As we got out of the council office, we were greeted by our family members. Well, more like just Fugaku for Itachi's side.
On the other hand, my entire family was here blocking the hallway. My family and my brother's another new girlfriend. He really can't stay single, can he?
I greeted her lightly and joined my family. We went to a restaurant for the celebration. As we were leaving the building, I noticed Fugaku telling Itachi something about not slacking off or something.
That's Uchiha love for you.
Me and my family had a celebratory lunch and after a couple of hours we went off to our respective workplaces. My mother told me to visit her in the hospital after I finished my meeting with the hokage. She's going to teach me some of the intermediary level medical ninjutsu now that I've officially become a genin.
Kaho went away to practice for her chunin exam and Kuro was being gross with his girlfriend. They said they're going to move in together which was honestly way too fast in my opinion. Well, what do I know about dating? My only real relationship was the literal definition of a train wreck.
As I separated from my family, I went towards the academy where the Hokage office was. Finally I decided to use my headband as a normal headband. Due to my unruly hair, a headband can be used to keep it contained in a way. On our way towards the academy, I decided to finally do something that I've stalled for quite some time.
I pulled out the chakra paper — it was time to stop stalling. My chakra passed through the Chakra Paper and almost instantly the paper soaked wet.
Water Nature.
Not bad. Not bad at all. I would've been genuinely pissed off if I had fire nature. Don't get me wrong, fire nature was good. But at the same time, normal fire nature jutsu has way too many ways to counter it.
Plus almost all Uchiha clan members have fire nature and considering most villains were Uchihas, it would've been really annoying if I had the same affinity. Getting the water nature was actually much better for the plans that I had.
Water was easily the most versatile of the five nature transformations. Also, since Tobirama was a water style user, I won't have much of a shortage of ninjutsus.
If I can learn Flying Thunder God Technique, then with that and my water nature, I can become something like Tobirama 2.0.
Ha! Ha! Uchihas stay alert. I'm coming for you!
I giggled to myself hearing my own bad joke.
Umbra just gave me a weird look and asked,
'Who's Tobirama?'
'A super badass shinobi and the second Hokage.'
Umbra was going to ask for a follow up question but got interrupted by one of the staff calling me to the Hokage's office.
As I entered the office, I noticed Hiruzen sitting behind a pile of files. The eternal nemesis of a hokage, paperwork.
He looked towards me, his stern self from the council meeting gone and replaced with a soothing smile.
"It seems that you're more than just a talented genjutsu user." He said as he reviewed my file in front of him. "One of the best taijutsu users that the academy has ever seen, chakra control comparable to an experienced chunin, have knowledge of medical ninjutsu and sensory capabilities even exceptional among the Inuzuka clan. The only section you didn't score full marks is in ninja tools where the Uchiha boy scored the highest score ever recorded in the academy's history."
As Hiruzen listed off my many expertise, I got a sudden sense of accomplishment. I have trained my ass off for almost a year. So much so, that I don't even remember the last time I slept more than three hours in the night. I have sweated blood during this time. And getting the recognition from the Hokage himself gave me a sense of peace that I did not expect.
"Thank you, sir." I said in a polite manner with a bigger smile on my face than I would've expected to have.
"You don't need to thank me. These are all your accomplishments. You have broken the academy record that Minato himself had set before. And also, in such a young age. As per the agreement that Minato had signed, you are free to access any techniques that Konoha has in store. But, after talking to Kurenai I'm pretty sure you want the Flying Thunder God Technique, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"I feel like I should tell you that mastering this jutsu is extremely hard. And even if you learn it, there isn't any surety that you can use it as well as Minato did. Do you still want to learn the jutsu?"
"Absolutely, sir. I won't know if I can use it or not if I don't even try."
Seeing my enthusiasm, Hiruzen smiled. Satisfied with the willpower I had.
"Good. I'll talk to Genma and convince him to instruct you when he has time."
"Thank you, Lord Third."
"Okay. If that's all..." Before Hiruzen could dismiss me, I spoke up.
