“Shanks!
Get up!
You’re reporting to school today!”
A lion’s roar exploded from outside the door.
Unfortunately, the owner of that roar was a man.
Early in the morning, Senju Hashirama had already taken little Tsunade in his arms and walked circles around Konoha, as if he were terrified someone might not know he had a granddaughter now.
In the past few days, the Fire Daimyō had even granted little Tsunade the title of Tsunade of the Land of Fire.
The First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, had mysteriously disappeared a few days ago.
Shanks strongly suspected it had something to do with this.
With Hashirama’s personality, he had probably gone to the Fire Daimyō, dragged that pampered nobleman into a long talk about life, and then started preaching about his dream.
Otherwise, with the Fire Daimyō’s lazy, pleasure-seeking nature, how could the reward have come so quickly?
Ask the man how many red-light districts there were in the Land of Fire, and he could point them out like a general commanding a battlefield.
He could even tell you the name of each district’s top courtesan and explain their skills in frightening detail.
“I know,” Shanks answered lazily from under his blanket.
“Let me think about life for a little longer.”
Bang!
The door broke open.
“Hahaha!
Little brat, hurry up and go to school!
Tobirama’s idea really was brilliant!”
Hashirama kicked the door open with one foot while holding little Tsunade in one arm, his face full of smug satisfaction.
At last, they had found a way to deal with this little troublemaker.
Hearing the sound of the shattered door, Shanks crawled out from under the blanket with a helpless expression.
He leaned closer and looked at the little Tsunade in Hashirama’s arms.
The wrinkled skin from before was gone.
Her tiny cheeks were now soft and puffy, and her eyes were squeezed shut as if she were trying very hard to open them.
Too cute.
Shanks gently pinched one of those pink cheeks.
“Why did you wake her up so early?
Little Tsunade still needs sleep.”
He grumbled while slowly dragging himself off to wash up.
“Hahaha!
Who said she was sleeping?” Hashirama said proudly.
“Just now, she even reached out to touch my dice.”
Seeing Hashirama’s expression, the kind that practically screamed, My genius granddaughter makes me proud, Shanks jumped up and kicked him in the knee.
Then he silently gave Hashirama a thumbs-up.
So this talent was inborn.
It wasn’t trained.
Brother Hashirama, we wronged you for more than twenty years.
At this rate, Shanks needed to find a time to talk with Hashirama about the feng shui around the Sage of Six Paths’ grave.
Otherwise, the Senju Clan might really get gambled away by this prodigal woman just like in the original story.
If the Third Hokage, that old Sarutobi man, hadn’t hidden the land deed to the Senju compound later on, Tsunade might have lost that too.
At the beginning of this year, as the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama had planned to establish a ninja academy in Konoha.
Don’t be fooled by Tobirama’s usual black-faced appearance, or by Hashirama acting like a friendly old clown.
When it came to managing Konoha, Tobirama was undoubtedly the greatest educator, inventor, and politician in the village’s history.
Hashirama was at least ten Uchiha Madaras away from him in that regard.
At present, Konoha’s military strength came almost entirely from shinobi clans.
Civilians didn’t even know how to extract chakra.
Meanwhile, clan members were often sent on missions from a young age, and danger was unavoidable.
Over time, even Konoha couldn’t afford to keep bleeding manpower like that.
So when Tobirama proposed founding a school, every clan approved.
Even if they didn’t approve, it wouldn’t matter much.
Hashirama was sitting nearby playing dice.
Anyone who objected might wake up that night to find a whole grove of trees planted in front of their clan compound.
Then Hashirama would drag their clan head into the woods for a warm and friendly conversation about the past.
After more than half a year of preparation, the academy was completed.
And Shanks had gloriously become one of the first students of Konoha’s first ninja academy.
The dining-table meeting had passed the decision unanimously.
“Brother Mokuma, why are you here instead of going on a mission?”
