If ordinary ninjas were capable enough, they could lead their small families to become powerful in Konoha and gradually establish clans of their own. There was nothing wrong with that, either. That was why they sent their children to the Ninja Academy.
"Isn't that Lord Fujima? What's he doing at the Ninja Academy?"
"You haven't heard? The news spread everywhere yesterday. Lord Fujima is starting at the Ninja Academy today!"
"What? How come I didn't hear about that? If only my daughter could be in the same class as Lord Fujima and something happened between them..."
"What are you thinking? Lord Fujima is already engaged to someone from the Uchiha Clan. How could he get together with your little girl? Give it up."
"What? What a pity. If only my daughter could win Lord Fujima's favor. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Many parents who had brought their children to school were stunned to see Senju Fujima. Many of them had witnessed his strength firsthand. A powerhouse like him had to be at least a jonin, yet he was still coming to school.
But that didn't stop them from fantasizing. If one of their daughters won Senju Fujima's favor, perhaps she really could marry into a prestigious family!
"Fujima, over here!"
Just then, a little boy who looked a bit like Tobirama Senju waved at him from the school grounds and called out happily.
"Little Monkey? What are you doing here?"
Senju Fujima looked at the boy in front of him—Hiruzen Sarutobi, the future Third—and paused in surprise before walking over and asking him.
"Hehe! My dad told me to come. He said I should go to school. I didn't want to at first!"
"But Dad said you'd be here, Fujima, so I came."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had a head full of spiky hair, exactly like Tobirama Senju's, except for the color. Perhaps he had inherited the Sarutobi Clan's hair color. He wore a blue, round-necked short-sleeved shirt and smiled at Senju Fujima as he spoke.
"Uh, you rascal. How much has your strength improved lately?"
Senju Fujima looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi. He'd come to school just because Fujima would be here. Should Fujima feel grateful for being honored with such devotion?
By virtue of their relationship, Hiruzen Sarutobi was Fujima's younger cousin. He was also the future Third. Though he certainly didn't handle things well in his later years, there was no denying that he was a capable leader.
"I've been practicing the ninjutsu you taught me, Fujima. I can kill a jonin without any problem now. Hehe!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi heard Senju Fujima's question and proudly grinned. He was only eight years old, and already having the strength of a jonin was quite impressive.
It wasn't that ninjas in this era improved their strength quickly. Becoming a jonin at eight was a feat achieved by only the most exceptional prodigies.
Even among the Uchiha Clan and Senju Clan, the number of people who could reach jonin strength at eight could be counted on one hand.
And jonin in this era couldn't be compared to the jonin of later generations. At a minimum, they were as strong as the later era's pseudo-Kage.
After all, they had fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Though the Ninja World had wars in later years, they were relatively infrequent.
But in this era, they fought every single day. If they weren't fighting, they were on their way to a fight. A clan that didn't wage dozens of wars a year was a complete pushover.
That was also why the number of ninjas passed down through the clans during the Warring States Period kept dwindling. They simply couldn't grow their numbers.
By contrast, the great wars of the Ninja World featured armies of thousands or even tens of thousands of ninjas. That was the difference.
"Mm, you can kill a jonin? Your strength has improved nicely."
"Next time, I'll give you something good. I guarantee it'll make you much stronger."
Senju Fujima was a little surprised. He looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, reached out to pat him on the shoulder, and spoke.
"Hehe! It's not easy to get praise from you, Fujima!"
"Ahahaha...!"
In front of others, Hiruzen Sarutobi was a proud young prodigy. But in front of his older cousin, his talent was nothing special. So getting praised by him really was quite an achievement.
"Hiruzen."
"Hiruzen."
Just then, a few people came over. They were about the same age as Hiruzen Sarutobi, and seemed to know one another.
"Hey, Danzo, Homura, Koharu! You came too?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi heard someone call his name and quickly turned around. He saw two boys and a girl walking toward him.
These three would later become elders of the Konoha Elder Council. It seemed they already knew one another. No wonder they had such a close relationship later and all became elders.
Danzo was the only one among them with any real strength. The other two were noticeably weaker. Of course, that was because Danzo had transplanted Hashirama Cells and a Sharingan. Otherwise, they would have been about equal.
"Hehe! Yeah!"
"This is my first time at school. When I found out you were here too, I rushed right over."
Mitokado Homura looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and chuckled.
"Those three, huh? Heh."
Senju Fujima saw the trio and gave a faint, knowing smile.
"Are you really that happy to be going to school?"
