Konoha Village, Ninja Academy
The Third Hokage smiled lightly.
“Shanmu… I’ll leave this child in your care as well.”
With that, the Third Hokage looked at Jiraiya and Tsunade.
“Gather at the designated time tomorrow. Orochimaru will lead this mission.”
The Third Hokage then slowly left the principal’s office.
Everyone else watched him leave.
Once the Hokage was gone, the atmosphere in the room changed.
Jiraiya immediately complained, “The old man is really biased. Orochimaru is leading us again. I’m pretty capable too!”
Tsunade completely ignored Jiraiya’s complaints.
Among the three of them, Orochimaru was the most intelligent and could make the best arrangements.
Although Orochimaru could be ruthless, he was also quite reliable at times.
Ruofeng naturally had no interest in their argument.
He simply looked at Jiraiya.
“That’s strange… How did the Third Hokage know about me? What exactly did you tell him?”
Perhaps other shinobi in Konoha would have been extremely excited to learn that the Third Hokage knew their name.
Ruofeng did not think that way.
Keeping a low profile and quietly becoming wealthy was the way to go.
Jiraiya scratched his head and smiled.
“It’s because I recovered too quickly. The old man asked me a few questions.”
Tsunade looked toward Ruofeng.
“He really did recover too quickly. I know exactly how serious Jiraiya’s injuries were that day. At his normal recovery rate, even with expensive medicinal herbs, it should have taken half a month. Yet he recovered in only three days. That’s far too fast. Something about it is unusual.”
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Does your family have some powerful medical ninjutsu or special medicinal herbs?”
Ruofeng quickly shook his head.
“No… They’re just some medicinal herbs Grandpa collected in the past. Perhaps they were old enough to have a stronger effect.”
Ruofeng naturally had no intention of exposing his magical beast meat.
That meat was a cultivation resource for him.
If Tsunade found out about it, she might very well take it away for research.
Jiraiya was already constantly trying to free food and drinks from him.
Ruofeng could barely manage with the few tons of magical beast meat he had.
It certainly was not enough to share with everyone.
Tsunade wore a playful smile.
She turned toward Shanmu.
“Shanmu… take good care of this child and these two girls. If I hear about anything inappropriate, I’ll come over and have a little discussion with you.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Tsunade revealed a mysterious smile and turned to leave.
Jiraiya seemed about to say something, but Tsunade immediately punched him on the head, grabbed him by his clothes, and dragged him away.
After Tsunade and Jiraiya left, only Ruofeng, Kushina, Reiko, and Shanmu remained in the spacious principal’s office.
Shanmu was the one who suffered the most.
Although he was the person in charge of the Ninja Academy, essentially its vice principal, there was nothing he could do when faced with the Third Hokage, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.
Those three were people he simply could not afford to offend.
Looking at Ruofeng, Kushina Uzumaki, and Uzumaki Reiko, his expression was filled with helplessness.
The people the Academy disliked most were probably students with connections.
Unfortunately, these three children were all connected to powerful figures, and none of their backgrounds were ordinary.
Shanmu said, “Complete your enrollment procedures today. Starting tomorrow, come directly to the Academy for classes.”
Ruofeng smiled.
“Thank you, Teacher.”
Afterward, Ruofeng looked at Kushina and Reiko.
“I’ll take you two out to have some fun!”
Ignoring Kushina’s slight embarrassment, he grabbed her little hand and ran out of the principal’s office.
Uzumaki Reiko followed closely behind, a faint smile in her eyes.
Shanmu was left alone, looking rather miserable.
Only after Ruofeng had completely disappeared did he speak.
“Members of the Uzumaki clan, and someone personally recommended by Jiraiya… It seems this generation of students is going to produce some extraordinary individuals.”
His faint words carried a trace of contemplation.
Through the window, Shanmu watched the backs of Ruofeng and the two girls as they walked away.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on his face.
******************…..．
Before long, night fell.
Ruofeng watched Kushina leave.
“See you tomorrow!”
“Mm… See you tomorrow!”
With that, Kushina and Reiko left together.
Ruofeng also turned around and headed home.
His heart finally relaxed.
“They’re finally gone. That feeling of being watched earlier… Someone must have been monitoring us.”
After leaving the principal’s office, Ruofeng had taken Kushina and Reiko around Konoha to have fun.
After all, both girls had only recently arrived in Konoha, so everything was unfamiliar to them.
With Ruofeng showing them around, they had at least been able to enjoy quite a few things.
Moreover, Ruofeng’s family owned many businesses, including quite a few establishments aimed at children.
However, while they were having fun, Ruofeng had constantly felt a faint sense of being watched.
Perhaps because he had lived two lifetimes, his spiritual power was relatively strong, giving him this heightened sense of awareness.
Ruofeng had sensed the surveillance, but he also understood that it was probably Konoha’s protection.
After all, Kushina and Reiko had rather significant backgrounds.
They were definitely not ordinary children.
According to the original story, Kushina’s arrival in Konoha also meant that Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the First Hokage, was approaching the end of her life, while the seal on the Nine-Tails was gradually weakening.
In the original story, Kushina would replace Mito Uzumaki and become Konoha’s second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Ruofeng knew all of this, but he still had one question.
“Kushina Uzumaki appearing here makes sense. But what exactly is the relationship between Uzumaki Reiko and her? Could the two of them have been brought here as a precaution?”
Ruofeng shook his head.
Although he was somewhat puzzled, matters concerning the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki were not something he could interfere with.
Such matters were among Konoha’s most closely guarded secrets.
Even if he knew about them because of the original story, was he really supposed to announce them to everyone?
Several guards soon appeared.
Ruofeng said, “Let’s go home.”
The guards from his family had arrived, and it was already getting dark.
Naturally, Ruofeng chose to return home.
***************
Not long after, Ruofeng returned home and went straight to his bedroom.
He slowly took out the jade box and removed the strand of red hair inside.
He placed it carefully inside a picture frame and preserved it properly.
After all, it could be considered a kind of keepsake.
He then reached into his pocket, preparing to put the Qilin Resin back into the jade box.
The reason he had carried the Qilin Resin with him was to protect himself in case he suffered a serious injury.
After all, during the previous incident at the hot spring, Tsunade could have seriously injured him if things had gone slightly differently.
Carrying the Qilin Resin was therefore also a form of life-saving insurance.
However, the moment Ruofeng reached into his pocket, his eyes widened.
“How is this possible… I clearly put it away properly. How could there be less?”