Under the warm glow of the setting sun, Akira and Hiruko naturally walked together, planning to grab dinner.
Sakumo caught up with them, wanting to get to know his future teammates a little better.
The three of them turned into a ramen shop.
They had originally wanted barbecue, but after asking around, Akira discovered they were all poor kids living off village stipends, so ramen was the only realistic choice.
Sakumo had an easygoing personality.
He was straightforward, though he had a slightly reserved side.
Akira couldn’t help wondering why someone like him would eventually commit suicide.
People with that kind of personality usually had pretty thick skin.
Sakumo enthusiastically introduced himself.
The Hatake Clan was a small ninja clan.
Their ancestors had originally been samurai.
After the Sage of Six Paths spread Ninshu and shared chakra with humanity, the samurai gradually learned to wield chakra as well, eventually evolving into a ninja clan.
Even so, because of their origins, the Hatake Clan still relied primarily on swordsmanship enhanced with chakra and rarely used ninjutsu.
Akira and Hiruko exchanged a glance before immediately playing along.
“Wow, Sakumo-niisan is amazing!
You come from a ninja clan, so you’ll have to look after us poor civilian shinobi from now on.” “Exactly.
We’re just two pitiful little civilian shinobi who happen to eat a lot.
Without Sakumo-niisan protecting us, we don’t even know how we’ll survive.” “Yeah.
The shinobi outside the village are all so dangerous.
Who knows when another war will break out?
With strength like ours, we’ll definitely die horribly.” One after another, the two of them showered Sakumo with compliments, calling him “Sakumo-niisan” at every opportunity.
The young Sakumo had yet to experience the endless layers of workplace flattery.
His grin stretched from ear to ear.
“Don’t worry, Akira, Hiruko.
Since we’re on the same team, I’ll protect both of you from now on.” “I swear it on the honor of the Hatake Clan.” “As expected of Sakumo-niisan!
That’s exactly the kind of dependable person people can trust.
Starting today, you’re my idol.” “I believe Sakumo-niisan is the kind of man who always keeps his word.
Someday you’ll become a great hero admired by everyone.” The compliments poured out as though they cost nothing.
Between Akira and Hiruko, one praise followed another until Sakumo was practically floating with happiness.
Finally, he slapped the table.
“Since you’ve both called me ‘niisan,’ then your big brother will look after you.” “I’ll pay for today’s meal.” Uh-oh.
They had only intended to flatter him a little…
Instead, they’d accidentally been adopted as little brothers.
Akira’s expression stiffened for a moment before relaxing.
Sakumo was five years older than him anyway.
Calling him “Sakumo-niisan” wasn’t exactly a loss.
Besides, the man had a good personality and was strong.
Akira had no objections.
His thoughts drifted ahead.
He was already imagining how, as Kakashi’s honorary uncle in the future, he’d find creative ways to bully the poor kid.
Hiruko had always been sensitive to other people’s feelings.
Seeing that Akira didn’t object to acknowledging Sakumo as their big brother, Hiruko’s opinion of him rose considerably.
Very few people ever earned Akira’s approval.
That meant Sakumo had to be someone truly exceptional.
As a result, Hiruko became even friendlier toward him.
After dinner, everyone headed their separate ways.
Akira made his way to the Senju compound for his nightly training.
Everyone knew that fuinjutsu rarely sealed an opponent outright.
Most sealing techniques only worked after the target had already lost the ability to resist.
The stronger the opponent, the shorter the window before they broke free.
So what Akira was training now was casting speed.
His goal was to complete seals in the shortest possible time.
It was the kind of skill that required years of repetition.
Fortunately, with the system, his improvement was visible every single day.
It was already quite late when Tsunade finally returned.
She looked thoroughly unhappy.
Mito asked what had happened.
Tsunade puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
“Today Akira and I officially became genin.
I got assigned to Hiruzen-sensei’s team.
Everything was going smoothly, we even passed Sensei’s test without any problems.” “But then one idiot on our team learned the Summoning Technique from Sensei and immediately used it without signing a contract with any summoning beast.” “He got summoned somewhere completely unknown.” “What a headache.” So Jiraiya had stepped onto his destined path.
Akira wondered what prophecy he would receive this time.
Would it still be the prophecy of the Child of Prophecy?
He fell into thought.
Seeing the distant look on his face, Tsunade quickly nudged him.
“Akira, don’t do anything stupid just because you’re curious!” “The place you get summoned to is completely random!
What if you end up over a volcano and fall straight into the crater?” Akira sighed and lightly knocked her on the forehead.
“Do I really look that stupid?” Tsunade scratched her head before stubbornly defending herself.
“I just got worried, that’s all.
I was worried about you, okay?” Akira smiled warmly.
“Understood.” “I’ve received Princess Tsunade’s concern.” Sitting on the tatami, Mito watched the two children with an amused smile.
Tsunade tilted her head.
“Then what were you thinking about just now?
You looked completely lost.” Akira smiled.
“I was wondering why the Third Hokage started teaching your team ninjutsu on the very first day, while my instructor dismissed us after the test without even treating us to a meal.” Tsunade blinked.
“Akira, who’s your squad leader?” Akira let out a sigh.
“Shimura Danzo.” Tsunade looked puzzled.
“Second Granduncle’s student?
That means the village thinks highly of you.” “Then why do you look so unhappy?” Akira shrugged helplessly.
“I was just thinking that Danzo-sensei doesn’t seem like the easiest person to get along with.” “Learning ninjutsu from him probably won’t be simple.” Tsunade curled her lips.
“If you want to learn ninjutsu, just say so.” “Why beat around the bush?” “Tell me what you want to learn and I’ll ask Second Granduncle for it.” At that moment, Mito spoke.
“If you want to study higher-level ninjutsu, it’s best to determine your chakra nature affinities first.” Akira immediately turned toward her.
His eyes sparkled as though they were glowing.
Seeing the eager look on his face, Mito decided not to tease him any longer.
She reached into her robes, took out a sheet of chakra paper, and handed it to him.
Akira turned toward Tsunade.
“Aren’t you going to test yours too?” Mito smiled.
“Tsunade was tested a long time ago.” “She has Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, and Yang Release.” “And not just her.” “The other two children Hiruzen accepted as students were both born with multiple chakra affinities as well.” “Jiraiya has six.” “Orochimaru has seven.” Akira pouted.
He already knew all of that.
Mito-obasan really had a mean streak.
Ever since the day they met, she had loved putting pressure on him.
Taking the chakra paper, Akira poured chakra into it.
The paper first split cleanly into two pieces.
Then it became damp.
Finally, it crumbled into dust.
“Wind, Water, and Earth.” “That’s three chakra affinities.” “Very impressive.” Seeing the result, Tsunade immediately praised him, trying to be considerate.
Akira wasn’t disappointed that he had relatively few chakra affinities.
On the contrary, he was pleasantly surprised.
He had expected to possess only one or two.
After all, he was just a civilian-born shinobi.
How much could he realistically hope for?
Instead, he had three.
That was a wonderful surprise.