So Kakashi doesn’t handle pressure that well?
Kiyohane glanced at Kakashi, whose expression remained perfectly calm.
The fact that this trait had dropped was enough to prove that Kakashi was actually sweating bullets on the inside.
But after thinking about it carefully, that was normal.
The more of a genius someone was, the more pride they tended to have when someone was about to catch up to them.
In the original timeline, Kakashi had stood alone at the top, an undisputed genius, and that had given birth to his loneliness.
But the one about to teach Kakashi love was Kiyohane!
“You’ll probably surpass me next time,” Kakashi said with a sigh.
Before entering the Academy, he had been a famous genius known far and wide.
But after meeting Kiyohane, he realized that the title of genius he had enjoyed for years was about to change hands.
That made Kakashi quietly resolve to work even harder than usual.
“Not at all.”
Kiyohane shook his head modestly.
“I believe you must have put in a lot of effort,” Kakashi said.
He could already see the effort and sweat Kiyohane had put in.
Without those, it would have been impossible for him to improve so much in such a short time.
“That’s true.”
Kiyohane nodded.
Kakashi only had to think about how to learn.
Kiyohane not only had to think about how to learn, but also how to trigger traits.
Following formulas and solving problems made everything faster!
…
Evening.
The Sarutobi residence.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood by the window, holding his pipe as his gaze fell on Asuma Sarutobi in the courtyard.
Asuma had taken off that flashy jacket and wore only a sleeveless shirt.
His forehead was covered in sweat, and his fists struck the wooden stake again and again.
It was not as if Hiruzen had never seen this scene before.
Asuma had been like this since he was little.
Every so often, for reasons no one could explain, something would stimulate him, and a sudden burst of fighting spirit would ignite.
He would train desperately for a few days.
Then that momentum would go out like a Fire Release jutsu that had failed to receive enough chakra, vanishing with a puff, and he would return to his usual carefree self.
But this time was different.
Hiruzen had counted.
From the end of the last monthly exam until now, Asuma had trained every day after school.
He had even shoved those precious delinquent magazines of his under the bed.
At first, Hiruzen thought the boy’s three-minute enthusiasm had merely stretched to five minutes, so he did not pay much attention.
But as the days passed, Asuma not only failed to slack off, he even increased his own training load.
That surprised Hiruzen somewhat.
Of course, he knew the reason.
Kiyohane.
That child had brought considerable pressure to this year’s students.
Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe.
This was a good thing.
Kiyohane’s appearance was like a stone thrown into stagnant water, making the surrounding current come alive.
As it happened, Tsunade seemed to have something to discuss with him as well.
Hiruzen planned to use the opportunity to get in touch with Kiyohane.
“Go invite Tsunade to the Hokage Building.” Hiruzen gave an order toward the door.
“Yes, Lord Hokage.”
The Anbu shinobi acknowledged the order and left.
…
Hiruzen returned to the Hokage Building.
Tsunade arrived quickly as well.
Hiruzen had not even finished half of his pipe before the office door was pushed open from the outside.
Tsunade strode in and sat down in the chair, getting straight to the point.
“Old man, the Sword of the Thunder God is still in the armory, isn’t it?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s hand paused slightly around his pipe.
The Sword of the Thunder God.
An experimental ninja tool left behind by Tobirama Senju, gathering dust in the armory for more than ten years.
Now that Tsunade had suddenly brought it up, combined with the intelligence reports the Anbu had submitted recently, Hiruzen did not need to guess what this was about.
“Kiyohane wants to use it, doesn’t he?” Hiruzen said.
Tsunade did not deny it and nodded openly.
“He wants to practice swordsmanship.
Second Grandpa’s sword is just sitting there unused anyway, so what’s wrong with letting him use it?”
“That ninja tool is still too dangerous for a student.”
Hiruzen slowly exhaled a mouthful of smoke.
Kiyohane’s talent was indeed outstanding, but if a child who had only recently entered the Academy was given the Sword of the Thunder God, people would inevitably say that Hiruzen Sarutobi was playing favorites.
He was the Hokage.
He had to maintain balance in everything he did.
The way of balance exists in all things.
That was a line Hiruzen had once written down from a book.
Tsunade’s eyebrow twitched.
“Dangerous?”
She stood up and planted both hands on Hiruzen’s desk.
Then she slammed down a fist.
Bang!
The desk let out a dull crack.
A split spread from the place where Tsunade’s fist landed and extended to both sides, making the stacks of documents on the desk tremble.
“I’ve made how many contributions to this village, and you’re going to lecture me about a weapon that’s been rotting in storage being ‘too dangerous’?” Tsunade spoke.
She rarely took the initiative to ask the village for anything.
The last time she had made a request was when she proposed the medical-nin reform.
Unfortunately, it had ultimately failed.
And now, when the matter had changed to something like this, it still would not work?
Hiruzen looked at the crack on the desk, then at Tsunade’s still-clenched fist.
His eyelid twitched.
Hiruzen really did not know who Tsunade had inherited it from.
The First Hokage had been gentle by nature, and Tobirama-sensei had been calm and composed.
How had someone like Tsunade appeared from that line?
But after thinking about it again, Hiruzen wondered.
Perhaps what she had inherited was their protectiveness toward their own?
After all, Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju had both treated their clansmen very well.
Tsunade was also very good to that brat Kiyohane.
The Senju clan had already dissolved.
Its people had changed their names and lived new lives.
The only Senju beside Tsunade now was Kiyohane.
Hiruzen sighed.
In the end, she was the First Hokage’s granddaughter, the granddaughter of his own teacher, and his disciple.
“Kiyohane can have it.”
Hiruzen relented.
“But I need to personally see his swordsmanship training before I make the final decision.”
When Tsunade heard the first half, her fist loosened slightly.
When she heard the second half, she frowned again, but after thinking about it, she still nodded.
“Fine.
Come to my house tomorrow afternoon and watch.”
She turned and walked out.
When she reached the door, she paused and glanced back at the desk she had cracked, looking somewhat embarrassed for once.
“…Put it on my tab.”
The door closed.
Hiruzen sat alone in the office, looking at the crack on the desk.
Then he glanced at the ash in his pipe, which had already gone out, and fell silent for a long while.
Do you have money to pay it back?
Hiruzen very much wanted to ask, but after thinking it over, he still did not say it.
Because he was afraid Tsunade would borrow money from him.
Those three disciples of his truly gave him no peace.
Orochimaru, the most talented of them, spent all day buried in a laboratory.
Who knew what shady things he was researching?
Recently, he had been getting closer and closer to Danzo Shimura, and even Hiruzen frowned when he read the reports submitted by the Anbu.
As for Jiraiya, there was even less need to mention him.
No one knew what had gotten into him.
He left perfectly good missions undone and wandered around the world every day, searching for some vague Child of Prophecy.
It was already more than forty years into Konoha’s history.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had nearly worn out half his life serving as Hokage, and Jiraiya was still chasing feudal superstition.
Hiruzen shook his head and stopped thinking about those troublesome matters.
He picked up his pipe, packed in another pinch of tobacco, and lit it again.
Kiyohane was still the most worry-free.
Although he had half Uchiha blood, his understanding of the Will of Fire was higher than many Konoha shinobi.
On top of that, he had talent and was willing to work hard.
Who would not like such a child?