I want to take him as my disciple personally!

Suiya Sarutobi was startled by their reactions, growing uncertain himself. "Uh... yes, Torikaze did say it was Crystal Release."

Senju Hashirama was overjoyed at the news!

"Quick! Tell me more!"

Suiya Sarutobi immediately straightened up and spoke seriously. "I saw two of Torikaze's jutsu. One was when he was hit by a Great Fireball, his entire body turned into a crystal statue—but I think it's more like a branch of the Substitution Technique."

"The second was conjuring countless crystal shuriken out of thin air. Their power and speed surpassed ordinary shuriken, and they were so dense it was hard to dodge."

Senju Tobirama pondered for a moment after hearing this. "It seems the kid has been mastering Crystal Release for a while. Otherwise, how could he have learned jutsu with it? I've never heard of a Kekkei Genkai called Crystal Release before."

Senju Hashirama nodded in agreement. He had always thought highly of Kumonaka Torikaze, believing he could learn Cloud Release, but he hadn't expected to underestimate Torikaze's talent!

Seeing that both adults were in a good mood, Suiya Sarutobi ventured a question. "Just now, Lord Hokage and Lord Tobirama mentioned Cloud Release. Could it be that Torikaze has mastered a second Kekkei Genkai?"

Senju Hashirama shook his head. "You still know too little about your students. Don't you even know about the Kumonaka Clan?"

Hearing this, Suiya Sarutobi felt deeply ashamed and quickly apologized.

"Young people still need to learn more. If a student asks you a tricky question in the future and you can't answer, won't you lose your authority?"

"Lord Tobirama is right. I have been slacking off lately."

Senju Hashirama's laughter broke the heavy atmosphere. "Hahaha, it's fine, it's fine. Go ask Sasuke when you get back—he definitely knows about the Kumonaka Clan."

Suiya Sarutobi thanked them repeatedly and withdrew from the Hokage Office. Being criticized by the Hokage and Lord Tobirama for lacking knowledge was the greatest embarrassment of his life, and he swore it would never happen again!

Inside the office, Hashirama and Tobirama discussed Kumonaka Torikaze's Crystal Release.

"Big Brother, I don't think we need to keep observing this kid anymore. This morning, Kagami told me some things he said, and I think his mind and character are both good."

"Yeah, I think so too."

Tobirama was in a good mood. Taking on a talented kid like this as a disciple would make teaching much easier.

"Then, I'll take him on, and we'll teach him together."

"No! This time, I want to take a disciple myself."

Tobirama hadn't expected his brother to say that, but he wasn't surprised. After all, Big Brother was the only one who mastered Wood Release, so he might be able to offer more help in developing Kekkei Genkai jutsu.

He came up with many explanations for why Big Brother wanted to take a disciple himself, but if Hashirama knew, he'd probably burst out laughing.

The truth was, Hashirama simply wanted a disciple. Although they both taught Tobirama's six students together, they weren't his own disciples, so he had always harbored the desire to take one. Unfortunately, Konoha's geniuses were limited, and few truly impressed Hashirama.

Until a month ago, when Kumonaka Torikaze appeared. Before that, Hashirama had never met him—he only knew that Kumonaka Yama had a son, the last of the Kumonaka Clan.

But he never expected to be stunned the first time he saw the kid. The chakra contained in that small body rivaled that of a first-rate ninja. He thought the boy could learn the Kumonaka Clan's secret Cloud Release technique, but he never imagined he'd also master Crystal Release, an unprecedented Kekkei Genkai.

Truly, a child's potential is limitless.

"If this kid grows up, he might even surpass me."

Tobirama glanced at his brother. "Who knows."

Who knew if he'd actually grow up? The future was the hardest thing to predict. Geniuses were never rare, but most died young—all because of the title of genius.

"Where is the kid now?" Senju Hashirama asked.

"I'll send someone to find him."

Meanwhile, Kumonaka Torikaze had no idea the Hokage wanted to take him on as a personal disciple. His original goal was just to become the Second Hokage's student, which would have been enough. Unfortunately, he had underestimated his own talent.

Among Tobirama's six disciples, perhaps only Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kagami Uchiha could temporarily match Torikaze's talent.

Yes, temporarily—because Kumonaka Torikaze's talent wasn't fixed.

"Torikaze-kun, let's order more meat! I'm still not full."

Kumonaka Torikaze looked at the stack of empty plates on the table, a little surprised. How could this little girl, only six years old, eat so much? But surprise aside, he had said she could eat as much as she wanted, and he wasn't short on money.

"Boss, another twenty plates of meat."

Seeing a big spender, the boss beamed and promised to bring it right away.

Chirori felt a bit embarrassed now, but for some reason, she didn't feel like putting on a ladylike act in front of Torikaze-kun.

"Torikaze-kun, can your wallet handle it?"

Kumonaka Torikaze waved his hand. "This is nothing. I'm more worried about whether your stomach can handle it."

Chirori struck a determined pose. "Of course! Every night when I go home, I make my brother spar with me, so I need to eat well at lunch!"

This was the opposite of Kumonaka Torikaze. He was afraid eating too much would affect his evening training, so he only ate until he was about eighty percent full.

He was well aware of his current weakness. Although the system had given him chunin-level strength, his taijutsu was lacking, so he trained it every night.

Before long, the boss pushed a cart with twenty plates of meat over. Maybe out of kindness, or maybe to keep these two big spenders coming back, he threw in an extra plate of meat and vegetables.

"Torikaze-kun, how about we spar sometime?"

Kumonaka Torikaze smiled. "Why the sudden thought?"

Chirori's expression turned serious, showing she wasn't joking. "I want to know how big the gap is between you and me."

Torikaze rubbed his nose and said, "I'm really weak. One hit and I'd die. Better not."

He tried to brush it off, but Chirori had no intention of letting him go. She stared straight at him, making Torikaze feel a little awkward.

"Fine, fine, I promise. Now eat up!"

Chirori smiled brightly, then, as if recalling something serious, her expression turned earnest again.

"Torifu-kun, you absolutely must be careful of one person!"

"Who?"

Chirori's face was grave, with no hint of a joke.

"Uchiha Setsuna."