I Knew It Long Ago

"Understood, Lord Third. We will certainly follow the village's orders from now on."

After the youngsters left, bursts of laughter filled the room, and the expression on the Third's face relaxed in an instant.

"These kids truly didn't let me down."

"The Third is wise. It seems that arranging for Hatake Sakumo to attend the Ninja Academy was something you had planned all along."

The Third nodded in acknowledgment, then cast his gaze toward Killer Bee, his eyes filled with disdain.

At this very moment, Shen Ye was unaware that this operation had been conducted under the watchful eyes of many from the start.

Had any accidents occurred during the battle with Killer Bee, Konoha ninjas would have appeared immediately to rescue him.

Standing at the street corner, the four of them parted ways, each heading in a different direction along their own unique route.

Upon returning home, Tsunade had already prepared a sumptuous feast.

"You're back, Shen Ye. Did you gain anything today?"

Shen Ye suddenly slapped his forehead; the scrolls the Third had given him were all still in his pocket, and he had forgotten to distribute them before they parted.

However, since everyone had already returned home, he decided to wait until they met again to hand them over.

"I gained a little, though I'm not sure what kind of ninjutsu the scrolls Lord Third gave us contain."

"Don't worry, they were surely tailored for you, suitable for everyone's cultivation."

Shen Ye nodded. Having been busy all day, he was already hungry and quickly began to tuck in.

Watching Shen Ye wolf down his food, Tsunade became lost in thought for a moment, her younger brother appearing unbidden in her mind.

As she pondered, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes; even Tsunade hadn't realized her emotions were slipping out of control.

Shen Ye slowly looked up, noticed Tsunade's abnormality, and quickly stepped forward to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Sister Tsunade, did you think of something unpleasant? Don't be sad while I'm here."

"It's nothing, I'm just very happy watching you."

Time passed quickly, and the sky outside gradually darkened. Shen Ye pushed open his bedroom door, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes.

Before long, soft snoring could be heard in the room.

Early the next morning, Hatake Sakumo crouched outside Shen Ye's window and tapped on it lightly.

"Shen Ye, it's time for school."

Opening his bleary eyes, Shen Ye felt instantly energized upon seeing the figure at the window, though he shook his head helplessly when he realized it was Hatake Sakumo.

This was the first time he had seen such a strange way of being woken up, and he feared only Hatake Sakumo would choose such a method.

Contemplating Hatake Sakumo's agile movement, a thought suddenly occurred to Shen Ye that fit perfectly with the original story.

Hatake Sakumo was a genius ninja in the village who had successfully promoted to Jonin and become a squad leader in the Anbu at a young age, having executed countless missions.

Yet now, the Third had placed him in the Ninja Academy, limiting his growth and potential.

Walking toward the Ninja Academy, Shen Ye decided to probe Hatake Sakumo's thoughts; if he was determined to follow him until graduation, there was nothing he could do.

"What are your plans for the future? Do you intend to follow the standard path and become Hokage step by step?"

"Becoming Hokage is my dream, but I know it won't be me in the end. Compared to me, Minato is much more suitable for that position."

Shen Ye nodded. It seemed Hatake Sakumo was well aware that he wasn't cut out for it and had no intention of competing with Minato for the Hokage seat.

"With your abilities, you could have better development outside the Ninja Academy. Aren't you curious about the mysterious organization in the village?"

"Oh, you mean the Anbu."

Shen Ye nodded. In truth, he had his own selfish motives; having Hatake Sakumo join the Anbu could limit some of Danzo's actions against him, even though he didn't fear them.

Hatake Sakumo suddenly stopped and looked toward the Hokage Office, where not only the Hokage resided but also the Anbu base.

"My stay or departure is not something I can decide. Even coming to the Ninja Academy was an arrangement by Lord Third."

"The Third?"

Shen Ye frowned; this was the first time he had heard Hatake Sakumo mention this.

"That's right. Everyone actually knew about Killer Bee's existence long ago, so they sent me to the Ninja Academy to get close to you and carry out missions together."

Shen Ye was even more puzzled. The old man, the Third, had clearly said that the mission was not something he could get involved in and that higher-level ninjas needed to be dispatched.

Yet, he was pulling strings behind the scenes. However, thinking about it carefully, the ultimate beneficiaries of all these actions were him and his group.

Shen Ye found it hard to read the Third.

"So everyone knew all along, and you were the same."

Hatake Sakumo nodded without hiding anything. He had initially thought this was just a mission assigned to him by the Third.

But through their interactions during this time, Hatake Sakumo had come to regard these people as his closest friends.

The reason he appeared at Shen Ye's window early in the morning was to walk to the Ninja Academy with him alone.

Even if Shen Ye hadn't asked about his future plans, Hatake Sakumo would still have laid everything out; he didn't want to hide anything from Shen Ye.

"I've been very happy working with you all during this time. Perhaps this will be our last joint operation."

Shen Ye couldn't help but roll his eyes at this guy. Deep down, Shen Ye had already come to regard him as a friend in this world; otherwise, he would never have gone on a mission with him.

"What are you saying? If we're good friends, don't talk about such depressing things. You should explain this news to Minato and Shikaku yourself."

Shen Ye threw an arm around Hatake Sakumo's shoulder, lightly punching him on the body with his fist.

Hatake Sakumo felt a warmth in his heart, finally finding the feeling of being valued.

Just as they walked through the academy gates, they saw Minato and Shikaku waving at them from afar.

The two exchanged a glance and quickened their pace as they walked over.

Once gathered together, Shen Ye took out the scrolls gifted by the Third Hokage and spread them out on the ground.

"I haven't looked at these scrolls yet. Everyone, pick the ninjutsu you think is suitable and take it back. You choose first."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

After flipping through a few, Minato chose one and placed it into his ninja tool pouch. Shikaku and Hatake Sakumo also selected the ninjutsu scrolls they deemed appropriate and tucked them into their own pouches.