The Hundred-Meter Buddha Goes to School? The Third Hokage's Helplessness

The next morning. Hokage Office.

A thin sheet of paper lay on the heavy solid-wood desk.

Ninja Academy Reenrollment Application Form.

The name field contained three characters: Nawaki Senju.

The reason for application read: Young age, wishes to study.

Behind the desk, Hiruzen Sarutobi held an unlit pipe between his teeth. He stared at the form for a full half minute.

On the sofa to the right, Choza Akimichi adjusted his reading glasses and craned his neck forward, making sure he had not misread it.

By the window on the left, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane stood with livid expressions.

Nawaki stood before the desk with both hands in his pockets. He wore an ordinary white short-sleeved shirt and wooden sandals, grinning at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Lord Third, what are you spacing out for? It's just stamping a form." Nawaki urged.

Hiruzen Sarutobi removed his pipe and took a deep breath.

"You..." Hiruzen Sarutobi pointed at the application form, his voice dry. "You're a super-Kage-level fighter who can summon a hundred-meter Buddha and nail Danzō to a wall, and you want to attend class with a bunch of ten-year-old brats?"

"I'm twelve this year." Nawaki was utterly justified. "By the official age requirements, I barely even qualify to take the Chunin Exams. What's wrong with going back to school and continuing my education?"

Homura Mitokado could not hold back any longer. She stepped forward and accused him, "Nawaki Senju! Do you take the village's rules as a joke? If someone with your level of power goes to the Ninja Academy and loses control, you'll destroy the whole school!"

Nawaki turned his head to look at Homura Mitokado. The smile on his face faded slightly.

"Advisor Homura," Nawaki said evenly, "have I ever lost control?"

Homura Mitokado froze.

"I smashed Root's base and beat up the people who experimented with my grandfather's cells." Nawaki planted both hands on the desk and leaned forward, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "I haven't touched a single brick in the village or hurt a single civilian. Now I want to go to school and learn how to be a good ninja. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

Koharu Utatane snorted. "What exactly are you trying to do?"

"Go to school. Eat. Sleep." Nawaki straightened up. "I don't want to manage anything. Who becomes Hokage, who runs the Anbu, who allocates the budget—I'm not interested in any of it."

The office fell silent the moment he said that.

Choza Akimichi leaned back against the sofa.

He understood.

Hiruzen Sarutobi understood as well.

Nawaki was making a statement, in an absurd yet highly effective way.

Nawaki Senju had no political ambitions. He would not stage a coup. He only wanted to live a normal life.

For Konoha's upper ranks, who had just gone through the Danzō incident and were in a period of political turmoil, this signal was enormously important. As long as the Senju Clan did not fight for power, the Third Hokage's position would be as stable as a mountain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes, rapidly weighing the pros and cons.

Ten seconds later, he opened his eyes and picked up the Hokage seal from the desk.

Smack.

Red seal ink stamped the lower-right corner of the application form.

"Approved," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

Homura Mitokado panicked. "Hiruzen! Him going to the school..."

"Rules are rules," Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted. "Nawaki has not graduated yet, so reenrolling is perfectly reasonable. Notify the Ninja Academy and have them prepare to receive him."

Nawaki picked up the stamped application form. He gently blew on the seal ink, then flashed a broad grin.

"Thanks, Lord Third."

He folded the form twice, slipped it into his pocket, and turned toward the door.

Just as Nawaki's hand touched the doorknob, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly spoke.

"Nawaki."

Nawaki turned back.

The old man behind the desk was not wearing the Hokage's hat. He looked at Nawaki.

"Come eat here at noon," Hiruzen Sarutobi said warmly. "I'll have someone make your favorite miso soup."

Nawaki paused.

He looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Add some kelp. And extra tofu." Nawaki smiled. There was a little more sincerity in it.

"Alright." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

Nawaki pulled open the door and walked out. The door closed behind him.

In the office, Choza Akimichi removed his reading glasses and wiped them. "Hiruzen, that kid's smarter than his grandfather."

Hiruzen Sarutobi put his pipe back between his teeth, lit it, and took a puff. Amid the curling smoke, the wrinkles on his face seemed to relax a little.

"He just wants a home," Hiruzen Sarutobi said softly.

Ninja Academy. Second-floor teachers' office.

The air was thick with despair.

Teacher Uchiyama, homeroom teacher of Class Three, sat at his desk. In his hand was an official notice that had just been sent over from the Hokage Building.

It read: Nawaki Senju, assigned to Third-Year Class Three.

Crack.

The chalk in Teacher Uchiyama's hand snapped. He ignored it and kept tightening his fingers. Crack, crack. He crushed three more pieces of chalk in succession, scattering chalk dust across the desk.

The homeroom teacher from Class One patted Uchiyama on the shoulder, his tone full of sympathy. "Uchiyama, look on the bright side. At least you'll be teaching an important figure this year."

"An important figure?" Uchiyama clutched his head in both hands, his voice trembling. "Is he an important figure? He's a living ancestor! He could flatten the entire school with one hand! What am I supposed to teach him? How to extract chakra? He could blow me to death in a single breath!"

The other teachers in the office all turned away, pretending to admire the scenery. No one dared respond.

Everyone knew what had happened during the Chunin Exams a few days ago. A hundred-meter-tall wooden Buddha had pinned Root's elite forces to the ground and rubbed them raw. A monster at that level was now going to attend class with a bunch of little kids who could not even throw kunai straight.

"Do you know what he did at Yakiniku Q yesterday?" Uchiyama lowered his voice. "My brother-in-law works there. He said Nawaki Senju slapped down hundreds of thousands of ryo and treated those young masters from the clans to barbecue! He even said that if anyone provoked him, he'd bury them alive and plant trees over them! Can I handle a demon king like that?"

The Class One homeroom teacher gave a dry cough. "Think of it positively. With him around, your class will definitely take first place in future practical exams."

"Do I care about being first?" Uchiyama was nearly in tears. "I'm afraid he'll get excited during a practical exam and blow away the test grounds along with students from the other classes!"

"What did the principal say?" Uchiyama lifted his head, his eyes bloodshot.

"The principal took sick leave." The dean walked over and set a class schedule on Uchiyama's desk. "He said his migraine flared up and he needs a week of rest. Everything this week is entirely your responsibility."

Uchiyama stared at the schedule.

First period: Basic Ninja Tool Throwing.

Second period: Chakra Extraction Theory.

He imagined the scene. He would stand at the podium and teach Nawaki Senju how to throw shuriken. Then Nawaki Senju would get bored and casually toss out a Wood Dragon.

Uchiyama felt like his own migraine was about to flare up.

"When is he coming?" Uchiyama asked. His voice had lost all life.

The dean looked at the clock on the wall.

Seven fifty in the morning.

"The notice says he'll report in at eight this morning." After saying that, the dean hurried back to his seat and raised a document to cover his face.

Uchiyama stiffly turned his head and looked out the window.