Danzo's Mission

The first class of the school day was an explanation of chakra.

The second class was dedicated to familiarizing students with the twelve common hand seals.

Each class lasted forty minutes, and there were only these two sessions in the morning.

The afternoon also consisted of two classes: one for literacy and one for drawing.

This felt incredible to Minato; if one excluded the ninja-specific curriculum, the schedule was almost identical to an elementary school, and in fact, there were even fewer classes per day!

However, although the curriculum was sparse, the knowledge taught was comprehensive and packed with substance.

The teaching assistant for the second class didn't just teach the twelve standard hand seals; they also explained the characteristics of the five elemental release techniques, such as how the final seal for Fire Release is usually the Tiger seal.

They also covered how to train one's hand seal speed and the different ways chakra flows through the body when forming different seals.

This reminded him of the Chunin Exams arc in the original series, where while everyone else was cheating using various methods, only Sakura was honestly answering the questions—and she actually solved them all!

During the Chunin Exams, Sasuke was established as having the highest overall grades among the graduates, yet he couldn't answer a single question.

Looking at it this way, both the school and the village clearly placed more emphasis on a ninja's practical combat performance.

But Minato felt that theoretical knowledge was by no means as useless as it appeared in the original series.

Take, for example, the Cursed Seal researched by Orochimaru.

This thing was very similar to the Karma of the Otsutsuki Clan; it could even be considered a budget version of Karma.

This led Minato to a question: was the original Otsutsuki Clan born this powerful?

That shouldn't be the case.

The descendants of Hamura Otsutsuki, the brother of the Sage of Six Paths, who lived on the moon, should have had quite pure bloodlines, yet they only displayed the Byakugan as a trait.

Therefore, Minato formed a hypothesis.

The original Otsutsuki Clan might have been similar to humans, only gradually evolving to their current state through constant research into chakra.

And their method of evolution was planting the God Tree, using it to absorb natural chakra and refining it into pills—this was information he knew before he transmigrated.

Could humans follow a similar path?

For instance, by creating a medium like the God Tree capable of absorbing natural chakra.

Then, through some sort of program, convert natural energy into chakra that the human body could absorb, thereby completing an evolution.

Minato felt the feasibility was quite high!

Later on, he could trick... suggest that Orochimaru conduct research in this direction.

In fact, within the ninja world, Orochimaru was the easiest to satisfy.

He only wanted eternal life, and in terms of the chakra system, that was not an impossible feat.

It was just a pity that he was blinded by desire, with his mind solely focused on possessing the bodies of others.

How could a body taken through possession be as suitable as one cultivated and cloned by oneself?

During the two afternoon classes, Minato barely listened, his mind filled with concepts for chakra technology.

The school bell rang.

"Class dismissed!"

The moment the teacher's voice fell, Minato's figure vanished from the classroom instantly.

He had already experienced how troublesome the girls in his class could be; if he didn't leave quickly, he would surely be pestered again.

He went to the third-year floor and took a look, finding that Nawaki and the others were still in class, so Minato left first.

As expected, the upperclassmen couldn't have only four classes a day like the freshmen.

Just as Minato was thinking this, he suddenly saw a familiar figure at the school gate.

"Teacher Tsunade, why are you here?"

"To pick you up, of course!"

Tsunade chuckled and flicked Minato's forehead lightly with her finger.

"I don't need to tell you how special your status is, right? Not just today, but likely for the next few years, I will be the one to pick you up. Even if I can't get away, someone else will come for you, unless I decide your strength is enough to handle certain dangers."

Minato nodded: "Sorry for the trouble, Teacher."

"You certainly have a sweet tongue."

Tsunade gave a light huff, the corners of her mouth curling up imperceptibly: "Nawaki never got this kind of treatment back in the day! Don't you think you should reward me properly?"

"What would you like to eat, Teacher?"

Minato immediately understood what Tsunade meant.

"Hehe, sensible~ Besides stir-fries, can you make anything else?"

Tsunade licked her lips: "I've been eating stir-fries for several days now; I want to eat something different."

"How about grilled meat?"

"BBQ, huh... I don't really feel much anticipation for that."

"My cooking skills are actually quite decent; would you like to give it a try?"

"Oh—?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow: "Since you're so confident, then fine, I'll give you a chance to show off~"

The two locked eyes, then both burst into laughter.

At the entrance of the school building, Nono watched this scene from afar, a hint of envy in her eyes.

She quickly suppressed that flicker of longing and walked alone toward the outskirts of the village.

Before long, she arrived at a concealed underground base.

Guided by a ninja wearing an animal mask and Anbu attire, she was led to a room in the deepest part of the facility.

"Lord Danzo."

Nono looked at the man in the room with cautious apprehension.

"How is the mission progressing?"

Danzo sat upright beside a low table.

"I have successfully made contact with the target."

Thinking of that sunny, clean face, Nono felt a pang of guilt; Minato had guessed correctly, she was indeed sent to his side by Danzo.

"The target arrived at the class right on time and, by coincidence, sat next to me. For now, our interactions are quite harmonious."

"Well done."

Danzo nodded slightly, a trace of satisfaction flashing in his eyes: "Tell me, what is your impression of him?"

"He is an excellent person, far more excellent than I am."

Nono did not hesitate: "He is a very gentle and kind person."

"Kind..."

Danzo let out a hum of ambiguous laughter: "That is not something a ninja should possess, but that is fine. I have observed that child; he truly lacks the traits of people like us."

"Traits?"

Nono was puzzled.

"Some people are born to bask in the sunlight; even the shadows cannot obscure their radiance. Minato Namikaze is such a person. Even if the Third Hokage were to groom him as the next Hokage, I would not find it strange."

Danzo glanced at her, his tone rather complex.

"Such people are always too naive, especially when they possess great power... To prevent them from harming the village, this power must be constrained."

"And you are the bond that will constrain him. You and he are both orphans, but having grown up in an orphanage, you can see the reality and darkness that he cannot. This has granted you a more rational mind than other children; in that sense, we are the same kind of people."

Nono fell silent.

She actually wanted to say, who is the same kind of person as you? The only thing dark here is you, you old geezer!

Of course, she only thought this to herself.

As an orphan, she had no right to express her true self in front of Danzo.

Nono remembered clearly that just a few days ago, Danzo had suddenly appeared at her orphanage, claiming the village was selecting children with exceptional talent for special training.

In the end, because of her sweet appearance and calm, quiet personality, she was chosen by Danzo and brought to Root.

And the mission Danzo gave her was simple.

No matter what, she had to establish an inseparable emotional bond with the target, Minato Namikaze!