The Original Story...

As soon as Shuichi saw his wife and son walk away, he quickly returned to his office.

Bai had already processed most of the documents; he only needed to roughly organize and summarize them.

It was close to the end of the workday, and the moon would rise in a little over an hour.

The Hokage doesn't have holidays, but the ninjas in the village with fixed jobs take turns resting, so there's usually not much going on when the time changes from morning to evening.

Shuichi needed to deal with issues related to his own cultivation, so he first went to the Hokage's residence to retrieve the Scroll of Seals, and also took many other Scroll with him.

Sensing the Flying Thunder God Spell Formula from a distant location behind the Hokage Rock, he flew over there in a flash.

After running for several more tens of minutes, we arrived at a Private Training Base in the middle of a dense forest.

It wasn't that the Lord Hokage was planning to research some shady Ninjutsu, but rather that the techniques Shuichi was going to practice were too drastic, and there was no need to alarm the village ninjas. Every ninja had this habit when researching their trump cards.

Before taking action, he unfolded the Scroll of Seals and reviewed it once, while his body simultaneously began to gather Natural Energy. Only when he felt it was about time did he put the large Scroll away.

Sage Mode, activated!

With a mask on, Shuichi off his hands Hand Seals, and chakra visibly overflowed, unleashing Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!

Boom boom boom--

The ground around him trembled violently, and dust billowed from his center. A giant, semi-circular Wood Wheel rose up, with countless arms encircling the Kannon Statue in the center, making the whole thing look like a small mountain.

Shuichi glanced back. He hadn't actually used his full strength. The Kannon Statue was almost the size of Tailed Beast, with probably over 100 arms. After all, it was just practice, not a life-threatening exercise.

Being able to use it means the technique has been successfully executed. To make it more powerful, simply increase the amount of chakra.

"Drink it..."

With his hands clasped together and a low roar in his heart, True Several Hundred Hands moved forward like a giant warship.

Halfway there, the chakra erupted again, and all the arms suddenly seemed to come alive, unleashing a barrage of punches—a multitude of Wood Fist pounding down.

Within a kilometer radius, it was as if a storm had swept through, with huge tree branches flying everywhere, creating a scene resembling the collapse of the sky and the splitting of the earth.

Wood Release: The Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!

Splash splash--

Shuichi changed his hand seals, and the hard mountain rocks split open, with new forests shooting into the sky, quickly growing to the same height as the True Several Thousand Hands.

The top of the flower buds is bulging out as large, brightly colored buds. After the flowers bloom, countless pollen grains slowly fall, like a pale yellow fog descending.

"I've got all the Wood Release Ninjutsu covered, there's no need to develop any more..." Shuichi thought to himself.

He then took out a medium-sized Scroll, opened it, and threw it down. A large orange tail appeared—the only remaining Nine-Tails fox in the village.

Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands!

Wooden Giant Hand reached out and grabbed the tail, pulling it back to Shuichi's side.

He carefully sensed the fluctuations above and roughly recorded the degree to which this technique suppressed the Nine-Tails Chakra.

Next up is his own unique Ninjutsu; let's see if his Ice Release, infused with Yang Release, can rival it.

Ice Release: Ice Hand!

Shuichi arm, and the white hand and wooden hand of the same size completed the relay.

Upon sensing it again, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the Ice Release technique was even more effective than the Wood Style Release technique.

No, it should be said that it is the influence of Yin-Yang Release. Even if the combination is not as perfect as Wood Release Yang Release, it still has the effect of a grandfather beating his grandson when dealing with Tailed Beast Chakra.

"Yes, there's still room for improvement..." Shuichi assessed, "By then, my Ice Release will be able to easily deal with the Edo Tensei Body. With Yang Release combined with Natural Energy, continued research will definitely bring it close to the Six Paths Senjutsu."

After testing the strength of his Ice Release, he retracted the Nine-Tails- Tails' tail and continued practicing other Ninjutsu.

Aside from a few Forbidden Jutsu that violate ethics, Shuichi has mastered almost all of Konoha's Ninjutsu. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he's more like Ninjutsu professor than the Third Hokage.

Once the area calms down, the ground is riddled with potholes, and covered with ice shards and wood chips. People who don't know the area might think a natural disaster had occurred there.

Shuichi deactivated Sage Mode and immediately headed towards a nearby valley. He easily found a hidden cave, opened the Barrier, and entered it alone.

Crack--

Footsteps echoed in the darkness, indicating that the space was not large.

Shuichi finger, much like the mannerisms of cultivators in fantasy novels.

The flames landed on the surrounding stone walls, lit Oil Lamp, and brightened the view. The cave was less than 200 square meters in area, but the height was not low.

The ground was marked with many spells, and in the middle, a pile of square ice blocks were neatly arranged in a pyramid structure. Each block was one meter long, wide, and high, giving it a feeling of building blocks.

"It hasn't melted yet, looks like the plan can be implemented!" Shuichi grinned.

"Let's build a large Freezing Room near the Forest of Death, and replenish the ice there every day. It'll be an inexhaustible source for battle."

This guy is really going all out to conserve chakra when piloting the Gundam; he plans to change the on-site production method to Summoning.

This way, he can use less chakra and still utilize what he has stored up. This shows how afraid he is of death; he wouldn't even risk overdrawing his lifespan...

"This is all for the better protection of the village!" Shuichi said earnestly.

"Come on..."

The newly created Shadow Clone stood behind him, took the Scroll, and muttered, "I would call you the most cowardly Hokage in history."

Shuichi immediately retorted, "The strongest and the most cowardly are not mutually exclusive. Stop talking nonsense and get to work."

The Shadow Clone curled its lip, its hands moving rapidly, forming countless hand seals, before pressing the Scroll against the main body's neck. Yin Seal, seal!

