The Third Hokage's Summons

Pulling himself from his thoughts, Soji walked toward Minato and Kushina Uzumaki.

"Minato, aren't you going a little too far? You finished off your opponent, then started flirting with Kushina here." Soji said in an exaggeratedly resentful tone.

"T-That's not what happened! Soji, don't talk nonsense! Didn't we agree to see who could defeat their opponent first?" Minato Namikaze said hastily, his face reddening. Then he could not help glancing at Kushina Uzumaki beside him.

"Yeah, Minato was just worried about me." Kushina Uzumaki lowered her head, blushing, but she too could not help sneaking a look at Minato Namikaze.

The moment their gazes met, both their faces turned even redder.

That was enough. Soji was already stuffed full of this lovey-dovey nonsense.

This intimate atmosphere made Soji, who had been single in both his lives, roll his eyes.

"All right, you two, stop being so busy blushing. We should head back. A whole night has passed already, and everyone must be worried."

Since he could not get a word in, Soji could only interrupt them!

"Mm, Kushina, can you stand up?" Minato asked with concern as he looked at Kushina Uzumaki, who was still slumped against the tree trunk.

"No, my legs don't seem to have any strength."

Kushina Uzumaki tried to stand, but nearly fell again. Minato caught her quickly.

"Ah!"

A startled cry rang out. Minato had suddenly scooped Kushina Uzumaki up in a princess carry.

"Then... I'll carry you back." Minato smiled at Kushina Uzumaki.

"Mm."

As for Kushina Uzumaki, the one being carried, she had buried her entire face in Minato Namikaze's chest.

Fine then!

Soji decided that he would definitely stay far away from this "shameless couple" in the future!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A sudden series of whistling sounds cut through the air, making Soji and Minato tense up. They feared that more enemies had arrived.

Kushina Uzumaki also clutched Minato's collar tightly.

Only when they saw that the arrivals were Uchiha Homura and ninja wearing Konoha Anbu's specially made masks did the three relax.

"Did you defeat these two?"

The leader, who appeared to be an Anbu squad captain, questioned the three children before him.

"Yes, sir. Is there a problem?" Soji answered on behalf of the three.

"That is truly remarkable. You possess such strength at such a young age. Once we return, you will certainly be credited with a great merit." The Anbu squad captain's tone was full of admiration.

After all, this was a ninja world where strength was revered. No matter how young one was, as long as they possessed sufficient strength, they could earn others' respect.

That was one of the reasons Soji was so eager to increase his strength.

"Thank you for the praise, sir. Shouldn't we be heading back now?" This time, Minato answered.

At a wave of his hand, two Anbu members stepped forward and hoisted up the two Kumogakure ninja. Then the group headed back the way they had come.

"Hey, Soji, what's going on with those two?"

Uchiha Homura ran beside Soji, gesturing with his eyes toward Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki behind them as he asked the question that had been bothering him since earlier.

Those two were still whispering to each other even while running.

And soft laughter drifted over from time to time. Of course Uchiha Homura was curious.

"Ah, don't worry about it. Just remember this: whenever those two are together, stay as far away from them as possible."

Soji advised the still-confused child in the tone of someone who had been through it all.

On their way back, they passed the place where the first Cloud Hidden Elite Shinobi, whom Soji and Minato had defeated together, lay dead.

As usual, an Anbu member carried the body back to Konoha.

When they finally reached Konoha, everyone let out a complete sigh of relief.

Because of the incident involving spies kidnapping students from the Ninja Academy, school was canceled that day, and Anbu could be seen throughout the village investigating the matter.

"Well then, I'm heading home first. See you at school tomorrow." Soji waved to the others and ran straight home.

Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Homura also returned to their respective homes. Only Kushina Uzumaki was taken by several Anbu members to report to the Third Hokage.

After returning home, Soji reassured the servants and the people sent by the Clan Head, then collapsed directly onto his bed and fell asleep.

After all, following an entire night of pursuit was truly more than an eight-year-old child's body could endure.

This was Soji's first time facing enemies.

He had not felt the fear he had imagined. Instead, the blood throughout his body had boiled at the time.

Soji thought that perhaps he had a violent streak in him as well. It seemed only natural for him to get used to it.

Soon, Soji fell into a deep sleep.

It was not until the afternoon that Soji woke at the servants' calls.

The servant told him that an Anbu ninja had notified him to visit the Hokage's office.

After tidying himself up a little, Soji left his residence with the Anbu member.

Soon, Soji arrived outside the Hokage's office. He knocked on the door, and after hearing a "Come in" from within, pushed it open and entered.

The first person he saw upon entering was Minato Namikaze, who had received the Third Hokage's summons before him.

Minato greeted Soji with a smile.

The Hokage's office was much as Soji had imagined. After all, he had seen this place more than once in the anime from his previous life.

Portraits of the previous Hokage hung on the walls, though there were only those of the First Hokage and the Second Hokage at present.

Unlike the original story, where three portraits were hanging from the beginning, then four after barely a hundred episodes.

Directly opposite the door was a desk piled high with documents.

In Soji's opinion, this must have been the Hokage's work. He would rather die than experience such a life, so Minato could have it instead.

Thinking that, Soji silently cast Minato a sympathetic look.

Minato, receiving Soji's look, felt utterly baffled. He had no idea where his friend's thoughts had drifted off to this time.

Behind the desk sat the Third Hokage, wearing a Hokage Straw Hat and holding a pipe in his mouth.

Since he was meeting two children today, the Third Hokage's pipe was unlit.

The Third Hokage, still in his prime, had a head of black hair. Though he wore the Hokage Straw Hat, the small tuft of black beard was enough to make that clear.

