Hiruzen Sarutobi (New Book—Please Bookmark and Follow)

In the forest, a leaf drifted silently down.

Rogge reacted swiftly. The spinning shuriken in his hand shot out in an instant, striking the falling leaf with precision and pinning it firmly to a large tree.

"Good. My throwing accuracy has improved again!"

Rogge immediately activated the red panel of the Grind Emperor System.

[ Ding! Ninja tool throwing proficiency has increased! ]

[ Ninja Tool Throwing: Mastery (0/2000) ]

After finishing his ninja tool throwing training, Rogge began practicing the Wing Chun he had learned in his previous life.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves, casting mottled patches of light and shadow.

Before an old wooden dummy, Rogge practiced Wing Chun again and again.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The muscles in his arms tensed as his fists hammered the wooden dummy like a raging storm, producing dull, powerful impacts.

Sweat streamed continuously down his forehead, soaking his clothes, yet he had no intention of stopping.

A gentle breeze swept by, rustling the leaves.

"Hah!"

One thousand and thirty-one, one thousand and thirty-three... two thousand four hundred and seventy-one, two thousand four hundred and seventy-two...

With every punch, Rogge counted silently in his heart. When he reached three thousand, he let out a satisfying roar and threw a ferocious punch.

"Crack!" The wooden dummy let out a teeth-grating sound before splitting apart, the cracks rapidly spreading.

The old wooden dummy was smashed into a pile of fragments.

"Phew, phew, phew..." Rogge panted heavily as he looked at the broken wooden dummy and sighed. "This is already the fourth wooden dummy I've destroyed. This thing isn't hard enough to keep up with my training anymore. I need to replace it with a stone dummy."

No sooner said than done!

Rogge used the elemental transformation of the Magma-Magma Fruit. His body gradually melted away, turning into a mass of blazing magma that surged with astonishing heat and energy.

The magma radiated a dazzling glow and scorching waves of heat. Even the air near it seemed to ignite.

A huge boulder nearby slowly began to soften under the searing heat of the magma, eventually assimilating into rolling molten lava.

Then, he controlled the blazing lava and began carefully shaping it.

The lava flowed and solidified under his control, gradually taking on a unique form—a Wing Chun wooden dummy.

The dummy forged from lava was fiery red from head to toe, radiating awe-inspiring heat and power.

Magma separated from Rogge's body would slowly cool on the ground, eventually forming coarse-grained rock such as granite.

"Once it cools down, it'll become a stone dummy."

Granite was harder than wood and less likely to break.

However, using stone to practice fist techniques would make his fists and feet hurt far more than striking wood that was not dense enough.

"Doesn't matter. It's only a little pain. If I want to strengthen my physique and increase my chakra as quickly as possible, no amount of sweat is too much!" Rogge muttered softly before a resolute look appeared in his eyes.

Next, he began training Flash Step.

After all, there were less than two years left until the Second Shinobi World War. Without sufficient strength, he would absolutely end up as worthless cannon fodder.

With death looming over him, Rogge could not afford to live comfortably.

Just then, "Whoosh!"

A figure suddenly appeared in front of Rogge, barely a dozen steps away.

It was a ninja wearing a cat-faced mask.

The cat-masked ninja said in a muffled voice, "Rogge, stop training for now. The Third Hokage wants to see you."

What a fast Body Flicker Technique! What incredible concealment!

I didn't notice him at all. Jonin really are terrifying! Rogge thought in alarm.

If the cat-masked ninja had wanted to ambush him, there was no way he could have dodged. He would have died in a single strike!

Although Rogge had long known that ANBU ninjas were secretly monitoring him, there was nothing he could do about it.

Because he was too weak.

Besides, while this cat-masked ANBU ninja was monitoring him, he was also protecting him. That eased Rogge's resistance considerably.

"Did Lord Hokage say what it was about?" Rogge asked cautiously.

The cat-masked ninja replied impatiently, "No. You'll know when you get there."

