Want to Eat Kakashi's Cooking

A few days later, early in the morning, all the children in the grade were gathered on the playground.

A simple stage was set up at the front of the playground. Several teachers stood beside it, their expressions much more serious than usual.

Shin-chan stood in the crowd, tiptoeing to see ahead. "Xiao Che, what day is it today?"

"Teacher Ibuki mentioned it before, the Third Hokage is coming," Uchiha Toru reminded him.

"Hokage-sama..." Shin-chan mumbled softly, "I wonder if he can do anything about Chinjao."

Others nearby also started whispering.

"Is the Third Hokage really coming?"

"I heard there are rewards for the Top Three, and Hokage-sama will be here to present them."

"Top Three, Kakashi will definitely be one of them."

"Uchiha Toru too."

"Who was the other one again?"

"I think it was that person in red from Class A."

Shin-chan's ears twitched.

Rewards?

Did defeating Chinjao count as a reward?

The front of the crowd suddenly fell silent.

Shin-chan looked up and saw someone wearing a White Hokage Robe and a Red Hat walk onto the stage.

Not tall, a bit short, with some white in his beard.

He looked very approachable.

But not a single child dared to make a sound.

The Third Hokage stood in the center of the stage, scanned the children below, and smiled.

"Everyone sit down."

The children scrambled to sit on the ground.

The Third Hokage cleared his throat and began to speak.

What is this Will of Fire they speak of.

They say where the leaves dance, fire burns.

They say the shadow of fire will illuminate the Village, and new leaves will sprout.

As Shin-chan listened, his eyelids began to droop.

He secretly glanced at Uchiha Toru beside him.

Uchiha Toru sat up straight, his eyes fixed on the stage, his expression incredibly serious.

Shin-chan glanced at Might Guy on the other side.

Might Guy's eyes were red, his lips trembling, as if he were about to shout "Youth!" at any moment.

Shin-chan: "..."

Is it that serious?

Shin-chan yawned and continued to listen.

He didn't understand it anyway.

The Third Hokage spoke for about fifteen minutes before finally stopping.

Applause erupted from the audience.

Shin-chan clapped along, even though he didn't quite understand, he clapped because everyone else was.

The Third Hokage waited for the applause to subside and smiled again.

"Alright, now, please have the Top Three of this exam come to the stage."

A commotion arose in the ranks.

"Kakashi Hatake."

Kakashi stood up and walked forward.

"Uchiha Toru."

Uchiha Toru stood up and followed.

"Shin Nohara."

Shin-chan froze for a moment, then was pushed by Might Guy beside him.

"Shin-chan, they're calling you!"

Shin-chan only then reacted, quickly stood up, ran a few steps forward, and caught up with Kakashi and Uchiha Toru.

The three children stood in front of the platform, facing the Third Hokage.

Countless eyes from below fell on them.

Envious, unconvinced, curious, admiring, all sorts of emotions.

Obito squatted in the crowd, his eyes fixed on Kakashi.

Rin sat beside him, also staring at the stage, and whispered, "Kakashi and the others are so amazing."

Obito pursed his lips, said nothing, but didn't look away.

The Third Hokage looked at the three children before him, a smile appearing on his face.

He first looked at Kakashi.

"Kakashi Hatake, Sakumo's son."

Kakashi nodded.

The Third Hokage smiled: "Your father was an excellent ninja, and you are also outstanding."

Then he looked at Uchiha Toru.

"Uchiha Clan Child, to be able to use Fire Style at this age is very good."

Uchiha Toru lowered his head slightly: "Thank you, Third Hokage."

Finally, he looked at Shin-chan.

Shin-chan tilted his head up, blinking his eyes as he looked at him.

The Third Hokage paused.

This child...

He recalled the reports submitted by the teachers before.

"Shin Nohara, from a Commoner background, no family ties, no foundation before entering the academy."

"But his talent is astonishing, and his progress speed far exceeds that of his peers."

"His reaction in actual combat is extremely fast, and his intuition is sharp."

"And in the Match, he took a direct hit from Uchiha Toru's Fire Style to protect the classmate behind him."

The Third Hokage looked at the Red Little Figure before him and smiled.

"Shin Nohara?"

Shin-chan nodded and waved. "Hello, Grandpa Hokage."

The Third Hokage was taken aback.

Grandpa?

Asuma, below the stage, was also stunned. Was he just promoted a generation?

Teacher Ibuki next to him coughed dryly, frantically signaling Shin-chan with his eyes.

But the Third Hokage wasn't angry. Instead, he smiled. "You are a good child who can inherit the Will of Fire."

He took two steps forward and stopped in front of the three children.

"You three, do you have any dreams?"

He looked at Kakashi first.

Kakashi was silent for two seconds. "To become an excellent ninja."

The Third Hokage nodded, said nothing, and looked at Uchiha Toru.

Uchiha Toru hesitated for a few seconds, remembering what his mother had told him.

"I want the family name to be respected by everyone."

The Third Hokage nodded again.

Finally, he looked at Shin-chan.

Shin-chan tilted his head. His reward should be to eliminate Chinjao, so as for his dream...

The Third Hokage waited.

The people below the stage waited.

Shin-chan's eyes suddenly lit up.

"I want to eat food made by Kakashi every day."

The crowd was silent for a second.

Then, someone couldn't help but laugh.

The Third Hokage was also stunned, then burst into laughter.

His laughter echoed across the playground, startling the teachers nearby.

"Interesting, very interesting." The Third Hokage chuckled, his beard trembling. "This dream is very good, very good."

Shin-chan blinked, not understanding what was so funny.

"Grandpa Hokage, can my dream come true?"

The Third Hokage smiled and shook his head, then pointed at Kakashi. "You have to ask him about that, not me."

Shin-chan turned to look at Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't look at him.

But he didn't say no either.

The Third Hokage finished laughing and cleared his throat.

"Alright, next, I will conduct a guidance practice for the three of you."

There was another commotion from the crowd.

Although they had already known the Third Hokage would personally guide them.

But was this treatment too good?

Obito sat in the crowd, his eyes wide open.

The Third Hokage was going to guide Kakashi?

Rin whispered beside him, "Obito, how long do you think Kakashi can last?"

Obito froze for a moment. "Huh?"

"I mean, if he spars with the Third Hokage, how long can Kakashi last?"

Obito opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he just mumbled, "I don't know."

But his eyes never left the stage.

The Third Hokage led the three children to the open space in the center of the Playground.

The other children were asked to step aside, leaving the center clear.

"One by one," the Third Hokage said. "Who's first?"

Kakashi took a step forward.

The Third Hokage nodded.

"Good."

He took off his Hokage robe, revealing his ninja uniform underneath, and stretched his wrists.

"Come on, attack me with all your might."

Kakashi drew his Wooden Sword and bowed slightly.