Observation Haki (Please Bookmark and Follow)

"Mm." Hiruzen Sarutobi kept smiling and nodded slightly, asking like a kindly elder, "Can you tell me why you applied for early graduation?"

"Lack of money," Rogge answered succinctly.

"What?" Hiruzen Sarutobi froze slightly, seemingly suspecting he had misheard.

Rogge emphasized it again. "I heard that once you become a genin, you can take missions and earn money, so..."

"Hahaha..." Hiruzen Sarutobi burst into laughter, then asked, "What do you need so much money for?"

Rogge looked extremely serious, excitement glinting in his eyes as he replied, "To buy ingredients, of course!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow and asked with interest, "Buying ingredients to cook? Do you want to become a chef someday?"

Rogge raised his fist and gritted his teeth. "Yes! I really like cooking! I've always wanted to improve my culinary skills, but the village's monthly subsidy is just too little. It can barely keep me fed..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully, then said, "But I heard that Kushina often provides you with ingredients, and then you cook for her. So you and Kushina are good friends, right?"

Rogge said quietly, "Yeah, Kushina is my only friend... Lord Hokage, let's get back to the point. Can you approve my application for early graduation?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded gently, a mysterious smile appearing on his face. "Of course, but this old man has one condition... Three days from now, you must go to the Leaf Village arena and take part in a ranking match. As long as you successfully rank among the top three, I'll approve your application for early graduation!"

Rogge frowned. "Lord Hokage, what is a ranking match? Why have I never heard of it?" As far as he knew, there had never been any such thing as a "ranking match" in the Leaf Village, nor was there a building called an "arena."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, a meaningful hint in his smile. "You're still young. There are some things you don't need to know too much about yet. In short, as long as you place in the top three in the competition three days from now, I'll agree to let you graduate early. How about it?"

Rogge fell into thought. A moment later, he raised his head and said passionately, "Alright! I'll definitely make it into the top three! I'll definitely graduate!"

"By the way, Rogge, how have you been living in Konoha these past few years?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked casually, his words revealing concern for Rogge's daily life.

A trace of grievance appeared on Rogge's face, and he began to complain tearfully. "Sob, sob... I haven't been doing well in Konoha at all! Lord Hokage, you have no idea how miserable my life has been. The adults in the village are always giving me dirty looks. Of course, the dirty looks I mean aren't the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, I mean the literal kind. And, and, my classmates bully and mock me too. Even the school's chunin instructors have given up on me. They say I'm the dead last in class and have urged me to drop out many times. If it weren't... if it weren't for Kushina being my friend, and if I hadn't awakened the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai some time ago, I wouldn't have wanted to live anymore... I..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi reached out and gently patted Rogge's head, comforting him. "Child, don't worry. With me protecting you from now on, no one in the Leaf Village will dare bully you again."

"Lord Hokage..." Gratitude and excitement appeared on Rogge's face.

Rogge knew very well that Hiruzen Sarutobi was trying to win him over.

In other words, from now on, Rogge would be someone protected by Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, within the Leaf Village.

"Alright, let the past stay in the past. You have good combat talent, and your Lava Release is very strong. As you are now, you're already an outstanding genin. You're merely lacking some real combat experience," Hiruzen Sarutobi said earnestly.

"I understand now! So Lord Hokage is making me participate in that ranking match to quickly improve my real combat experience! Right?" Rogge suddenly understood.

"You could put it that way. Rogge, go home and rest well first. I still have some matters to handle." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly.

"What about the ranking match?" Rogge was still somewhat uneasy.

"No rush. There are still three days until the competition. When the time comes, I'll arrange for an Anbu ninja to notify you." Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, indicating that Rogge could leave.

"Mm, Lord Hokage, I'll take my leave." Rogge slowly walked out of the Hokage's office and once again stepped onto the winding streets of the Leaf Village.

Like a weary painter, the setting sun lazily brushed its last afterglow across the stone-paved streets, outlining Rogge's figure with a faint golden edge.

Countless thoughts swirled through Rogge's mind.

What exactly was a ranking match?

And what the hell was an arena?

Could it be the "arena" from the Naruto mobile game in my previous life?

After pondering it for quite a while, Rogge still could not figure out what Hiruzen Sarutobi was plotting.

He shook his head and gave up thinking about it.

"Whatever comes, I'll deal with it."

"Observation Haki! My weakness has finally been covered!"

Rogge appeared to be walking casually, yet his steps were steady and powerful.

He quietly activated the Observation Haki he had just obtained from checking in, and the world around him became incomparably clear to his senses.

He could detect the anxiety of the street vendors, their worry that they would not sell all their goods today;

He could feel the pure joy of children at play, their laughter seeming to turn into tangible ribbons drifting through the air;

He could even catch the fleeting suspicious glances of passing ninjas. Every ninja seemed like a ferocious beast poised to strike, ready at any moment to rush forward and tear into an enemy.

"Ninjas really are terrifying tools for killing!"

"The chunin and higher-ranked ninjas of the Leaf Village are all desperadoes who live with their lives on the line!"

"Their auras are like savage beasts lurking beneath a calm sea."

At the same time, Rogge keenly sensed a familiar presence following him from not far behind.

It belonged to a ninja wearing a cat-face mask, whose light steps followed him like a ghost.

"Observation Haki really is useful!"

"With this, I can be considered a sensory-type ninja too!"

"At least for a long time to come, I won't have to fear enemy ambushes or assassinations anymore."

The corners of Rogge's lips curled into a smile, thrilled by his newly acquired ability.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere within the Uchiha Clan's compound was extremely solemn.

Inside a Japanese-style courtyard, a middle-aged man in a room wore a stern expression and shouted, "Fugaku!"

"Here!" Twelve-year-old Fugaku Uchiha knelt formally on the wooden floor, his posture as straight as a pine tree and his expression solemn and dignified.

The middle-aged man standing before Fugaku Uchiha was none other than the head of the Uchiha Clan and the commander of the Konoha Military Police Force—Uchiha Zhenghong.

"Only genin-level ninjas are allowed to participate in the family ranking match three days from now, so I submitted your name!"

"Thank you for your trust, Clan Head!"

"Mm. The family ranking match three days from now is the Uchiha Clan's best chance to erase the shame of losing to the Senju Clan three years ago. For the collective honor of the clan, you must take first place in this ranking match and bring glory to the Uchiha Clan! Do you understand?" Uchiha Zhenghong's voice was loud and forceful, his expression utterly serious.

Fugaku Uchiha looked resolute as he answered solemnly, "Please rest assured, Clan Head. I will give it my all and never disgrace the Uchiha Clan's name!"

"The Senju Clan, Hyuga Clan, Sarutobi Clan, Shimura Clan, Aburame Clan, Inuzuka Clan, Yamanaka Clan, Nara Clan, Akimichi Clan, and our Uchiha Clan make up the ten great ninja clans of Konoha. Among them, you must pay special attention to the Hyuga Clan. Their Byakugan possesses powerful insight just like our Sharingan, and in some respects, it is even stronger than the Sharingan!"

"I understand. Thank you for the guidance, Clan Head." Fugaku Uchiha immediately felt immense pressure, and a bead of cold sweat quietly trickled down his forehead.