Damn, How Did I Not Think of That?

"Teacher, teacher! We heard you went for your promotion exam today—how'd it go, how'd it go!"

"Yeah, what's the deal?"

"What's there to ask? With Teacher on the case, of course he passed."

"..."

Kyoichi got home to find several kids already waiting at his door.

The one in front was Obito.

That kid had a straightforward head, always charging in first, and usually taking the most blame, but he definitely wasn't the one who'd organized this.

Kyoichi's gaze swept across them, finally settling on the girl standing at the back.

Kurenai Yuhi!

Her father was the proctor for the first and second exams.

"Kurenai, you're the one who told them, aren't you?"

"Teacher, I just... accidentally let it slip."

Kurenai pinched her sleeve.

Accidentally?

Who'd believe that.

Still, it was all out of the kids' goodwill.

Kyoichi smiled, not bothered by it, and opened the door, saying, "Come on in."

Quite a few kids had come.

Obito, Shisui, Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi, and even Might Guy, who'd already graduated, was hanging out with them again—seems like it was probably a coincidence.

But.

As for one person, it was hard to say if it was a coincidence.

Kyoichi glanced toward a certain spot up above and said, "How about the one on the roof comes down for a sit?"

"Who's that?"

Obito looked up curiously.

And then.

He saw a silver-haired boy in a mask.

Huh?

"Kakashi! Hmph, sneaking around—must be pissed that Teacher made Jonin, huh?"

Obito taunted.

Kakashi had nothing to say.

Pissed?

No need for that.

His pride wasn't that low.

Kanda Kyoichi was so strong that making Jonin was only natural; if he'd failed, that would've been the strange part.

He was just curious.

Just how far had Kyoichi's strength reached?

Also, he was mulling over the things Kanda Kyoichi had said before.

"Congratulations."

Kakashi let out a single word.

Then, he left.

"Tch, what a guy!"

Obito curled his lip.

He knew Kakashi, and they didn't get along at all—couldn't go a meeting without trading a few barbs or he'd feel off.

"Alright, Kakashi became a Chunin at six. You all graduated this year—focus on working hard and getting promoted yourselves, that's the real path."

Kyoichi waved a hand, cutting off the pointless war of words.

After all, Kakashi was already gone, and Obito badmouthing him behind his back was meaningless—the guy wouldn't even acknowledge him.

Everyone nodded at that.

True.

Kakashi had graduated at five and been promoted at six, shocking the whole village back then—they couldn't compare.

Better to think about themselves.

But.

The next moment, they stared at Shisui Uchiha in shock.

"Shisui, you're graduating too? Could it be..."

Asuma was astonished.

Shisui was a genius of the Uchiha clan, long renowned. During the mixed classes, Shisui had outperformed even the senior students in many subjects.

Everyone knew that.

But he was only five years old.

Graduating this year—wouldn't that tie him with Kakashi?

Could it be.

That the Uchiha side, for the sake of reputation, had forced Shisui to graduate?

Asuma's mind raced, quickly arriving at that possibility.

"Mm."

Shisui nodded lightly.

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. Kurenai Yuhi pondered briefly, then asked, "So are you going to the Guard Unit, or forming a team with everyone else?"

Normally, graduating students would form squads for missions.

But major clans were different.

Take the Hyuga Clan—their children didn't attend school at all. Only those abandoned by the clan came to study.

The Uchiha were similar, yet different.

They still attended the Ninja Academy, but after graduation, most joined their own Guard Unit, rarely teaming up with others for missions.

Kyoichi also looked at him.

He knew Shisui's intentions, but whether Fugaku Uchiha would agree—that he truly didn't know.

"I hope to become a disciple of our teacher, but I'm not sure if the village will approve."

Shisui scratched his head as he spoke.

Everyone was briefly stunned, then realized that Kyoichi had already become a Jonin.

The village just might agree.

"Teacher hasn't even taken the exam yet, and you've already applied to the Clan Head?"

Good grief!

Obito snapped back to reality, understanding what Shisui had done.

An early application.

By now, the letter of intent regarding Shisui might already be laid out on the Third Hokage's desk.

Impressive!

Damn it.

Why hadn't he thought of that?

The others shared the same thought.

"Teacher, I also want to..."