After breakfast, Shanks had a toothpick in his mouth and walked with the air of a tiny action-movie gangster.
“Haha, Mother told me to send you to school today.
I’ll take a mission afterward.”
That’s right.
This honest-looking man was the father of the legendary healer Tsunade.
Sometimes, Shanks couldn’t help wondering whether Tsunade was really his biological daughter.
How did someone as gentle and honest as Mokuma end up with a daughter that domineering?
“Brother Mokuma, you need to be more assertive,” Shanks said earnestly.
“You’re their son, not their servant.
You have to learn how to say no.”
He had decided to do some ideological work on little Tsunade’s father.
Otherwise, it would be too pitiful if people suspected him of people started questioning whether Tsunade was really his daughter in the future.
“All right, I know where the school is.
I can go by myself.”
“Haha, no.” Mokuma completely ignored his teasing.
“Mother knew you wouldn’t go to school obediently, so she told me to bring you there.
Let’s go.”
“Ugh.”
Shanks followed behind Mokuma with his head hanging.
Before long, they arrived at the school gate.
Since the academy was newly built, many of the facilities were still incomplete, but at least everything looked fresh.
Shanks had even heard that some of the flowers, grass, and trees on campus had been grown by Hashirama himself.
Wood Release really was incredible.
Whether or not it was good for fighting was one thing, but for landscaping, it was absolutely unmatched.
Of course, not every shinobi who had Wood Release was called Senju Hashirama.
“Good morning, Lord Mokuma.”
“Lord Mokuma, are you here for the ceremony?”
Along the way, many parents who had brought their children to school greeted Senju Mokuma respectfully.
After all, he was tthe son of one of the strongest men alive.
Just the title of “Senju Hashirama’s son” was enough for Mokuma to receive S-rank missions until his hands went soft.
Who in this world would dare touch him?
Unless Uchiha Madara came out himself, who could compete?
And besides, Mokuma even called Uchiha Madara “Uncle.”
“Haha, I’m just bringing my little cousin here to register,” Mokuma said with a simple smile.
“He’s starting school today too.
I won’t be attending the ceremony, but my father might come later.”
“Lord First Hokage is coming to the ceremony?”
A group of little boys immediately grew so excited that they nearly started vibrating.
At this stage, the school had only just been established.
Many of the teachers had been transferred from small clans aligned with the Hokage faction.
That bearded, suspicious-looking uncle over there was clearly from the Sarutobi Clan.
There were also members of the Shimura Clan and others.
Most of the teachers, however, were still Senju shinobi.
Their political reliability was excellent.
Some clans wanted to send people as teachers, but Tobirama refused.
For example, the Uchiha Clan.
What were they coming in for?
To start internal conflict?
Or the Hyūga Clan.
What would they teach?
Group lessons in Gentle Fist?
There were also clans that couldn’t come because of their own circumstances.
Take the Hatake Clan, for example.
They had always been nearly single-line in inheritance.
In other words, they genuinely had no one to spare.
The clan head and the clan members put together might only make two people.
Was an elite jōnin clan head supposed to teach a group of five- and six-year-olds how to merge Lightning Release into swordsmanship?
The Ino-Shika-Chō clans were in a similar situation.
As for the Aburame Clan, they all looked like silent underworld bosses.
Still, most clans showed Tobirama enough respect.
If they couldn’t send people to teach, they could at least send their children to attend.
Even if the children learned nothing at school, they could still be taught properly once they returned home.
The main point was to let the First and Second Hokage see their sincerity.
Look, we’re giving you face.
We even sent our clan’s geniuses to the ninja academy.
That was why the school gate was crowded with clan shinobi bringing their children to school.
“Brother Mokuma!”
A loud voice rang out.
There was a hint of wretchedness in that voice.
A hint of shamelessness in that wretchedness.
And a hint of future perversion in that shamelessness.
That’s right.
It was our Third Hokage—
No, correction.
