Danzo? Running Into the Mastermind on Day One?

Menma clapped his hands together and shouted, "Transformation Technique: Reverse Harem Technique!"

With a poof, smoke billowed out, and when it cleared, a completely naked Sasuke appeared in the field, covering his private parts with his hands as he blushed and said to Sakura:

"Sakura-chan, how embarrassing! Don't look!"

The entire training ground fell silent for a moment before erupting into an uproar loud enough to pierce the sky.

The fangirls covered their eyes and screamed, while the boys cheered and egged them on. Sasuke, of course, was not among them—he was grinding his teeth in fury.

Menma looked around, thoroughly satisfied with the reaction. Ninjas were synonymous with being despicable and shameless in the first place. They would stop at nothing for victory!

Even Kaguya Otsutsuki couldn't withstand this move! So, Sakura, how would she respond when faced with the naked person she loved?

With her mind in turmoil, she probably wouldn't even be able to manage basic Chakra control, much less cast genjutsu, which required precise Chakra control!

Hehehe, victory was justice. Come on, Sakura-chan, today he would let her experience the filth of the adult world!

Menma smugly turned around, only to be startled.

Not only was Sakura not flustered, she looked completely calm. Her presence intensified as she charged straight at him.

As soon as Sakura got close, she threw a punch and followed it with a kick.

Poor Menma was still covering his vital parts with both hands and couldn't defend himself at all. He took Sakura's punch square in the face and went flying backward.

After rolling across the ground several times and being forced to cancel the Transformation Technique, Menma pushed himself off the ground and sprang to his feet.

Before he could even assume a stance, Sakura's attacks came crashing down like a raging storm.

Menma barely managed to raise his arms to defend himself. "I was careless. Sakura in this world is different from the canon Naruto version. She doesn't have the slightest affection for Sasuke.

This won't do. If this keeps up, I'll be in trouble. I need to think of a way to turn this around!"

Menma was still barely holding on when he suddenly spotted an opening in Sakura's attacks and shouted, "Water Release: Water Iron Cannon! Hah—ptui!"

Mizuki-sensei, standing nearby, had a face full of black lines. He nearly snapped the pen in his hand.

"What kind of Water Release is that? That's clearly just spitting, something children use when they fight! He really is Minato's kid. He's number one when it comes to being scatterbrained!"

But the move was indeed effective. Sakura forcibly pulled back her attacking fist and quickly leaped three steps away from Menma, staring at him with disgust.

"Alright, this match ends here! It's a draw. Menma, Sakura, form the Reconciliation Seal!"

Mizuki-sensei leaped into the field and separated them. If they kept fighting, he feared Menma would use even more shameless tactics to test the limits of his patience.

But even from a fight of this level, Mizuki had already gained a general understanding of Menma and Sakura's abilities.

As the Fourth Hokage's descendant, Sakura had exceptional talent for genjutsu, and her taijutsu was decent as well.

Although she hadn't used any Ninjutsu, with the precise Chakra control needed to successfully cast genjutsu, her talent for Ninjutsu was surely not low.

Judging from the details of the battle just now, Sakura's combat awareness was also outstanding. She was worth the village's full efforts to cultivate.

Menma's taijutsu was also quite good. Though he was a little too mischievous, he had an excellent grasp of the Transformation Technique and Clone Technique.

Moreover, when at a disadvantage, he could react quickly and reverse the situation. His combat awareness was excellent.

But his personality was a little too unruly. He needed proper guidance.

Hearing Mizuki, Menma let out a sigh of relief. After forming the Reconciliation Seal with the disgusted Sakura, he returned to the group amid the class's jeers and Sasuke's furious glare.

"Next group, Shikamaru Nara versus Kiba Inuzuka!"

...Time passed bit by bit, and soon it was evening.

At long last, the entire class had finished their matches, and Mizuki-sensei had recorded the results.

"Alright, the assessment is complete. Everyone's results were pretty good. Pack up and you're dismissed!

Oh, and Shino and Shikamaru, don't forget to run five laps around the training ground before school ends. Keep an eye on each other. You are not allowed to go home until you finish!

And you, Menma, come to the office with me!"

The children scattered in a rush, leaving only Shikamaru and Shino to run slow laps around the training ground with miserable expressions.

And Menma, of course, followed Mizuki into the school building with his hands in his pockets.

After another two hours of Mizuki-sensei's endless lecture, it was completely dark outside.

Mizuki looked at the night sky and finally put down the book in his hands. He said to Menma:

"Alright, that's enough for today. Remember to study properly when you get home, understand?"

After Menma gave a listless reply, Mizuki-sensei added:

"And don't use that kind of vulgar Ninjutsu again in the future, got it!"

Heh, now that you mention that, I'm not sleepy anymore. Today, he absolutely had to discuss the positive significance of the Harem Technique in the Shinobi World with Mizuki-sensei!

Just as Menma was preparing to explain the uses of the Harem Technique, the office door suddenly opened.

Menma turned around and saw a kind-looking old man wearing a white Hokage robe and a Hokage hat. His right eye and half of his cheek were wrapped in bandages.

Deep nasolabial folds ran down both sides of his nose. There was an X-shaped scar on his chin, his right arm was bandaged and hung across his chest, and he stood in the doorway with a cane in his left hand.

"Lord Hokage!" Mizuki-sensei shot to his feet and bowed in greeting.

"Hahaha, don't mind me. I was merely passing by the school and saw that the lights were still on, so I came in to take a look!" The Hokage waved his left hand and laughed heartily.

