Third and the Reunion Dinner

The graduating students gradually dispersed, and Higashino Makoto and the others prepared to go for a meal together.

Just then, a middle-aged man of modest stature walked out of the General Classroom, followed by several Ninja Academy teachers, including Inoue Kuroiwa.

This middle-aged man was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

At this time, the Third Hokage was only about fifty-five years old, not yet the aged figure in Higashino Makoto's memory. Though his face was kind, the imposing aura of the former Shinobi Hero was still evident.

This was the first time Higashino Makoto had been this close to Konoha's Supreme Authority; last time at the opening ceremony, he'd been too far away.

Seeing the Hokage, they couldn't just turn and leave—that would be far too rude.

"Hokage!" they all respectfully bowed.

"Good, good, hehehehe." The Third Hokage nodded cheerfully, gazing at each of them with affection, especially lingering a few extra glances on Higashino Makoto and Uchiha Shisui.

He knew Shisui, of course—after all, he was the descendant of his Old Friend Kagami Uchiha, always on his watchlist.

As for Higashino Makoto...

"You're Higashino Makoto, right? I remember you're the child of Jiro and Hui. A fine kid too."

"Huh? Hokage, you know me? You even know my Parents—that's amazing!"

"Haha, I know, I know. I even know your Grandfather and Uncle. They're all Konoha Heroes. Especially your mother—her Medical Ninjutsu is quite skilled."

"Thank you for your recognition, Hokage. They're all role models I strive to follow."

"By the way, Makoto, why didn't you graduate early like Shisui? I recall you were first in the entrance exam. Teacher Inoue recommended you to me as well."

"Hokage, I feel my strength is still lacking. Father also said that only with strong power can you better protect your Comrades and contribute to guarding Konoha. So I'd rather train another year—sharpening the blade does not delay the woodcutting."

"Sharpening the blade does not delay the woodcutting? A simple yet philosophical saying." The Third Hokage lightly brushed past the topic and asked instead, "So where are you all headed?"

"I'm planning to treat Hayate and Shisui to a meal to celebrate their graduation. Hokage, you should join us too!"

"Oh, a gathering? Not a bad idea, but this Old Man won't tag along—it'd make you all stiff. Go on ahead."

"Alright, Hokage, goodbye."

They bowed respectfully and left together.

"Kuroiwa, what's your take on your student?"

Inoue Kuroiwa bowed his head and answered respectfully, "Mature-minded, strong in ability, with a very solid grasp of all theoretical ninja knowledge. He likes to act according to his own plans. And in the past six months, I've noticed something interesting—even when facing Shisui, Makoto's performance is consistently steady. It's as if, in his eyes, even someone as strong as Shisui is no different from any other Classmate. Sometimes, I even feel that if I were up against him, I'd be far from his match."

The Hokage looked surprised. "Oh? Such high praise? Even you admit you're outmatched? He's a rare fine Seedling. Perhaps another Genius like Kakashi or Minato."

"Apologies, Hokage. I failed to persuade him to apply for early graduation. That's my fault."

"No, no, where's the fault? Your teaching results are excellent. A year earlier or later makes no difference. Let him build more bonds with his classmates at school—that's a good thing!"

How to describe the Third Hokage? In terms of approachability, he was top-tier. If you ignored all the conspiracies, he was actually a pretty good Hokage.

As for Shimura Danzō, he wouldn't dare fish in the school. The Ninja Academy was the Hokage's turf; the children there received the purest education in the Will of Fire, the Hokage's natural base. He couldn't allow anyone else to meddle.

And Higashino Makoto was a straight-laced Commoner, from a hero family, with both Parents alive and a full circle of friends. It was hard to find darkness in his heart—not Danzō's type. So the "you ruin me, I ruin you" drama wouldn't happen to Higashino Makoto.

A bit of a shame, really—if you haven't been snatched by Danzō, you can't even call yourself a Genius.

At Yakiniku Q, business was booming.

Normally, there weren't this many people eating here at noon. Honestly, the prices weren't cheap.

But today was enrollment and graduation day, so many had chosen this place—either celebrating a child's enrollment or friends celebrating graduation together.

During the meal, Higashino Makoto asked, "Hayate, Shisui, now that you've both graduated, what are your plans? Will you team up normally with the New Generation?"

Hayate Gekko was straightforward: "I'll probably team up normally. Father doesn't seem to have any special arrangements for me."

His father was named Yugao Gekko, a few years older than Higashino Makoto's Parents. He used to be a Special Jonin, but word was he'd already become a full Jonin.

The war had cost the village heavily; even Jonin had suffered many casualties. Vacant slots naturally got filled.

The High Level and major clans didn't care much about Genin or Chunin, but registered Jonin in the village were the focus of contention.

Registered Jonin automatically fell under the Jonin Council's leadership, and the Jonin Council had immense power. Who got more slots and who got fewer directly influenced the introduction and execution of many policies.

There were plenty of ninja in the village with Jonin-level strength, but the number with official Jonin titles, formally registered in the village, was always fixed.

Later, Naruto Uzumaki's ninja registration number would be 012607, graduating at age twelve. Did that mean Konoha had only trained over ten thousand ninja in its sixty-three years of existence?

Obviously not. Many large and medium clans—especially the Uchiha, Hyuga, Sarutobi, and Ino-Shika-Cho—had plenty of ninja trained within the clan who weren't registered in the village.

After Hayate finished, everyone looked at Shisui.

Shisui looked a bit unhappy. "As for me, I'll probably train with the clan's Senior for a while, then maybe join the Police Force."

He actually wanted to be like everyone else—team up normally, follow a Squad Leader Teacher, and make more new friends.

But that clearly wasn't going to happen.

Since he often hung out with Higashino Makoto and the others, learning from each other, competing, and pushing each other forward, his strength was greater than in the original timeline. For a genius like this, the Uchiha Clan was unwilling to let outsiders train him.

As for Uchiha Obito, he was already a dreamer. What could you expect from those arrogant bastards in the clan? They might as well let him out to build bonds with the villagers—call it waste utilization.

Higashino Makoto thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. It's the War Period now; every country is flooding the field with spies. Village security is important too, and that falls under your clan's jurisdiction."

"But I want to go to the battlefield. My comrades in the village are all fighting to the death to protect Konoha, while most of our clan can only stay in the village. I feel like that's not right."

It wasn't just "not right." Shisui was putting it gently, since that was his nature. And because he was still young, he only sensed something was wrong without being able to pinpoint the problem.

When he walked through the village, the villagers—especially those who had lost family or friends in battle—would look at the clan crest on the back of his clothes with very unfriendly eyes.

He, Uchiha Shisui, wasn't a thick-skinned idiot like Obito. On the contrary, he was precocious and sensitive. How could he not notice?

But some things weren't meant for someone his age to know.

Uzuki Yugao and the others didn't know what to say either. Higashino Makoto understood, but he wouldn't speak carelessly.

In his previous life, speaking carelessly got you beaten up. In the Shinobi World, speaking carelessly could get you killed.