Ninja Academy Opens

If common ninjas have the ability, they can also lead their small families to become powerhouses in Konoha and slowly form a clan; this is not an impossible dream, and it is the very reason they send their children to the Ninja Academy.

"Isn't that Lord Fujima? Why has he come to the Ninja Academy as well?"

"Don't you know? The news spread everywhere yesterday; Lord Fujima is entering the Ninja Academy to study today!"

"What? How did I not hear about this? If only my daughter could be in the same class as Lord Fujima, maybe something could happen between them."

"What are you thinking? Lord Fujima is already engaged to someone from the Uchiha Clan; how could he possibly be with your little girl? Stop dreaming."

"What? That is such a pity. If only our girl could catch the eye of Lord Fujima, how wonderful that would be!"

Many parents sending their children to school felt a deep sense of shock upon seeing Senju Fujima. Many of them had witnessed his strength; such a powerhouse, at the very least a Jonin-level combatant, was actually coming to attend school.

However, this did not stop them from fantasizing that if their daughters could catch Senju Fujima's favor, they might truly be able to fly up the branch and turn into a phoenix.

"Brother Fujima, over here!"

Just then, a young boy on the school grounds who looked somewhat like Tobirama Senju waved at him and shouted happily.

"Little Monkey? Why are you here?"

Senju Fujima looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi—the future Third Hokage—in front of him, paused slightly, and walked over slowly to ask.

"Heh heh! My dad told me to come. He said I should attend school, though I didn't really want to at first!"

"But when my dad said Brother Fujima would be here too, I came right over."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had a spiky hairstyle identical to Tobirama Senju's, save for the color—perhaps influenced by the Sarutobi Clan's hair color—and he wore a blue round-neck short-sleeved shirt as he smiled at Senju Fujima.

"Ugh, you brat, how has your strength improved lately?"

Senju Fujima looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had come to school simply because he was here; was he supposed to be grateful for such great honor?

By relation, Hiruzen Sarutobi was his younger cousin, the future Third Hokage. Although his later actions were indeed lackluster, one had to admit that his leadership ability was quite strong.

"I've been practicing the ninjutsu Brother Fujima taught me during this time. Killing a Jonin is no problem at all now, heh heh!"

Hearing Senju Fujima's question, Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed proudly. Hiruzen Sarutobi was only eight years old now, and possessing the strength of a Jonin was already quite impressive.

It was not that ninjas in this era improved their strength quickly; rather, becoming a Jonin at eight years old in this era made one a genius among geniuses.

Even among the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan, those who could possess Jonin-level strength at eight years old could be counted on one's fingers.

Moreover, the strength of a Jonin in this era could not be compared to that of later generations; a Jonin from this era was at least equivalent to a semi-Kage level in the future.

This was because their combat experience was forged in mountains of corpses and seas of blood. While there were Great Ninja Wars in later periods, the frequency was ultimately quite low.

In this era, however, they were fighting every single day—if they weren't fighting, they were on their way to a fight. There was simply no free time; a clan that didn't fight dozens of wars a year was considered a trash-tier clan.

This was also why the number of ninja inheritors in clans during the Warring States period dwindled; they simply could not grow in number.

During the Great Ninja Wars, however, armies of thousands or tens of thousands of ninjas were common; that was the difference.

"Hmm, killing a Jonin? Your strength has improved well."

"Next time, Brother will give you something good that is guaranteed to make your strength soar."

Senju Fujima was slightly surprised as he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder before speaking.

"Heh heh! It's really not easy to get praise from Brother Fujima!"

"Ahahaha...!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was a proud youth in front of others, but in front of his cousin, his genius was nothing at all. Hearing his praise was truly a rare treat.

"Hiruzen."

"Hiruzen."

Just then, several others walked over. They were about the same age as Hiruzen Sarutobi and seemed to be acquaintances.

"Yo, Danzo, Homura, Koharu, you guys are here too?"

Hearing someone call him, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly turned around and saw two boys and a girl walking toward him.

These three were the future elders of the Konoha Elder Council. It seemed they already knew each other; no wonder their relationship was so good later on, and they all became elders.

Aside from Danzo, who still possessed some strength, the strength of the other two was indeed lacking. Of course, this was also because Danzo had transplanted Hashirama cells and the Sharingan; otherwise, their strength would have been about the same.

"Heh heh! That's right!"

"This is my first time at school, and when I heard you were here, I ran right over."

Mitokado Homura looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and laughed.

If you can't find it by the book title, try searching by the author; perhaps the name was just changed!

"So it's these three fellows, heh!"

Seeing the three of them, Senju Fujima curled his lips slightly and muttered to himself.

"Is going to school that exciting?"

