The Nara Clan

Setting aside the fact that Konoha currently needs the Uchiha and Hyuga, just consider how the other clans in the village would react if he were to take action against these two ninja clans?

And how would that old man who unconditionally supported his rise to the position of Hokage feel?

Therefore, he chose to ignore Shimura Danzō's words entirely.

"Hmph! Hiruzen, it seems the power of the Hokage has made you weak! Hiruzen, you will sooner or later regret this weakness born from power.

You can actually tolerate such a challenge to the authority of the Hokage... someone like you... someone like you... hah."

Shimura Danzō looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, then lowered his head and spoke in a low voice, though the rest of his words remained unspoken.

Yet, the scenes from back then in the Land of Lightning kept surfacing in Shimura Danzō's mind.

If... if only he had been the one to speak up first... Master Tobirama...

"Enough, Danzō, I am the Hokage."

Watching the head-bowed Shimura Danzō, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally understood what he was thinking, but... some things simply could not be explained.

For a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only speak in a deep voice, choosing to force Shimura Danzō to face reality.

This... was merely to prevent his dear friend from walking down the wrong path.

"Yes... you are the Hokage, but I can see the future after you make this choice, Hiruzen. You will regret it."

Hearing this, Shimura Danzō raised his head as if seeing this friend for the first time. After watching him for a while, Shimura Danzō looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with indifference, spoke softly, and then turned to leave.

Watching Shimura Danzō depart, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth but didn't make a sound, simply taking a silent puff of his pipe.

The glowing red embers flickered in the swirling smoke.

"Sigh..."

Ninja Academy.

The scene that had just unfolded caused all the students to fix their gazes on Uchiha Gen. Now, beyond just the eyes of the girls, even the boys had all turned their attention toward him.

For a time, Uchiha Gen, the center of focus, could only silently accept the reality of the situation.

As for the other protagonist of this farce, he had already been taken home by his younger brother.

In the afternoon.

Ino Sarutobi led all the students to the training ground.

"The afternoon lesson is shuriken throwing. Many of you should have already received relevant training before enrollment.

However, there are certainly those who haven't, so listen carefully! To throw a shuriken, we must first understand what a shuriken is. Watch this..."

Ino Sarutobi took out several shuriken and explained them to the students in great detail, including how to exert force from the wrist and some basic throwing techniques. While explaining, Ino Sarutobi also threw a few to demonstrate.

"That's how it's done. Now it's your turn for practical application. Five shuriken each. Furthermore, I will record your scores for this session and compare them with your next training session. Shikaku Nara, you go first."

Ino Sarutobi clapped his hands with a stern face and looked at the uninterested Shikaku Nara in the crowd.

"Yes, what a drag... why do I have to be first?"

Shikaku Nara responded listlessly and walked out of the ranks to stand beside Ino Sarutobi.

After standing still, a wooden target was placed ten meters in front of him.

Picking up a special training shuriken from the side, Shikaku Nara weighed it lightly.

What a drag. Old man, oh old man, I think you lied to me. This class doesn't seem as easy as you said. What kind of student starts learning this right after school begins? Shouldn't we be learning the history of Konoha and that Will of Fire first?

Looking at the shuriken in his palm, Shikaku Nara flicked his wrist with force, and the shuriken shot toward the wooden target.

And then...

"Missed! Continue."

"4 points, 3 points, 2 points, 1... 1 point?"

Looking at the shuriken left on the wooden target, Ino Sarutobi couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth as he looked at Shikaku Nara standing to the side.

With scores like these, combined with what he knew of the Nara Clan's personality, it was hard to imagine if this guy, who looked like he was thinking, "Teacher, why haven't you switched to someone else yet," was hiding his true skill.

"Next."

The Ino-Shika-Cho of this generation, the parents of the future Twelve Genin, their strength is weak, but their foundation in shuriken throwing is very solid.

Is it because they haven't mastered their clan's secret techniques yet that they haven't been recognized by the Mist Space? Or is he... just too lazy?

In the crowd, Uchiha Gen watched Shikaku Nara, who looked like he was thinking "finally it's over" after finishing his throws, with great interest. When it came to playing with shuriken, no one could surpass the Uchiha.

He could tell that Shikaku Nara was indeed hiding his skill.

The intelligence of the Nara... it seems worth making contact. The Uchiha's brain, it really isn't enough.

Watching Shikaku Nara return to the crowd, the corner of Uchiha Gen's mouth curled up.

What he planned to do required talent, and the people of the Nara Clan were standard high-intelligence talent.

"So amazing! Nine points in a row! Just a little bit away from a perfect score."

Just as Uchiha Gen was staring at Shikaku Nara, a cry of surprise erupted from the crowd. Uchiha Gen turned his head to look and saw Minato Namikaze standing before a wooden target.

"Not bad, excellent accuracy. Judging by your stance while holding the shuriken, this should be your first time. To have such precision on your first throw is quite impressive."

Looking at the little blond boy, Ino Sarutobi nodded with a smile.

As a Jonin, Ino Sarutobi could tell at a glance that Minato Namikaze's shuriken-holding posture was a "perfect" imitation of his own.

Combined with Minato Namikaze's status as a commoner and recalling the instructions given to him by the Third Hokage, Ino Sarutobi felt quite pleased and offered a word of praise.

So, he's scouting for commoner geniuses? I didn't expect him to find one so quickly.

"You may step down now. Forty-five points—hmm, the highest score so far. Next, Uchiha Gen."

"The Uchiha's shuriken technique..."

Holding the roster, Ino Sarutobi's gaze landed on Uchiha Gen.

Ino Sarutobi felt quite helpless regarding Uchiha Gen; the boy had beaten up everyone in his class immediately after enrolling, and then, at noon, he had thrashed the young clan head of the Hyuga, nearly sparking a full-blown conflict between the Uchiha and Hyuga clans right inside the school.

A student like this could no longer be described simply as a troublemaker.