Before Sakumo Hatake realized Hiruzen Sarutobi was even there, the scene between him, Minato Namikaze, and Kakashi was… weird.
It was basically:
Look behind you.
No, you look behind you.
And Hiruzen Sarutobi's answer was:
How about you look up.
Sakumo's eyes went wide, then awkward.
Wait.
He hadn't noticed the Third Hokage at all?
Oh, this was bad. The Anbu vice captain stepping in to scare a Chunin, and the Hokage personally caught him in the act.
Even if Minato wasn't exactly a "normal" Chunin…
Hiruzen smiled faintly.
Even when you fought dirty in Hidden Leaf Village, there were levels to it.
Kakashi's sneak attack was the first layer.
Minato countering with a Curse Mark was the second.
Sakumo hiding his presence and joining in was the third.
And him, the Hokage, staying hidden from the White Fang and popping out at the end?
That was the fourth.
"The Third Hokage's entrance is so cool…" Guy clenched his fists, eyes shining. "So stylish!"
Hiruzen landed in front of them and gave Kakashi's head a quick, casual rub.
The Cursed Seal of Self-Binding unraveled instantly.
Kakashi sagged in relief, then hurried to bow. "Thank you, Third Hokage-sama!"
"A student at the Academy getting to experience the power of a curse seal," Hiruzen said, amused. "You're probably the first."
Then he glanced at Kakashi. "So, do you think your father's amazing now?"
He said it because he remembered Sakumo's usual grumbling.
The White Fang, raising a kid alone, was proud of Kakashi's talent, but he had one problem that genuinely bothered him.
How was he supposed to show his son that he was actually incredible?
If he showed it in sparring, it might crush Kakashi's drive, and doing it on purpose felt… forced. Not cool.
Sakumo was the quiet type, the kind who got stuck overthinking, and that only made Kakashi start to wonder if his father wasn't all that strong.
But after seeing Asuma and Kakashi's faces when they'd witnessed Hiruzen Sarutobi fight Orochimaru, Sakumo had gotten an idea.
He couldn't make that kind of huge commotion himself.
So he used Minato as the stage.
It could calm Kakashi down, and it could show the difference in power between a father and a son.
Everything had been perfect.
Except the Hokage had seen it.
"Yeah," Kakashi mumbled, face burning as he hid behind Sakumo. "My dad's really strong."
Then, softer, almost embarrassed: "So when you sparred with me… you were never serious?"
Minato's mouth twitched.
This kid really had no idea how high the sky was.
"Ah," Sakumo said, beaming, basking in his son's admiration. "I was very serious, actually."
"If you were serious-serious," Kakashi whispered, "would I not be able to block even one move…?"
Everyone laughed, friendly and warm.
Kakashi stopped talking. Behind his mask, he shut down completely.
"Curse Mark is basically entry level, but you picked it up fast," Hiruzen said to Minato. "Stop wearing that Chunin title like a decoration. Find a time to go to the Administrative Department and schedule your Jonin test."
How long had Kushina even been teaching him sealing techniques?
And he'd already reached this level.
Not to mention the insight Minato had shown explaining the Steel Shell Seal during the Eight-Tails incident…
Hiruzen was confident of it.
Minato Namikaze was a genius at fuinjutsu.
Maybe… I should let him try Flying Raijin.
That forbidden technique, passed down from Tobirama Senju, had already been lost in Konoha.
It demanded an extremely high level of sealing mastery, and the same went for nerve reaction speed and dynamic vision.
And the biggest wall of all was something else entirely.
Sensitivity to "space."
It was hard to explain. Hard to teach. Almost like superstition.
To this day, no one had found a way to train it after the fact.
Hiruzen didn't know if Minato could do it.
But if anyone had the best shot, it was him.
"Third Hokage-sama, I understand…"
Minato put on that signature little-sun smile. "I was planning to take the Jonin test in my best condition. I didn't want to hurt my teacher's teacher's reputation."
"But if you're telling me to go, I'll go right now!"
"Though… I do have a bit of confusion in my training."
Sakumo's expression turned genuinely impressed.
Not just absurd combat talent, either. He was smooth in every other way too.
Sakumo didn't even have that move in his toolbox.
"You little brat," Hiruzen said, half laughing, half scolding. "Your mouth sure is sweet. Fine. What is it?"
"Teacher's teacher," Minato asked seriously, "do you have any ninjutsu that can increase speed and strength?"
That was exactly what he needed most.
"I do," Hiruzen said after a brief pause.
There were plenty of techniques like that, but something that suited a talent like Minato…
It needed to be strong on offense and defense, and ideally, it needed room to grow.
The best fit was the one Hiruzen was already practicing himself.
A Lightning Style body technique.
"This jutsu has higher requirements for endurance and physical toughness," Hiruzen said. "You're a good match."
His gaze flicked, subtle, toward the sword at Sakumo's waist.
Good. Standard Anbu issue, not the famous White Fang blade.
"Sakumo," Hiruzen said, "give me a hand."
Lightning surged around him in a violent bloom as he raised his left arm.
Sakumo understood instantly.
In one motion, he drew his blade.
The detail that mattered was this: he used the back of it.
Anbu steel met the Hokage's forearm.
Only Minato could catch the flash of that blade.
To everyone else, it was just a blur.
And then the standard-issue sword, forged from fine steel, snapped without warning and clattered to the ground with a crisp, clean ring.
"But it takes constant grinding," Hiruzen continued, exchanging a look with Sakumo as the lightning faded. "And the process is rough. You've got lightning-nature Chakra, right?"
Minato's eyes lit up. "Third Hokage-sama, don't worry!"
It was just hard work.
He wasn't afraid of that.
The blond boy made his decision on the spot. Even if one day Kushina ended up sealing the Nine-Tails inside her, he'd still keep moving forward.
This technique fit him too well.
Beside him, Guy tugged gently at his father's sleeve.
He had lightning-nature Chakra too.
And the Hokage's requirements…
Endurance. Pain tolerance. Physical grit.
Those were the only two things Guy truly believed he had right now.
If he learned this, maybe he could finally enter the ninja school…
A kid's thoughts were simple.
But Might Duy was an adult.
He lived for encouragement, and he believed in youth with his whole heart, but he was still just a Genin.
He couldn't ask the Hokage for something like this in a scene like this.
Might Duy dropped his head, helpless.
And Hiruzen saw it all.
He only remembered Duy because of the man's ridiculous, flashy look.
But during the past stretch of morning training…
Hiruzen kept spotting the Might father and son on the rooftops, running laps around Konoha, pushing their bodies through all kinds of brutal conditioning.
It had long since gone beyond what a normal Genin did.
They just lacked systematic guidance.
Hiruzen turned and called out, warm and easy.
"Duy, why are you standing over there? Come on. Get over here."
Might Duy lifted his head, disbelief all over his face.
Third Hokage-sama…
Was he calling him?
Calling a Genin like him?
And so… kindly?