Iruka Umino's Doubts

Iruka Umino had taught at the Ninja Academy for four years and guided three classes of new students. He had seen children cry on their first day, seen children get into fights on their first day, and seen one throw a shuriken over the school wall on the first day, nearly hitting the Third Hokage in the head atop Hokage Rock—he had written a full three pages of self-criticism over that incident. But he had never seen a student like this.

It began with the theory class on the second day of school. That day, he covered the basic chakra natures, carefully drawing the Five Elements diagram of mutual restraint on the blackboard and using different-colored chalk to mark fire restraining wind, wind restraining lightning, lightning restraining earth, earth restraining water, and water restraining fire. This was part of his standard lesson plan at the start of every school year. After drawing the diagram, he would usually ask, "Does anyone know their own chakra nature?" Normally, the room would fall silent—new students had not yet taken the chakra paper test, and for most of them, it was their first time even hearing the word "nature."

But this time, someone raised a hand.

It was Senju Shinichi. Sitting in the middle of the front row, he raised his hand completely differently from the other children—not as though he were about to leap from his seat, nor timidly with only half his arm lifted. He simply raised his right hand naturally, his arm level with the desk and fingers together, as if he were doing something utterly ordinary.

"Senju, do you know your own natures?"

"Earth and water." Shinichi stood as he answered, his tone calm, as if he were commenting on the weather. "My primary nature is earth, and my secondary nature is water. These two natures can combine to form the Wood Release bloodline limit. The principle is that earth nature provides structural support, while water nature provides the medium for growth. Once the two are fused in the proper ratio within the chakra pathways, they naturally give rise to wood-nature chakra."

The classroom went quiet for about three seconds. Then Kiba Inuzuka, seated in the back, let out a loud, "Huh?" The chips in Choji Akimichi's hand froze halfway to his mouth, his jaw hanging open as he forgot to chew. Ino turned around to stare at the back of Shinichi's head, the conviction in her eyes that this guy was indeed extraordinary deepening another layer. Sasuke's gaze shifted from the window to Shinichi's back. He said nothing, but his expression looked as though he were reassessing something.

The chalk in Iruka's hand nearly fell to the floor.

He had taught for four years. The topic of "the principles behind the Wood Release bloodline limit's formation" was usually not covered until the third year. And he had only explained the Five Elements' mutual restraint, yet this boy had already filled in the portion about their mutual generation. What caught Iruka's attention even more was Shinichi's explanation of how earth and water fused to produce wood nature—his wording was precise, his logic rigorous. It did not sound like an answer from a new student on his second day of school. It sounded more like a chunin who had already trained in chakra nature transformation writing a mission report.

"Where... did you learn all that?" Iruka put down the chalk.

"The library," Shinichi said, his tone still even. "There's a book called Fundamentals of Chakra Nature Transformation Theory. Its third chapter specifically discusses the fusion of natures in bloodline limits. I also consulted Overview of Senju Clan Bloodline Traits, but that book only permits access through the second chapter. The later contents said I lacked the necessary clearance."

Iruka truly fell silent this time. Of course he knew the library's books. Fundamentals of Chakra Nature Transformation Theory was indeed listed as third-year reference material. Yet a six-year-old had pulled out a book that even he had not finished reading on the second day of school to use as supplementary study, while casually complaining about borrowing permissions—he genuinely felt as though he were not speaking to a student, but defending a thesis before a miniature academic editor.

Still, he did not show any of that from behind the podium. He merely nodded for Shinichi to sit down, said, "Very good. Your extracurricular reading is thorough," and continued explaining his Five Elements diagram. But after that day, in every class, his gaze would unconsciously linger a little longer on the seat in the middle of the front row.

The second thing that made him feel something was off happened during taijutsu class.

He watched Sasuke and Senju Shinichi's sparring match from the side without taking his eyes off them for a moment. It was not because the two students had unusual surnames, but because the technical level of their sparring was abnormally high. Taijutsu sparring between six-year-old first-years usually amounted to shoving each other a few times. A student capable of landing a decent side kick was already considered outstanding. Yet Sasuke and Shinichi had just exchanged at least five consecutive rounds of offense and defense—straight punches, knifehand strikes, knee strikes, evasions, counters. Their rhythm was tight, their transitions between attack and defense natural, without any of the pauses or hesitation common among beginners.

What concerned Iruka even more was a tiny detail he noticed. At one point during Sasuke's rapid barrage of punches, Shinichi tilted his head left to avoid a straight punch. By all rights, that punch should have missed completely, yet a red mark appeared on Shinichi's left cheek as he moved. Given the evasion ability Shinichi had displayed during the match, that mark should not have existed.

Unless he had deliberately allowed it to exist.

Iruka immediately made a decision: he would review Senju Shinichi's entire file.

After school, he sat alone in the empty office and opened Shinichi's enrollment records. The file was thin, only a few pages. The parents section read, "Both deceased, sacrificed during the Nine-Tails Rampage," while the guardianship section bore the direct seal of the Third Hokage. The bloodline limit section had originally read, "Not awakened," but it had later been crossed out and replaced with a small note: "Senju Clan bloodline initially activated; Wood Release in budding stage; recording specially authorized by the Third Hokage." Tucked behind the final page was an additional note dated only a few weeks earlier, containing the special jounin support standard personally approved and signed by the Third Hokage.

Iruka looked at that additional note and pieced together the scattered clues from the past few months. Shinichi had awakened the Senju Clan bloodline before enrolling, could independently study chakra nature transformation in the library, could precisely control the degree of his own injuries during taijutsu sparring, and had his guardianship and special provisions personally approved by the Third Hokage—all of it pointed to one clear conclusion: this student named Senju Shinichi was far more powerful than he let on.

He closed the file and returned the folder to the drawer. Outside the window, the sunset had already sunk behind Hokage Rock. The classroom lights had not yet been turned on, and the shadow of the filing cabinet stretched long across the opposite wall. He now understood what the Third Hokage meant by "keep an eye on Senju Shinichi, but do not pay him excessive attention." This child did not merely need a teacher. He needed someone nearby to watch over him and gently pull him back whenever he began to stray from the path.

Iruka stood, pushed his chair beneath the desk, and locked the office door. As he left the school building, he happened upon Shinichi teaching Naruto Uzumaki how to walk on water in the rear training yard. Naruto stepped straight into a puddle and splashed water all over his own face, then mischievously scooped up a handful and flung it at Shinichi. Shinichi sidestepped, crossed the water to the other side, and casually rubbed Naruto's head hard with a towel. The laughter of the two children carried across the entire training ground, softly echoing through the April evening breeze.

Someone who could stay beside Naruto and laugh with him while splashing through puddles probably would not stray too far down the wrong path. Perhaps what he needed now was not vigilance, but simply a window and a light left for him.