"Let me introduce you all. This is my Brother Fujima. He is the young clan leader of the Senju Clan, and his strength is incredibly powerful. You are all so lucky to be able to meet him today."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not particularly interested in school, so he hurriedly introduced Senju Fujima to his few close friends.

"What? He is Senju Fujima? He looks so handsome."

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's introduction, Utatane Koharu, only eight years old but already a little beauty, saw her idol for the first time, a flicker of admiration flashing through her eyes.

Do not be fooled by her later appearance as an old hag; in her youth, she was a flower of Konoha. Especially when the Second Hokage chose to stay behind to cover their retreat, her appearance at that time was no less stunning than any other woman's.

She possessed a cool head, a tall figure, and carried the air of a very mature, sophisticated woman.

"Wow, so you are Lord Fujima! Hello, Lord Fujima, my name is Mitokado Homura. It is a pleasure to meet you."

When Mitokado Homura heard that the person before him was actually Senju Fujima, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.

"Mm, hello."

Senju Fujima looked at him and replied indifferently.

"Lord Fujima, I... my name is Utatane Koharu. It is a... a pleasure to meet you."

Utatane Koharu looked at Senju Fujima and spoke with some shyness, her bashful demeanor quite cute.

She has some charm, a delicate beauty, heh!

Senju Fujima looked at the Utatane Koharu before him, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Mm, it is a pleasure to meet you too."

Senju Fujima then looked at Utatane Koharu and smiled faintly.

Wow, Lord Fujima is so gentle. I feel like my heart is melting; I like him so much!

Seeing Senju Fujima being so gentle, Utatane Koharu felt as if she were adrift in an ocean of love, unable to extricate herself. Her heart raced, her face flushed red, and she thought to herself with some shyness.

"Tch."

Seeing everyone crowding around Senju Fujima, the competitive Shimura Danzō felt nothing but disdain. He did not believe he was inferior to Senju Fujima, so he curled his lip and remained silent.

Hmph, what's so great about him? Isn't it just because he has a good father? If it weren't for your father, what would you even be?

Acting like the center of the universe, it's disgusting to watch. That arrogant look of his is truly repulsive.

Danzō was prone to jealousy. He felt he was no worse than Senju Fujima, so why did everyone revolve around him?

Yet, he didn't even have a single person around him to offer praise. He convinced himself that Senju Fujima was nothing more than a man with a good father; without Hashirama Senju, he would be nothing.

This Danzō fellow certainly has a bit of arrogance. In my past life, I couldn't stand this look of yours. You really act like you're something special, tch.

Seeing Shimura Danzō's attitude, a flash of disdain crossed Senju Fujima's eyes. He couldn't look down on such a person enough.

He had loathed him while watching the anime, and seeing him now, he felt even more disgust. He truly wanted to walk over and give him a sound beating.

"Ding! Detecting the host's inner disgust, God Selection System activated."

[Option 1: Kill Shimura Danzō. As the culprit who plagued Konoha for generations, his death is necessary to appease the public. Reward upon completion: The Shimura Clan leaves Konoha, a mixed doubles beatdown from Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and the host becomes a Konoha rogue ninja.]

[Option 2: Cripple Shimura Danzō. Since you cannot kill him, then cripple him so he never dares to emerge and wreak havoc on the world again, satisfying the wishes of all the readers behind the screen. Reward upon completion: The wrath of the Shimura Clan, a mixed doubles beatdown from Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, plus becoming a Konoha rogue ninja.]

[Option 3: Give Shimura Danzō a sound beating. Since the two options above are both dangerous, choose this last, relatively safe solution. Reward upon completion: Danzō's wrath, and being marked as his eternal enemy.]

[You must make a choice. If no choice is made, this God Selection opportunity will vanish, and the host's chakra will be reduced by half.]

Just because Senju Fujima felt contempt for Shimura Danzō, the system had detected it, and all three options were terrible—a trap within a trap.

"Pfft...!"

"System, you really aren't happy unless you're torturing me, are you?"

"What is the difference between one and two? You want me to become a rogue ninja and get beaten up? Is this multiple-choice question meant for an idiot?"

"And what the hell is that last option?"

"Better to offend a gentleman than a villain. You won't let me kill him, and then you want me to keep a villain by my side to plot against me every day?"

"You won't even let me give up, and you're going to deduct my chakra...!"

"You're ruthless, I'll give you that...!"

Senju Fujima deeply suspected that this system was designed specifically to deal with him. It gave him no benefits and kept throwing these kinds of things at him, truly relentless.

But there was no help for it! Disaster strikes from the blue while one sits at home.

There was a penalty for not choosing, so what could he do? He had no choice but to pick one.