Overwhelming Namikaze Minato Head-On / Chapter 5: Please Watch Me Closely, Hiruzen Sarutobi

He spent his days helping out at his family's restaurant by frying tempura, and his free time reading books to broaden his knowledge and horizons.

The rest of the time, he trained as a ninja using the experience from Uchiha Itachi's Character Card.

Year 27 of Konoha passed just like that. The new year began, and Year 28 of Konoha arrived.

That year, Uchiha Chonhua turned five, reaching the age to enroll in the Ninja Academy.

When he said he wanted to study at the Ninja Academy, his father, Uchiha Ichiro, and his mother, Mie Uchiha, were a little surprised.

Few children in the Uchiha Clan chose to study at the Ninja Academy, but both the Military Police Force's assessment and the Ninja Academy's graduation exam were ninja assessments.

Both paths led to becoming a ninja.

Uchiha Ichiro and Mie Uchiha didn't object. Since their son wanted to study at the Ninja Academy, then he could go.

Chapter 4: Overwhelming Namikaze Minato Head-On

For civilians who enrolled in the Ninja Academy, there were three ways to do so: pay tuition, attend for free as an orphan of a Konoha ninja who had died in the line of duty, or demonstrate exceptional ability and earn a tuition waiver as a top student.

So how would Uchiha Chonhua, a child from a ninja clan, enroll in the Ninja Academy?

Answer: He could enroll for free, no questions asked.

That's right. Uchiha Chonhua could simply register with the Ninja Academy, then enroll for free without taking an exam.

Children from ninja clans were different from civilian children. They had several paths to becoming ninjas, and the vast majority learned within their own clans.

It was just like the Uchiha Military Police Force's assessment.

Not many children from ninja clans chose to study at the Ninja Academy, which gave Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi a headache.

He could give speeches at the Ninja Academy and teach a few lessons to build closer ties with the students. Some of them were civilians, of course, but he also hoped to have children from ninja clans among them.

He couldn't let the Will of Fire be something only civilians got to hear about. Children from ninja clans, you listen up too!

So the Third Hokage directly allowed children from ninja clans to attend the Ninja Academy without tuition or an entrance exam.

Uchiha Chonhua sat in a corner of the classroom, watching his future classmates—some familiar, some not—get to know one another.

The familiar ones were the parents of the future Konoha 12.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio: Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, and Choza Akimichi.

Then there was Hizashi Hyuga, with bandages wrapped around his head and a pair of crystalline white eyes.

There were also Shibi Aburame, Tsume Inuzuka, and others.

And his deskmate, Mikoto Uchiha.

There weren't many members of the Uchiha Clan at the school. Having two Uchiha children in one class was already quite rare.

Mikoto Uchiha brightened when she spotted someone from her clan in this unfamiliar place and hurried over.

Uchiha Chonhua turned to look at the girl beside him. Her smooth, ink-black hair fell like silk down her back.

Her expression was serene, her manner gentle, and her eyes were as dark as his own obsidian ones.

Uchiha Chonhua studied her delicate features and fair, jade-like skin, quietly admiring her.

She was already growing into a pretty, charming girl at such a young age.

Mikoto Uchiha asked curiously, "I know who you are. You're the tempura shop's kid. Why did you choose the Ninja Academy?"

She meant to ask why he hadn't chosen to take the Military Police Force's ninja assessment.

Uchiha Chonhua asked in return, "Then why did you choose the Ninja Academy?"

"Hmm." Mikoto Uchiha thought for a moment. "Dad told me to come."

So she had come.

Mikoto Uchiha's father? Uchiha Chonhua knew who that was.

He was the current clan leader's right-hand man: Uchiha Lutai, a trusted aide to Uchiha Shohei.

The Uchiha Clan did have elders, but their role was mostly honorary.

In a clan that revered strength, it wasn't easy for elders to rely on seniority to command respect. So power in the Uchiha Clan rested in the hands of the strongest.

Without question, the strongest was the clan leader, Uchiha Shohei. His right-hand men were the second- and third-strongest.

That was how they kept the often unruly Uchiha Clan from rebelling and got them to obey.

"I answered your question. Now it's your turn to answer mine."

"My dad told me to come."

Uchiha Chonhua gave her a casual, evasive answer.

"You too?" His answer made Mikoto Uchiha feel they were in the same boat.

"I actually wanted to join the Military Police Force. Do you know Fugaku?"

The clan leader's son, Uchiha Fugaku? Of course he did.

The Ninja Emperor who kept enduring until his entire clan was gone.

"I watched Fugaku's ninja assessment. He defeated all the other clan members." Mikoto Uchiha sounded full of admiration.

"Lots of people praised him. Fugaku was so impressive."

"The clan leader said to him..." Mikoto Uchiha imitated the clan leader's voice. "'As expected of my son. Well done.'"

"I want Dad to say that to me too."

The Uchiha family's signature "As expected of my son." Now that he thought about it, his father, Uchiha Ichiro, had never said that to him.

"But you came to the Ninja Academy."

Uchiha Chonhua's words brought Mikoto Uchiha back from her admiration, and she looked a little dejected. "Well, you still have to listen to your dad."

Uchiha Chonhua tried to comfort her. "Don't worry. If you can get first place in class, your dad will say the same thing to you: 'As expected of my daughter. Well done.'"

Mikoto Uchiha nodded firmly. "You're right. I'll become first in class and make Dad see me in a new light."

Then you'll never hear it in your life.

This class was full of hidden talents.

