In Year 41 of Konoha, undercurrents stirred in the Ninja World, and the great ninja villages clashed constantly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third of Konoha and principal of the Ninja Academy, was inspecting the school accompanied by Utatane Koharu, the Hokage's advisor.
Standing in the office, he gazed through the blinds at the little brats on the training field and sighed. "Back then, before the Second died, he personally chose me to be the Third.
That same year, I took over as principal of the Ninja Academy. For more than a decade, the weight of my responsibility kept me awake at night.
Fortunately, I didn't let the Second down. I managed to accomplish a little.
Under my leadership, the Ninja Academy produced outstanding shinobi like Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Minato, and Kakashi.
Talented young people are a village's future. Being principal of the Ninja Academy is a tremendous responsibility."
Seeing Hiruzen reminisce, the academy teacher Murakami Keining knew exactly what to do. He promptly flattered the Third, saying, "Lord Hokage has certainly made great contributions.
Your students, the Sannin, fought the Demigod of the Ninja World, Hanzo, a few years ago. Now they're all powerful shinobi who can stand on their own. Minato-san became a Jonin just a few years after graduating. His future is boundless.
With your wise leadership, Konoha and the Ninja Academy could hardly fail to prosper."
All he had to do was lay it on thick.
"Haha, I've only done a little bit of work."
Hiruzen waved his hand modestly, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Have any other prodigies emerged from the academy since Kakashi graduated?"
"Well..."
Murakami Keining faltered, at a loss for words.
Of course there were promising young people at the academy. Konoha had never been short of talented youth.
But who had Lord Hokage just mentioned?
The Sannin, Namikaze Minato, Hatake Kakashi...
Apart from Jiraiya, every one of them had displayed extraordinary talent from a young age. Their gifts had been plain to see.
People couldn't be compared without someone coming up short. His superior had just brought up several prodigies, so surely the next person he named couldn't be too far below them.
"Ah."
Hiruzen sighed, a trace of disappointment flickering in his eyes. "Perhaps I'm being too greedy.
Young people as outstanding as Minato and Kakashi only come along once in a decade, if we're lucky. The oldest students at the academy now should be about Kakashi's age."
Murakami Keining understood what Hiruzen was getting at. In theory, these students were Kakashi's peers. Kakashi had graduated after just one year, while they were still stuck at the academy. How could they possibly measure up to him?
The difference was obvious.
A sense of crisis welled up in Murakami Keining. As an academy teacher, his greatest responsibility was to cultivate and discover promising young people for Konoha.
Sure, geniuses didn't just appear on demand. But the Third had a point: when he'd focused on education, he'd produced the Sannin and Minato. So why had things gone so poorly under Murakami Keining?
If Murakami Keining was going to teach at the academy, he needed to be capable. He'd have to stop shamelessly coasting.
Murakami Keining gritted his teeth and said, "A prodigy as outstanding as one of the Sannin is certainly rare.
But I haven't accomplished nothing in my years as an academy teacher. I've discovered one promising young person.
He's in Kakashi's class."
"Oh?"
Hiruzen's curiosity was piqued. He thought for a moment, then said, "If he's Kakashi's classmate and still at the Ninja Academy, I'll have to meet him."
"He's the late-bloomer type." Don't ask—he was simply a late bloomer.
Murakami Keining added, then pulled the blinds aside and pointed to a corner of the field. "Lord Hokage, look. That young man dancing over there is the young prodigy I wanted to introduce."
Hiruzen and Utatane Koharu looked over. Beneath the shade of a tree, a black-haired boy of seven or eight was surrounded by more than a dozen children, dancing some unknown routine with an incredibly striking style.
Most of the children watching were girls, their eyes sparkling as they called out, "Mai, you're so handsome!" and "Mai, do the Moonwalk again!"
At a single glance, Hiruzen believed Murakami Keining. This black-haired kid was unquestionably a once-in-a-generation genius.
Even if he was seven or eight and still hadn't graduated, even if he wasn't even a Genin yet, even if Kakashi had already become a Chunin at the same age, he was definitely every bit as talented as Kakashi.
Because this kid... was just too handsome. Handsome didn't begin to describe his delicate features, rosy lips, and pearly teeth. He was even better-looking than Kakashi, Namikaze Minato, or young Uchiha Sasuke.
It was hard to believe someone that handsome could have such ordinary talent.
Every prodigy who'd made a name for himself at the Ninja Academy as a child had one thing in common: good looks. Orochimaru, Minato, Kakashi...
This boy was unquestionably a late-blooming talent!
"What's this child's name?" asked Konoha advisor Utatane Koharu.
"Uchiha Mai."
From their expressions, Murakami Keining knew he'd made the right bet. After all, no one could resist that face. He breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness they'd bought it.
"Uchiha..." Hiruzen murmured, narrowing his eyes as he sensed something was off.
When the Ninja Academy was first established, the great clans hadn't thought much of it. Back then, they kept their most talented young people in the clan and trained them themselves instead of sending them to the academy.
Even now, Konoha's great clans, the Uchiha and Hyuuga, still kept to that custom. They preferred to train promising youngsters themselves.
If Uchiha Mai was as extraordinary as Murakami Keining claimed, why had he been sent to the Ninja Academy?
"Then I'll have to see for myself," Hiruzen said with a smile.
Murakami Keining was panicking. Why did Hiruzen still want to see for himself? Wasn't that face convincing enough?
"What, are you nervous?" Hiruzen glanced at Murakami Keining and asked.
"No."
Murakami Keining wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Could he really admit that Uchiha Mai was all looks and no substance, otherwise completely unremarkable?
Absolutely not!
"I'll arrange a match right away," Murakami Keining said.
Hiruzen nodded slightly, signaling him to get on with it.
The best way to judge whether a shinobi was exceptional was their strength. The best way to show that strength was a match.
Uneasy, Murakami Keining slowly left the office, praying that Uchiha Mai would pull through and show off something impressive—anything to give him a reason for his baseless praise, instead of forcing him to hype up a student with nothing special about him.
"Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!"
A series of sharp whistles rang out. Murakami Keining lowered his whistle and called, "Free time is over. Everyone, assemble!"
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