The future lecherous old man, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Of course, right now, he wasn’t an old pervert yet.
He was still a young boy of the new era, full of dreams and ideals.
Beside him stood another young boy wearing Uchiha clan attire.
Unlike most Uchiha, this boy had a bright, sunny smile on his face.
If his black hair were dyed blond, he would look almost exactly like the future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Shanks had serious reason to suspect that Hiruzen Sarutobi’s true love had actually been Uchiha Kagami, not Shimura Danzō.
Danzō was probably just the third wheel.
The kind who couldn’t have you, so he would destroy you.
Otherwise, why would the Third Hokage pass the position to Minato Namikaze?
He looked way too much like Kagami.
“Yo, isn’t this Hiruzen?” Shanks said.
“Why aren’t you peeking at girls bathing?
Why are you here on a school date with Brother Kagami instead?”
“Brat, is Hiruzen something you can call me?” Hiruzen immediately caught Shanks in a headlock and started rubbing his red hair with all his strength.
“Call me Brother Hiruzen!”
Uchiha Kagami ignored Shanks’s teasing and watched from the side with a gentle smile.
If Shanks hadn’t clearly felt a third hand reaching over to rub his head too, he might really have believed Kagami was a quiet, gentle pretty boy.
“Ah!
Stop!
Stop!
Mercy!”
Hearing Shanks make such a strange cry, everyone’s faces darkened.
Mokuma pretended he had heard nothing and answered Kagami’s earlier question.
“Mother was afraid Shanks wouldn’t come to school and would run off halfway, so she told me to bring him here personally.
Why are you two here?
Don’t you need to train with Uncle?”
“We’re here to send the clan children to school,” Kagami replied.
“Teacher will be here later too, so we came early to help out.”
“Then I’ll take Shanks to register first.”
A short while later, a Senju clansman came over to receive them.
“Lord Mokuma, are you the one bringing Shanks to register?”
“Yeah.
Sorry to trouble you, Sakuma.” Mokuma looked down at Shanks.
“Shanks, behave properly at school.”
“I know, I know.
You’re so naggy.”
The Senju clansman helped Shanks finish the registration process.
After that, Mokuma left, and Senju Sakuma brought Shanks to the training ground, where a crowd of little boys and girls had already gathered.
They were waiting for the two Hokage to come for the ceremony and, inevitably, to give the first grand lecture about the Will of Fire.
Shanks stood in the crowd and glanced around.
Uchiha.
Hyūga.
Ino-Shika-Chō.
Aburame.
All extras.
He didn’t recognize a single one.
Then his gaze locked onto someone.
“You thought you could hide in the crowd and I wouldn’t find you?” Shanks said, walking over with a serious expression.
“You are like a firefly in the night, shining so brightly that I couldn’t look away.
That glossy black hair, that pure yet charming aura… even in this endless sea of people, I found you.”
He extended his hand.
“Hello.
My name is Uzumaki Shanks.”
“…”
The surroundings fell silent.
Everyone stared at him with wide eyes.
Was this allowed?
Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned by Shanks’s technique.
So this was how you flirted with girls?
Live and learn.
Senju Sakuma, who had brought Shanks over, wanted to find a hole and dive into it headfirst.
This was too damn embarrassing.
At the school gate, the two legendary men, Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, had also frozen in place.
Hashirama thought, So chasing girls can be done like this?
If Tobirama had even half of this little brat’s ability, he wouldn’t still be single.
Tobirama thought, Who am I?
Where am I?
What is this little bastard doing?
“Hahaha!
Not bad, brat!” Hashirama laughed so loudly that everyone present could hear him.
“First day of school and you’re already chasing girls!”
“Lord First Hokage!”
“Lord Second Hokage!”
Only then did everyone snap back to their senses.
Seeing that the two Hokage had arrived, they hurried forward to greet them.
“This is called love,” Shanks said with a snort.
“You wouldn’t understand.”