Mito's Attention

"Hoshi? Who was that?"

Judging from Tsunade's tone, he certainly didn't sound like some teacher. That made Mito even more curious. Could it be that she had guessed wrong? Was this really just a game some child had come up with by accident? When Grandma Mito asked about Hoshi, little Tsunade became interested too. She roughly recounted what Hoshi had done over the past two days. A child's description was inevitably a little jumbled, but Mito still more or less understood what had happened.

"Gekko Clan Hoshi... I haven't heard much about the Gekko Clan..."

From Tsunade's account, this Hoshi seemed like quite an interesting little fellow. With that thought, Mito found herself becoming somewhat interested in Tsunade's desk mate.

She lightly clapped her hands, and an Anbu ninja wearing an animal mask instantly appeared before her. Mito glanced at the Anbu and said,

"Go investigate a boy named Gekko Hoshi. Bring me his file."

The Anbu respectfully acknowledged the order, then turned and vanished into the lush greenery of the Senju Clan Compound.

There was nothing surprising about Mito being able to command the Anbu. In fact, in Year 16 of Konoha, Uzumaki Mito was Konoha's true Hokage in every meaningful sense.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could at most be considered an honorary Hokage, a rubber stamp. Mito handled all the truly important affairs.

After giving the Anbu his orders, Mito looked back at Tsunade and pinched her little cheek. "Do you want to beat Hoshi?"

Tsunade's big eyes immediately lit up at those words, but then her little face fell.

"Of course I do, but I don't know why. No matter how much I practice, I just can't learn it."

Seeing Tsunade's pitiful little expression, Mito couldn't help but smile beautifully. She picked Tsunade up and set her on her lap, then began teaching her just as she had once taught her Hand Seals.

She took the pen from Tsunade's hand and slowly tried it twice. Then she gradually sped up, and before long, she was spinning it with convincing skill.

Sitting on her lap, Tsunade became so excited that her face turned red.

"Yes, that's exactly how Hoshi spun it! Grandma, hurry and teach me!"

Mito smiled and gestured for her to be patient, then slowly... taught Tsunade an entirely different training method.

"The reason you've never succeeded isn't because your fingers aren't nimble enough. It's because you can't control your strength. Ever since you were little, you inherited Hashirama's gift for strength, but because you're too outstanding, you've never been able to properly control your power.

"I had originally planned to put you through control training once you were older, but this pen-spinning gave me a good idea for training you. Of course, it's also the way for you to beat Hoshi.

"The method is... using chakra to guide your strength."

"Use chakra to guide my strength?"

Tsunade repeated the words, her expression practically screaming, Why do I have so many questions?

Mito suddenly raised one finger. "Do you think a pencil can stand upright on your fingertip?"

"Definitely not." Tsunade shook her little head like a rattle drum.

"No, it can be done. All it takes is a little chakra and precise Chakra Control."

As she spoke, chakra Radiance emerged from Mito's fingertip. She casually placed the pencil on it, and just as she had said, the pencil truly stood on Mito's fingertip.

No matter how Mito shook her finger, the pencil did not move in the slightest.

Tsunade's eyes instantly widened. She stared at Mito's fingertip in disbelief, unable to utter a single word.

At that moment, Mito set down the pencil and lightly flicked Tsunade's forehead. "Try it yourself. Once you can balance a pencil on your fingertip, using chakra together with your fingers to spin it won't be a problem."

After saying that, Mito got up and left Tsunade's room. The moment she stepped outside, the kindness on her face vanished, replaced by the pressure unique to a powerful woman.

Even beneath the Anbu waiting by the door's mask, a faint trace of cold sweat appeared. Mito took the document from his hand and waved him away.

As she examined Hoshi's photograph and the written description in the file, the corners of Mito's lips curled upward almost imperceptibly.

In a forest somewhere in Konoha, Hoshi and Sakumo stopped their sparring match, both panting heavily. Hoshi gulped down a mouthful of water, looked at the three extra experience points in his experience bar, and said with satisfaction, "You're seriously a freak. Without using my bloodline limit, I can't do a thing to you."

Sakumo merely wiped his blade and replied calmly, "The road ahead is still long."

Hoshi couldn't help shaking his head. "You don't seem like a kid at all. You're no fun."

Just then, Jiraiya, who had been extracting chakra nearby, opened his eyes as well. "Whew, thanks to your notes, Hoshi. Otherwise, it probably would've taken me quite a while longer to extract chakra. Seriously, my back is killing me from sitting so long."

Unlike Hoshi and Sakumo, who had already cultivated chakra beforehand, Jiraiya, who had started from zero, only managed to extract chakra today.

However, with his talent and monstrous physical constitution, while he likely couldn't surpass Hoshi and Sakumo, catching up to his classmates' progress wouldn't be a problem.

Seeing that everyone had finished training, Hoshi simply suggested,

"Today was our first day training together, so it's worth celebrating. Let's go try the ramen we didn't get to eat last time."

Alright, Hoshi really just wanted an excuse to eat ramen. The predecessor of Ichiraku Ramen, Teuchi Ramen, had only opened two days ago.

Hoshi was so certain that this shop was Ichiraku Ramen's predecessor mainly because of its location and name.

Wasn't Teuchi the name of Ichiraku Ramen's owner? Once Hoshi said that, the other two boys' stomachs started growling as well. The three of them didn't hesitate and headed straight for the newly opened Teuchi Ramen.

The moment they lifted the curtain and entered Teuchi Ramen, the fragrant aroma of noodles rushed over them. Already starving, how could the three of them possibly resist that scent? The instant Hoshi stepped through the door, he shouted at the top of his lungs,

"Boss, three large bowls of ramen!"

"Coming right up!"

The uncle inside called out and hurried into the kitchen to get to work. While the owner prepared the noodles, Hoshi looked around at Teuchi Ramen's interior.

The Teuchi Ramen before him differed somewhat from Ichiraku Ramen in the Original Story. After all, it had only just opened; there was a gap of more than forty years.

Before long, the uncle emerged carrying three steaming bowls of ramen.

"Three large bowls of ramen. Enjoy."

Just then, an aunt carrying a baby on her back came over to hand them chopsticks and seasonings. She warmly added, "Our new shop is having an opening promotion, so everything is forty percent off. If you like it, please come by often in the future."

Hoshi naturally nodded in agreement, then curiously asked,

"Auntie, how old is your child? What's his name?"

The aunt smiled. "His name is Teuchi, and he's only seven months old. That's why this shop was named after him."

This chapter spent quite a lot of time describing Mito. First, because I felt that such an important figure shouldn't have been so unknown in the Original Story. Second, because it relates to the protagonist's future path.

I'm sure those who understand will understand what Tsunade will use this pen-spinning method for later.

As for the setting of Mito holding power, I think it's quite reasonable. In later chapters, I'll also write some broad speculation about this period from Hoshi's perspective, using my own ideas to fill in some of Naruto's setting.