The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was the direct disciple of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. He had mastered all the jutsu of the Hidden Leaf Village, especially the five elemental types. He was even able to combine different elemental jutsu with ease and was hailed as the Professor of Ninjutsu.
The three disciples he trained also made a name for themselves in the ninja world, even to the extent of having a decisive influence on the Second Great Ninja War.
Combined with the fact that Hiruzen Sarutobi, now 52 years old, was still in his prime, his strength, position, and exceptional disciples gave him a reputation in the Leaf Village that was unparalleled.
This was evident in the fanatical expressions of the students.
Uchiha Yuan had somewhat mixed feelings about Hiruzen Sarutobi.
If he weren't born an Uchiha and was just an ordinary villager of the Leaf, then from that perspective, Sarutobi Hiruzen was by no means a bad Hokage—he could even be said to have more merit than fault.
Take for example the Second Great Ninja War: after Konoha initiated the conflict, they fought fiercely on four fronts and still emerged victorious. Hiruzen Sarutobi's leadership was instrumental in this.
In the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha was already in a weakened state due to a lack of talent, yet they still managed to barely pull through and preserve the village's foundation.
From the Second Ninja War until the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, succeeded the title, Konoha never truly had peace—it was always at war.
Both of those hellish wars were won under Hiruzen Sarutobi's leadership. Just based on this alone, Hiruzen was a qualified Hokage.
However, setting aside war, after the Second Ninja War, Konoha experienced a severe talent drought. Then came the Nine-Tails incident, where the Fourth Hokage and his wife sacrificed themselves. After that, Hizashi Hyuga was forced to die, and the Uchiha Clan was exterminated. All of these were orchestrated by the village leadership.
Could it really be that Hiruzen Sarutobi, as Hokage, knew nothing of this? Could he truly have had no involvement?
Among the top brass, Danzo was essentially Sarutobi's gloves—he did many things with Hiruzen's tacit approval.
And as for the two old fogies Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, they were just a pair of meddlesome sticks stirring the pot.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's indulgence and silent approval of these people rising to power and controlling the village was enough to label him an unqualified Hokage from that standpoint.
"All of you students probably know this already: you will soon graduate and head to the battlefield to defend Konoha. I am sorry to send you off at such a young age—this is my failure as Hokage..."
The Third Hokage's words interrupted Uchiha Yuan's thoughts. After that, the Hokage launched into a long speech—talking about the Will of Fire and how the flame's shadow would illuminate the village. Uchiha Yuan was nearly dozing off.
This kind of brainwashing was just too basic. Even a junior high student wouldn't believe it, let alone someone like Uchiha Yuan, who graduated from a prestigious university in his past life.
But clearly, people in the Naruto world weren't at that level of critical thinking. The students below were all visibly stirred by Hiruzen's speech—each one more eager than the last to shed their blood for Konoha.
Uchiha Yuan had no choice but to mimic the same excitement.
The only one in the whole hall looking impatient was none other than the Third Hokage's son—Asuma Sarutobi.
After the Hokage's speech ended, the sparring matches between the two classes officially began.
Students went up in pairs when their names were called.
Uchiha Yuan observed for a bit. It seemed the teachers were pairing students of similar strength and grades.
By that logic, Asana Hyuga would most likely be matched against Asuma Sarutobi, the Third Hokage's son.
The two were top students in their respective classes, so a duel between them made sense.
But to Uchiha Yuan's surprise—
The teacher called out Asana Hyuga's name when there were still more than ten students left.
And Asana's opponent was Kurenai Yuhi.
Kurenai was considered upper-mid tier in her class, but compared to Asana, there was still a noticeable gap. In just three exchanges, Kurenai had her chakra points sealed by the Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms, losing the match.
No one was surprised by the outcome. Asana's strength was well-known. It would've been more shocking if Kurenai had won.
With Asana stepping down early, everyone was now wondering—who would they pit against the Third Hokage's son, Asuma Sarutobi?
One pair after another took the stage.
In the end, the only ones left were Asuma from Class One and Uchiha Yuan from Class Two.
"Next match—Asuma Sarutobi versus Uchiha Yuan!"
At the teacher's command, all eyes turned to the two of them.
Uchiha Yuan sighed inwardly. Honestly, when Asana was called up early, he had already guessed that the Third Hokage might have arranged for him to face off against his own son.
After all, the Hokage had been secretly watching him for days. He couldn't have been doing that for nothing, right?
After learning "Mind's Eye", Hiruzen Sarutobi observed him for three days.
Only after Yuan received the condolence money did Hiruzen finally stop watching.
As for how long he had been observed before mastering "Mind's Eye," Yuan had no idea.
Although he didn't know the exact reason, the Hokage clearly had a motive. After so much surveillance, putting him up against Asuma was most likely a way to validate what he'd seen.
Since he couldn't avoid it, Yuan didn't hesitate and calmly walked to the center of the training ground. Asuma followed, taking his position across from him.
"Uchiha Yuan, I heard you've awakened the Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai—the Sharingan?" Asuma asked.
"Yes, I have," Yuan answered calmly.
"Good! I won't hold back." Asuma reached for his ninja tool pouch.
Yuan nodded from where he stood. "I'll give it my all, too."
Despite saying he'd go all out, Yuan didn't activate his Sharingan. Asuma felt disrespected, and his expression turned serious.
But Asuma misunderstood. Yuan wasn't trying to slight him—he just wanted to conserve chakra. Activating the Sharingan before the fight even began would do nothing but drain his energy for show.
"Begin the match!"
The moment the teacher finished speaking, Asuma launched his attack—three kunai flew toward Yuan in a triangle formation.
Watching from the sidelines, the Third Hokage shook his head and thought:
"Asuma's still a bit too impatient—already angered just by Yuan's attitude.In comparison, Uchiha Yuan's composure is far more admirable."
(To Be Continued...)