There was still a sharp gleam in his eyes. He looked nothing like the elderly version from the anime, with his wrinkled face, Old Madara, and kindly yet cloudy eyes.

Perhaps that was the difference between the "Ninja Hero" and the "Professor of Ninjutsu."

Soji knew full well that the Hokage had summoned him today because of the three kidnappers.

If he had initially been ninety-nine percent certain, then seeing Minato Namikaze in the Hokage's office raised that certainty to one hundred percent!

"You must be Soji. Good child, you're here." Seeing that the other child he had been waiting for had arrived, the Third Hokage spoke kindly.

"Greetings, Lord Hokage." Soji spoke with a respectful expression.

No matter how indecisive the Third Hokage might become in the future, gradually leading Konoha astray, his achievements could not be denied!

He had led Konoha to victory in two consecutive Ninja World Wars, trained Kage-level powerhouses such as the Legendary Sannin, and given Konoha's Civilian Ninja a chance to rise.

Without the Third Hokage, Konoha would likely have remained under the control of the ninja clans.

Even without the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, there would still be the Hyuga Clan, as well as clans like the Nara Clan, Yamanaka Clan, Akimichi Clan, Inuzuka Clan, Aburame Clan, and Kurama Clan.

Those clans could have taken turns controlling Konoha's power in the future, and Civilian Ninja would never have had a chance to rise.

"Hehe, you two little ones, do you know why I called you here today?" Looking at the two outstanding young talents before him, the Third Hokage was delighted for Konoha's future.

Minato Namikaze, in particular, was his grandstudent, which made the Third Hokage even more satisfied.

"Lord Hokage, did you summon Soji and me because of yesterday's kidnapping incident?" As the Third Hokage's grandstudent, it was more appropriate for Minato to speak.

Thus, Soji had no intention of cutting in and speaking first.

Still, Soji agreed with Minato's guess.

"That is only part of the reason." The Third Hokage smiled mysteriously, clearly signaling for Soji and Minato to keep guessing.

"Is it because of the kidnappers' identities?" Soji asked this time.

"Yes. This morning, the Anbu obtained intelligence from the two surviving kidnappers. They were jonin from Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning. Children, do you know what that means?" The Third Hokage looked at the two children before him, his mood growing even more delighted.

These two children were only eight years old and had not even graduated from the Ninja Academy, yet they had managed to defeat three jonin from Kumogakure!

Though they were only Special Jonin, that was not something ordinary chunin could accomplish!

At the Third Hokage's words, Soji and Minato exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock.

They had originally believed the three were merely ninja with chunin-level strength. They had never expected them to be jonin!

Since neither of them had ever fought true chunin, they had always believed themselves to be only slightly stronger than ordinary genin.

Now, they had somehow become slightly stronger than ordinary chunin. The two could not help laughing bitterly. Their experience was simply too limited.

After all, the three kidnappers had never told Soji and Minato that they were jonin, nor had they mentioned which village had sent them. Soji and Minato had no way of knowing.

At this moment, they finally learned their opponents' identities and strength from the Third Hokage!

"Lord Hokage, we only defeated one of them by working together first. We ambushed the remaining two. We were merely lucky." Minato spoke humbly.

Soji nodded in agreement beside him.

"I saw the general course of the battle from those kidnappers' minds. You need not be overly humble, or it will become pride instead." The Third Hokage rarely indulged his childlike side as he teased the two little ones before him.

Since the Third Hokage had said so, what else could they do? They could only admit it, so they no longer deliberately protested.

Soji had nearly forgotten that this was a ninja world with extraordinary abilities.

They could obtain information even from a dead person's head, much less living people.

"Given the outstanding performance of you two little ones, I have decided to record a great merit for each of you. After you graduate from the Ninja Academy and become genin, you may come to me at any time to learn one ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals!" The Third Hokage finally announced the main reason he had summoned them.

"Really? That's wonderful! Thank you, Lord Hokage!" Obvious joy appeared on Soji's face.

This was the Scroll of Seals!

It recorded all kinds of powerful ninjutsu that had been written down since the First Hokage's era!

There was not a single ninja in Konoha who did not know about it!

Soji had coveted the ninjutsu recorded within for a long time, but he had no means of acquiring them.

He had no intention of stealing it and then defecting.

He had never expected such a pleasant surprise to await him after rescuing Kushina Uzumaki this time!

"Thank you, Lord Hokage!" Minato Namikaze was also very happy. Who would not be pleased by the chance to learn powerful ninjutsu?

As for why Soji and Minato had to wait until after graduation to choose, it was likely because the Third Hokage feared that the ninjutsu on it would negatively affect them.

After all, many of the ninjutsu in the Scroll of Seals had side effects. If one was not careful, they might fail to harm the enemy and injure themselves instead!

Therefore, the Third Hokage planned to let the two outstanding little ones make their choices after they had matured a little more.

The Third Hokage had also thought long and hard before deciding to let the two learn ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals.

First, there was no need to worry about Minato, as he was his grandstudent.

Then, as a member of the Main House, Hyuga Soji would not be tempted to share the ninjutsu he learned with others.

If he had been from the Branch House, the Third Hokage might not have offered this reward. After all, the Hyuga Branch House had no human rights before the Main House!

Most importantly, the merit these two children had earned this time was indeed enormous!

Kushina Uzumaki was Konoha's current Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. If she had been kidnapped by Kumogakure, Konoha would have directly lost one trump card, while Kumogakure would have gained one.

Such an enormous contribution, combined with the two's formidable strength, ultimately led the Third Hokage to make this decision.

Finally, after receiving the Third Hokage's promise, Soji and Minato left the Hokage office building happily.