Have Waited for a Long Time

Inside the Hokage Building.

Lord Third Hokage had a bright smile on his face.

"What do you think, Minato?"

"Flawless, Lord Third. He is a true inheritor of the Will of Fire. It's truly gratifying to see such an outstanding junior rise."

Lord Third nodded in satisfaction, even puffing on his pipe a little faster.

"A rising new generation, full of vigor, a perfect inheritor of the Will of Fire..."

Lord Third Hokage's heart quickened. This was the feeling of excitement.

Such an outstanding descendant, he had even defeated Kakashi, along with the words he carried...

"Speaking of which, I still have some of the test answers he wrote..."

The Third Hokage pulled open a drawer and shared these well-written, logically sound, interlinked essays with Minato.

Honestly, the Third Hokage had praised them before, and now Minato, seeing them, also exclaimed how impressive they were.

"Minato, are you interested in taking Gen'ichi as a disciple?" the Third Hokage suddenly asked.

Minato was startled, then showed a conflicted expression: "I just took Kakashi on, and I haven't researched Gen'ichi's Kekkei Genkai much either..."

"Ah, I see. I understand. I'll consider it further. Thank you for your trouble, Minato. I'll also leave the matter of forming the new genin teams to you. Hopefully, it will help Kakashi get out of his slump quickly."

The Third Hokage nodded, then pondered Gen'ichi's placement.

The current Kage-level Experts... there's him, the Sannin, and Minato. Oh, Kushina counts as one too.

Then he could only choose from the Sannin...

"Should I have Orochimaru take him as a disciple? No, let's wait a bit longer..."

In the office, Lord Third fell into deep thought.

Konoha Village had just calmed down a little from the frenzy of Minato and the others returning.

But soon, an explosive piece of news spread like wildfire, quickly reaching every corner of Konoha.

"Shh, let me tell you a secret, don't tell anyone! Kakashi Hatake, the White Fang's son, got beaten up!"

"Wh-what?! Kakashi, the super genius of all time, got beaten up? That must be fake!"

"Idiot, of course it's true! I saw him limping home, half his face was swollen, his mask almost couldn't cover it!"

"Let me tell you a secret, don't tell anyone! Kakashi got beaten! After a fierce battle, Kakashi was ultimately defeated in one move..."

"Let me tell you a secret, Kakashi was instantly defeated!"

"Huh? Are you saying Kakashi didn't even fight, he just lay down on his own?"

"Idiot, how is that possible? It must be because that guy named Gen'ichi is too strong, that's why Kakashi lost."

"Gen'ichi Shiranui, a truly remarkable genius has appeared..."

As time passed, more and more people learned that a super genius, one who could rival or even surpass Kakashi, had appeared.

Konoha's geniuses were emerging one after another, greatly boosting morale. The older generation had the Hokage, the middle generation had the Sannin, and below the Sannin was Minato.

Now, even the new generation was producing talented individuals, filling people with hope.

The atmosphere throughout Konoha Village subtly changed. That powerful confidence suppressed everything else.

Gen'ichi's graduating classmates were undoubtedly the group most severely shaken.

They knew far better than the casual villagers what kind of existence Kakashi was. Yet, this top student had actually lost to Gen'ichi...

"What insane growth."

"Damn it, he was only on the battlefield for two months, I could do it too if I went! I want to go to the battlefield too, to kill enemies for the village!!"

"That's right, Gen'ichi and the others can do it, we can too!"

Some spies also quietly started acting.

"Cipher 'A-5', Konoha's super genius Gen'ichi Shiranui, defeated Kakashi Hatake."

"He is a genius who surpasses Kakashi and should be closely monitored."

"Dispatch assassination squads..."

Message after message spread silently. Konoha's Intelligence Division and Anbu were kept busy, taking the opportunity to capture a batch of spies.

When these messages reached Gen'ichi's ears.

Gen'ichi stared at Genma Shiranui's anxious face, falling into deep thought.

Just how did things get spread like this?!

"I swear, I only told Aoba and the others, and I specifically told them not to spread it, but who knew... a bunch of disloyal guys!" Genma gnashed his teeth in frustration.

Damn, weren't we supposed to keep it a secret? They're all liars!

"It's bound to happen. After all, the news that Gen'ichi-san defeated Kakashi is too astonishing. The flames of youth have fully ignited, and the light they cast cannot be concealed."

Might Duy, wearing an apron, expertly handled the iron pot and spoon.

He used to take on many of Gen'ichi's missions, specifically coming over to cook.

The food, surprisingly, wasn't bad.

A few of them sat on the tatami mats around the table and began their simple dinner.

"Are your injuries alright?" Gen'ichi asked, picking up some food.

Genma fell silent for a moment, then whispered, "The injuries are minor, but thank you for what happened earlier today..."

"Don't worry about it. If Kakashi hadn't gone too far, I wouldn't have stepped in," Gen'ichi said calmly.

Might Guy said, "But Gen'ichi-san, are you sure about that wound on your shoulder?"

Rip!

Gen'ichi ripped off his upper garment. "It's completely healed."

The others stared, dumbfounded.

The wound on his shoulder, where the White Fang Short Sword had pierced him, was mostly healed.

This terrifying Self-healing Ability was simply bone-chilling.

"This kind of Self-healing Ability... even the Uzumaki Clan isn't much better..."

Might Duy's gaze was incredibly profound.

How terrifying. For someone like Gen'ichi, where exactly does his growth end...?

After dinner, the few of them left one after another.

"Genma, let me give you some advice. It's true you're the clan head, but there's no need to bear the weight of the entire clan all by yourself."

"Gen'ichi, actually, you're more suited to be the..."

"No, that's your responsibility."

Gen'ichi saw Genma off, who had a complicated expression on his face.

He just hoped this guy could really understand a few things.

After all, Genma would later become a member of the Fourth Hokage's guard squad and learned a rudimentary version of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Time passed. The few days of rest were just a prelude to welcoming a large number of new missions.

Gen'ichi finally remembered that he hadn't seen Shibi in a while, so he set off to visit the Aburame Clan.

"Seriously, I kept feeling like I was forgetting something..."

Gen'ichi stood outside the Aburame Clan's compound.

A man wearing a full-body suit waited there.

Aburame Shikuro.