After all, both of those clans were noble houses of the shinobi world!
“Is that so?”
Kakashi looked thoroughly unconvinced.
His father had said the exact same thing earlier at the gate when they ran into Might Guy, who hadn’t even passed the entrance exam.
That guy wanted to enter the Ninja Academy more than anything, yet he couldn’t use ninjutsu.
No matter how Kakashi thought about it, that was far too ridiculous.
His father had still told him that if things kept going the way they were, Might Guy would become even stronger than him, and said something about the supplementary admission list not having been announced yet.
And now another person called Kiyohane had appeared.
Was there anyone he could actually beat?
Even though Kakashi knew what kind of bloodline Kiyohane carried, he still had plenty of confidence.
Because he was the son of the White Fang!
“Kakashi, go in with Kiyohane,” Sakumo Hatake said.
Today was the entrance ceremony.
The Ninja Academy students had to familiarize themselves with their classrooms and collect their files.
“I look forward to learning with you, Kakashi,” Kiyohane said.
Kakashi Hatake, also known as Hatake “Fifty-Fifty.”
No matter who he faced, he could always trade a few blows.
After transplanting the Sharingan in the original story, he would go on to copy over a thousand jutsu and become Konoha’s number one technician.
After that, Kiyohane and Kakashi walked toward the classroom.
As it happened, they had both been assigned to the same class.
On the way there, Kakashi seemed rather quiet, occasionally observing Kiyohane.
Kiyohane, meanwhile, was studying the system.
Traits appeared to be divided into six ranks: E, D, C, B, A, and S.
“Why didn’t I collect any traits from Tsunade?”
Kiyohane rubbed his chin.
He still needed to do more research on exactly what triggered a collectible trait.
Once they reached the classroom, Kiyohane casually found a seat and sat down.
Seeing that, Kakashi took a seat not far from him.
“Kakashi, how much of your father’s swordsmanship have you learned?” Kiyohane asked offhandedly.
He wanted to see whether certain actions could trigger the collection of traits.
“My father’s swordsmanship is on another level.
I’ve only learned the basics.”
Kakashi shook his head.
His father was the famous Konoha’s White Fang, Sakumo Hatake.
His mastery of the sword was exceptional.
For some reason, though, Kakashi always felt that learning ninjutsu came more easily to him.
Before enrolling, he had already learned D-rank ninjutsu and had even participated in a youth ninjutsu competition, winning a silver kunai.
“I see.”
Kiyohane nodded.
“When there’s a chance, I hope I can ask you for some guidance.”
Kiyohane wanted to know whether doing this would let him collect more traits from Kakashi.
In his eyes, a genius like Kakashi, who would create an S-rank jutsu at only thirteen years old, was basically a walking gold mine!
“Of course.”
Kakashi had never met anyone his age who was interested in his swordsmanship before.
As it happened, Kakashi was also curious.
Kiyohane seemed so interested in swordsmanship.
Did that mean he had some foundation in it?
So the two of them agreed to go together after school.
“You’re here, Kakashi.”
While Kiyohane and Kakashi were chatting, a little girl walked in through the classroom door.
She had short hair, two purple markings on her cheeks, and a gentle look between her brows.
“Rin, you’re early too,” Kakashi greeted Rin Nohara.
“Huh?
Is this your new friend, Kakashi?”
The moment Rin Nohara entered the classroom, she noticed Kiyohane.
It couldn’t be helped.
Kiyohane was simply too good-looking.
Even though he was still young and hadn’t fully grown into his features yet, it was easy to imagine how handsome he would become in the future.
“I’m Kiyohane,” Kiyohane said.
He currently had no surname.
The Senju clan had already dissolved.
All of its members had hidden themselves in plain sight, breaking apart and blending into Konoha.
Because the Senju bloodline had no particularly obvious traits, the process had gone especially smoothly.
In a way, they had provided Konoha’s future civilians with a guaranteed baseline.
Kiyohane looked at Rin Nohara.
She really was quite pretty.
As expected of Konoha’s future female ghost.
No wonder she had Obito so hopelessly bewitched that he would go mad for love.
“Hello.”
Rin greeted him politely.
In her arms, she was holding a copy of Introduction to Medical Ninjutsu.
Before the teacher arrived, Rin quietly read her book, occasionally chatting with Kiyohane and Kakashi.
[Collectible trait detected: E-rank trait.]
[E-rank Trait: Aspiring Medical-nin.]
[Effect: Your focus increases by 40% when practicing medical ninjutsu.]
Kiyohane raised an eyebrow.
That worked too?
He swept his gaze around the room and found that Rin was the only one reading.
She fit the trait’s condition best.
Good.
Loving to study was great.
Students should love studying more.
Kiyohane wished Rin would immediately start reading something like Three Years of Medical Ninjutsu, Five Years of Shinobi Arts so he could collect a few more traits from her.
Not long after, a middle-aged man walked in.
First, he introduced himself and wrote his name on the blackboard.
Umino Shika.
“Everyone, let’s begin with self-introductions.”
Umino Shika turned around and wrote on the blackboard:
One of the Thirty-Six Shinobi Lessons: Self-Introduction.
From the Sage of Six Paths.
Kiyohane’s expression turned strange.
He remembered something similar from The Last: Naruto the Movie, where Iruka Umino asked everyone, “If tomorrow were the last day of the Earth, who would you want to be with?”
Then he wrote on the blackboard:
One of the Thirty-Six Shinobi Lessons: Think About the Future.
From the Sage of Six Paths.
So apparently the Sage of Six Paths had said everything.
What was he, the shinobi world’s Lu Xun?
Before long, it was Kakashi’s turn to introduce himself.
“I’m Kakashi Hatake.
My dream is to become a great shinobi like my father.”
Kakashi introduced himself simply.
Because he never took off his mask, many of the girls thought he looked cool.
After several more students, it was Rin Nohara’s turn.
She said she wanted to become a medical-nin.
Then Kurenai Yuhi said she wanted to become a genjutsu specialist, and others gave similar dreams.
After that came Asuma Sarutobi, Natsu Hyuga, Tekka Uchiha, and the rest.
Finally, it was Kiyohane’s turn.
“My name is Kiyohane.
I’m six years old.
I live in the old Senju residential district.
I’m unmarried.”
“I don’t smoke or drink.
Every night, I go to bed at eleven and make sure I get a full eight hours of sleep.
Like a baby, I never carry fatigue or stress into the next day.
Even Tsunade-nee says I’m so normal it’s abnormal.”
“What I’m trying to say is that I don’t ask for much.
I only want to live a peaceful life.”
“Victory, defeat, winning, losing—those are the things I dislike caring about most.
They only bring trouble and enemies to your doorstep.
I’m the kind of person who’s satisfied with what he has.
That is my outlook on life.”
“But if I absolutely have to fight, I won’t lose to anyone.”
Kiyohane gave his self-introduction calmly, casually revealing his background in the process.
The reason was simple.
Konoha’s so-called “quality education” was a damn wasteland.
A mixed-blood kid like him was the easiest target for bullying.
And that kind of information couldn’t be hidden anyway.
That old bastard Danzo Shimura loved spreading rumors more than anyone.
Kiyohane wasn’t afraid, but he also couldn’t be bothered to invite trouble.
In Konoha, bullying was as natural as breathing.
Kushina had been bullied for her red hair.
Hinata had been bullied for her Byakugan.
Those brats weren’t even afraid of being seen by bodyguards.
Clearly, they had no idea what it meant to accidentally offend royalty.
Sure enough, the moment the students in class heard that Kiyohane lived in the old Senju residential district, they were stunned as if they had seen a god.