Menma was practically dumbfounded. "Dan... Dan... Danzo?!"

"You brat! Address him as Lord Hokage!!!" Mizuki-sensei swung his fist and smacked Menma on the head.

"My deepest apologies, Lord Hokage. It is because I failed in my teachings. But Menma is usually a very polite child.

Perhaps he was simply too excited to meet Lord Hokage today. Please forgive him, Lord Hokage!"

"It's alright, it's alright. After all, he's Minato's child. It's normal for him to be a little scatterbrained, hahaha."

The Third Hokage, Danzo, said with a hearty laugh, completely unconcerned by Menma's disrespectful behavior.

Menma clutched his head, his face twisted in pain as a huge wave of shock rose in his heart.

"What? Danzo is the Third Hokage in this world? Then where is Hiruzen Sarutobi? Don't tell me he's in charge of Root!

Forget it. I'll keep my head down for now and take things one step at a time."

"Did Lord Hokage come to the Ninja Academy with any new instructions?" Mizuki asked respectfully.

"Nothing in particular. I happened to pass by the school on a whim and came in for a look, only to discover an excellent teacher like Mizuki-sensei, one who carries on the Will of Fire!

Mizuki-sensei, continue working hard in the future. Pass on Konoha's Will of Fire to the next generation, children like Menma!" Danzo encouraged him with a smile.

Upon hearing those words, Mizuki-sensei seemed to have been injected with adrenaline. He immediately straightened his back, his face flushing as he replied loudly:

"Yes! I will certainly not disappoint Lord Hokage's expectations!"

"Hahaha, then I can rest easy.

Alright, it's getting late. I'll trouble Mizuki-sensei to escort Menma home. This old man should return to his office as well."

"Yes! Farewell, Lord Hokage!" Mizuki-sensei gave a deep bow.

Danzo turned around and slowly walked away with two ANBU guards.

As he left the school, Danzo looked back at the dark training ground. It seemed that two students were still diligently training there, and he couldn't help muttering to himself:

"Sigh, I truly hope Konoha's young ninjas grow up quickly. This old man's body won't last for many more years."

At Konoha's training ground.

"Damn it, Shikamaru! We've already run several sets of five laps! Can we leave now?"

"No, Shino. Mizuki-sensei told me to supervise you, so you can't slack off!

Huh? What number was I at just now? It's all Shino's fault. I have to start counting again."

Inside the Ninja Academy office, Mizuki-sensei was grinning foolishly. "Hehehehe, Lord Hokage praised me. Hehehehe..."

"Mizuki-sensei... Mizuki-sensei?... Mizuki-sensei!!!" Menma had to call him three times before Mizuki-sensei snapped back to his senses.

"Ah, Menma. Why are you still standing here?

Oh, right. Lord Hokage just told me to escort you home. Let's go together!" Mizuki-sensei said once he recovered.

"No need, sensei. I can go home by myself." Menma tried to refuse.

"No. Lord Hokage personally instructed me to make sure you got home.

Besides, I was planning to visit your home anyway, to speak with Minato and Kushina about your upbringing!" Mizuki-sensei rejected Menma's suggestion.

"...Alright..." Menma agreed with a dejected face. "But sensei, I'm already hungry. How about we eat first? Ichiraku Ramen?

If sensei doesn't have any money, I can treat you to a bowl!"

"Idiot, how could a teacher like me not have money?

Besides, as an outstanding Konoha teacher, how could I let a student pay?

I'll treat you instead." Mizuki-sensei answered, then turned and led Menma out of the office.

When they passed the training ground on the first floor, Mizuki-sensei found a near-collapse Shino being dragged across the ground by Shikamaru, who had him by the collar.

He hurried over and rescued Shino from Shikamaru's hands.

Listening to Shino's tearful accusation and Shikamaru's stammering explanation, Mizuki-sensei felt a headache coming on and waved his right hand.

"Forget it. This was the teacher's oversight. How about this? I'll treat you to ramen as compensation!"

"Yay! Ramen! Ramen, ramen, ramen..." Shikamaru cheered excitedly.

"Mizuki-sensei, I can't walk anymore." Shino sounded utterly weak.

"What am I going to do with you..." Mizuki-sensei sighed helplessly and carried Shino onto his back. "Let's go. Destination: Ichiraku Ramen! Move out!"

Konoha, Ichiraku Ramen.

Mizuki-sensei looked at the two towering stacks of empty bowls in front of Shikamaru. The hand holding his chopsticks trembled nonstop as he forced out a smile and said:

"You shouldn't eat too much at night. The teacher still has things to do later, so we'll stop here for today."

"Ah?! Alright~_~ I was planning to eat five more bowls."

Though Shikamaru was a little foolish, he was still obedient.

"Hmph. So now you can count properly?" Shino weakly sneered.

When it came time to pay, Mizuki-sensei turned his back to the three of them so his students wouldn't see the agonized expression twisting his face.

After paying and leaving the shop, Mizuki-sensei carried Shino on his back and said to Menma:

"Menma, Shino is exhausted, so I need to take him home. You and Shikamaru can head back on your own!

As for the home visit, we'll discuss it another time!" With that, he turned toward the Aburame Clan compound. Before long, he turned back again to remind them:

"Don't play around on the way. Go straight home, understand?"

"Got it, got it. Sensei, you're so naggy!" Menma waved without looking back and headed in the opposite direction with Shikamaru.