"Lord third, I had a personal request of mine. It's a bit of a selfish request but I think I would always regret it if I never speak up about it."
Hiruzen zoomed in his eyes at me and spoke,
"And what is this selfish request you speak of boy? Do keep in mind that I am the Hokage of this village and you should speak accordingly."
"You have already seen my file and most probably talked with Kurenai-sensei, so you should already know that I am really good at most of my fields. But there is one aspect that I personally think that I extremely weaker than other ones." I stopped to add gravitas, "It's my ninjutsu abilities. While I do know the basic ninjutsus taught to me at the academy, I know very well that those won't be enough for me when I'm out in the field."
Hiruzen tried to give me one of his soothing smile and told me, "Don't worry about that little one. We are peace time. There won't me many dangerous missions for you to risk your life in."
He was trying to gaslight me into thinking that the shinobi world is safe from conflict now. Which it absolutely was not.
"With all due respect, Lord Third... I don't believe that. My mom works at the hospital. I've visited her enough to know that there are always injured shinobi coming in. And my dad? He's barely home—his duties as a tracker keep him moving constantly. This so-called peace is fragile."
He didn't interrupt, so I pushed on."Even with what little I know of politics, it's obvious we're in a dangerous time. The other nations are recovering from the Third Great War—they're rebuilding, and that means they'll want resources, power, leverage. Assassinations, espionage… all of it will become common again. And us? We're not in the same shape we were before the Kyūbi attack. We lost many senior shinobi, and we lost the Fourth."I paused. My voice was steady, but my hands were clenched at my sides.
"In this weakened state, other nations might start testing us—probing for weaknesses, making demands. There will be incidents. It's just a matter of time. And when that happens… I don't want to be caught unprepared. If I'm not strong enough, I won't be able to protect the people I care about."
Hiruzen fell silent. For a moment, he just looked at me, unreadable.
Then, he gave a slow nod. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"A surprisingly mature analysis... and one I happen to agree with. You're thinking far beyond your age. It would be unfair of me to treat you like a child."
He paused, then raised an eyebrow.
"Still, why come to me? I'm a busy man. My schedule is limited."
"I know that," I said quickly. "But you're the best. You're called 'The Professor' for a reason—people say you've mastered every jutsu in the village. You trained the Sannin. I figured... if I want to get serious about ninjutsu, I should learn from someone who knows what he's doing."
"And what about your clan's techniques?"
"Elder Kazi is teaching me those. I've already picked up most of them."
"Ah... Kazi." A brief, faraway look crossed his face. "I've worked with him before. His lectures are… thorough."
"He doesn't talk much now," I added quietly. "His health's been declining. It's hard for him to keep up for long."
A shadow passed over Hiruzen's expression—nostalgia, maybe. Or sadness. Seeing your comrades grow old and fade… it must wear on you.
"Your desire for strength comes from a place of protection," he said after a moment. "That's noble. It reminds me of someone I once knew..."He trailed off, then focused on me again.
"Very well. I'll teach you what I can. Just don't expect much of my time—I'm pulled in a hundred directions every day."
"That's more than enough, Lord Third. Thank you. I won't let you down."
He gave a firm nod."I believe you won't. From now on, call me master."
"Yes, Master!" I said, more excited than I intended to show.
"Tomorrow morning. Southern training ground. Six sharp. Bring your weapon. We'll begin there."
I gave a quick bow, asked for permission to leave, and made my way home.
Convincing him had been easier than I expected. No drawn-out negotiations. No conditions. Just a conversation.
Maybe it was my reasoning. Maybe he was impressed. Or maybe... he just missed being a teacher. Maybe, in a world where everything was changing and breaking apart, teaching someone again made him feel grounded—reminded him of who he used to be, with his three legendary students by his side.
Whatever the reason, I wasn't going to question it.I'd gotten what I wanted—guidance from one of the strongest ninja alive.
And more than that, I now had a chance to be close to someone with real influence. I could learn, grow, and maybe even steer things away from Danzo's shadowy grip—at least for a while.
For now, that was more than enough.