Year 60 of Konoha: Childhood innocence was gone for good.

Time flies like an arrow; a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

This is the first day that the young saplings of Konoha leave the Ninja Academy and grow into towering Big Tree.

Dozens of Jonin and Elite Chunin were summoned to the Hokage's Office, in front of the Crystal Ball, to watch the Ninja Academy's exams.

Apart from certain student groups specially selected by the Third Hokage, other ninjas could also choose students they fancied.

Tōka happens to be among those called ninjas.

Tōka glanced at his own file: Elite Chunin! His eye twitched. He hadn't even known when the Third Hokage had added him!

These aren't the main points. The main point is, isn't the Third Hokage worried that he'll corrupt the young talents of Konoha?

"Tōka, what do you think of this little guy?" The Third Hokage approached silently and suddenly asked from behind Tōka.

Tōka looked at the Crystal Ball with a puzzled expression, only to see a blond-haired imp split off a limp clone that lay on the ground.

How about it?

That's a difficult question to answer!

Wait, that's not the point of what the Third Hokage said. He seemed to mean something like...

"A bit weak." Tōka spoke the truth, without the slightest hint of contempt or perfunctoriness.

"It's weakened, and by more than a little bit," the Third Hokage sighed and said softly.

He could naturally tell that Nine-Tails was causing trouble for Naruto again; otherwise, with the amount of chakra the Uzumaki Clan possessed, how could they not even be able to create a complete clone?

"Lord Hokage, you didn't call me here today to have me teach students, did you?" Tōka hesitated for a long time before finally speaking out his thoughts.

The group of people who were deliberately summoned to the Hokage's Office were almost all the Hokage's confidants, and the students they trained were naturally the new generation of the Hokage Faction.

Tōka felt like an oddball, as strange as eating an iced pear in winter; only she could understand the feeling.

"Does Tōka have any students he's interested in?" The Third Hokage asked instead of answering, with a Fox smile.

Tōka subconsciously turned his head to look at the Crystal Ball. If he had to choose, he definitely wouldn't choose the useless ones, as nine of the Konoha 12 were in this generation.

The Ino-Shika-Cho, the reconnaissance team, and the rest are Naruto Sasuke.

Because of their family ties, the Ino-Shika-Cho 'Jonin instructor must be Asuma; it's impossible for the Third Hokage to release these three.

The remaining two teams will be assigned Jonin instructors, which is pretty much a given.

As for the other young faces, who knows which episode they'll die in! How could Tōka possibly "take a liking" to them?

Although there were quite a few ninjas in the Hokage's Office, it was relatively quiet, and even those who were talking deliberately lowered their voices.

All attention was focused on the people being called up to the stage for the exam at the Ninja Academy.

In Genin exams are incredibly simple; they're practically just a formality.

The Three Transformations? After so many years at the Ninja Academy, even the dumbest idiot should have learned it by now.

However, there really was one idiot who caught everyone's attention today...

Naruto was given three chances in a row, until the examiner, Iruka, became furious and kicked Naruto out.

Iruka also knew that the Third Hokage was watching Naruto, and he hoped that Naruto could pass the exam.

But this kid...

"Next!" Iruka sat back down, trying hard to banish the jumbled thoughts from his mind.

The exam was simple, but even just the Clone Technique could reveal a lot.

The first is Hand Seals. The speed and proficiency of Hand Seals Hand Seals crucial in actual combat, where Jutsu Formula counts in activating a spell.

In a true duel between masters, victory or defeat may hinge on a mere tenth of a second.

The second is chakra control. Ordinary Clone Technique create illusions to confuse the enemy, but if chakra is depleted, weak or limp creatures will appear.

Too much chakra isn't good either...

As for the rest, it depends on the preferences of each teacher leading the group; some prefer someone with an outgoing personality, while others prefer someone more cautious.

The Ninja Academy exams ended quickly.

The Third Hokage raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop whispering and discussing. He stood in front of the Hokage's seat and said loudly, "That's enough for today. I believe everyone understands the situation."

"If you have a suitable candidate, please submit a report to me, and I will consider it accordingly."

The first sentence explains the purpose of calling everyone here today, while the second sentence takes control of the interpretation of everything.

The whole sentence can be understood as: you can choose people, but some people won't be given to you even if you choose them.