"Alright." Rogge was merely a Ninja Academy student. Faced with a summons from the Third Hokage, he had no right to refuse.

After thinking about it, it was probably related to his application for early graduation.

Then, under the cat-masked ninja's lead, Rogge returned to the streets of Leaf Village.

Leaf Village, Hokage Building Office.

Following behind the cat-masked ninja was like having a pass. Rogge entered the Hokage's Office without encountering any obstruction.

This was the center of Leaf Village's power and its most important building.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, held an old smoking pipe and took a drag with a frown.

"Phew..." Hiruzen Sarutobi reclined in his office chair, an expression of enjoyment on his face.

Ever since becoming Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been under tremendous mental pressure!

Because Leaf Village was facing troubles both within and without!

During Hiruzen Sarutobi's childhood, Leaf Village had only recently been established. At the time, he had merely been a child of the Sarutobi Clan who understood nothing.

He had been born near the end of the Warring States Period, when the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan had jointly founded the Konoha ninja village. The clan alliance and village system had been established during that era.

This innovation had earned high praise from countless ninjas.

The major clans throughout the shinobi world began following suit, and nations and villages centered around the Five Great Countries gradually took shape.

Under the absolute deterrence of Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, the shinobi world enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity.

The children of ninja clans no longer had to endure endless war. They could play and study in bright, spacious classrooms, growing up healthy and happy.

That had been a true era of peace!

The Sarutobi Clan had also been one of the ninja clans that joined Leaf Village shortly after its founding.

Therefore, the person Hiruzen Sarutobi had admired most as a child was the First Hokage, Lord Hashirama Senju!

As a child, Hiruzen Sarutobi had dreamed of becoming someone like Hashirama Senju and of becoming the Hokage of Leaf Village!

Later, during his youth, he was accepted as a disciple by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, taking the most important step toward becoming Hokage.

He had experienced far too much along the way.

Only after truly becoming Hokage did he understand that the position brought not only glory, but endless responsibility and pressure!

Since the end of the First Shinobi World War, Konoha had enjoyed several years of peace and stability.

Yet beneath the calm surface, hidden currents churned.

Human greed and selfishness would not diminish simply because people had experienced the pain of war. The seeds of hatred had already been planted.

The current shinobi world appeared peaceful, but it was actually a powder keg that could explode at any moment. It only needed the slightest spark to erupt instantly!

The Second Shinobi World War was approaching, and Leaf Village was actively preparing for war.

Yet the Uchiha Clan, Leaf Village's foremost clan, was showing faint signs of "rebellion."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had been deeply worried these past days. If he mishandled the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Leaf Village, causing the entire Uchiha Clan to defect, then as the current Third Hokage, he would be absolutely unable to escape blame!

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Lord Hokage, Rogge has arrived." At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi heard a knock at the door, followed by the voice of the cat-masked ANBU ninja.

"Come in." Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pipe, and the solemn expression returned to his face.

The cat-masked ninja pushed open the door to the Hokage's Office and entered alongside Rogge.

As he stepped into the Hokage's Office and saw a scene identical to the anime from his previous life, Rogge felt as though he had crossed into another world.

[ Ding! Successfully checked in at the Hokage's Office! Obtained sensory-type skill—Observation Haki (Mastery) ]

What?! Rogge was overjoyed.

The Check-in System, which had been silent for so long, had successfully checked in the moment he entered the Hokage's Office, and it had even given him Observation Haki!

After all, what Rogge lacked most right now was a sensory ability.

It was like receiving a pillow just as he was getting sleepy!

It seemed that if he wanted to check in and obtain good things, he had to visit some "special" places!

"Lord Hokage!" Rogge calmly gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a slight bow, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Mhm." Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around and examined Rogge closely before nodding kindly.

"Lord Hokage, I'll take my leave first." After saying that, the cat-masked ninja vanished from the spot in an instant.

Only Hiruzen Sarutobi and Rogge remained in the office.

Rogge was the junior, after all, so he could only speak first. "Lord Hokage, you summoned me... was it because of my application for early graduation?"