In the top-floor office of the Hokage building, the afterglow of the setting sun shines through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, dyeing everything in the room with a layer of warm gold, but it does nothing to dispel the solemn atmosphere in the air.
The smell of old books and high-grade tobacco lingers on the tip of the nose. This is the unique smell of Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Portraits of Hokage from past dynasties hang on the wall. The eyes of First and Second seem to have penetrated time and space, silently watching the people in the room.
Tsunade held hands with Senju Chen and stood in the center of the office without saying a word.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took off his hat and put it on the table, revealing his face that was full of traces of time but still energetic. He did not look at Tsunade, his eyes fell gently on Senju Chen, and the pipe in his hand was gently knocked in the ashtray.
"Little Chen, can you tell me why you did this?"
His voice was calm, not blaming, more like an elder asking a junior who made a mistake, with a bit of curiosity and inquiry.
Teacher Chunin, who was standing aside, was so nervous that his palms were sweating. Facing the most powerful person in the village, he even breathed much more lightly.
The second level is here.
Senju Chen felt clear in his heart. He knew that the old man in front of him, known as "The Strongest Hokage", was by no means as amiable as he seemed on the surface. Every question he asked could be a trap.
He leaned out half of his body from behind Tsunade, raised his head, and looked directly at Third Hokage with his clear eyes, with a child's unique stubbornness and seriousness on his face, and repeated what he had said to Tsunade before.
"Grandpa Hokage, because... because the things taught in school are really too simple for me."
As soon as these words came out, the face of teacher Chunin suddenly became a little ugly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi heard this, instead of being angry, he raised his eyebrows with interest. "Oh? Too simple?"
"Yes." Senju Chen nodded solemnly, his tone extremely sure, "I want to spend my time on more meaningful cultivation."
Tsunade puffed up his chest at the right time and said in support, "Old man, Little Chen is right! I've asked him about it, and he's already familiar with the basic theories in school!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath from the cigarette and exhaled a cloud of white smoke. Amidst the smoke, his eyes became profound, "Tsunade, talent is important, but rules are also unshakable. A five-year-old child has openly used Shadow Clone to deceive the school for several months. If this matter spreads, it will have an impact on the prestige of the school and the system of the village."
Especially since his surname is Senju. Hiruzen Sarutobi did not say this sentence, but he believed that Tsunade understood it.
Senju Chen's heart sank slightly.
The old fox is really not that easy to fool. He is making a pre-determination and putting the seriousness of the matter on the table.
"I..." Tsunade was about to retort, but was stopped by Hiruzen Sarutobi who raised his hand.
"However," Hiruzen Sarutobi changed the subject and returned to Senju Chen, "The village has never buried any genius. You said that you have mastered the knowledge of the school, but you just say it."
He turned to teacher Chunin, who had been frozen for a long time, and ordered, "Go to the Academic Affairs Office and get a copy of the graduation class's theory final exam paper."
"Yes! Lord Hokage!" Teacher Chunin, as if he had received an amnesty, immediately turned around and left quickly.
The office fell into silence again. Tsunade looked at Senju Chen with some worry, only to find that his brother still looked calm and seemed to be confident about the upcoming test.
Soon, teacher Chunin ran back panting, holding a sealed test paper.
Hiruzen Sarutobi personally broke the seal and spread the test paper on a low table in front of Senju Chen, with a pen next to it.
"Give you an hour, do it."
"Yes."
Senju Chen didn't have any stage fright, he knelt down in front of the table and picked up the pen.
The only sound left in the office was the "rustling" sound of the pen tip scratching across the paper. Tsunade clenched his fist nervously, while Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly filled in new tobacco, but his eyes were fixed on that small figure through the curling smoke.
He saw extreme concentration.
Senju Chen almost didn't pause at all. Starting from the first question, he wrote the answer smoothly. His gesture was not like answering a question, but more like transcribing an article that he had already known by heart.
History, tactics, Ninjutsu principles, Hand Seals analysis... The difficulty of the test papers for the graduating class is far beyond that of the first grade. There are many tricky questions, which require students to have strong logical analysis capabilities and knowledge reserves.
However, these are like nothing in front of Senju Chen.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Senju Chen put down his pen.
"Hokage Grandpa, I've finished writing."
He stood up and handed over the test paper respectfully.
Chunin teacher hurriedly stepped forward to take it. When his eyes fell on the scroll, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning and stood stunned on the spot.