There are very few rookies among ninjas who are leading a team for the first time. Everyone here is an experienced person and knows exactly what's going on. Since Asuma is here, those students definitely can forget about it.

"If there are no further questions, we can dismiss this group." The Third Hokage waved his hand, and everyone filed out, quickly leaving the Hokage's Office.

Despite the large number of people, there was not a single other sound besides the chaotic footsteps when they left.

Tōka stood in the corner, almost at the very end, and walked in the middle of the last group of ninjas.

Sudden!

Tōka felt a sudden gust of wind, and his instinctive action was to convert a huge amount of chakra into Repulsive Force to send the opponent flying.

But then he thought, this is the Hokage's Office, how could anyone possibly try to ambush him?

Immediately, the Ice Blue in Tōka's eyes One Flash and disappeared, and the prepared Jutsu Formula vanished in an instant.

With a snap, a large hand landed on Tōka's shoulder. He immediately felt a weight on his shoulder and turned to see Kakashi with silver hair, who had one hand on his shoulder.

"Tōka, how about we go get some barbecue?" Kakashi asked with a smile, his arm around Tōka's neck telling him he couldn't refuse.

Moreover, Asuma and Kurenai were standing behind Kakashi.

Tōka knew that Kakashi must have something to say to him, so he slipped out of Kakashi's "confinement" Budong.

"Let's go, where to?"

"The one I usually go to."

The four of them walked together and left the Hokage Building.

From the window on the top floor of the building, a pair of eyes were inexplicably watching the three people's backs.

"Fourth Hokage, you seem quite at ease. It's just that I still can't see through Tōka..." The Third Hokage took a deep breath, his pipe dangling from his lips.

He recalled the Fourth Hokage's dying words: that Naruto would be safest staying with Tōka before he learned the Rasengan, because they had made a promise.

Although it wasn't an explicit agreement, Tōka would definitely keep it.

The Third Hokage opened his mouth and exhaled puffs of White Smoke. His hunched face looked even older through the hazy smoke.

"Speaking of the Rasengan, Naruto seems to be able to puncture rubber balls now..."

Konoha, the number one village among the Five Great Nations, this is not just empty talk.

Just look at the dazzling array of shops on Konoha's commercial street, and the smiling faces of passersby.

This clearly demonstrates the prosperity, stability, and abundance of this place.

Barbecue Restaurant, the Akimichi Clan's Barbecue Restaurant!

As the Hokage's direct descendant and the head of the Akimichi Clan, Choza Akimichi, who is also the father of Choji Akimichi, who is about to graduate this year, naturally knows what will happen in the Hokage's Office today.

Furthermore, Choza Akimichi already knew that Asuma was the Jonin led his son's team.

Just as Tōka and his three companions sat down, a portly man with two purple stripes painted on his face walked over with a beaming smile.

"Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Tōka!" Choza Akimichi greeted them with a smile. He had seen Tōka on the Battlefield, so he recognized Tōka.

"Senior Choza." Kakashi and the others immediately stood up.

"No, no, no, don't be so formal!" Choza Akimichi had a kind face, and his smile made people feel close to him. "Today, all the food and drinks are on me. Also, I'll Asuma my son in Asuma's care!"

All the extra words are just polite formalities; the most important thing is this last sentence.

As Choji's father, it's only natural for him to do this, which shows that this pot-bellied fat man is quite thoughtful.

"Of course, don't worry." Asuma patted his chest and assured him that, putting aside the relationship between the two families, just considering the bond between master and disciple, he would protect the little devils from the Ino -Ino-Shika-Cho family.

"Then I won't bother you any longer, the barbecue will be here soon."

After finishing his sentence Choza Akimichi turned and walked towards the counter, gave the shop owner an instruction, and then left the Barbecue Restaurant.

Seeing this, everyone sat down again.

Just as Choji Akimichi had said, before the group had even settled in, Waiter brought over a large platter of fresh grilled meat.

Tōka didn't stand on ceremony, picking up the tenderest and largest piece and placing it directly on the red-hot Iron Plate.

Sizzle...

A mouthwatering aroma wafted over, and Kakashi and Asuma exchanged a glance, deciding to put aside their business for now and eat their fill first.

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

Tōka had almost finished eating. She put down her chopsticks, took a sip of her herbal tea to calm her burning sensation in her mouth, and leaned back lazily in her chair.