Uchiha Chonhua casually let his gaze pass over one boy's face.

Golden hair, azure eyes, and somewhat feminine features.

He was speaking warmly with a classmate he'd just met. As if sensing someone watching him, he followed the gaze.

When he saw that it belonged to a classmate from the Uchiha Clan—Uchiha Chonhua, if he remembered correctly—Namikaze Minato gave him a nod. Uchiha Chonhua smiled back at him in a friendly way.

That surprised him, so he returned the friendly smile.

Namikaze Minato. A formidable rival on his path to becoming Hokage.

He'd looked into Namikaze Minato's background. His parents had died on a mission, and he'd been taken in by Konoha's official orphanage.

He was already entitled to free enrollment as an orphan of Konoha ninjas who had died in the line of duty. Yet Namikaze Minato's record showed that he'd entered the Ninja Academy as a top student on the strength of his own abilities.

As a result, quite a few students had their eyes on Namikaze Minato.

Seriously, he'd been exceptional since childhood. A natural big shot.

[Host, should we just get rid of Namikaze Minato?]

The system's sudden suggestion left Uchiha Chonhua speechless.

Get rid of Namikaze Minato? The system really could come up with anything. The odds of success weren't low, but the odds of failure were even higher.

He didn't know if Jiraiya had taken Namikaze Minato as his student yet. Probably not, but he clearly thought highly of him.

Konoha's official orphanage was different from the semi-official, semiprivate orphanages on its outskirts, like the church where Yakushi Kabuto lived.

Konoha took good care of the orphans of its fallen ninjas. For one thing, it showed the world how well it treated their families after their deaths. For another, they were a source of future ninjas.

So the higher-ups would often send ninjas to teach the children of fallen ninjas.

If nothing unexpected happened, Jiraiya would have met Namikaze Minato under those circumstances.

It was quite possible, since Jiraiya had also grown up in Konoha's orphanage. He would surely have given back to the place that had taken him in.

In other words, Namikaze Minato already had Jiraiya backing him, and behind Jiraiya stood Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He'd never learned how to kill anyone. Even if he succeeded, the chance of someone finding clues and exposing him was much higher.

Killing Namikaze Minato while he was still a child would be high-risk, even if the odds were decent. And as for when he'd grown up, outside the village, on the battlefield...

Namikaze Minato would grow stronger, especially after he learned the Flying Thunder God Technique. At that point, trying to kill him would be practically a fool's dream.

Unless he went looking for death himself, like when he sealed the Nine-Tails.

"I'd rather crush him head-on with overwhelming force."

That was Uchiha Chonhua's answer.

Chapter 5: Please Watch Me Closely, Hiruzen Sarutobi

"I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next five years. My name is Kinoshita Ryoichi. I look forward to working with you."

He wore a Chunin flak jacket, with a Konoha Headband tied around his left arm. His appearance was ordinary, but pleasant enough. He didn't seem like someone anyone would dislike.

"You should have gotten to know some of your classmates already," Teacher Kinoshita said with a gentle smile. "But I don't know much about you yet. So, why don't you introduce yourselves?"

"And tell me about your dreams too. I'd like to hear them."

With that, Teacher Kinoshita gestured for the student on the left to begin.

"My name's Tsume Inuzuka, and this is Kuro-maru."

Tsume Inuzuka patted the little dog beside her. The dog named Kuro-maru barked.

"My dream is to get more dogs. I want to raise them into the strongest Ninja Dogs!"

"That's an admirable dream."

Teacher Kinoshita praised her, then gestured for the next student to stand and introduce themselves.

After one classmate after another finished, it was soon Namikaze Minato's turn.

Namikaze Minato wore a warm smile. There was something infectious about it; seeing it made people feel warm inside.

It was like the sun shining down on the earth, bringing life back to the world.

That sun-bright smile was a powerful weapon.

Uchiha Chonhua tried it out himself. It made Mikoto Uchiha glance over at him, her eyes filled with admiration.

If Namikaze Minato's smile was like the sun, then Uchiha Chonhua's was like a gleam of moonlight—noble and cool, like an immortal banished from the heavens.

Uchiha Chonhua was already handsome enough to have caught the attention of many girls in the class. The moment he gave them that moonlit smile, the girls watching him felt their hearts skip a beat.

Uchiha Chonhua looked at the girls whose cheeks had flushed red and who shyly avoided his gaze, feeling pleased.

He needed to smile more. Smiling made people happy and, by extension, made them like you.

He had to pay attention to his image on the path to becoming Hokage too.

"My name is Namikaze Minato. I hope we'll all get along during our time at the academy. My dream is to become Hokage. I hope I can protect everyone in the village."

"It seems everyone likes the Hokage," Teacher Kinoshita said with a nod. "I hope you can all achieve your dreams."

As the village's leader and the strongest ninja by popular consensus, the Hokage was respected and loved by everyone.

That was why, if there was one dream people in Konoha had more than any other, it was undoubtedly becoming Hokage.

"My name is Uchiha Chonhua. Like everyone else, my dream is to become Hokage. I love this village, and I love everything in it."

Uchiha Chonhua smiled as he spoke. "I won't give up the Hokage Position to any of you. From now on, we're all rivals!"

There was no doubt that this was an elite class.

It had children from powerful clans, top students, and others who either had considerable talent or came from wealthy merchant families.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was surely keeping an eye on them.

Quite a few students in this elite class dreamed of becoming Hokage, but the dream coming from a member of the Uchiha Clan would certainly catch Hiruzen Sarutobi's attention.