"All Jonin are formidable. You can learn a lot from any of them, so don't worry too much."

Kyoichi reassured them.

Aside from Rin, they were all from clan families—what was there to fear?

Especially Asuma.

The Third Hokage's son—was he worried about not finding a good Jonin?

Still.

In the original story, Asuma's teacher was never really mentioned, and his promotion to Chunin was relatively slow. It was possible that the teacher he found after graduation was indeed quite average.

Asuma's eyes flickered. He bowed and said, "Teacher, I just remembered something urgent. I'll come visit you another time."

"Go ahead."

Everyone could guess the reason for Asuma's departure.

It was nothing more than securing a spot as a disciple.

As for the remaining few, it would be a lie to say they weren't tempted. But first, they had no connections, and second...

Kyoichi only had one slot left.

Who would grab it first?

That would be terribly undignified.

Let's just go with the flow.

Thinking this, everyone felt more at ease in their hearts.

Once he was promoted to Jonin, Kyoichi's temporary teaching assignment would come to an end.

No one would leave a Jonin to rot at the Ninja Academy.

Besides.

The Ninja Academy had already reorganized its grades, and the teachers had returned one after another. There was no need for a Jonin to step in, so he basically had no classes left.

Of course.

Even if he did teach, there wasn't much to gain.

The students at the Academy had already learned what they needed to.

Those who couldn't learn would only give a bit of proficiency reward from a few more lessons. It was better to focus his efforts on Might Duy and his son, Shisui, and Asuma.

Those four had plenty of wool to shear.

Especially Asuma. At the very least, he'd become one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, an elite Jonin. Squeeze him a bit, and there was bound to be plenty of oil.

"Teacher, can we still come to you with questions in the future?"

Rin was a little sad.

She felt like she was still a student, but in the blink of an eye, they were about to be assigned to teams.

"Of course. You can come to me with any problem."

Hokage Building.

After handing out the Jonin credentials to the four, Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to his office to continue working. But before long, an Anbu ninja handed him a letter.

"What's this?"

"Sent by the Uchiha clan."

Fugaku Uchiha?

The Third Hokage frowned slightly, took the letter from the Anbu ninja, opened it, and read it carefully.

After a moment.

His brow relaxed a little. He set the paper down, his mind swirling with thoughts.

Shisui wanted to become Kanda Kyoichi's disciple...

It wasn't impossible.

Kanda Kyoichi was, after all, a descendant of the Senju. Using Tsunade as a link, he could definitely bind that child to the Hokage's faction. There was no need to worry too much.

If Shisui became Kyoichi's disciple, there was a chance he could be pulled into his own camp, dismantling the Uchiha from within.

In that case...

Perhaps there was another possibility for the Uchiha.

Konoha's attitude toward the Uchiha had been conflicted since the Second Hokage's time.

But.

Tobirama Senju at least had a complete plan for division. By the Third's generation, he wanted to do the same but lacked the strength and couldn't find a breakthrough point, so he could only keep suppressing them.

Shisui, Obito.

An opportunity had come!

Thinking this, he hesitated no longer. He picked up his brush, signed his name, and approved Fugaku's request.

However.

The next moment, the door was knocked on.

The Third sensed the identity of the person outside the door, and his just-relaxed brow furrowed again.

Asuma?

That kid had been rebellious since he was young. What did he want this time?

Thinking of Asuma gave him a headache.

But he couldn't just refuse to see him.

"Come in."

"Father."

Asuma entered, using the family title in this place, which was rare. His expression was awkward and hesitant. After a moment, he spoke, "Can I join Teacher Kyoichi's team?"

"Hm?"

The Third looked up at him.

Kanda Kyoichi again.

Shisui wanted to join his team, and now his own son was asking to join him too—this kid had only been teaching for how long!

At most, less than a month.

Was he really that popular?

"Why do you want to join his team?"

"Because Teacher is a good person, very strong, and has his own ideas. I feel like I can learn a lot from him."

Asuma said this with a deep bow.

From childhood to now, he had almost never asked the Third Hokage for anything.

The Third Hokage witnessed this scene, fell silent for a long time, then nodded and said, "Kyoichi is suitable to lead Shisui, but not necessarily you. However, if this is your own choice, I respect your opinion."

"Thank you, Father!"