The handwriting is neat and organized.
All the questions were answered correctly, and the answers to many questions were more detailed and profound than the standard answers, going straight to the core of the problem.
"This..." Teacher Chunin murmured to himself. With trembling hands, he pointed to an additional question at the end of the paper, "Lord Hokage, look..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took the test paper and looked at the additional questions.
It was a trap question about Chakra Nature Transformation. The question itself had a slight logical loophole, which was used to test the students' thinking ability.
In the answer area of Senju Chen, he not only perfectly avoided the trap and gave the correct answer, but also clearly marked it with a line of small characters below the answer.
"There is a paradox in the setting of the prerequisites for this question. The extreme cutting characteristics of the wind attribute Chakra cannot coexist with the requirement of 'maintaining the integrity of the target' in the question setting."
"Click."
Hiruzen Sarutobi The pipe beside his mouth also slipped slightly.
In the office, you can hear the drop of a needle.
Chunin teacher opened her mouth wide enough to stuff an egg.
Tsunade was stunned for a moment, and then an uncontrollable ecstasy and pride surged out of his chest like a volcano erupting!
"How about it, old man!" Tsunade raised his chin proudly and smiled like a peacock, "I'll say that my brother is a genius! Konoha is the number one genius!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored Tsunade's showoff. He picked up the pipe, lit it again, and took a deep breath. After the smoke, his cloudy old eyes were filled with shock like a stormy sea.
This kind of insight and analytical ability even surpasses most of the elite Chunin in the village.
He was silent for a long time, and the atmosphere in the office became extremely depressing.
Finally, he spoke slowly, his voice a bit hoarse. "I admit, Little Chen's learning ability far exceeds my expectations."
He looked at Senju Chen, his eyes becoming extremely complicated.
It was his decision to let this child enter school early. The original intention was to let him integrate into the village as soon as possible, and have more contact with peers, so that he could grow up in a collective environment, which could also quickly help this child to dilute the pain of losing his parents.
At the same time, this is also the protection of this child. Wood Release is too important to Konoha. Konoha needs his strength, but strength alone is not enough. He also needs a sense of belonging to this village.
You must know that in addition to teaching children basic knowledge in schools, the inheritance and cultivation of Will of Fire are also present throughout it all the time.
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought about it and decided that it would be better to let this child continue to be "educated" in school for a few more years.
He stood up, walked to the window, turned his back to the two of them, and looked at the chessboard-like Konoha below.
"Rules are rules. No matter how good the theoretical knowledge is, it is just talk on paper. In the end, everything about ninjas depends on strength."
"Since you think you have what it takes to graduate, then use the graduation assessment to prove it to me."
Tsunade frowned and said, "Graduation assessment? Three Basic Techniques? For him..."
"No." Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted her, turned around slowly, her eyes were like a torch, with a majesty and determination that belonged to the shadow.
"I will arrange a special strength assessment battle for you."
He spoke every word, and his voice echoed in the empty office.
"Your opponent is an experienced active duty Jonin!"
Tsunade's face suddenly turned pale. "Old man, you are crazy! He is only five years old!"
"If you can persist under that Jonin for ten minutes without losing, or if you can obtain the approval of that Jonin in any way."
"Not only will your previous truancy be forgotten, I will also make an exception on the spot... and award you the title of Genin!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored Tsunade's protest, but stared at Senju Chen and said.
"If you fail, you must take the initiative to admit your mistake of absenteeism in front of all your classmates, and complete your studies well in school."
"Senju Chen, do you agree?"
"No, old man, you let a five-year-old child fight against a Jonin, are you an old fool! I never agree with this!" Tsunade's chest rose and fell violently, and he was shaking with anger.
At this time, Senju Chen bypassed the furious Tsunade and stood in front of the desk again.
The small body stood straight, facing the huge pressure belonging to Hokage.
He raised his head and looked directly into those weather-beaten eyes with clear eyes.
"Hokage Grandpa, I agree"
"Little Chen, you..." Tsunade turned around suddenly and looked at her brother with utter shock and confusion in her eyes. She couldn't figure out how he could agree to such an outrageous condition.
Senju Chen did not look at Hokage, but turned his head and showed a comforting smile to his anxious sister. The smile was clean and pure, with a calmness and confidence that was inconsistent with his age.
"Sister, believe me."
he said softly.
"I can do that."