God Robe

Two days later, the list of accepted students was announced.

As expected, Minato had successfully been admitted.

It was worth mentioning that the requirements for entering the Ninja Academy weren't actually very high.

First: a deep love for the village and a sense of belonging.

Second: mental resilience.

Third: sound mind and body...

Simply put, as long as someone was a "respectable child" of Konoha, they basically met the requirements for admission.

But meeting the requirements didn't mean they were guaranteed a place.

That was because most of the applicants were ordinary people without the talent to become ninja.

Outside the school, many children burst into tears, sobbing loudly, while others left with their parents, looking dejected.

Of course, there were also people like Naoto Tsuchiya, who was extremely frustrated. He felt he'd only fallen a little short of the people on the list, and planned to go back, spend a year improving himself, then take the exam again.

"That's amazing, Minato!"

Nawaki excitedly pumped his fist. "You got in!"

As soon as he'd spoken, he noticed Minato and Tsunade looking at him with exasperated expressions.

Nawaki froze for a moment. Then, thinking of Minato's talent for two bloodline limits, he gave an awkward laugh.

"Well... it's not exactly surprising, but it's definitely something worth celebrating."

Tsunade smiled and ruffled Nawaki's hair. "These past two days, Minato's either been training or cooking. Let's celebrate by taking it easy today!"

"Taking it easy..."

Nawaki looked at Tsunade hesitantly. "You don't mean going shopping with you, do you? Or gambling or something..."

"What are you talking about? Why would I take a kid to a casino?"

Tsunade flicked Nawaki on the forehead. "I'm planning to take you two to buy some new clothes, then have a big meal and soak in a hot spring or something. Of course, if you don't want to..."

"I want to! I really want to!"

Nawaki flashed a toothy grin and hurried to assure her, "I knew my big sister was the best!"

"Heh, enough of that!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes at him, then turned to Minato. "What do you want for lunch?"

"Hmm... sukiyaki?"

Minato thought it over. He was in the mood for Sichuan hot pot, but there was nothing like that in the Shinobi World, and he didn't know how to make it, so he'd have to settle for something similar.

"Great! Sukiyaki it is! I know a place that makes really good sukiyaki!"

Tsunade waved her hand. "Now—let's head to the shopping district!"

"Yeah—!!"

Nawaki pumped his fist, full of enthusiasm.

When the two looked his way, Minato awkwardly raised his fist too. "...Yeah!"

The three of them went to a clothing store in the shopping district. The shop looked a little old, and the owner seemed to be in her fifties.

Tsunade ushered Minato forward and said to the owner, "Hello. Could you help me pick out a few outfits for this boy?"

"Oh my, what a handsome young man..."

The owner smiled as she looked Minato over. "What colors do you like to wear, young man?"

"Black and white..."

Minato answered politely. He wasn't very good at putting outfits together, but you couldn't go wrong with black and white.

"I thought only teenage boys dressed like that. Isn't it a little early for you? Kids should wear bright, lively colors."

The owner chuckled, but despite what she'd said, she still picked out a plain white T-shirt for Minato. "How about this?"

"It's too plain."

Tsunade shook her head before Minato could say anything.

Minato glanced at her. "Um... actually, I think it's pretty nice."

"What would a kid know about picking clothes?"

Tsunade immediately put on an ugly adult's face, lifting her chin as she glanced at Minato. "We're doing it my way!"

As if! There was no way she'd pass up the chance to dress up such a cute boy.

Even a tomboy like her had a girl's instincts!

"Then how about black?"

The owner brought over another T-shirt, this one black.

"This one could work."

Tsunade gestured for Minato to go change. Minato smiled helplessly and went into the fitting room.

It was only a T-shirt, so he came out again in no time. The deep black made his blond hair look even brighter, and gave him a more striking air than before.

"Not bad. We'll take it!"

Tsunade's eyes lit up. She gave a casual wave, striking the pose of a powerful businesswoman. "Pick out a few more for him!"

Nawaki glanced at the two of them, then tiptoed behind a clothing rack and quietly picked out some outfits he liked.

Meanwhile, Tsunade led Minato around like a puppet, making him try on one outfit after another.

"Orange looks great! It makes him seem so energetic!"

"Absolutely! But the boy is good-looking, too. I doubt it would look this good on anyone else."

"Wrap it up!"

"Oh? The blue looks great, too. It gives me the feeling of sunshine and beaches..."

"You have such a good eye!"

"Wrap it up!"

After buying several outfits, Tsunade looked at Minato and furrowed her brow slightly.

For some reason, even though Minato looked good in everything, she kept feeling that something was missing.

It was difficult to put into words, like an itch she couldn't scratch, and it was making her increasingly restless.

Minato glanced at the pile of shopping bags and tried to persuade her. "Sensei, this is more than enough. We'll have to buy more when I grow taller."

"No, just wait a little longer..."

Tsunade casually picked up a pale green sweatshirt and held it up against Minato, then shook her head and put it back. Her fingers idly sifted through the clothes on the rack.

Suddenly, she stopped. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a passing Uchiha outside the shop window. The instant her gaze fell on the high-collared sweatshirt, it was as if a current ran through her. She turned to the owner, excitement on her face.

"Do you have anything with a high collar?"

"...I do."

The owner looked Minato over thoughtfully.

She seemed to have suddenly figured out what Tsunade was going for.

Before long, she brought over a white coat.

The fabric wasn't thick, and felt light. It had an open front with no buttons, a slightly raised collar, and relatively short sleeves, while its length was about the same as an ordinary coat.

Minato couldn't help freezing when he saw the garment in the owner's hands.

Aside from its length, the coat's overall design looked exactly like Yondaime's God Robe in the original story!

"Try it on. My eye for this stuff is never wrong!"

The owner looked at Minato, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Minato nodded and was about to take the coat, but she suddenly picked up a black long-sleeved shirt hanging nearby and handed him both. "Change into these together."

A short while later, Minato came out of the fitting room in his new clothes. The two women in the shop were visibly excited.

"That's exactly the look!"

Tsunade ushered Minato in front of the full-length mirror. Looking at his reflection, Minato also froze slightly.

At that moment, he could almost see Yondaime from the original story standing there—a child-sized version.

"He's so cool!!"

Behind the clothing rack in the next row, Nawaki had just finished picking out his clothes. When he saw Minato, he couldn't help standing there in a daze.

"Is that the God Robe?"

(Note: The original story doesn't actually use the term "God Robe." That name comes from the setting of a derivative work.

In the original story, what the Fourth Hokage wore was actually a type of haori. The author made an assumption here and got it wrong, so I can only go along with it and use a special-style haori as an alternate-universe setting. I'm truly sorry, everyone.)

"That's right, the God Robe..."

The owner chuckled. "I told you my eye for this stuff was never wrong. After all, I embroidered the haori worn by every Hokage, stitch by stitch."

"Huh—?!!"

It wasn't just Tsunade and Nawaki. Even Minato was stunned.