"Let me introduce you. This is my older cousin, Fujima. He's the young clan head of the Senju Clan, and ridiculously strong. You're incredibly lucky to meet him today."
Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't particularly excited about school. He quickly introduced Senju Fujima to his friends.
"What? Is he Senju Fujima? He's so handsome."
After hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's introduction, Utatane Koharu—only eight years old herself and already a little beauty—looked at her idol for the first time, a hint of admiration flashing in her eyes.
Though she was an old woman later in life, in her youth she had been one of Konoha's great beauties. Especially when the Second Hokage chose to stay behind, her appearance then had been every bit as striking as any other woman's.
She had a cool head and a tall figure, and carried herself with the mature air of an elegant older woman.
"Wow, so you're Lord Fujima! It's an honor to meet you. My name is Mitokado Homura. I'm very happy to meet you."
When Mitokado Homura realized that the person in front of him was Senju Fujima, he hurried over to greet him.
"Mm, hello."
Senju Fujima replied coolly.
"Lord Fujima, I, I'm Utatane Koharu. I-it's very nice to meet you."
Utatane Koharu looked at Senju Fujima and spoke shyly. She was quite cute when she was bashful.
"She's quite pretty, with a delicate, sweet look. Heh."
Senju Fujima looked at Utatane Koharu and gave a faint smile.
"Mm, it's nice to meet you."
Senju Fujima then smiled at Utatane Koharu.
"Wow, Lord Fujima is so gentle. I feel like my heart is melting. I like him so much!"
Seeing how gentle Senju Fujima was, Utatane Koharu felt as if she were lost in a sea of love, unable to escape. Her heart raced, her cheeks flushed, and she thought shyly.
"Tch."
Seeing everyone crowd around Senju Fujima, Shimura Danzō looked down on him. Too proud to believe himself inferior, he pursed his lips without saying a word.
"Hmph, what's so great about him? He just has a good father. Without your dad, what would you be?"
"Everyone's fawning over you like you're the center of the world. It's disgusting to watch. You're so arrogant. You really get on my nerves."
Danzo was jealous. He didn't think he was any worse than Senju Fujima, so why did everyone flock to him?
Yet Danzo had no one around him to sing his praises. He figured Senju Fujima was nothing more than the son of a powerful man. Without Hashirama Senju, he'd be nobody.
"This Danzo's got a bit of a temper. I couldn't stand this attitude of his in my previous life. He acts like he's so amazing. Tch."
Senju Fujima saw the way Shimura Danzō was acting, and a trace of disdain flashed through his eyes. He couldn't stand someone like him.
He'd already hated Danzo when he watched the anime. Now that he'd met him in person, he hated him even more. He wanted to walk over and beat him up.
"Ding! The host's dislike has been detected. God Selection System activated."
[Option One: Kill Shimura Danzō. As the culprit responsible for bringing misery to generations of Konoha, he deserves to die to satisfy the public's outrage. Mission reward: The Shimura Clan leaves Konoha, a beating from Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and the host becomes a Konoha missing-nin.] [Option Two: Cripple Shimura Danzō. Since you can't kill him, cripple him so he'll never dare cause trouble again, fulfilling the wishes of all the dear readers watching. Mission reward: The Shimura Clan's wrath, a beating from Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and becoming a Konoha missing-nin.] [Option Three: Beat Shimura Danzō up. Since the first two options are so dangerous, choose the last, relatively safe way to deal with him. Mission reward: Danzo's wrath and being marked as his eternal enemy.] [You must make a choice! If you don't, this opportunity from the God Selection System will vanish, and the host's chakra will be reduced by half.]
Just because Senju Fujima couldn't stand Shimura Danzō, the system had detected his feelings again. None of the three options were any good. It was a complete trap.
"Pfft...!"
"System, are you not satisfied until you've tortured me to death?"
"What's the difference between options one and two? They both make me a missing-nin and get me beaten up. Is this multiple-choice question for idiots?"
"And what the hell is the last option?"
"It's better to offend a gentleman than a petty man. You won't let me kill him, then you want to leave a petty man by my side to scheme against me every day?"
"And you won't let me refuse, or you'll deduct my chakra...!"
"You win. You really win...!"
Senju Fujima deeply suspected that the system had been designed specifically to torment him. It had given him no benefits, just kept throwing this sort of nonsense at him. It was absolutely relentless.
But what could he do? He was just sitting at home when disaster fell from the sky.
There was a penalty for refusing to choose, too. What was he supposed to do? He had no choice but to pick one.
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