“Lord Hokage!”
The chūnin instructor’s speed when filing a complaint was practically faster than the Yellow Flash.
It didn’t take long before he appeared in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s office.
“What happened?”
Hiruzen turned around, and the instructor immediately told him everything that had just occurred.
That was the Shadow Clone Technique.
It might even have been the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
A technique like that was not something an ordinary civilian shinobi should possess.
Combined with the recent rumors throughout the village and Hiruzen’s obvious protection of Kazan, the chūnin instructor naturally assumed that Hiruzen had personally taught him the technique.
“Lord Hokage, please stop indulging Kazan!”
“Even though Kazan defeated Kakashi, studying properly at the Ninja Academy is still important!”
He genuinely hoped Kazan would study seriously at the Academy and one day grow into a pillar of Konoha.
Someone with Kazan’s potential should be learning properly all the more.
Hiruzen understood.
The teacher in front of him had clearly misunderstood the situation.
Then again, he wasn’t entirely wrong.
Hiruzen really had been indulging Kazan.
But the world of geniuses was often something ordinary people couldn’t understand.
“Come with me. I was planning to head over there anyway.”
Hiruzen put away the intelligence reports from the border and left the office with the instructor.
Confused, the latter followed him all the way to the mountain behind the Hokage Building.
The closer they got, the louder the commotion became.
The vibrations coming from the mountain grew increasingly violent.
Only when they drew near did the chūnin instructor finally see what was causing it.
It was man-made.
And the person responsible was Kazan, one of the two youths recently hailed as Konoha’s “Twin Prodigies.”
He was punching the mountain.
Over and over again.
He was actually using a mountain to train his fists.
“Kazan, stop for a moment!”
Kazan turned around at the sound of Hiruzen’s voice.
When he saw Hiruzen and his classroom teacher, he wasn’t surprised.
The memories of his Shadow Clone had already returned to him along with its chakra.
He knew exactly what had happened at the Ninja Academy.
“You…”
Kazan looked rather miserable at the moment.
His Observation Haki training had left his face swollen from being beaten by his own Shadow Clone.
But the most shocking sight was his pair of fists.
They were bright red, looking as though blood might seep from them at any moment.
Seeing this, the instructor finally understood why Hiruzen Sarutobi had been “indulging” Kazan.
This wasn’t indulgence at all.
Kazan’s training methods were simply too brutal.
“Do you understand now? For Kazan, the Ninja Academy is nothing more than a carefully maintained greenhouse.” Find the original chapter at g.com.
“I’m sorry, Lord Hokage.”
The teacher took a deep breath.
After witnessing Kazan’s method of training, the Ninja Academy truly did seem like a greenhouse.
An environment like that wasn’t suited to a “beast” like Kazan.
What right did he have to insist that Kazan return to the Academy and study?
“But…”
“Kazan is still a child. I still think it would be best for him to remain at the Academy until graduation.”
Teachers like Iruka weren’t everywhere, but neither were they especially rare.
Many of the instructors at the Ninja Academy were relatively kindhearted people.
Shinobi who were eager to fight and improve themselves were either out completing missions or earning merit on the battlefield.
Those who remained behind to teach generally weren’t fond of fighting.
Kazan’s instructor was clearly one of those people.
When dealing with children who had lost their parents, he always showed them a little extra care.
Hiruzen paused before smiling.
The man still hadn’t understood.
But Hiruzen didn’t mind allowing Kazan to form a “bond” with the village that reached deep into his soul.
Only then would Kazan willingly devote everything he had to Konoha.
Just like the countless souls now resting in Konoha’s cemetery.
Hiruzen chuckled.
“Inoue is right, Kazan. What you should be doing at your age is enjoying your childhood.”
“I’m not going back to school. If I have to go back, then I’ll apply for early graduation.”
War was already approaching.
Where did he have the time to leisurely waste his days at school?
“Kazan…”
Inoue still looked unwilling to give up.
He saw Kazan as a child much like Kakashi.
