."
Whew.
Iruka finished in one breath and felt a little silly.
Maybe others did not see it. He did.
The Third's signal was clear.
He.
My son.
Future Hokage material.
Get him in contact with the heirs of Ino-Shika-Cho and the future pillars of Konoha.
Got it?
Classic you.
After the Fourth stepped down and he stepped back in, now he was already eyeing the Fifth.
Would the Sarutobi line follow the Senju and produce two Hokage in a row?
Iruka shook his head. Whoever wore the hat was all the same. As a lowly chunin, he could change nothing.
Asuma, huh.
Amane's eyes lit and he sat up from Ino's embrace.
It was not that he hated Asuma or was drooling over Kurenai.
It was that he and that man were bound to be strangers later.
The reason was simple. One day, he would pound Sarutobi Hiruzen.
If the father got hammered, the son Asuma would hardly be his friend.
That was all.
As for why he was excited, he had found the perfect target to test his strength.
Excellent in close combat?
What a coincidence.
His fists were hard too.
...