A Glimpse of Life on the Exam Papers, the Third Hokage's Reflections

Hiruzen Sarutobi neatly opened the sealed bag of exam papers.

He began reading from the first paper, smoking as he held a red pen, carefully grading the students' answers.

This set of questions had been meticulously prepared by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Though the difficulty was somewhat high, the corresponding benefit was that the sharpened prompts could better reveal the examinee's level and true thoughts from their responses.

As the Third Hokage of Konoha and the honorary principal of the Ninja Academy, Hiruzen Sarutobi rarely involved himself in academy affairs, aside from giving speeches at the opening and graduation ceremonies.

Thus, this time he wasn't just testing Seisui, but also taking stock of the Will of Fire among all the academy students.

"Rin Nohara."

This was the first paper Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at. The elegant handwriting alone won the Hokage's favor.

"Not bad... Though her thinking is still a bit naive, the core is tightly tied to the Will of Fire. She's a child from a civilian family—to have this level of insight is already commendable."

"Oh, and there's something about Seisui Uchiha, hmm..."

In the final essay question about understanding the Will of Fire, Rin Nohara used Seisui's willingness to selflessly share the Mystical Palm Technique with her as an example, arguing that this was a real-world manifestation of the Will of Fire.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, a smile even curling at the corner of his mouth.

What Rin Nohara said wasn't wrong—willingly sharing a ninjutsu with a civilian ninja, wasn't that the Will of Fire?

More interestingly, Hiruzen Sarutobi keenly caught a hint of emotion in Rin Nohara's words...

"Young people... this is the birth of bonds. Very good, very good..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction and gave Rin Nohara's paper a high score of eighty-seven.

This strong start put the Third Hokage in a good mood, and he looked forward even more to the other students' performances.

"Might Guy."

Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled as he looked at this paper, but his expression gradually shifted, and he let out a helpless sigh.

The entire paper was filled with nothing but youth, youth, youth!

Discipline was youth, the Will of Fire was youth, the ninja clans and civilian ninjas were all youth!!

Even he, the Third Hokage, was exhaustively cited by Might Guy with various examples proving he was a Hokage full of youth.

After thinking for a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi still laughed: "Youth? An interesting little fellow. I really haven't gotten old yet..."

"Though this child's theoretical knowledge is a bit lacking, the positivity in his heart and his love for Konoha can be seen through this paper by this old man."

"Good kid, keep it up."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Might Guy eighty-three points and even specially wrote him a comment: "Looking forward to the day your youth blooms."

In Might Guy's paper, he mentioned Seisui healing his injuries.

He believed Seisui was a perfect example of youth and the Will of Fire combined, a goal for him to learn from and chase.

So far, these two papers that pleased Hiruzen Sarutobi both bore Seisui's name.

This made him even more eager to see Seisui's answers.

"Obito Uchiha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned serious. The Anbu had once reported to him in detail about this Uchiha genius who had awakened the Double Tomoe at age seven.

Later, other Anbu intelligence suggested that Obito Uchiha had been in contact with Setsuna Uchiha, a Hawk Faction elder of the Uchiha Clan who had once attempted an armed rebellion.

"An Uchiha genius... the Hawk Faction..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag of his cigarette. These two terms combined were troublesome even for him as the Hokage of Konoha—one of the most difficult problems currently facing the village.

When he saw Obito Uchiha's answers, Hiruzen Sarutobi's brow furrowed, eventually twisting into a tight knot.

Throughout Obito Uchiha's entire answer, the Uchiha Clan occupied the main focus.

With power as the core argument, he elaborated on the superiority of the Uchiha Clan's dominant position in Konoha after the Senju Clan disbanded, laying out everything Setsuna Uchiha had recently drilled into him...

At the very end, he barely managed to tie the Will of Fire together with the Uchiha Clan in a rambling mess, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had lost the patience to read on.

"Shin'nosuke, keep a close eye on this Obito Uchiha. Have the Anbu shift their surveillance focus on the Uchiha Clan to him and Setsuna Uchiha as appropriate."

Shin'nosuke Sarutobi, who was working across from him, nodded: "Understood, Father."

As the Third Hokage's eldest son, his current position was Anbu Captain, overseeing all Anbu affairs.

Shin'nosuke Sarutobi watched his father's expression shift from genial to extremely grim, and curiously took Obito Uchiha's paper. After a moment, his eyes narrowed as well.

"This kid has serious problems... According to my intelligence, the Uchiha Hawk Faction has been in contact with him. It seems they've had a deep influence. Do we need further measures, Father?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand: "Words reveal the heart. Just strengthen surveillance."

After steadying his emotions, the Third Hokage silently searched for Seisui's paper.

He had originally planned to read through every student's exam paper in order.

That would have been his fairness as Hokage, but Obito Uchiha's paper had given him a bit of a "wise second" shock, to the point that Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer wanted to wait.

If Seisui turned out to be similar to Obito Uchiha...

"Impossible. Seisui wouldn't be like that. He's Kagami's descendant, and so kind..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered to himself, quickly found Seisui's exam paper, and began reading it with great seriousness.

Shin'nosuke Sarutobi's ear twitched.

Not only his Hokage father, but even his younger brother Asuma Sarutobi had recently mentioned that name unintentionally.

A brat from the Uchiha Clan, yet he wielded such influence in the Sarutobi household...

And seeing the shift in his father's expression, Shin'nosuke Sarutobi grew genuinely curious.

When he had been reading Obito Uchiha's exam paper earlier, Hiruzen Sarutobi's stern look had vanished, replaced by a heartfelt smile, as if he were starting over from the beginning to read Seisui's answers.

"...Where Konoha's leaves dance, fire burns ever on... and new leaves will sprout anew..."

"The fallen blossoms are not heartless things; they turn into spring mud, nurturing flowers to bloom..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured these two lines over and over, a light shining in his eyes as he gently tapped the table.

They struck a chord deep within him.

Especially the first line—Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to see a tragic scene before him: a Hokage, willing to sacrifice himself to protect the village's promising youth.

"Teacher, I miss you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed at the framed photo of Tobirama Senju not far away, and said softly, "Rest assured, for the village, I too will not hesitate to sacrifice myself..."

Once again, he recalled the sight of Tobirama Senju covering their retreat for the six of them—a regret he could never forget in his lifetime.

Commentary: How exactly did Tobirama Senju die while covering their retreat...

My take: Back then, Tobirama Senju didn't know he could use the Flying Thunder God either...