A large number of spells surged out, entered Shuichi's body and gathered at a single point, eventually leaving a purple diamond-shaped mark on the back of his neck.

Perhaps he's gotten used to being a cunning old fox; he doesn't even want his enemies to see his Yin Seal. In a sense, the assessment of his Shadow Clone is entirely accurate...

Shuichi immediately used the remaining chakra to perform Yang Release Nature Transformation and stored it within the seal. Finding no problems, he stopped worrying about it.

This training trip wasn't long, but it was very physically demanding. After unleashing several large-scale Ninjutsu, I was already quite hungry.

"Time to go home for dinner!"

After quickly disposing of the temporary base, Shuichi few leaps and bounds, disappearing as a black dot.

In the Spring of Year 62 of Konoha, the Land of Fire enjoyed a sunny and breezy day. A gentle breeze stirred up fallen leaves on the streets, and the village bustled with activity, presenting a vibrant scene of life.

Shuichi, clad in the Hokage Robe, stood with his hands behind his back on the rooftop of the main building. His fiery red hat concealed his purple, shoulder-length hair, and a few strands of bangs fluttered in the wind. His youthful yet mature face exuded an unparalleled aura.

"The original story's starting point has arrived, time really flies!" he exclaimed, turning to look at the five Hokage Faces behind him.

Naruto's graffiti pranks will not happen again, and with Shuichi's guidance, the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques is naturally no problem for him.

Besides, they even showed off their Shadow Clone; it would be unreasonable for them not to graduate after all this.

The first villain, Mizuki, is now a hardworking Ninja Teacher, though he's occasionally dissatisfied with his life and likes to vent alone in a tavern. Everything's Taichi now...

Swish!

"Lord Hokage!"

"Lord Hokage!"

Two Anbu instantly appeared on the rooftop, kneeling and awaiting the Hokage's orders.

"It's been almost five years, hasn't it, Shisui?" Shuichi asked slowly, "From when you joined the Anbu until now."

"Yes, it's amazing you remember so clearly." Shisui's gentle voice came from beneath the Crow Mask.

"From today onwards, you are officially leaving the Anbu and will henceforth serve as a key Jonin for the village on missions," Shuichi smile.

"You haven't yet had experience mentoring students? You're already quite renowned. So it's time to further strengthen the ties between the Uchiha and the village, and cultivate the village's future. This task... I'm sure you'd be happy to undertake."

Upon hearing this, Shisui removed his mask and replied earnestly, "I will definitely do my best and will not let you down!"

"Haha, this year's students are really lucky; most of the village's best Jonin are free." Shuichi relaxed expression, "You two get up first..."

He turned his gaze to the person next to him:

"Yamato, Kakashi recommended you to me, and I wholeheartedly agree. You'll take over as Squad Captain after Shisui leaves. After all, your strength is among the best in the Anbu."

"Yes!" Yamato replied succinctly.

Seeing the zombie-like face beneath the Yamato mask, Shuichi sighed and teased, "I really don't know how you grew up like this. You were cuter than a girl when you were little."

It's a pity; perhaps more laughter would have helped.

"..."

Yamato speechless, internally screaming, "How do you know I wasn't smiling when I hadn't even taken off my mask?"

"Alright, you all go ahead and get busy. Shisui, get ready; there will be Jonin Meeting later, remember to come as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

Swish...

An hour later, in the Jonin Conference Room.

Apart from the many ninjas who were out on missions, all the remaining Jonin were gathered here, numbering forty or fifty at a glance.

At the very front center of the hall, Shuichi sat in the main seat. After everyone had arrived, he nodded to indicate that they could begin.

Bai, holding several documents, stood to one side. Upon receiving the order, he stepped forward. "Today's meeting will mainly consist of three parts..."

"..."

"In the past year, many newly established small ninja villages in neighboring countries have proposed establishing diplomatic relations with Konoha. Notable examples include Otogakure, Flame Village, and Spoon Village..."

"After two years of trials, three trade routes between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water have been established. Captains Sea Escort Mission will need to familiarize themselves with these routes in advance..."

"..."

Each topic was discussed, and the participants were quite enthusiastic, with discussions almost never stopping.

Everyone knows that Shuichi a clean-cut and efficient Hokage, so there was no dragging his feet at any point.

The meeting lasted about half an hour. Before it ended, Bai announced:

"The personnel responsible for instructing the Genin within the village have been determined. The following Jonin are requested to remain in the Meeting Room temporarily: Hatake Kakashi, Sarutobi Asuma, Uchiha Shisui..."

After most of the ninjas left, a dozen or so Jonin remained.

Everyone turned their attention to Shuichi, waiting for him to make his decision.

"This year, there are a total of 54 qualified graduates, which is three more classes than last year, so thank you all for your hard work."

Thanks to his educational reforms, even though the graduation standards were raised significantly, more students still passed and became Genin of Konoha.

Of course, they still need to pass the selection and assessment of the Guiding Jonin before they can enter the village's Ninja Promotion System. The long-awaited Path to Hokage... has just begun.

Shuichi picked up the list and read aloud, "Team 1: Takamura Daigo, Shirakawa Shin, Mizuta Haru. Guiding Jonin Ishikawa Tatsuki."

"Second class,..."

"..."

Team 7: Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Haruno Sakura. Guiding Jonin: Hatake Kakashi.

"Team 8: Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka. Guiding Jonin: Uchiha Shisui."

"..."

"Team 10: Nara Shikamaru, Choji Akimichi, Yamanaka Ino. Guiding Jonin: Sarutobi Asuma."

"..."

"Team 18,..."

"These are your respective Genin team members," Shuichi concluded. "The Ninja List will be sent to everyone shortly, so please take it seriously."