Meeting with the Third Generation

Outside the Hokage's Office, The Anbu who had brought Hoshi and the others over vanished in a few Body Flickers as soon as he led them to the office door. The speed left all four of them deeply envious.

Turning their attention away from the vanished Anbu and back to the office door, Jiraiya and the others exchanged glances, each feeling somewhat uneasy.

They knew that they had most likely been summoned because of the Iwagakure spy, but they still felt vaguely nervous. Children always had an inexplicable sense of fear toward unfamiliar elders.

The thought that the man sitting behind this door was the current leader of the entire village—the Third Hokage of Konoha—multiplied that fear several times over.

At that moment, not only Jiraiya, but even Sakumo had sweat seeping from his palms. Hoshi found it secretly amusing. Without caring whether the other three were ready, he mischievously knocked on the office door.

"Come in."

Hearing the voice from inside, Hoshi pushed open the door and walked in. The three behind him stood there dumbfounded for quite a while before finally coming to their senses and following him inside.

It was the first time any of the four had seen the Hokage's Office. Though they feared the legendary Hokage somewhat, the curiosity growing in their hearts like wild grass still made them quietly examine the room's layout.

The Hokage's Office was not much different from the one in the Original Story. Upon entering, they saw a large desk directly ahead, with portraits of previous Hokage on either side and massive filing cabinets nearby.

Through the large window behind the desk, they could look down and see Konoha's bustling main street. Looking up into the distance, they could see Hokage Rock.

At this time, Hokage Rock had only three faces carved into it. On closer inspection, the craftsmanship really was not very good. One could barely tell who was who; as for the details, they were downright terrible.

Stacks upon stacks of documents sat on the desk. Amid the mountain-like pile of paperwork, a young man raised his eyes to inspect the four of them.

Thinking that this younger version of the Third Hokage felt rather strange, Hoshi nevertheless spoke politely on the surface.

"Good afternoon, Third Hokage-sama."

Seeing this, Jiraiya and the others behind him followed suit and greeted Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Good afternoon to you as well." After nodding in response to the four boys' greetings, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked them over one by one and said, "Hoshi, Jiraiya, Sakumo, Orochimaru—I haven't gotten your names wrong, have I? Don't be too nervous. I called you here today only to learn about a few things."

It had to be said that the Third Hokage's opening move immediately closed the distance between himself and Hoshi's group. Hearing Hiruzen say their names made Jiraiya and the others quite happy, giving them the feeling that they were valued.

He continued to address Hoshi and the others with a kindly expression. "The Iwagakure spy from a few days ago—did the four of you really take him down together? Did anyone else assist you?"

The easygoing Jiraiya was just about to speak when Sakumo lightly tugged at him. Sakumo then glanced at Hoshi, and only after seeing Hoshi nod did he allow Jiraiya to recount the entire incident in full detail.

Hiruzen Sarutobi keenly noticed this small gesture. Sure enough, just as he had thought, Hoshi was the center of this group of four most of the time.

After listening to Jiraiya and the others' account, Hiruzen gradually understood. It was no surprise that Hoshi had become the center of the group. His intelligence and strength, far surpassing those of his peers, gave him every right to earn the admiration of three geniuses.

Their encounter with the Iwagakure spy had been turned around almost entirely by Hoshi alone. The other three naturally had their own strengths as well—Sakumo's swordsmanship, Orochimaru's Shadow Hidden Wire Hand, and, emmmm, Jiraiya's Rocket Headbutt.

But the true deciding factor had been Hoshi's astonishing Transparency Release assassination.

After all, those who could infiltrate a place as spies generally were not clumsy fools. Most of them specialized in agility.

Yet Hoshi had been able to use Transparency Release to find an instant of opportunity for a sneak attack. That meant Hoshi's explosive speed in an instant was already above that of a Chunin.

Hiruzen instinctively drew in a puff of smoke. At only six years old, Hoshi's burst speed already surpassed that of a Chunin. This talent was simply more terrifying than theirs had been back then.

Lady Mito had been right. He had to be given special training. Not only Hoshi—the other three should receive special training as well.

Each of the four had their own specialty. Sakumo possessed exceptional swordsmanship, while Jiraiya had an outstanding physique. In battle, both could be used as primary attackers.

Hoshi was an unparalleled prodigy in assassination and speed, one rarely seen in a century. Orochimaru had already developed a rudimentary ninjutsu at the age of six, so he could not be underestimated either. In the future, he would likely become a ninjutsu-type talent.

Combined with Tsunade's powerful control, and with word that Lady Mito intended to train her in Medical Ninjutsu, she would be a walking blood bank.

If these five could all grow up in the future, they would undoubtedly become the Pillars of Konoha.

Hiruzen seemed able to foresee the day when the five of them would slaughter their way across battlefields, striking fear into other nations.

With that thought, he set down his pipe and smiled at the four of them again.

"Very good. You all did splendidly. And just as you and Tsunade said, you all possess the talent to graduate early. As for your plan to apply for early graduation in half a year, I hereby approve it in advance. Of course, you must not grow lax because of this. Do not waste your talents.

"Also, as little heroes who defeated a spy, this matter is not suitable for wide publicity. Having such a reputation spread too early would be detrimental to your safety, so I have chosen to reward you privately.

"I know that none of your families are particularly well-off. How about this? From now on, I can allocate ten thousand ryo to each of you every month as training funds.

"This money may not be enough to do anything major, but it will be enough for you to eat and drink well, build strong bodies, and still purchase some Ninja Tools for training. I hope you will make good use of it and put every bit of it where it counts."

Upon hearing the Third Hokage's words, not only Jiraiya and the others, but even Hoshi's eyes lit up. That was ten thousand ryo! In the Original Story, when Naruto trained in the Land of Fire, he ate from one end of the street to the other and played quite a few games, yet had spent only three hundred ryo.

Ten thousand ryo a month was truly wonderful. With this money, even Jiraiya and the others could start buying expensive training equipment.

The four of them had originally been able to soar within half a year using the ninjutsu Lady Mito had given them. With this money, their strength half a year from now would surely rise to an even higher level.

After repeatedly thanking the Third Hokage, the four left the Hokage's Office. Clutching his little stash of money, Jiraiya was so excited that he started swaying around.

"Ramen, ramen! We definitely have to eat ramen to celebrate today!"

Hoshi patted him on the shoulder. "Jiraiya, can you have a little more ambition? We're not having ramen today. We're having barbecue! This time, I'll definitely let you experience what it feels like to eat so much meat that you have to lean on the wall on your way out!"

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