Kakashi, who was standing nearby, noticed Tōka's movements and immediately put down his chopsticks, quickly taking a sip of her cold tea.

"Has everyone finished eating?" Kakashi looked at Asuma and Kurenai. They knew that the main purpose of today's meal wasn't to eat barbecue, so they stopped eating when they had almost finished.

"Everyone should understand what the Lord Hokage meant today."

Kakashi suddenly stopped speaking, which annoyed Tōka, though he didn't show it on his face.

Kakashi glanced at Kurenai, signaling for her to speak.

"Tōka, do you have any students you've taken a liking to?" Hong asked with a smile, pretending to be casual.

"Besides the Ino-Shika-Cho, Sasuke is probably the only one who's really strong!" Tōka chuckled inwardly. Since you want to test me, I'll just pretend!

"Sasuke is very strong. Not only does he excel in all theoretical subjects, but he also gets the top marks in actual combat." Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"I disagree with that. Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga are all good too." Kurenai, of course, wouldn't stand for anyone saying her students were inferior, and immediately retorted.

Although the reconnaissance team isn't officially her student team yet, the arrangement is already made and unlikely to change unless something unexpected happens.

"Yes, yes, that's right." Asuma had been caught in the crossfire, awkwardly wiped his head and nodded repeatedly in response.

"Kakashi, how come you're getting worse as you grow older? You used to be so insightful!" Tōka found it really boring; these guys were always rambling on and on without getting to the point.

"Just say what you have to say, stop beating around the bush."

Kakashi's lips twitched, and he cursed inwardly, "You're the most cunning one. If I don't speak to you more carefully, you might even trick me into revealing things like how I wet the bed when I was three!"

"Tōka, don't you know? If there's no student he likes, the Lord Hokage will subjectively designate the ninja to lead the team."

Kakashi explained.

"If you're lucky, you might be assigned a powerful Jonin as your mentor. The reverse is also true; if you're unlucky, you might end up with the worst student."

The ninja who appeared in the Hokage's Office today is the instructor in charge of leading the team.

Since you can't refuse anymore, why not find yourself a few good students?

"Kakashi means that if you don't submit your report soon, all the good students might be chosen by someone else," Kurenai chimed in from the side.

"Oh? Is that so..." Tōka didn't care about the students at all; they were just bystanders anyway, it didn't matter.

However, Tōka decided to follow along with the three men and see what their purpose was.

Do you have any good candidates?

Upon hearing Tōka's question, Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai exchanged glances, finally managing to get the kid to agree.

That's really rare...

"Sasuke, as the top graduate, is the best candidate." Kakashi stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Tōka Budong quietly to the side, watching Kakashi's pretentious act.

As the Anbu Captain of the Hokage, a direct descendant of the Hokage, do you really need to think about this little bit of information?

"Konoha's class assignments have always been based on a balance of strength. If we choose the top student Sasuke, then I'm afraid the last one won't be a safe bet." Kakashi said, while keeping an eye on Tōka's expression.

Tōka looked uninterested, but was secretly delighted.

When the Third Hokage asked him what he thought of Naruto, an idea popped into Tōka's mind, and now, through the subtle probing of these three people...

He realized something!

That old man, the Third Hokage, intentionally dumped Naruto on him. I don't know why, but I always felt that the Third Hokage had a conspiracy!

"Then I'll fill in Sasuke in my report, and let the Third Hokage arrange the rest."

Tōka wouldn't say something as silly as, "He's just Chunin, he's not suitable to be the chief student advisor."

The people in front of him were all familiar with him. Even during the Third Shinobi World War more than ten years ago, his combat strength was comparable to that of Jonin.

Therefore, Tōka has decided to follow the Third Hokage's idea. Here's a blank test paper; you're responsible for writing down all the answers!

"That's a good idea. The Lord Hokage will likely grant your request." Kakashi's eyes crinkled into a smile, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The Hokage's mission is finally complete!

Asuma and Kurenai exchanged a smile, acknowledging Tōka's strength.

Moreover, Tōka also realized something at this moment: why wasn't Kakashi the designated teacher for Team 7?

Because Kakashi is not the decadent Kakashi of history, but the Little White Fang under the halo of the hero White Fang, the current Anbu -Commander of the Anbu, a direct descendant of the Hokage!