The Third Hokage's Assignment

As soon as class ended, the girls in the class immediately swarmed around Minato.

"Hey, Minato, want to have lunch together? My mom makes really good bento!"

"No, thanks. I brought my own..."

"Minato, where do you live? Want to walk home together after school?"

"Sorry, I'm going home with a friend, so it wouldn't be convenient..."

The smile on Minato's face was a little strained. The girls were so direct about showing their affection that even he was starting to find it annoying.

"Could you all make way for a moment? I need to use the restroom."

"Oh, I need to go too!"

"Then we're going the same way. Let's all go together."

The girls chattered among themselves. Minato could only steel himself and leave the classroom, surrounded by a crowd of them.

Only after everyone had left did another Minato quietly poke his head out from behind the teacher's desk.

"Huh? A clone? You've already mastered the Clone Technique?"

Shinnosuke stared at him in surprise.

Before school began, Minato had beaten him at Taijutsu, but Shinnosuke believed he could make up for it in other areas.

Ninjutsu, for instance!

As the Hokage's son, he had mastered the Three Basic Techniques before school even started. He had even learned the Dragon Fire Technique.

Sure, it wasn't very powerful—barely enough to burn firewood—but being able to perform a C-rank technique at the age of five was already impressive.

Minato nodded. "I've studied a little."

"Damn, I couldn't beat you in this, either?"

Shinnosuke looked frustrated, then quickly became eager to fight again. "Let's have another match sometime!"

"Definitely next time."

Minato smiled, then turned and returned to his seat.

"Minato, you're amazing."

Nonō looked at him. "I didn't expect you to have already learned the Clone Technique. I'm not even very good at extracting chakra yet."

Minato smiled modestly. "I'm just a little more talented. If you practice hard, you can do it too."

"Really?"

Nonō looked delighted. "I hope it's just like you said, Minato."

"Just call me Minato."

His smile was warm. "Would you mind calling me by my given name?"

Nonō nodded shyly.

By Shinobi World custom, only people who were close to each other called one another by their given names.

Of course, there were also girls like those lovestruck fangirls who tried to get closer to someone by using their given name.

But that was usually something girls did. If a boy did it, it could be taken as harassment, so he had to get the other person's permission first.

"I learned some ninjutsu before enrolling, so if there's anything you don't understand, Nonō, feel free to ask me."

Minato wasn't sure whether Nonō's appearance was a coincidence or had been deliberately arranged, but he thought he could cautiously test the waters.

Nonō looked a little embarrassed, but didn't refuse. "Then thank you, Minato."

"Don't mention it. Classmates should help each other, shouldn't they?"

Minato smiled brightly. His sunny expression made Nonō's cheeks turn faintly red.

"Helping each other, huh..."

In the Hokage Office Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat cross-legged on the tatami, pipe in his mouth and eyes full of approval.

Dressed in casual clothes, he watched the scene in Minato's classroom through the crystal ball in front of him.

A knock suddenly sounded at the door. Hiruzen dispelled the Telescope Technique, and the scene in the crystal ball vanished.

"Come in."

"Excuse me."

Ikkaku Umino entered the room and knelt on one knee. "Lord Hokage."

"Ah, Ikkaku."

Hiruzen asked cheerfully, "How did Shinnosuke do?"

"Shinnosuke's performance..."

Ikkaku hesitated for a moment. "He wasn't very focused. Perhaps because he'd studied before enrolling, he was distracted in class and paid most of his attention to Minato Namikaze."

"Hahaha, just as I thought."

Hiruzen helplessly patted his forehead. "He's still a child, after all. Getting a head start over his peers can easily make him arrogant. What about Minato?"

"He was very focused!"

When Ikkaku spoke of Minato, there was a note of praise in his voice. "He memorized everything taught in class, and he's very composed. He's just a little too gentle."

"Gentle, is he..."

Hiruzen's expression turned unreadable as he thought of one of his less-than-stellar pupils.

Two days earlier, Jiraiya had suddenly asked to go train at Mount Myōboku for a while.

At the time, Jiraiya had seemed different from any other time Hiruzen could remember.

He'd looked dejected and worn down, but there'd been more resolve and seriousness in his eyes than before.

Hiruzen had assumed he'd suffered some kind of setback, perhaps having Tsunade reject his confession.

So after agreeing to Jiraiya's request, Hiruzen had called Tsunade in.

He'd hoped to hear some gossip about his pupils, but instead Tsunade told him that Jiraiya had been completely rattled by Minato's retort!

When Hiruzen heard from Tsunade that Minato had said, "Who cares?" even he'd felt his face burn.

That boy wasn't as gentle as he seemed... He even had a bit of a sharp tongue.

At the thought, Hiruzen couldn't help laughing. "How is your Chakra Nature Transformation training coming along, Ikkaku?"

"I've mastered Earth Release's nature transformation, but I still need time to improve."

Caught off guard by the question about his training, Ikkaku looked nervous.

"Hmm... In that case, Ikkaku, I need you to make sure that boy gets a good education."

Hiruzen held his pipe in his mouth, pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"To be honest, Minato's talent is exceptional. Even my pupil Orochimaru falls short of him. That's exactly why he needs the right guidance."

"Eh? Me?"

Ikkaku looked astonished. "A talent even greater than Orochimaru's... I'm afraid I'm not capable of..."

"No, Tsunade is that boy's teacher. She'll guide his training."

Hiruzen grew serious. "With your qualifications, you should have been promoted to Special Jōnin by now. But when I reviewed your past mission records, I found that everyone who'd served on a team with you had rated you very highly."

"Frank, loyal, selfless, diligent, upright... That's why I transferred you to the Ninja Academy. I hope you can pass these precious qualities on to the next generation of students, especially Minato."

"That's also a little personal preference of mine, since Shinnosuke is in your class..."

"And to make up for the effect this has had on your promotion, I'll teach you some ninjutsu and help you train in a second Chakra Nature Transformation."

At that, Ikkaku's expression turned solemn. "Yes! I won't let you down!"

"There's no need to put so much pressure on yourself."

Hiruzen smiled with approval. "Minato has a fine character. If anything, Shinnosuke is the one I'm more concerned about."

"But no matter which child in your class it is, I want you to treat them fairly. Don't let your missions affect how you educate the other children."

"Yes!"