"Well, well, what do we have here—full marks for physical fitness, full marks for ninjutsu talent, full marks for genjutsu talent, and intelligence..." Hiruzen pulled out Feng Bai's assessment form, waving it with interest as he tried to catch Danzō's attention.
"Hmph, those are just scores given out of respect for the Shimura surname—they have zero reference value." Seeing Hiruzen fish out Feng Bai's assessment form, Danzō began searching through the pile himself.
He quickly found what he was looking for: "Sarutobi Asuma—full marks across all categories, plus three full lines of personal evaluation, all glowing praise."
Danzō wasn't particularly optimistic about Asuma: "But the reality is, that boy only inherited your Fire and Wind natures. He can't use all five elemental ninjutsu like you can."
Having said his piece, Danzō didn't linger. He stood up, walked to the door, and pulled it open.
"Leaving already? Won't you help me deliberate a bit more?" The thought of having to eliminate some of these excellent children from consideration made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel a pang of heartache.
Right now, he desperately needed Danzō to share this burden of pain.
But clearly, Danzō had no intention of taking the blame for such trivial matters. He ignored Hiruzen and walked straight out of the room.
"Yare yare." Seeing Danzō actually leave, Hiruzen shook his head regretfully, set his pipe aside, and began the student selection process.
...
"That was really dangerous—I almost didn't make it in time." At the school gate, Obito looked shaken.
"Well, you've never arrived on time anyway. We're used to it by now." Kakashi produced a book from somewhere, reading while making sarcastic comments about Obito.
"By the way, who's that guy next to Feng Bai? I've never seen him before." Noticing Feng Bai hadn't joined their conversation, Obito looked over curiously.
"You're called Feng Bai, right? I'm pleased to meet you."
Just before leaving with his father, Might Guy specifically sought out Feng Bai to say goodbye.
"Yes, likewise. See you at school." Feng Bai smiled as he bid Guy farewell.
This guy actually remembered my name—that's quite remarkable.
"Great! Let's burn our youth together at school!" Guy grabbed Feng Bai's hand, his eyes visibly shooting flames of passion.
That won't be necessary, thanks.
Imagining himself with a bowl cut and wearing green spandex, Feng Bai felt a chill run down his spine and awkwardly freed his hand from Guy's grip.
"Dad! I've been accepted! My youth is burning with passion!" Seeing Might Duy approach, Guy couldn't wait to show off his achievement to his father.
"Excellent, Guy! To celebrate this moment, let's add five hundred more push-ups to today's training!" Might Duy beamed with pride and gave his son a thumbs-up.
"Osu!"
Their voices instantly drew the attention of every student and parent present, causing whispered conversations to break out around them—only to abruptly cease at the same moment.
"How noisy." A cold voice rang out. Feng Bai turned and saw a familiar figure.
After recognizing the newcomer, Feng Bai first froze, then obediently walked to his side: "Dad."
"D-Dad?" Feeling the sudden quiet around them, Might Duy also looked toward the newcomer, only to discover that the adorable boy who had just cheered for his son was calling a one-eyed man "father."
That one-eyed man—he had encountered him during a certain combat mission. At the time, while helping the jōnin transport supplies, he had heard some people mention the man's identity...
Hokage Advisor, Danzō.
"Father-sama—no, Danzō-sama." In his nervousness, Might Duy nearly called Danzō by the wrong title.
"Mm." Seeing that the man wasn't even wearing a chūnin vest, Danzō assumed he was just an ordinary genin and didn't even feel inclined to respond.
But considering that his son would likely become classmates with that little green-clad oddity, he ultimately gave a simple nod in acknowledgment.
Then, Danzō didn't linger, instead leading Feng Bai over to where Kakashi and the others had gathered.
"Is that real? That child just called Danzō-sama 'dad'?"
"I heard it too. Who would have thought Danzō-sama had such an adorable son."
"Who's Danzō?"
"You don't even know Danzō-sama? He's the Hokage Advisor—he and the Third Hokage both served as bodyguards under the Second Hokage."
"Whoa, that's incredible."
"Of course. They say his strength is second only to the Third Hokage, even stronger than those two advisors."
Listening to the hushed discussions around him, Feng Bai realized that Danzō's reputation at this time wasn't as terrible as it would be during the Shippuden era. At the very least, when Konoha residents discussed him, they still carried a measure of reverence.
Or perhaps, the terrible things Danzō would do hadn't yet been discovered by the masses.
"Geez, Kakashi, I told you to remember to wake me up this morning." On the other side, Sakumo, who had rushed to the school, complained helplessly to Kakashi.
Unwilling to miss his son's entrance exam, Sakumo had completed the routine mission assigned by the Third Hokage, then traveled through the night without rest, finally returning home just before midnight.
Seeing he still had some time, Sakumo had specifically left a note asking Kakashi to wake him when leaving, then went to sleep without even changing clothes. But who knew Kakashi would ultimately not wake him, instead coming to school alone.
"For this kind of exam, it doesn't matter whether you come or not." Kakashi closed his book, glanced at his father, and spoke with a hint of pride.
Actually, he felt sorry for his father and wanted to let him rest more, which was why he hadn't woken him.
"But this has very important significance—ah, Danzō-sama." Sakumo, who was about to say more, noticed Danzō's arrival and quickly greeted him.
"Uncle Sakumo." Feng Bai was very well-behaved on the side.
"It's Feng Bai—it's been a long time." Sakumo also smiled as he crouched down and ruffled Feng Bai's hair.
Holy crap, a head pat from Konoha's White Fang!
Feng Bai, who hadn't been patted by Sakumo in a long time, actually felt somewhat nostalgic.
"It seems our two sons will be in the same class." Danzō naturally began conversing with Sakumo.
In his view, this was an excellent opportunity—using their children as a connection point to establish a relationship with Konoha's White Fang.
"Indeed. Feng Bai, please look after Kakashi from now on." Nodding in agreement with Danzō's words, Sakumo looked at Feng Bai again.
"I should be the one looking after him—ow, that hurts!" Kakashi, who was about to object, received a slap to the head from Feng Bai.
"Hey, you actually dare to hit me!"
"So what if I do, baka." Making a face, Feng Bai took off running after smacking Kakashi.
Ha! If I don't hit him now, I might not be able to beat him later.
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