Both had lost their parents at a young age and grown up without the warmth of a complete family.
That was exactly the part of Kazan’s childhood Inoue wanted to help make up for.
“There’s no need to apply for early graduation. If you don’t want to go back, then you don’t have to.”
“Lord Hokage…”
“Let me finish.”
Hiruzen looked at him.
“From now until the Ninja Academy’s graduation, I’ll personally instruct Kazan.”
What?!
The chūnin instructor was stunned again.
This was the Third Hokage!
Hiruzen Sarutobi had still been very young when he became Hokage, only in his twenties.
And because his succession had coincided with the First Shinobi World War, he had no time to take on disciples.
It was only after the First Shinobi World War ended, when the first class of Ninja Academy students graduated, that he finally accepted disciples.
Those three students were the Sannin who now resounded throughout the shinobi world.
Later, with the outbreak of the Second Shinobi World War and the Ninja Academy’s system becoming fully established, Hiruzen never accepted another disciple.
Even if he was only going to personally instruct Kazan until graduation, that still made Kazan half a disciple.
With that in mind, what reason did the chūnin instructor have left to insist Kazan return to class?
Before leaving, Inoue still didn’t forget to remind Kazan to study properly under the Hokage and behave himself.
For all the danger lurking throughout the Naruto world, and all the darkness hidden beneath Konoha’s surface, many of the people here really were decent.
“Inoue is a good teacher.”
“Mm.”
Kazan didn’t deny it.
After spending several years with him, Kazan knew very well that Inoue truly was a good teacher.
Then he turned toward Hiruzen.
“Old Man Third, how exactly are you going to teach me?”
Even though the man standing before him was the Hokage, Kazan showed no particular respect.
He suspected that was another influence of the Garp Template.
After all, Kazan himself was obviously a fine young man who respected the elderly and cared for children.
Hiruzen didn’t mind.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Kushina all called him “old man” too.
To him, it was proof of the unbreakable bond between them.
“Although I’m known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, taijutsu isn’t my specialty. There isn’t much I can teach you in that regard.”
That was actually Hiruzen being modest.
His taijutsu was naturally excellent.
In his younger years, he had been an exceptionally fierce fighter and earned the title of the Professor, while his overall prowess brought him renown throughout the shinobi world.
Teaching ordinary shinobi taijutsu would have been effortless for him.
But Kazan was not an ordinary shinobi.
“This is a technique I prepared for you. It should be useful.”
Hiruzen took out a scroll he had prepared beforehand.
Kazan accepted it and opened it.
To his surprise, it contained the Senju Clan’s Chakra Enhanced Strength!
Though calling it a “fist technique” wasn’t entirely accurate.
More precisely, it was simply—
Chakra Enhanced Strength.
It was a secret art of the Senju Clan, an advanced method of chakra control.
The user concentrated chakra into a single point, then released every last bit of it in a single explosive burst without wasting any energy.
“This is an A-rank ninjutsu created by my teacher, Lord Second, based on Lord First’s Unyielding Vajra Strength…”
So Senju Tobirama created this one too.
Kazan had assumed it was a secret technique passed down through the Senju Clan.
Then again…
When Hiruzen mentioned Unyielding Vajra Strength, Kazan suddenly remembered.
Hashirama’s monstrous physical strength had been tied to Wood Style—or, more precisely, Asura’s chakra.
But among the entire Senju Clan, only Hashirama Senju had ever awakened Wood Style.
So naturally, the development of Chakra Enhanced Strength into a teachable technique would have required the involvement of the Second Hokage, that grandmaster of ninjutsu.
At this point, whenever no one knew who had invented a technique in Konoha, they might as well just credit Senju Tobirama.
“I never mastered this technique myself, but I’ve seen it used.”
Both the Second Hokage and Tsunade had mastered Chakra Enhanced Strength.
Tsunade in particular used it as one of her finishing techniques.
Having watched them closely over the years, Hiruzen had more than enough understanding to teach Kazan.