Successor of the Will of Fire: Uchiha Izumi

"Elder Nobuhiko, Sasuke, I should be able to graduate early now, right?" Izumi Uchiha looked forward to graduation with some anticipation.

Ever since she began receiving guidance from Elder Nobuhiko and learned the Shadow Clone technique, she had used shadow clones to attend school every day, while her real body focused on physical training and her consciousness entered the Soul Space to practice ninjutsu.

Now, after just over a year, her strength had undergone a heaven-shaking transformation.

Not only had she mastered numerous ninjutsu, become proficient in taijutsu and Uchiha Swordsmanship, but her Sharingan had also evolved to the Two-Tomoe stage. Her grades had soared from 10th in her class and 30th in the grade to an overwhelming first place, making her a renowned genius at the Ninja Academy.

Of course, this was the result after Itachi Uchiha had already graduated.

However, she believed that she was not much worse than Itachi Uchiha was at her age, and she even had a certain level of confidence that she could defeat the Itachi who had yet to awaken his Sharingan.

Therefore, she no longer wanted to waste time at the Ninja Academy.

Elder Nobuhiko looked at Sasuke; in principle, he agreed, but the one who could truly make the decision was Sasuke.

Izumi Uchiha also looked at Sasuke with eyes full of expectation.

Graduate early?... Sasuke's heart stirred slightly.

It was already March, and the final exams were only a few days away.

Clearly, Izumi Uchiha had hidden the fact that she could now create three shadow clones specifically to catch Elder Nobuhiko off guard and pave the way for her early graduation.

His original plan had been to let Izumi continue to lay low and develop for another two years, reaching the strength of a mid-to-high-level ninja by age ten before graduating. But seeing how much painstaking effort she had put in, he found it hard to refuse, so he nodded and said, "Alright, Izumi-chan, go ahead and apply. As for whether it gets approved, that will depend on the Third Hokage."

"That's great!" Izumi Uchiha's face lit up with joy. She hugged Sasuke and spun around in excitement, then pressed her cherry lips against his cheek and gave him a loud kiss: "Mua! Thank you, Sasuke!"

Ninja Academy.

"Applying for graduation?" Her homeroom teacher, Daikoku Funano, was slightly stunned, but not surprised.

Izumi Uchiha was far more capable now than Itachi had been when he graduated, so applying for early graduation was perfectly reasonable.

"Yes," Izumi Uchiha said with a serious expression. "Teacher Daikoku, I believe I have met the standards for graduation, and I hope to graduate early to dedicate my strength to the village."

Well, dedicating to the village... having followed Sasuke for so long, she could spout such lines with ease.

"Hmm, excellent." Seeing this, Daikoku Funano couldn't help but smile, nodding with approval. "It is truly commendable that you have this level of awareness. I will submit your application to the Hokage, and I believe it will be approved soon. Go back to class for now and wait for my word."

"Yes, thank you, Teacher Daikoku."

"Early graduation?"

In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was also taken aback.

He remembered that Daikoku Funano was the homeroom teacher for the second-year class, and he wondered if another genius had emerged from that class.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Daikoku Funano handed the file to the Third Hokage and said, "The one applying for early graduation this time is Izumi Uchiha. She is the top student in her class and grade since Itachi Uchiha."

"My subordinate believes that her current strength has already surpassed that of Itachi when he graduated, meeting the criteria for early graduation."

"Oh? She has already surpassed the Itachi Uchiha of that time?" Hiruzen Sarutobi became interested and took Izumi Uchiha's file to look through it.

"Yes." Daikoku Funano took advantage of the moment the Third Hokage was reviewing the file to add, "Furthermore, she mentioned that she hopes to dedicate her strength to the village as soon as possible. Combined with her consistently perfect scores in political studies, I believe she has inherited the Will of Fire quite well."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's interest deepened, and his heart stirred.

Perfect scores in political studies, has inherited the Will of Fire, and she is an Uchiha...

Thinking of the escalating tension between the village and the Uchiha clan, he thought to himself: An Uchiha who has inherited the Will of Fire is someone worth winning over for the village.

Immediately, he noticed that Izumi Uchiha's initial grades had not been good, but she had shown clear improvement every semester thereafter, becoming the top student by her second year and maintaining that position.

He couldn't help but remark, "This Izumi Uchiha has improved very quickly."

It sounded like a comment, but it was actually a question.

"Yes." Daikoku Funano naturally understood what the Third Hokage meant and replied, "Izumi Uchiha works very hard, but her father was a civilian and her mother was not a ninja, so she had never received formal training."

"When the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha, her father died, and she moved back to the Uchiha clan afterward. She must have received guidance from the clan members."

"Oh~ so she is her daughter..." Hiruzen Sarutobi realized.

As one of the few Uchiha who married outside the clan, Hazuki Uchiha had caused quite a stir in Konoha at the time, and Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally had a deep impression of her.

At the same time, he knew of Izumi Uchiha as Hazuki's daughter, even if he didn't quite remember her name.

Plus, since she basically lived at the clan leader's house, it was impossible not to pay attention to her.

It was just that she was still young, and as Hokage, he hadn't started paying close attention to her yet.

He hadn't expected that she, despite not having pure blood, would turn out to be a little genius.

He had to admit, he had misjudged her.

Recalling some gossip, he asked, "It is said... that this Izumi Uchiha has become the... of Clan Leader Fugaku's second son?"

"Uh." Daikoku Funano nodded. "Yes."

"My subordinate believes that is precisely why Izumi Uchiha gained the attention of the clan and was even able to receive personal guidance from Clan Leader Fugaku, allowing her to improve so rapidly."

He had heard rumors about a child bride, but he hadn't expected that Hiruzen Sarutobi, as Hokage, would be interested in such gossip.

Of course, this was hardly big news; in clans where intermarriage was the norm, things like child brides or child grooms were considered quite common phenomena.

The Uchiha were actually relatively lenient; as long as it was within the clan, free love was generally permitted, and even marrying outside the clan did not face much resistance from the elders.

It was merely their long-standing values and education that led them to favor intermarriage by default.

And the Hyuga?

Never mind marrying outside the clan, most members did not even have the right to choose their own partners within the clan, forced instead to accept the arranged marriages dictated by their kin.

Of course, if one had the ability to secure a catch like the Hokage or a savior of the ninja world, things were not entirely beyond negotiation...

After briefly getting the situation from Daikoku Funano, Hiruzen Sarutobi carefully reviewed Uchiha Izumi's political exam paper once more before writing the word "Approved" in large, satisfied characters on her graduation application.

"Thank you for the trouble, Lord Hokage."

"Mm. Have Uchiha Izumi prepare herself; she will undergo her graduation examination this afternoon."

"Yes!"

Although the graduation application had been approved, the necessary procedures still had to be followed, and the required assessments still had to be met.

Furthermore, the examination for early graduation was far more rigorous than the standard one; it would be no mere child's play involving the Three Body Technique...