This continued for several days of relentless training. Satoru was still absorbed in his sessions when Minato suddenly rushed up with news: Yoshime had woken up.
The boy hurried to her immediately.
"Are you better, Yoshime?" the orphan asked sincerely. After all, this purple-haired girl was a character nonexistent in the original story. As a transmigrator, he felt it his duty to look after her.
After hearing Satoru's detailed account of the battle, Yoshime finally nodded.
"No serious consequences... I'm fine. Let's hurry back to Konoha!" the Senju clan girl assured.
"No issues at all?" the young Namikaze clarified.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her," the reincarnator assured.
Sakumo nodded too, and his team set off back to the Hidden Leaf Village.
On the way, Yoshime spoke very little. She seemed afraid the others would blame her and felt somewhat guilty.
The journey home passed without incident, and soon the four ninjas returned to Konoha.
"Great, let's turn in the mission report, then I'll treat everyone to lunch. No refusals this time!" Konoha's White Fang, usually reserved in showing emotions, was in an excellent mood now. The mission was successfully completed, and he'd seen significant progress in his students.
Originally, everyone should have been in high spirits, submitted the report, and gone for a tasty meal, but surprises arose during the mission debrief.
As soon as they entered the Hokage's office, a man with a bandaged eye immediately began berating them:
"White Fang, why so long? Don't you understand the mission's importance?"
The famed jonin replied:
"One student lost consciousness, so for her health, we stayed a few extra days."
"It was exactly that, Danzo. Hatake Sakumo did the right thing," the Hokage interjected.
The one who started complaining from the threshold was, of course, Shimura Danzo, leader of Konoha's Root.
This man with the eye patch and cane was the Hidden Leaf Village's main antagonist. He exuded a chilling cold. And though the village head had spoken, this guy didn't seem inclined to back down easily.
"Sorry for my ignorance, but you didn't complete the mission. Bluntly put, you're just an old grump—so by what right are you reprimanding anyone here?" the transmigrator, fearing nothing, shot back sharply at Danzo.
The Root leader's face twitched slightly, and even Hiruzen Sarutobi froze for a moment. It had been years since anyone dared talk to Danzo like that. Only a child like Satoru could afford to speak to the Hokage's advisor that way.
"You pup, don't you even know who I am? I'm Danzo, Hokage advisor, Konoha elder! How dare you talk to me like that?!" Shimura was clearly furious.
The White Fang interjected immediately:
"Danzo-sama, he's just a child. Why pay attention to a child's words?"
"Danzo, maybe let's drop it? A subordinate was injured, so they stayed a few days for recovery. Besides, don't forget what this girl represents, and what this team represents."
The Third reminded his old comrade: Yoshime possessed Mokuton. And though her Wood Release wasn't strong yet, in the shinobi world, she was one of a kind.
As for Minato and Satoru, no need to mention them. The golden-haired youth was a ninja world genius who, in the original story, became the Fourth Hokage.
And Satoru was even more astonishing: at four years old, he wielded terrifying, abnormal power. His future as a key shinobi world figure was inevitable.
Danzo slowly approached Satoru and declared:
"Kid, I know you're very strong. But you haven't fully grown yet; you need better space to develop. And I can provide that space.
"Become my student."
The elder's words nearly made Satoru burst out laughing.
"Become Danzo's student? Am I crazy? Besides, I'm already a student of the Third and Teacher White Fang. Going to this guy too would be pure madness, needs treatment," the boy couldn't help the sarcastic thought.
Danzo, thinking Satoru was pondering his offer, struck while the iron was hot:
"Rest assured, I'll train you properly."
"Danzo, I disagree. You don't even come close to Teacher Sarutobi and Teacher White Fang."
Satoru flatly refused Danzo again. Such a blow to his ego naturally darkened the man's mood.
"Heh-heh, Danzo, don't try to poach my student, even if the kid's a genius," the Third smiled and, turning, asked, "What do you say?"
"For once, Sarutobi's right."
"Give them some freedom of choice, Danzo. Not everyone suits Root development."
The speakers hadn't been noticed before. It turned out two more elderly people—a man and a woman—were in the Hokage's office.
"Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu," the Earth native naturally recognized them. Like Danzo, they were Konoha elders. When the Root leader wanted to smear the Third, he usually sought support from this pair. But now, they apparently weren't that rigid yet.
"The esteemed elders are absolutely right! Seeing you reminds me of my grandpa and grandma," the system possessor knew the right words. After that line, the elderly advisors naturally beamed and were even less inclined to hand Satoru to Tobirama's student.
"Hmph! Training under the Third? We'll see the results," Shimura waved his hand and stormed out of the Hokage's office in rage.
Hiruzen smiled at Satoru and Sakumo.
"Don't take offense at Danzo; he's always like that."
"Of course," Satoru didn't dwell on it either.
After the detailed mission report, Tobirama's protege thought a bit and praised:
"You handled the task excellently. So, let's tweak the rules a bit.
"From now on, you can take not just D-rank genin missions, but also C-rank chunin ones. And if interested, I can give you B-rank jonin missions too."
The village head's words greatly pleased Satoru. For completing missions, ninjas received not only rewards but also points for victories over enemies. This meant Satoru could participate in the lottery, obtain prizes, and become even stronger. The higher the mission rank, the faster he would grow!
"Thank you, Third Hokage-sama!" the boy bowed.
Sarutobi nodded:
"By the way, after White Fang and I took you as our disciple, it seems we haven't properly taught you anything. Come to me tomorrow; I want to focus on your training.
"White Fang, don't take any missions this week; find time to train with Satoru too. I'll also tell Jiraiya to work with Minato. And you, Yoshime, learn from Hatake Sakumo as well."
Hearing the Hokage's words, Satoru inwardly rejoiced. If the Third himself trained him, his power would undoubtedly surge. Although his main strength came from the Devil Fruit System, without using the fruits' abilities and relying solely on ninjutsu, Satoru was nowhere near the Third Hokage's level.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan