Hiruzen Panicked

Iruka said with a bitter smile, "Lord Hokage, I have no reason to make something like that up. Naruto was there too. He saw it clearly."

Hiruzen knew perfectly well Iruka wouldn't make up a story to deceive him.

But it sounded too unbelievable.

It sounded too much like a lie.

But Naruto's reaction just now had proved that Iruka was telling the truth.

Hiruzen said nothing. He pulled this year's graduating students' files from the cabinet beside him.

After searching for a while, he finally found Yeyu's file.

He read through it carefully, and the records made him doubtful.

"But his grades at the Ninja Academy don't suggest he could do the things you just described."

Iruka said helplessly, "I'm puzzled too. Why would someone as strong as Yeyu perform so averagely at the Ninja Academy?"

"Maybe he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself."

Iruka ventured.

Hiruzen nodded. He agreed with Iruka's guess.

People like that did exist.

But students at the Ninja Academy were still young, and most of them couldn't resist showing off in front of their classmates.

Even someone as low-key as Minato Namikaze hadn't hidden his strength when he was at the Ninja Academy.

Iruka asked, "Lord Hokage, could we reconsider who Yeyu's Jonin instructor will be?"

Hiruzen looked at Yeyu's file and thought it over before nodding.

"We'll have to reconsider it."

Yeyu's instructor had originally been a Chunin.

Aside from the instructors assigned to Naruto and his classmates, every student's instructor was a Chunin.

Now that Yeyu had suddenly appeared, Hiruzen did need to reconsider.

If Yeyu really was that strong, assigning him a Chunin would be inappropriate.

Hiruzen took a deep breath. "I'll give it some serious thought. Iruka, take Naruto out for now."

"Naruto, leave the Scroll of Seals here. Don't do something like this again, or I won't let you off so easily next time."

Hiruzen didn't punish Naruto.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

Whenever he'd vandalized Kage Rock before, Hiruzen had made him clean it off.

Though that hardly counted as a punishment.

Naruto was delighted that he wasn't being punished this time.

But he was used to it by now.

Hiruzen always let him off easily.

Many ninjas disliked Naruto not only because of his identity.

They also resented how Hiruzen always covered for him.

When the ninjas had been sent out to look for Naruto earlier, some had said that this time he shouldn't be let off once they found him.

But Hiruzen had already forgotten about it.

After Iruka took Naruto away,

Hiruzen sat deep in thought in the Hokage Office for a long time.

He looked over Yeyu's file.

Around midnight, Hiruzen left the Hokage Office.

Not long afterward, he appeared outside Yeyu's house.

Yeyu, who had been fast asleep, opened his eyes.

He sighed. "I knew it."

Soon, a knock sounded at the door.

Yeyu put on his pajamas, went to the entrance, and opened the door.

In the moonlight, he looked at the person standing before him, yawned, and asked indifferently, "What brings you here so late, Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen smiled. "Won't you invite me in?"

Yeyu felt a little helpless.

Still, he invited Hiruzen inside.

He turned on the light, revealing the room's layout at a glance.

The wooden house had only two rooms: a kitchen that also served as the dining room and living room, and a bedroom.

It wasn't very spacious, either.

Hiruzen glanced around and complimented him. "Unlike Naruto, you keep your home very tidy."

Naruto's house was in the center of Konoha, in a prime location, and it was spacious enough for a child.

But with no adults around, the place was a mess.

Yeyu's home didn't have much of a location to boast about, since it was on the outskirts of the village.

Still, he kept it very clean.

That was impressive for a boy who was only twelve.

Yeyu poured Hiruzen a glass of water, sat down across from him, and asked, "Is this about what happened earlier?"

Unlike everyone else, Yeyu didn't act as though he worshipped Hiruzen.

Nor was he afraid of him.

At his age, he had no reason to feel either way.

Hiruzen had been observing Yeyu ever since he arrived.

He noticed that Yeyu's emotions were remarkably steady.

He reacted nothing like the other children his age in the village when they saw Hiruzen.

That alone convinced him that Iruka had been telling the truth.

Hiruzen smiled at Yeyu. "Yes. You're very strong, but you should have shown that at the Ninja Academy."

"Otherwise, we might assign you the wrong instructor."

Yeyu didn't seem to care. "It doesn't matter. Anyone will do."

Hiruzen shook his head. "It does matter. With your strength, you should have at least a Jonin instructor."

"But do you know what rank the ninja I'd assigned you before had?"

Yeyu smiled indifferently. "A Chunin, I'd guess."

"That's right. So you knew. But don't you think it's a shame?"

"You should have had a Jonin instructor, but you were assigned a Chunin instead."

Yeyu leaned back in his chair, his expression calm. "Not really. Whether it's a Chunin or a Jonin, I'll graduate eventually."

"The instructor will only be with me for a short time."

Hiruzen hadn't expected Yeyu to be so indifferent about it.

It was nothing like the mindset of a twelve-year-old child.

If Yeyu's records hadn't been so clear, Hiruzen might have wondered if he was someone disguised as Yeyu.

When Hiruzen realized Yeyu had no interest in discussing the matter,

he asked him another question. "You don't know any ninjutsu yet, do you?"

"I know the Three Body Technique. That's enough."

Hiruzen was speechless at Yeyu's answer.

"How can that possibly be enough? The Three Body Technique is a very basic ninjutsu."

"I noticed earlier that you defeated Mizuki with Taijutsu."

"So I guessed you probably didn't know any offensive ninjutsu."

Yeyu nodded. "Your guess was right."

Yeyu still looked completely calm, without the slightest change in expression.

Hiruzen was at a loss. He really wished Yeyu would show some kind of reaction.

Then he could lead naturally into what he wanted to say next.

Instead of having to bring it up himself.

Unfortunately, Yeyu seemed not to understand what he was getting at. His expression didn't change at all.

With no other choice, Hiruzen had to state his purpose outright.

"I'm thinking of bringing you into my service as a ninja. Would you be willing?"

Yeyu shook his head. "No."

Hiruzen was stunned, completely taken aback by that answer.

Even the expression on Yeyu's face hadn't changed in the slightest.

He sounded as if he were answering a perfectly ordinary question.

"Serving me comes with plenty of benefits. I can teach you all sorts of ninjutsu."

"I'm known as the Professor of Ninjutsu. There are hardly any jutsu in Konoha that I don't know."

Yeyu still looked completely calm.

But Hiruzen was getting anxious.